Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

Maybe I'm of above average intelligence, but it seems pretty simple to me, at least as a base runner. 

Running from home to first, run through the safety base.  Ignore it literally the rest of the time.

Posted

Virginia beat Stanford 11-8.  It was the first time they had ever played in baseball.  I would have guessed they had hooked up in omaha before

Posted
11 hours ago, WBT said:

Virginia beat Stanford 11-8.  It was the first time they had ever played in baseball.  I would have guessed they had hooked up in omaha before

Interesting to note.  Stanford has made the CWS 16 times, but haven't been since 2008.  Virginia has made the CWS 7 times but their first trip was 2009.  So, they've never been to a CWS together. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted
42 minutes ago, Plorant said:

Interesting to note.  Stanford has made the CWS 16 times, but haven't been since 2008.  Virginia has made the CWS 7 times but their first trip was 2009.  So, they've never been to a CWS together. 

Incorrect

5 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

Stanford made the CWS in 2021, didn't they?

Correct

  • Like 1
Posted
14 hours ago, TheBryMan81 said:

Maybe I'm of above average intelligence, but it seems pretty simple to me, at least as a base runner. 

Running from home to first, run through the safety base.  Ignore it literally the rest of the time.

Pretty much, just two exceptions. I also confirmed that the runner can touch only the outside bag unless one of these exceptions are in play. Makes sense because the entire point is to avoid collisions or stepping on ankles.

image.thumb.png.2f3378049aec5b2ad986701644d50657.png

Posted
1 minute ago, 'stache said:

Makes sense because the entire point is to avoid collisions or stepping on ankles.

Sensitive little nancy boys

(jk) - everything about the bag makes sense and i don't see why it's so controversial.  Unless you think players should lose all the gear, face masks when batting, etc. 

Posted
4 minutes ago, 'stache said:

Pretty much, just two exceptions. I also confirmed that the runner can touch only the outside bag unless one of these exceptions are in play. Makes sense because the entire point is to avoid collisions or stepping on ankles.

image.thumb.png.2f3378049aec5b2ad986701644d50657.png

Yeah, that’s confusing and arbitrary as fuck. How do you define where a throw takes the first baseman? Who has the right to which bag on a dropped third strike? If I’m a first baseman I would just take to the outside bag immediately, forcing the runner to use the white bag, which forces him to run in fair territory. Catcher is free to just bean him in the back at that point, and he’s automatically out.

Posted (edited)
25 minutes ago, Helobious said:

Yeah, that’s confusing and arbitrary as fuck. How do you define where a throw takes the first baseman? Who has the right to which bag on a dropped third strike? If I’m a first baseman I would just take to the outside bag immediately, forcing the runner to use the white bag, which forces him to run in fair territory. Catcher is free to just bean him in the back at that point, and he’s automatically out.

All explained above and not arbitrary.

Routine play at first: Fielder can only use white bag runner can only use colored bag. 

Dropped third strike: Fielder and runner can use either bag.

Passed ball at 1st or fair hit goes into foul territory passed 1st: Fielder and runner can use either bag.

First baseman can’t use the colored bag in any other circumstance so can’t “force” the runner to use the white bag. Also nothing prevents the runner from running through the white bag in that circumstance.

Not sure why you think catcher beaning runner would be an out, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the runner called for obstruction in a n ordinary run through at first. The rule says running lane rules apply either way so what you’re describing sounds more like fielder interference.

What’s arbitrary about whether the fielder is in fair or foul territory?

Edited by 'stache
Posted
1 minute ago, 'stache said:

All explained above and not arbitrary.

Routine okay at first: Fielder can only use white bag runner can only use colored bag. 

Dropped third strike: Fielder and runner can use either bag.

Passed ball at 1st or fair hit goes into foul territory passed 1st: Fielder and runner can use either bag.

First baseman can’t use the colored bag in any other circumstance so can’t “force” the runner to use the white bag. Also nothing prevents the runner from running through the white bag in that circumstance.

 It sure why you think catcher beaning runner would be an out, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the runner called for obstruction in a run through at first. The rule says running lane rules apply either way so what you’re describing sounds more like fielder interference.

What’s arbitrary about whether the fielder is in fair or foul territory?

If you’re running home to first and you’re inside the line (fair territory), if you get hit with the ball you are out. It’s why you are taught to run in the foul side. The rest of your post does shed good light. I still think it’s unnecessary but oh well. It’s likely here to stay.

Posted

I see what you’re saying but the base path stays the same and I’m not seeing how a first baseman can manipulate the play. The runner can just run through the white bag same as without the colored bag.

