Starkville Regional: Know the opponents

[I seen it dawg]

Great post. Welcome. Better strap it up against La Tech.

[CSUFOrange]

CSF has a great program, of course they're going to think they'll win. They likely don't know as much about us as we do. We would be doing the same thing.

4 National Championships, 25 straight postseason appearances, and 38 postseason appearances in 42 years at the D1 level will do that to you. We've been spoiled, that's for sure. But that doesn't mean our fans are overlooking any of these teams in this regional by any means. They're all there for a reason, it's going to be an extremely difficult test, and traveling from Orange County to Starkville is no easy feat either.

[CadaverDawg]

Glad to oblige! Excited about this regional, and the Titans playing at one of the best facilities and crowds in the nation. (Remodel plans look incredible) It'll be a huge test.

Todd4State summed it up pretty well, the Titans are the prototypical West Coast baseball team, get them on, get them over, get them in. Lots of small ball (sometimes to our fans' displeasure) but we can pitch with anyone in the nation and the #1 Team ERA goes to show it. Seabold and Gavin both pitched in Omaha last season along with quite a few relievers, Eastman just won the Big West championship game on the road at our rival and almost threw a CG in it as a freshman... The list goes on.

The offense has been a question mark, it's either boon or bust. They've shown they can put up huge offensive games (18 runs at UC Santa Barbara) but then put up a head scratching series loss at home against Hawaii. It's going to be interesting to see which Titan team shows up, the team that went through a tough home regional last year and then won 2/3 at Louisville to go to Omaha, or the team that's lost baffling performances to Hawaii, USC, and Maryland.

Looking forward to it! Hoping to meet the Bulldogs in Game 2! Go Titans!

Thanks for the run down. Welcome to the board, looking forward to playing you guys. As much as I hate playing "name" programs bc it makes the Regional tougher...I also love it bc it's fun to play teams from outside of our normal geographic area, and I want to beat good teams and earn it if we're going to go to Omaha.

Can you tell us what your batting lineup looks like in terms of Left handed vs Right handed? Do you guys hit RHP or LHP better? How do you field it as a team...pretty good defensively? Who are we most likely to face in Game 2 if we meet up? Is he LH or RH?

Thanks. Let us know if you want to know details about MSU.

[HSVDawg]

Definitely a gamble. I think we're going to see Hudson in Game 1. Some may hate that, but you can't afford to lose game 1 due to Houston not having his control. I think you go Hudson, then Sexton, then hope Houston & Pilk can win the Regional

To me, I think folks are overthinking it by trying to say "well, SEMO is throwing their ace so we gotta throw our ace." It's simple, Hudson is our best pitcher. So, pitch him against the team with the best offensive lineup. That is not likely to be SEMO. We are the one seed, so everybody will be saving their ace for us anyway. No need in trying to figure out which ace we want ours to go against.

[CadaverDawg]

Wow, check out this post from the Cal State Fullerton board after David Murray & a few other MSU fans responded to "hick" comments....


On behalf of all Titan fans, I apologize if any Mississipians were offended. I'm sure no harm was intended. Some of our fans just don't understand the difference between hicks and rednecks.
Our Governor Brown has warned against travel to the Magnolia State due to all the discriminatory legislation. If our fans attend games at your Dudley Knobjob (sp?) Stadium, will the gays, lesbians, queers, bisexuals and transgendered among us be fairly treated? Will they be allowed to use the restroom? How about our African-American and Hispanic fans? I watched a game on TV and could not see any non-whites in attendance.

For the whole thread, click this link....

http://www.scout.com/college/cal-sta...not-a-bad-draw

[CSUFOrange]

Thanks for the run down. Welcome to the board, looking forward to playing you guys. As much as I hate playing "name" programs bc it makes the Regional tougher...I also love it bc it's fun to play teams from outside of our normal geographic area, and I want to beat good teams and earn it if we're going to go to Omaha.

