In our annual regionals preview episode, the quartet of Mike Rooney, Aaron Fitt, Kendall Rogers and Joe Healy examine some compelling storylines and key players in each of the 16 NCAA regionals.
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hello and welcome to the 53 minutes of heaven we call the D1 baseball podcast I your host Michael Patrick gry today’s episode brought To Us by our good friends at S2 cognition I’m not going to do the read I’m going to tell you that S2 cognition is about swing decisions if you swing at the balls and you take the strikes you will not play baseball or softball for very long so get an assessment from S2 and learn how to make better swing decisions this this is cuttingedge technology they’re using it in the NFL for quarterbacks really cool stuff want to also say thanks to our friends at Soldier Sports who are sponsoring this I’m also not going to do that read Because what you need to do is go listen to the shock Factor podcast after this and Stephen shock’s read of the soldier Sports um promotion is like it should win an Emmy or an Oscar or a globe or some type of award um speaking of Award winners I joined by Kendall J Rogers fitty barrels who didn’t win any awards in our weekly picks competition but he’s genuinely awesome and everything else in his life and and the great uh Joe Healey um proprietor of the JoJo Joe’s gentlemen good to see you happy happy Regional week good to see you sir hello r hi runes FY do you think that was a fair assessment of your your career achievements that the the fitastic fit dogs were a major disappointment when generally every other part of your your organization is excellent you know I think anytime you host a regional or you know you get to Omaha like the fit dogs did this year are going to do this year certainly I think it’s a success you know I I I think it’s un unfair to to expect a championship every year or any Year all right so you’re pushing back on expectations Stand Down fan base righty you gotta you got a temper expectations when Stitch Head Beats you in the pick him I don’t did did he I haven’t seen the standings but I find that hard believe oh that if that were to happen that would change the uh next shareholders meeting for the fit FAS absolutely might need some firings in order Fitzy quickly looking up the standings right now think he done him out he hasn’t sent out the final standings you guys are liars oh that’s what I was told all kinds of un I would never lie to you unsubstantiated reports out there goodness the slander Fitzy outrageous outrageous is right I I’ll tell you I’ll tell you I know who’s behind this Fitzy the country of France like that that Feud just rages on and I mean just to clarify I’ve got no problem with the country of France or or the people of France it’s just their language their language is is bogus and I think we can all agree on that that is you’re you’re really that’s quite the fine line I actually like your country and you just the language that comes out of your mouth is trash is what I heard you say that’s the problem yes okay boys here’s what we’re going to do we’re this is this is the regional preview pod and I’ve got my phone in front of me and so we’re going to we’re going to each preview a region or we’ll just kind of rotate through two minutes is what you get for your preview after Joe you’re going to start Us in Knoxville we’ll go down the left side of the bracket then the right side Joe after your two minutes have expired for Knoxville then each of the three of us that didn’t participate will just name a a player that is fun for the regional um and then we will get on to the next one so Fitzy I guess I will take um I will take East Carolina we’ll just go clockwise just to keep it simple so um Joe I have you on the clock would you tell us about Knoxville please I’d love to uh beautiful Town Rolling Hills oh you meant the regional um yeah no it’s uh can we talk about the sunsphere joke we mix in some sunsphere talk sunsphere isn’t that what it’s called the the the big old Tower with the ball on the top the gold yellow ball no you’re noville no you’re beat your beat Joe disgraceful SEC extra doesn’t know the uh doesn’t know the landmarks um it’s a good I think it’s a good draw for for Tennessee and it should they’re the number one overall seed Southern Miss is obviously gonna be pesky and look they they make a habit of of making life difficult even in regionals they don’t win but I just worry from a Southern Miss standpoint that this is not the kind of party they want to be invited to uh Knoxville an offensive environment they have three offensive teams in that Regional and and look Southern can pitch it pretty well Billy oldum Niko Maza cross cly some some good arms there but you’re obviously going to get those arms are going to get taxed pretty quickly in the regional format and it’s it often comes down to what do you have in your depth and those games become offensive and I’m just not that confident in southern Miss’s ability to play that kind of game against Tennessee which I still contend has the best lineup in college baseball so I like the draw from Tennessee standpoint uh but I think there’s going to be a lot of runs scored here one way or the other um so you know pack a lunch if you’re coming to the ballpark that’s kind of my my advice for you there love it the um player I want to I want to say Brock Tibbits for Indiana but I’m furiously scrolling to see he had had some injuries I remember asking I asked Patrick and and uh and Berke Granger like why did Indiana struggle and was injuries and so I they mentioned Brock tibits is one of the key injuries and did he