Posted
4 hours ago, texifornia said:

Beautiful day for baseball in Winston-Salem

 

PXL_20250328_220312755.MP.jpg

Thrilled to have been a part of it:

FROM COACH WALTER
"I've been racking my brain trying to remember a worse Friday night performance than that from a team. It's not on one guy, but as a team, it's just very disappointing."

The Wake starter (an Okie) gave up 3 walks to start the game and it only got worse from there.

https://godeacs.com/news/2025/3/28/baseball-no-16-wake-forest-falls-in-series-opener-against-virginia-tech

 

Posted

Kansas walked off Oklahoma State today 12-11. Going for the sweep tomorrow. Wouldn’t be shocked if Holliday is not managing State after this year barring a postseason run. Okie State currently 12-12 (1-5) with series losses to Utah and now Kansas.

On the flip side Dan Fitzgerald will be a hot name this summer.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted

Baylor is up 6-2 on Arizona, trying to go up 2-0 on the series at Tucson.  Zona is wearing their 80s Cardinals baby blues again.

Posted
On 3/29/2025 at 7:44 PM, chase25 said:

Kansas walked off Oklahoma State today 12-11. Going for the sweep tomorrow. Wouldn’t be shocked if Holliday is not managing State after this year barring a postseason run. Okie State currently 12-12 (1-5) with series losses to Utah and now Kansas.

On the flip side Dan Fitzgerald will be a hot name this summer.

Pitching coach Rob Walton should have been replaced at least two years ago. I doubt Holliday is fired but I don’t see how Walton can return. Our bullpen has been a massive liability for years now.

Posted

Chat notes (excerpts).   Georgia will be a challenge this weekend.

 

Georgia showed it could score in different ways other than the HR this weekend even without usual speed in their lineup from Phelps and Black. Seems like a good omen before heading to the Disch. They also pitched really well once again with the new role for Curley and finally having a healthy Kolten Smith who was supposed to start opening day. The bullpen is still as good as anyone in the country.

Yeah I like the way those pieces are coming together on the mound -- I've been saying all year that I thought it was only a matter of time until Georgia's pitching came together and became high-end, because they are super deep. I share your enthusiasm for the bullpen now that Kolten Smith looks like himself again. I remain really, really high on this Georgia club.

Percent chances that Texas A&M makes a regional?

Terry -- I'd put it at about 25%. Any team with that much talent can go on a run, but on our Podcast this morning, I had the Aggies getting swept at Tennessee, sweeping Missouri, taking 2/3 from South Carolina and taking one each from Arkansas, Georgia, LSU and Texas. That would still only get the Aggies to 10 conference wins. That's not going to come close, especially considering the relatively poor non-conference slate.

Guys My tier 1 elite teams in the SEC rote now is Tenn Arkansas Georgia Texas,  good gosh the dawgs look 4 real.    Always great content fellas Thanks !!!!

Yup I think that's certainly the top tier, but I'd also include LSU in that tier, even though it is a game behind in the standings and lost the head to head series at UT. Those teams have separated themselves from the pack for me. Alabama has proven it can play with anybody but for me their roster is just a tick behind those top five.

Texas vs. Georgia in Austin this weekend. Might be too early to say this, but is this a potential series with top-8 national seed implications?

Most certainly it is given where the two teams are in the Top 25 Rankings right now (and in the RPI). I think it's more likely right now that both teams are in the Top 8, however, at season's end. I probably lean Texas at home in this one, but I do want to see what the prognosis is with Belyeu, Rodriguez and Galvan before making an official prediction. As important as Max and Adrian are to that team, Galvan is the heartbeat.

Can you advise as to when the next set of post season projections will be released ? Thanks for the hard work all you guys do to keep us up to date on the world of college baseball 

Midseason projections are coming out this week! We'll be Nerdcasting tomorrow to sort out the field

Has the game passed Tim Tadlock by?

I definitley don't think the game has passed Tim Tadlock by just yet, but it's abundantly clear that Texas Tech has gotten away from its roots a bit. This is a program that was built on high-flying, powerful offenses, and I just feel like Texas Tech has lost its identity to some degree from an offensive standpoint. I also think the Red Raiders have struggled on the mound for a few years now. I really like Tad but at some point, you have to look at the program in the mirror and figure out what the weak links are and deal with them. I think that time has come ... once and for all.

Is Clemson being punished for beating Nationally Ranked teams in back to back weeks? Can't imagine you keep Texas behind them after last week and jump them after this one.

 No one was punished. Clemson merely just stayed where it was. No increase, no drop, which is pretty common for a week like that. The biggest thing about those two teams is this: 1) I think Texas is slightly better than Clemson overall. I've seen both teams. 2) I think Texas' consistency needs to be rewarded. It has been excellent the last few weekends. Both really good teams, but that's where our heads are out at the moment.

Where will the D1 boys be attending this weekend? Kendall I assume you're in ATX?

