Harding reminds me of Girodo in a way
I would not start him. I think he is better coming into an in game situation than he is starting. Girodo was that way. Years ago, 1989, we had a guy named Chuck Holly. Great middle inning reliever. We started him in the championship game of the regional against North Carolina and he wasn?t the same.
What about starting Cade Smith and try to get 2-3 innings from him, then go to Harding?QUOTE=Todd4State;1333169]Adding Cumbest back in the lineup as well as the emergence of Kellum Clark completely changes our lineup. Lot more power throughout- especially with Rowdey and Tanner being close to 10 home run guys themselves. And now Kam James and Logan Tanner are getting hot. Only two players that aren't really power threats are Dubrule and Forsythe.
We hit the ball much better. Playing in the SEC is a meat grinder- but it pays off in the regionals. There just aren't very many SEC caliber pitchers on most 3 and 4 seeds. And then the format forces teams to get into their bullpens. Other than Forsythe we hit the ball pretty well throughout and pretty much everyone co
The thing that I was most pleased with was our overall team defense. I think we had one- maybe two errors that I remember. And that was on a pitcher. Kam James looks much better at third than he did. Forsythe played better. And having Cumbest in LF solidifies our outfield defense.
In short- we're playing our best lineup right now and at the right time. It can be hard to figure that out with so many young and unproven players- plus Clark missed a lot of the year due to illness. This team reminds me of our 2018 team in that regard when Tanner, Rowdey, Westburg, and Foscue were freshmen and we had Mangum and Stovall playing the role that Allen and Rowdey are playing on our current team.
I was also pleased with our baserunning. Only one mistake that I can recall where Rowdey and Clark got mixed up on the bases when Rowdey was trying to stretch a hit into a double but even then he got back. We took extra bases several times and made teams pay for indecision and on in between balls hit in the outfield.
Pitching is the only area I have any concerns about. We don't have the elite Ethan Small, Dakota Hudson, etc. type of guy so that makes it a little more difficult for us. We gave up too many home runs for my liking. Most of those on the starters leaving fastballs or breaking balls up in the zone and yes, one was on MacLeoud after he was at pitch 123 or whatever it was. Bednar and MacLeoud were solid and pitched well enough to win. Preston Johnson struggled some too. But the good news is the rest of the bullpen was very good. Sims didn't have to pitch much. Brandon Smith ate some innings up for us. Stone Simmons and Parker Stinnett have become reliable bullpen options. Lemonis should have started Harding. If he starts Fristoe in a SR we're probably going home. He needs to be shut down and go play some summer baseball and get better and get his confidence back. Mechanically he was a complete mess out there. If we start Harding we take command and probably cruise. I'm unsure why we keep throwing Fristoe lately as his ERA is now about as bad as Cerentola's. So, really the biggest adjustment is just start Harding. And get Preston Johnson right and off we go.
While I'm not sold that this team has what it takes to win a title they definitely have enough to make a nice run. Notre Dame will be tough. They destroyed their competition in their regional and their record on the road is as good as their home record. We're going to have to come to play to beat these guys- as we would anyone else in a SR.
We have now made 5 SR's in a row in what has amounted to be a transitional period for us. The really optimistic thing for me is I think we're going to get even better now that we appear to have some coaching stability. I would not be surprised at all if we have a team similar to Arkansas's by 2023 with what we have and what we are bringing in.
Hail State! See you on Friday![/QUOTE]
