UCONN HUSKIES 43-15/15-5 Conf Record #23 RPI
- Uconn is just a solid baseball team. It goes without saying that it's tough to just look at a 43 win team and be awestruck, but they're definitely no slouch. I would be a little hesitant to pick them to win this regional, simply because in 58 baseball games, they've faced a top 50 RPI team a grand total of 9 times. They went 39-10 against teams 50+. Their 18-7 road record really propelled their overall RPI rank of #23.
- The UConn lineup is deep, as they boast 6 regular starters hitting over .300. They also have 3 guys slugging over .600. I'm not sure if they can sustain it for a weekend against the arms that UF and TTU have, but I think it's a very respectable offense. The Huskies hit .306 as a team.
- UConn also stole 118 bases this season, which seems to be a bugaboo for Tadlock coached teams to deal with. If we get good TTU which completely shut down WVU in the Big 12 tourney, we'll be fine. If we get the team that tends to boot the ball around with the best of them..... wooof.
- The Huskies' staff is anchored by Stephen Quigley and Garrett Coe, but outside of those two, I don't see a ton of depth from a starting pitching standpoint here. If Quigley gets into early trouble in this regional, watch out. A team ERA of 4.86 is respectable.
- The bullpen features Zach Fogell (1.74) and Justin Willis (3.32), who have combined for 64 Innings and 12 saves on the year. They have a bunch of bullpen depth, 7 guys have 15+ appearances on the year.
FAMU RATTLERS 29-28/18-12 Conf Record #153 RPI
- The Rattlers won the SWAC Tourney for their bid to the NCAA Regionals. They're...... meh. The Gators draw a very easy matchup with this team as the 4 seed. They went 2-14 in all non-SWAC games, and have 1 total win against anyone not above 100+ in the RPI.
- The Rattlers hit .296 as a team and really depend on Ty Jackson and Ty Hanchey to propel them offensively. Janmikell Bastardo (I'm pretty sure this is the weirdest spelling of John Michael I've ever seen) and Sebastian Greico have comb ined for 29HR and 121 RBI's.
- They don't run a ton and they strike out A LOT at 449 K's this season.
- FAMU does have an ace in Hunter Viets. He has a 3.12 ERA over 87 IP and has an 8-2 record. The only other Rattler with double digit starts is Caleb Granger at 6.61 over 80 Innings.
- The bullpen doesn't scare anyone and Zach Morea leads the team in appearances with 40 has an ERA of 6.62. Having a WHIP at 1.82 over 69 IP is not good. Teams hit .309 against them and also drew 305 BB this season.
- This is probably an 0-2 weekend for FAMU, but congrats to this team earning a tourney bid.
FLORIDA GATORS 44-14/20-10 Conf Record #4 RPI
- The Gators are good. They have sweeps of Ole Miss and Vanderbilt and don't have a ton of blemishes on their schedule outside of a rough weekend in South Carolina.
- They have a bonafide All-American two way guy in Caglianone, but also have lineup depth to protect him with Rivera/Langford and Kurland. They hit .298 as a team and score over 8 runs a night.
- They do strikeout quite a bit and don't draw a ton of walks, but that doesn't hurt a lineup slugging .557 as a group. 119 dingers this year... woah.
- The starting pitching is where UF is head and shoulders better than the rest of this bracket. Caglianone/Sproat/Waldrep have combined for a 20-9 record over 45 starts. Those three are also responsible for 215 innings as well. That depth makes a regional format very easy to navigate.
- Their bullpen is also stout. Nesbitt/Abner/Fisher/Slater/Neely have 99 appearances/17 saves/199K/170IP.
- Florida is going to be a tough out for anyone, they're ability to even come out of a losers bracket with that pitching depth is such a strength.
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS 39-21/12-12 Conf Record #41 RPI
- I think Texas Tech has the best overall lineup of the regional. When that lineup gets going, it's an absolute nightmare for pitchers, the issue of late has been that going cold has been contagious as well. Tech needs Bazzell/Kash/Green to return to form. They're coming off a nightmare ending to the conf tournament as well. Can TTU bounce back from Saturday's disaster?
- Tech isn't going to suddenly play smallball to generate runs after 60 games, but their ability to draw walks/HBP has led to a ton of crooked innings for this offense. Good Tech can beat anyone. Bad Tech is woof.
- It all starts with Hester and Harrelson at the top of that lineup. Hester is on base over 50% of his AB's........ that's insane. The depth of the lineup is also daunting with White/Lopez/Voo towards the bottom of the order.
- Molina and then.................? Starting pitching is a large question mark for this team. Who do you go to for starting length? Fast?Petty?Robinson? Tech needs to stay in the top of the bracket in a big way.
- The bullpen is also a Jekyll/Hyde situation. Coombes and Beckel have been great, but don't provide a lot of length. Free has been up and down. Girton has been hit or miss. You just need this group to have a good weekend to have a shot to get out of this regional.
- Can TTU also play a weekend of solid defense. It's one of the most bizarre groups I can remember. Days where we look like we cannot be beaten, and days where it looks like my nephew is out in the field picking dandelions.
LINEUPS
1 - TTU
2 - UF
3 - UCONN
4 - FAMU
STARTING PITCHING
1 - UF
2 - UCONN
3 - TTU
4 - FAMU
BULLPENS
1 - UF
2 - TTU
3 - UCONN
4 - FAMU
- It's just going to be tough to beat UF this weekend, unless they get beat in a miracle by FAMU and have to burn another starter. TTU is the other favorite in this regional, IMO. I just can't pick that UCONN team to win this thing when you look at that SOS.