I'll be there for the Saturday game for sure. really looking forward to seeing Georgia since I've already seen the Longhorns a few teams. Ultra impressed with what the Bulldogs have done offensively so far this season. Intrigued to see UGA's pitching stacked up against UT's.

Similar to the Miss State question, could the Aggies move on from Earley in season? They desperately need to get something going now..

A&M will not move on in the middle of the season. As I said on X, though, I do believe that if things trend the current way they are, they will reevaluate things at the end of the season. Frankly, I don' think there's anyone, including Michael Earley, who would be surprised by a change if things continue down the current path. Mike is a great dude and a very talented hitting coach, but this season is the measuring stick. No ifs or buts about it.

 

 

  • Like 2
Posted
7 minutes ago, torre said:

Mike is a great dude and a very talented hitting coach, but this season is the measuring stick. No ifs or buts about it.

 

Mike Earley needs to be given at least 5 years to prove himself as the HC. Without him, Schloss probably doesn’t get to the CWS finals last year. I urge the A&M admins to not do anything hasty!

  • Hook 'Em 2
Posted

The Athletic week in review

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6242933/2025/03/31/college-baseball-sec-tennessee-georgia-texas-arkansas/

Spoiler

 

 

College baseball week in review: SEC powers flexing their muscles

By Mitch Light

13

March 31, 2025Updated 10:32 am CDT

What’s more surprising?

That there are four SEC teams at 8-1 in league games after three weeks. Or that there are five teams with one win or fewer?

Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas all recorded sweeps to remain in a four-way tie for first place. LSU, which swept Mississippi State, is one game back at 7-2.

On the other end of the spectrum, Florida, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Texas A&M are all 1-8, while Missouri is 0-9. On that list of have-nots are two of the final four teams in the 2024 College World Series (Florida and Texas A&M) and another team that won the national title four years ago (Mississippi State).

Texas A&M, the preseason No. 1 team, visits Tennessee this weekend and still has series remaining at Arkansas, at Texas and at Georgia and vs. LSU in College Station.

Around the horn

Georgia Tech coach Danny Hall announced he will retire following the 2025 season. Hall, 70, has a 1,433-780-1 record in 38 seasons as a coach, six at Kent State (1988-1993) and 32 at Georgia Tech (1994-2025).

He guided Kent State to the NCAA Tournament in his final two seasons with the MAC program and has taken Georgia Tech to the postseason 24 times, highlighted by three trips to the College World Series (1994, 2002, 2006).

The Yellow Jackets are 22-6 overall and 8-4 in the ACC this season.

In the era of free transfers, it’s not uncommon for players to face their former teams the very next season. That, however, doesn’t make it not weird.

We had two notable occurrences during the weekend, with very different results.

On Friday night, right-handed pitcher Collin McKinney got the start for Arizona against Baylor, where he went 3-6 with a 6.70 ERA as a weekend starter for the Bears as a redshirt freshman in 2024. It didn’t go great. McKinney didn’t make it out of the second inning, getting pulled after giving up two earned runs in 1.1 innings. He allowed only one hit but walked four, all in the second inning.

For the season, McKinney is 0-1 with a 2.00 ERA and a 1.370 WHIP. Opposing batters are hitting only .191 against him, but he has walked 19 in 27 innings.

In Nashville, Arkansas first baseman Cam Kozeal terrorized his former team, going 5-for-12 with three home runs — including two on Friday night — and eight RBIs as the Razorbacks swept Vanderbilt.

Last season, Kozeal hit .284 with five home runs and 28 RBIs in 43 games as a second baseman/DH at Vanderbilt. He has transitioned to first base as a sophomore at Arkansas and is hitting .379 with five home runs and 24 RBIs for the Hogs.

Liberty is off to a rather ordinary 2-4 start in Conference USA — more on that in a minute — but perhaps no mid-major program has done a better job of picking up quality wins in midweek action. The Flames, 19-9 overall, have wins at NC State and at Duke and at home vs. Wake Forest and Virginia. They did lose two games to Clemson this month, leaving them with a 4-2 record vs. ACC teams with five games remaining (at Virginia, at Wake, vs. Duke and a home and home with Virginia Tech).

About that conference record — in one of the strangest developments of the 2025 season, Liberty was forced to forfeit the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Jacksonville State because it used a player who was not on the 27-man roster. The Flames split the other two games of the weekend series.

Imagine hitting for the cycle. Imagine completing the cycle with a home run in the bottom of the ninth. Imagine that home run was a grand slam, and it walked off your bitter rival. Well, Florida State shortstop Alex Lodise doesn’t have to imagine anything — that was his reality on Tuesday night in the Seminoles’ 8-4 win over Florida in Jacksonville.

