Hookem2147

Lummus has benefited from some luck this year. He is no better than Shaw or Harrison.

This is not about to end well

So Kennedy gets rung up on that and then Tumis gets the Coke can sized strike zone.

When Dre isn’t available and you can’t use Boehm yet, any option looks like a “don’t care about this one anymore’’ option

4 innings with 3 runs allowed seems about right for LBJ nowadays.

When you see a lineup multiple times you better be able to have more in your bag than straight knee high fastball and slider in the dirt. Doesn't matter if you throw 96.

Hell of a job there

They need to have an identity talk with Kennedy heading into next year. I get he’s just trying to keep his head above water as a freshman but there is no reason a guy with his speed and athleticism should be at 2 stolen bases right now and not bunting for hits semi-regularly.

Back to this series, I have a feeling we are going to need some big outs from Hurley or Tumis today if we want to win. Someone has to get the ball to Boehm for the last 1-2 innings.

Hate is a strong word and I’m not inside Tulo’s mind. Pierce is also not the only person in this program Tulo works with. Most of his time is spent interacting with people not named David Pierce. Tulo and Caleb Longley are close and are the ones working with swings and putting together offensive gameplans. I’m not here to tell you Sean Allen and David Pierce were going on family vacations together either. There are a lot of very successful coaches who are difficult to work for. That isn’t unusual. I’ve worked with plenty of people in my life that I may not have personally enjoyed but I made it work professionally. People also change. Maybe the pressure of this job made him harder and harder to work with over time.

He ditched the fastball for a cutter, which has made a big difference.

Pierce and Tulo aren’t going on family vacations together, but there was a lot of moving parts in his decision to step away for a year after 2022, including his wife being pregnant and the desire to travel around to see other programs to help him scope out stuff as he prepared for head coach interviews/opportunities. Even last year when he wasn’t on staff, he was around the facility from time to time helping out. I’m pretty sure he is on staff this year to make sure he isn’t out of the game too long and keep his name active in the coaching network. He certainly isn’t making decisions for money.

The surprising part to me is he recreated himself after trying to be his old self for the two seasons after his surgery. He is getting guys out in a completely different way than he was in 2020.

Funny part is if Storm is on this team, Belyeu may have been the odd man out to start the season. He had a slow fall apparently and there were questions about his defense. He would have gotten some DH AB’s and probably taken over for Brown eventually considering how things played out, but we may not have seen the huge breakout that ended up happening. While on that note, I think Nik Sanders has a chance to take a Belyeu type leap next year (play sparingly as a freshman and big jump as a sophomore). I’ll be interested to follow him during the summer.

Pretty well said. You need to have some fortunate bounces go your way to win it all in any sport, but baseball maybe more than any other considering the number of games and the fact you have a different guy taking the mound every game. 3 of the last 4 #1 seeds in the NCAA tournament didn't even make it out of a Super Regional. The one thing that was alarming to me (outside of losing, obviously) in 2 of the 3 Omaha trips, 2018 and 2022, is we were not built to win in that park. We didn't have the frontline starters with the premium swing-and-miss stuff (our #1 those two seasons were Nolan Kingham and Pete Hansen). We scored 11 runs in 4 total games between those two seasons. I love our ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark, but that park plays huge in Omaha, and the wind often blows in. The hallmark of Pierce teams the last 4 years or so is we don't walk a lot, we strike out a lot and we rely pretty heavily on the home run ball. That isn't the ideal recipe to dogpile in a tournament where you have to win 4 or 5 games in the span of a 8-10 days. The 2021 team featured more speed (Antico, Williams, prime Kennedy when he used to run like crazy) and contact ability at the plate, which combined with our 3 starters led by Ty Madden and Witt/Nixon, was the perfect recipe.

He helped with both

Longley is a great recruiter. Best move Pierce made in his tenure on the coaching staff was promoting him. Hopefully whoever is coaching next year is smart enough to retain him/make sure he doesn’t get away. Problem is recruiting in baseball is not a one year turnaround thing (mainly talking about the HS side). Good evals take several years to fully mature. Our 2025 class is freaking loaded, especially with arms, but at this point it’s doubtful this staff will even be around to see the fruits of their labor. Tough luck but we are currently paying for the sins committed in classes like 2021 and 2022.

We were quite a ways off in raw RPI points vs the group of teams above 50 when I looked earlier today. Now with this win we are within striking distance. A sweep would likely put us around 45.

Feels like we do this in May almost every year after playing with our food a little bit in April. I can’t believe Duplantier has turned into a reliable arm. You place this year’s version of him on any previous team and it’s a game changer. I had completely written him off headed into the year.

We get out of that if not for the balk

Dre pulled something chasing after that

Pierce trying to steal outs with the B relievers again

I’d go to Dre to face this guy

You were unconvinced until today? Also, not to be the bear of bad news but the pitching coach doesn’t make personnel moves in-game.

Can’t let the top of the order see him a third time when he is throwing 84. It was either Shaw or Harrison with the lefties due up.