play yeah he’s back at first base so yeah Brock tibit is could he impact this uh Regional Fitzy um you know I just want to shine the spotlight on my fighting Norse you the only member of the pickham community who picked the fight in Norse to win the Horizon uh shout out to traven Moss hit 391 this year 1100 Ops uh you know just a good player across the board 26 steals he fills up the the the stat sheet um yeah for he can do out there KR give us a player uh I’m going to I’m going to break rank here and go with two players real quick this guy no for Southern Miss for Southern Miss I got you real two quick ones and I got to mention this guy bear with me uh obviously Billy oldum is the guy to watch for southern M against Indiana guy just mixes in matches pounds the strike zone the other guy for me uh for them is Matthew Russo if you look at what he did in terms of clutch hits in the sunbell tournament uh him and Slade wils were like a Twan wrecking crew for golden eagles obviously Matthew Rus is going to need to continue that hot in Knoxville for them to have a chance he’s a big kid Russo right I’ve never laid eyes on him isn’t he enormous yeah he’s a big old boy he’s he’s the one that had the video where he hits like the the big double to for the go-ahead run and his dad’s out there like yeah and he’s out there looking at his dad going like this the Outfield it’s great all right Matthew Russo early I need a replacement for Big Joe vrono for squeeze play this year man Matthew is very much like me in the sense that he does not skip on barbecue oh I love that Russo American hero all right boys let me take us to uh the 16 seed which is East Carolina Greenville North Carolina and um you know East Carolina the big question is they’re pitching right like Zack Rook did throw in the conference tournament they’re number two Lefty but it was a short stint and then treyus Savage has not pitched in 16 days um and then um you know Wyatt Lunsford shinkman has he pitched but it hasn’t gone great so he did not look like himself so what do they look like Evansville is a cool team old you know they this senior class in West Carol they they really bottomed out in like 2017 2018 they’ve rebuilt the program um the the mark shenberger kid is he was almost MVC player of the year uh VCU Bradley lacroy first chance to be a head coach that’s really cool vcu’s got some real tradition in baseball remember they won a regional in 2015 uh and then Wake Forest is you know this is kind of a theme for the tournament we’ve got gnarly two seats and Wake Forest being one of them you know the question becomes what does Tom Walter do about Chase Burns um I mean how about that wake far a two seed with maybe two kids that will go top eight in the draft overall so um you know I think that’s the question is East Carolina versus Wake Forest and then man what if Wake Forest and Chase burs end up at Tennessee for a Super Regional Fitzy who’s a player of interest to you uh you mentioned that Wake Forest has two players likely to go in the top eight with Burns and Nick CTS but they’ve got a third guy sver King who’s also going to be a first rounder I talk to Scouts pick like around 20 like I don’t think he’s going to be there for us I mean that’s that’s how Dynamic this guy is I know he’s not a finished product as a hitter but talk about a gamechanging tool set with his just his you know his explosiveness the speed the bat the bat speed the twitchiness the defense at third base fun to watch he is just uh just such an exciting player KR uh in terms of player I’ll go with Josh hardle um if you look at his start against uh I think it was Florida State over the weekend gave up six runs and five and a third you know we we know where we’re gonna get from Chase Burns right so I think the big key for Wake Forest is assuming and that’s a large assumption that they win the first game uh I don’t I don’t know are they gonna throw off or are they gonna throw hardle in the first game do we know I haven’t heard but I would be I would be very surprised if they don’t save Burns for Saturday I just think that’s their best chance this Regional yeah I mean at the end of the day like you know the first game isn’t a sure bet when you look at how inconsistent hardle has been so I think the big key I I feel great about them if they can win that first game and so I’m gonna go with hardle because I like their chances with Chase Burns even if it’s against Zack Ruth Joseph it was a good shout out for you runes with Mark shenberger at Evansville he’s in the middle of everything for them but my actual Choice here is Brian Curley for VCU saw him in the fall pretty pretty good arm but looked like he was going to be their stopper like a closer type um it’s it’s at least when I saw him in the fall a pretty high effort delivery so thought okay pretty standard you know reliever profile and he is a reliever he has 17 relief appearances this year but he’s thrown 75 Innings so uh they’re using him a little a little bit differently than you might expect for a reliever like that so it’s it’s kind of like a like a piggyback situation he’s routinely throwing five six Innings uh I I imagine VCU is not going to be shy about using him uh early and perhaps often if they need to in this Regional awesome and Kendall as you said on the reaction pod I think it was you know watch your lips when you give Cliff Godwin a chance to have a chip on his shoulder and I mean that in a very positive way like yeah so this this one could be spicy FY can you take yeah yeah yeah on the same note real quick by the way do we have a is there an update on your Savage at all Aon do you know yeah I just it wait wait