Can you tell us what your batting lineup looks like in terms of Left handed vs Right handed? Do you guys hit RHP or LHP better? How do you field it as a team...pretty good defensively? Who are we most likely to face in Game 2 if we meet up? Is he LH or RH?

Thanks. Let us know if you want to know details about MSU.

The Titans are pretty well balanced in the lineup, sometimes 4 lefties, sometimes 5, but they've been so inconsistent at times, sometimes they'll mash LHP, sometimes they come up dry. Solid defensively, 20th in the nation, but can be prone to the occasional lazy error.

Pitching-wise it's a toss up, depending on what happens in Game 1. I would expect RHP Connor Seabold to pitch Game 1, as long as a tweaked hammy doesn't hold him back. Seabold pitched in Omaha last year, and went 7-5 with a 2.42 ERA this year. Assuming they win, I would expect to see LHP John Gavin in Game 2. Gavin, also on last year's CWS team went 6-3 with a 2.16 ERA, but you could see the freshman RHP Colton Eastman who's coming off a dominant performance on the road at rival Long Beach in what ended up being the Big West championship game. Could also see transfer RHP Blake Quinn who's had a good year as well, but I'd doubt it.

How about the Bulldogs? Wish I could go this weekend, have relatives living in Starkville who were professors at MSU. Atmosphere should be electric.

[CSUFOrange]

Wow, check out this post from the Cal State Fullerton board after David Murray & a few other MSU fans responded to "hick" comments....


On behalf of all Titan fans, I apologize if any Mississipians were offended. I'm sure no harm was intended. Some of our fans just don't understand the difference between hicks and rednecks.
Our Governor Brown has warned against travel to the Magnolia State due to all the discriminatory legislation. If our fans attend games at your Dudley Knobjob (sp?) Stadium, will the gays, lesbians, queers, bisexuals and transgendered among us be fairly treated? Will they be allowed to use the restroom? How about our African-American and Hispanic fans? I watched a game on TV and could not see any non-whites in attendance.

For the whole thread, click this link....

http://www.scout.com/college/cal-sta...not-a-bad-draw

As with every team, don't pay attention to the bad apples that spoil the rest of the bunch. We've had a bunch of trolls impersonating long-time posters recently. Expect our fans that travel to Starkville to be knowledgeable, and easy going. Hope somewhere down the road we can host Bulldog fans in Orange County to the same hospitality that I'm sure will be extended to our fans out there.

[CadaverDawg]

The Titans are pretty well balanced in the lineup, sometimes 4 lefties, sometimes 5, but they've been so inconsistent at times, sometimes they'll mash LHP, sometimes they come up dry. Solid defensively, 20th in the nation, but can be prone to the occasional lazy error.

Pitching-wise it's a toss up, depending on what happens in Game 1. I would expect RHP Connor Seabold to pitch Game 1, as long as a tweaked hammy doesn't hold him back. Seabold pitched in Omaha last year, and went 7-5 with a 2.42 ERA this year. Assuming they win, I would expect to see LHP John Gavin in Game 2. Gavin, also on last year's CWS team went 6-3 with a 2.16 ERA, but you could see the freshman RHP Colton Eastman who's coming off a dominant performance on the road at rival Long Beach in what ended up being the Big West championship game. Could also see transfer RHP Blake Quinn who's had a good year as well, but I'd doubt it.

How about the Bulldogs? Wish I could go this weekend, have relatives living in Starkville who were professors at MSU. Atmosphere should be electric.

We have pretty good starting pitching, but our bullpen can be suspect. Hopefully we can save our ace, Hudson, for CSF in game 2. Otherwise Sexton will start. We play decent defense, but in our losses we typically gift runs with infield errors (usually SS & 3B).

