1. The pitching was about as good as I expected. Chris Stratton looked very sharp- he should be a starter. Ben pitched well, but you could tell that he was getting worn out at the end- and that's my big concern with him- his stamina. He has plenty of time to build up, but he looked more like a Sunday guy to me. His strikeout total will mislead some people- he's going to have to give us more than 4-5 innings if he wants to be the Friday night guy. Good to get Jonathan Holder's feet wet. He is going to be a good pitcher for us out of the bullpen over the next four years- he might even close one day, but I think he will probably be more of a set-up guy.
2. Slauter looks like Wes Thigpen with a better bat.
3. The infield is really young. Rea is a big target over there, and he saved Britton's tail all night other than a couple of plays. Speaking of Britton, he had a rough night. Certainly it's too soon to write him off and it was his first game ever and he probably had some nerves, but he rushed everything and none of his throws were accurate. If he wants to be our SS, he needs to get over those nerves now. With our bats, we can not afford to have a defensive liability in the field anywhere. Both of our runs were scored indirectly because of his fielding. Norris made a nice play on a bunt that kind of pleasantly surprised me, and Frazier looked good. To me, Frazier should be our SS. Yes, we would lose some range, but I'm willing to trade that for otherwise solid defense. We might have to see what Philip Casey can do or sigh, Sam Frost as a last resort at second with Frazier moving over to SS.
4. Our outfield is fast and athletic. Brent Brownlee's throw to gun their SS was a key play in the game. With our speed and range in the outfield and the fact that it is Dudy-Noble Field- that's a fly ball pitchers dream. I want to see Brandon Woodruff play some.
5. Trey Porter had a nice night. He's a walk-on only because his grades are really good and he saves us a scholarship. Had a 3.9 GPA. The ball sounds different off of Hunter Renfroe's bat- even when he fouls it off. He looked more confident and I think it's a matter of time before he puts it all together- it might not be this year though.
6. I saw Demarcus Henderson in street clothes before the game. I guess we're going to redshirt him? I saw Tanner Gaines dressed out, so maybe we're going to carry an extra pitcher.
7. Our hitting still worries me. We only had one extra base hit. If we face a power pitcher, we're going to have big time problems right now. My hope is that we simply improve as the season goes along- and I think we will. We did a pretty good job of hitting with two outs, and we did a good job as far as bunting. The fact that Adam Frazier is hitting third speaks volumes.
8. Washington State is a decent team. They definately have a few players that are draftr prospects. I'd say that they are about as good as Kentucky. The guy that they are pitching tommorow was undefeated in JUCO and is probably their ace. We should win at least two out of three, and if we win tommorow we have a better than average chance at sweeping them. We should get in their bullpen again because it's early in the year, so that should help us out a lot. I figure we'll see Routt, Pollo, and Reed tommorow because it is their ace and we don't need to take any chances, and then follow up with Evan Mitchell and Kendall Graveman on Sunday.
2. Slauter looks like Wes Thigpen with a better bat.
3. The infield is really young. Rea is a big target over there, and he saved Britton's tail all night other than a couple of plays. Speaking of Britton, he had a rough night. Certainly it's too soon to write him off and it was his first game ever and he probably had some nerves, but he rushed everything and none of his throws were accurate. If he wants to be our SS, he needs to get over those nerves now. With our bats, we can not afford to have a defensive liability in the field anywhere. Both of our runs were scored indirectly because of his fielding. Norris made a nice play on a bunt that kind of pleasantly surprised me, and Frazier looked good. To me, Frazier should be our SS. Yes, we would lose some range, but I'm willing to trade that for otherwise solid defense. We might have to see what Philip Casey can do or sigh, Sam Frost as a last resort at second with Frazier moving over to SS.
4. Our outfield is fast and athletic. Brent Brownlee's throw to gun their SS was a key play in the game. With our speed and range in the outfield and the fact that it is Dudy-Noble Field- that's a fly ball pitchers dream. I want to see Brandon Woodruff play some.
5. Trey Porter had a nice night. He's a walk-on only because his grades are really good and he saves us a scholarship. Had a 3.9 GPA. The ball sounds different off of Hunter Renfroe's bat- even when he fouls it off. He looked more confident and I think it's a matter of time before he puts it all together- it might not be this year though.
6. I saw Demarcus Henderson in street clothes before the game. I guess we're going to redshirt him? I saw Tanner Gaines dressed out, so maybe we're going to carry an extra pitcher.
7. Our hitting still worries me. We only had one extra base hit. If we face a power pitcher, we're going to have big time problems right now. My hope is that we simply improve as the season goes along- and I think we will. We did a pretty good job of hitting with two outs, and we did a good job as far as bunting. The fact that Adam Frazier is hitting third speaks volumes.
8. Washington State is a decent team. They definately have a few players that are draftr prospects. I'd say that they are about as good as Kentucky. The guy that they are pitching tommorow was undefeated in JUCO and is probably their ace. We should win at least two out of three, and if we win tommorow we have a better than average chance at sweeping them. We should get in their bullpen again because it's early in the year, so that should help us out a lot. I figure we'll see Routt, Pollo, and Reed tommorow because it is their ace and we don't need to take any chances, and then follow up with Evan Mitchell and Kendall Graveman on Sunday.