Florida State led 3-2 entering the ninth inning, but the Gators scored two runs to take a 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the ninth, the Noles tied it on an infield single by Gage Harrelson, and then Lodise ended it with his blast to right field.

It was the first cycle by a Seminoles player since 2019.

Virginia snapped a five-game losing streak with a potentially season-saving sweep over Stanford in Charlottesville, punctuated by a thrilling 9-8 win in 10 innings on Saturday. The Cavaliers improved to 15-11 overall and 6-6 in the ACC.

Stanford, meanwhile, has lost six straight in league play after opening its first season in the ACC with five wins in its first six games. The pitching staff, expected to be a strength, has allowed 65 combined runs during the six-game ACC slide.

In the three games at UVA, Stanford starters Matt Scott, Christian Lim and Joey Volchko gave up 13 combined earned runs and 20 hits in 13.2 innings.

In perhaps the most surprising result of the weekend, Ohio State took two of three from Oregon in Columbus. The Buckeyes lost the opener 7-0 on Friday night to drop to 0-7 in the Big Ten but swept a doubleheader — by scores of 11-10 and 8-6 — on Saturday.

Ohio State is 8-16 under first-year coach Justin Haire, who guided Campbell to a Regional five times in his final six full seasons at the Big South school.

Oregon entered the weekend at 7-2 in the Big Ten and ranked No. 11 in The Athletic’s top 25. It was the Ducks’ first trip out of the Pacific Time Zone this season. They opened Big Ten play with a road trip to USC and then hosted Minnesota and Rutgers.

Cal Poly is the only team in the nation that has played at least three conference series and has yet to lose a league game. The Mustangs swept UC Davis on the road during the weekend to improve to 18-8 overall and 9-0 in the Big West.

UC Irvine is still considered the team to beat in the league. The Anteaters are 21-5 overall and 11-1 in the Big West after sweeping UC Riverside. Irvine visits San Luis Obispo to play Cal Poly at the end of April.

Hawaii is lurking at 8-4 but has to play the two best teams in the league — Cal Poly and at UC Irvine — on the road.

USCB, the preseason favorite, is 5-7 in the Big West after losing two of three at Long Beach State.

Here’s a good way to set the tone for a weekend series on the road: score seven runs before the other team’s starting pitcher records a second out.

That’s what Virginia Tech did on Friday night at Wake Forest, scoring nine runs total in the first inning en route to a 13-2 win in eight innings. On Saturday, the Hokies were a bit more methodical, scoring three in the first, two in the second and three in the third in an 11-8 win.

Wake’s starting pitchers in those first two games — Logan Lunceford and Matthew Dallas — combined to give up 14 earned runs in 2.1 innings of work. Not great.

The Deacons finally got a quality start on Sunday — Blake Morningstar allowed only one earned run and five hits in seven innings — but Virginia Tech scored four runs in the top of the ninth and held on for a 6-5 win to complete the sweep.

It’s safe to say that Texas A&M coach Michael Earley wasn’t thrilled with Kentucky coach Nick Mingione late Sunday afternoon. Enjoy.

And finally

• Northwestern is 5-4 in the Big Ten after taking a series at Maryland. The Wildcats, 12-13 overall under second-year coach Ben Greenspan, have not had a winning Big Ten season since 2017.

• Xavier took two of three from UConn in a huge early-season series between the two preseason favorites in the Big East. Xavier has won six of seven, including a midweek win a Kentucky, to even its overall record at 14-14.

• West Virginia gave up 36 combined runs in its three games at BYU. No problem. The Mountaineers won the series, two games to one, by outscoring the Cougars 39-22 in the final two games.

• It’s getting late early for Oklahoma State. The Cowboys dropped to 12-13 overall and 1-6 in the Big 12 after getting swept at Kansas during the weekend. They are in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012, the year before Josh Holliday’s arrival.

• Speaking of baseball in Kansas … Kansas State is all alone in first place in the Big 12 at 8-1 after sweeping Texas Tech in Manhattan. Kansas is two games back at 6-3. The two rivals play in Lawrence in mid-April.

• Nebraska has been one of the biggest disappointments of the 2025 season. A Top 25 team in many preseason polls, the Cornhuskers entered the weekend at 10-14 overall and 2-7 in the Big Ten. Could Will Bolt’s club be on the verge of turning things around? Nebraska took two of three from Oregon State in a marquee nonconference series in Lincoln during the weekend.

• Duke has bounced back from a slow start and is 19-10 overall and 7-5 in the ACC after taking two of three from NC State in Durham.

And the videos

https://x.com/UVABaseball/status/1906086943772836288

https://x.com/OhioStateBASE/status/1906148492520616020

https://x.com/Fantavious9/status/1906501012329767128

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...