Odds of the host advancing - 7/10
- Uconn is just a solid baseball team. It goes without saying that it's tough to just look at a 43 win team and be awestruck, but they're definitely no slouch. I would be a little hesitant to pick them to win this regional, simply because in 58 baseball games, they've faced a top 50 RPI team a grand total of 9 times. They went 39-10 against teams 50+. Their 18-7 road record really propelled their overall RPI rank of #23.
- The UConn lineup is deep, as they boast 6 regular starters hitting over .300. They also have 3 guys slugging over .600. I'm not sure if they can sustain it for a weekend against the arms that UF and TTU have, but I think it's a very respectable offense. The Huskies hit .306 as a team.
- UConn also stole 118 bases this season, which seems to be a bugaboo for Tadlock coached teams to deal with. If we get good TTU which completely shut down WVU in the Big 12 tourney, we'll be fine. If we get the team that tends to boot the ball around with the best of them..... wooof.
- The Huskies' staff is anchored by Stephen Quigley and Garrett Coe, but outside of those two, I don't see a ton of depth from a starting pitching standpoint here. If Quigley gets into early trouble in this regional, watch out. A team ERA of 4.86 is respectable.
- The bullpen features Zach Fogell (1.74) and Justin Willis (3.32), who have combined for 64 Innings and 12 saves on the year. They have a bunch of bullpen depth, 7 guys have 15+ appearances on the year.
FAMU RATTLERS 29-28/18-12 Conf Record #153 RPI
- The Rattlers won the SWAC Tourney for their bid to the NCAA Regionals. They're...... meh. The Gators draw a very easy matchup with this team as the 4 seed. They went 2-14 in all non-SWAC games, and have 1 total win against anyone not above 100+ in the RPI.
- The Rattlers hit .296 as a team and really depend on Ty Jackson and Ty Hanchey to propel them offensively. Janmikell Bastardo (I'm pretty sure this is the weirdest spelling of John Michael I've ever seen) and Sebastian Greico have comb ined for 29HR and 121 RBI's.
- They don't run a ton and they strike out A LOT at 449 K's this season.
- FAMU does have an ace in Hunter Viets. He has a 3.12 ERA over 87 IP and has an 8-2 record. The only other Rattler with double digit starts is Caleb Granger at 6.61 over 80 Innings.
- The bullpen doesn't scare anyone and Zach Morea leads the team in appearances with 40 has an ERA of 6.62. Having a WHIP at 1.82 over 69 IP is not good. Teams hit .309 against them and also drew 305 BB this season.
- This is probably an 0-2 weekend for FAMU, but congrats to this team earning a tourney bid.
FLORIDA GATORS 44-14/20-10 Conf Record #4 RPI
- The Gators are good. They have sweeps of Ole Miss and Vanderbilt and don't have a ton of blemishes on their schedule outside of a rough weekend in South Carolina.
- They have a bonafide All-American two way guy in Caglianone, but also have lineup depth to protect him with Rivera/Langford and Kurland. They hit .298 as a team and score over 8 runs a night.
- They do strikeout quite a bit and don't draw a ton of walks, but that doesn't hurt a lineup slugging .557 as a group. 119 dingers this year... woah.
- The starting pitching is where UF is head and shoulders better than the rest of this bracket. Caglianone/Sproat/Waldrep have combined for a 20-9 record over 45 starts. Those three are also responsible for 215 innings as well. That depth makes a regional format very easy to navigate.
- Their bullpen is also stout. Nesbitt/Abner/Fisher/Slater/Neely have 99 appearances/17 saves/199K/170IP.
- Florida is going to be a tough out for anyone, they're ability to even come out of a losers bracket with that pitching depth is such a strength.
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS 39-21/12-12 Conf Record #41 RPI
- I think Texas Tech has the best overall lineup of the regional. When that lineup gets going, it's an absolute nightmare for pitchers, the issue of late has been that going cold has been contagious as well. Tech needs Bazzell/Kash/Green to return to form. They're coming off a nightmare ending to the conf tournament as well. Can TTU bounce back from Saturday's disaster?
- Tech isn't going to suddenly play smallball to generate runs after 60 games, but their ability to draw walks/HBP has led to a ton of crooked innings for this offense. Good Tech can beat anyone. Bad Tech is woof.
- It all starts with Hester and Harrelson at the top of that lineup. Hester is on base over 50% of his AB's........ that's insane. The depth of the lineup is also daunting with White/Lopez/Voo towards the bottom of the order.
- Molina and then.................? Starting pitching is a large question mark for this team. Who do you go to for starting length? Fast?Petty?Robinson? Tech needs to stay in the top of the bracket in a big way.
- The bullpen is also a Jekyll/Hyde situation. Coombes and Beckel have been great, but don't provide a lot of length. Free has been up and down. Girton has been hit or miss. You just need this group to have a good weekend to have a shot to get out of this regional.
- Can TTU also play a weekend of solid defense. It's one of the most bizarre groups I can remember. Days where we look like we cannot be beaten, and days where it looks like my nephew is out in the field picking dandelions.
LINEUPS
1 - TTU
2 - UF
3 - UCONN
4 - FAMU
STARTING PITCHING
1 - UF
2 - UCONN
3 - TTU
4 - FAMU
BULLPENS
1 - UF
2 - TTU
3 - UCONN
4 - FAMU
- It's just going to be tough to beat UF this weekend, unless they get beat in a miracle by FAMU and have to burn another starter. TTU is the other favorite in this regional, IMO. I just can't pick that UCONN team to win this thing when you look at that SOS.
Odds of the host advancing - 7/10
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