Our hitting is very good. We led the SEC in doubles and were 2nd in the league in hitting overall behind A&M. Cohen is an over-thinker, so we will hit 7-ish lefty's or righty's depending on the matchup. Tons of flexibility & options in our order. Mangum, our SEC freshman of the year, is our spark plug & led the SEC in hitting with around a .420 average. Most of our lineup hits over .300, but our 8 & 9 hole guys are .280 & .220-ish respectively. We have some decent power this year, but our ballpark plays very big, which could be a big advantage to CSF and their small ball & pitching staff.

Should be some interesting Matchups.

[CadaverDawg]

As with every team, don't pay attention to the bad apples that spoil the rest of the bunch. We've had a bunch of trolls impersonating long-time posters recently. Expect our fans that travel to Starkville to be knowledgeable, and easy going. Hope somewhere down the road we can host Bulldog fans in Orange County to the same hospitality that I'm sure will be extended to our fans out there.

Yea every group has their idiots. I hope your fans and players enjoy the trip down, and that your guys get to experience the best Dudy Noble, the Left Field Lounge, & the MSU passionate fan base has to offer. Obviously, I hope we win...but I think it could be a pretty awesome Regional. I'd hate to fall into the loser's bracket early, bc even SEMO & La Tech are going to be tough outs. Whoever makes it out of this Regional will have earned it.

[Todd4State]

The Titans are pretty well balanced in the lineup, sometimes 4 lefties, sometimes 5, but they've been so inconsistent at times, sometimes they'll mash LHP, sometimes they come up dry. Solid defensively, 20th in the nation, but can be prone to the occasional lazy error.

Pitching-wise it's a toss up, depending on what happens in Game 1. I would expect RHP Connor Seabold to pitch Game 1, as long as a tweaked hammy doesn't hold him back. Seabold pitched in Omaha last year, and went 7-5 with a 2.42 ERA this year. Assuming they win, I would expect to see LHP John Gavin in Game 2. Gavin, also on last year's CWS team went 6-3 with a 2.16 ERA, but you could see the freshman RHP Colton Eastman who's coming off a dominant performance on the road at rival Long Beach in what ended up being the Big West championship game. Could also see transfer RHP Blake Quinn who's had a good year as well, but I'd doubt it.

How about the Bulldogs? Wish I could go this weekend, have relatives living in Starkville who were professors at MSU. Atmosphere should be electric.

Dakota Hudson is a likely first round pick and as you can probably read here there is some debate about whether we should start him against SEMO or in game two. Austin Sexton is also very talented as well even though he doesn't have Hudson's stuff- he has been very reliable. Our third guy for most of the year has been a freshman Konnor Pilkington, but in the SEC Tournament one of our juniors, Zac Houston had a lights out outing and we'll see if he gets a start. Our bullpen has some guys that have been off and on all year and has been kind of pieced together. Hudson and Sexton usually give us quality starts so that offsets our bullpen somewhat. Humphreys is our closer but Blake Smith and Ryan Rigby have been our main bullpen guys. Daniel Brown has also emerged as a reliable bullpen guy for us as well.

Jack Kruger has take over at catcher and he is a very good hitter and is solid defensively. Nate Lowe hasn't hit a ton of home runs this year, but he is a very good hitter and has a very good approach. Gavin Collins has been average defensively at third but has improved over the course of the year and leads our team in home runs. He is around .300 but his average has been hurt some because he has had to learn how to play a new position and he missed most of the fall with a hand injury. Ryan Gridley is a solid shortstop defensively and is usually good for a hit a game and second base has been an issue because of injuries to two of our MIF players. Hunter Stovall will probably get the starts because he played well in the SEC Tournament and is our best defensive second baseman but John Holland is a senior who has had some clutch moments for us despite his low batting average.

Jake Mangum is a pure hitter and is a Pete Rose type player that gets on anyway he can and is all out all the time. He is a big reason why we are where we are right now. Jacob Robson is our CF and he can absolutely fly. He's also a really good bunter. Brent Rooker and Reid Humphreys (yes, same guy as our closer) are two good corner outfielders with some power and both have good outfield arms.