to see I don’t know it’s hard to believe that on 16 days rest that he’s going to be ultra sharp like even if he’s healthy I don’t know obviously like that just you know coming off a collapse I just it’s kind of there’s not a lot of precedent for how players you know how long that it’s just a weird thing it’s just there’s just a lot of uncertainty around the top three you know when this team is healthy I’ve said this repeatedly while I’ve been you know kind of questioning the committee for giving ECU a host and I’m sure the pirate fans are going to love me for that look forward to the hospitality I get out there this weekend but when they’re healthy they’re one of the eight best teams in America is what I believe but those three arms are just the key to the whole deal obviously their position player group is great but those three arms are the key to the whole deal and right now there’s questions about all three of them uh Trey Savage is from the Philly area so just throwing it out there it’s just an extra level of toughness so Fitzy take us to Norman Oklahoma the number nine seed yeah how about this one uh another good good Regional field we’ve got Oklahoma your your big 12 regular season Champions won League by three games uh just feels like a balanced club that um you know has had some ups and downs this year it’s been a little bit of a weird season for them um I I kind of feel like you know the offense is is has wound up being just very solid and um you know you certainly have your speed there always going to be a factor there you got some guys that can push the action but I feel like it’s maybe a pretty balanced offense with some you know you got four guys with double- digit home runs you got what five or six guys with double digit steals I mean they can beat you a bunch of different ways they have a lot of power arms that they can mix and match with they don’t maybe have the the you know the horse not a lot of teams do have that horse they can really lean on but the brothers Malachi uh book ending that staff uh big Power arms for those two guys so you know obviously a good team that that’s going to be at home I think Duke is super dangerous here as the two seed uh especially coming off getting snubbed for a host that they deserved um you know just in case you need a little extra chip on your shoulder uh they got that going for him I mean the fact that they went for and0 the ACC tournament without their Ace Jonathan santui who it does sound like is going to be back this weekend he threw a bullpen I think on Saturday it looked great reports were excellent felt great um and without sanui and without Kyle Johnson you know who’s been the number two kind of innings eater who they just rested him as a fresh as a freshman they rested him in tournament without those two guys pitching they still just Breeze through that Regional I mean I mean through that cover tournament scored a lot of runs their offense is Elite uh it’s old um they play good defense they’re just a very balanced team and their Bullpen is just superb you know even even though it’s been a little bit different Personnel than we expected uh that Bullpen is a real differenc maker so I I like Duke actually to to win this Regional you know and we’ll see how that plays out but I think they’re very dangerous and then um you know you’ve got Yukon here who’s no stranger to the postseason um you know that feels like a very solid number three seed that for a while kind of fell they could wind up being a two seed I don’t think it’s maybe quite as good as some of the the Yukon teams we’ve seen in recent years um you know but uh you’ve got some guys on the mound that can that can beat you I mean I think Garett Co is really the key to the thing for them and is that the alarm um I didn’t even get the oral Robert I wanted to give or Roberts a shout out because they came on strong down the stretch after Aon fit lit the fuse uh the fire under them they have still players left from an Omaha team last year led by holding call me the breeze they could still make some noise oh I love it Fitzy lit the fuse bre the rules over here uh Kendall who’s a player of interest in this thing for you uh for me when I look at Oklahoma you know I go with Bryce madon you know he’s a guy that has been kind of banged up off and on down the stretch I tell you what when he’s on like it’s it’s it’s consistency it’s good Barrel control of the Zone it’s big- time power and so he kind of makes them go I would say the same about John spikerman too I’m gonna cheat once again by as well um Kendall that was you’re right Bryce first of all it’s Bryce madron you made him sound like a a tequila which I actually enjoy it was great but you’re right he’s 58 175 and like an absolute five tool player he’s so good um well done uh Joseph player of Interest I’ll um I’ll I’ll do Fitzy proud and and talk about Oral Roberts here with their Ace Jacob Hall a guy who pitched in Omaha last year for Oral Roberts has been a Workhorse the last two years for Oral Roberts that’s not a comfortable situation for Oklahoma a guy who has been an important piece of Oral Roberts the last couple of years pitched in Omaha that’s not that’s type of that’s kind of like the nightmare situation as a as a host that you get a four seed that has like a guy who’s gonna go out there and who’s who they’re just gonna say go go get it big dog and he’s gonna go out there and try to throw a complete game like that’s that’s kind of The Nightmare situation for Oklahoma so I’ll be fascinated to see what Jacob Hall gives them given the experience he has in that program yeah I’ll go Oklahoma Braden Davis you know it’s so crazy he was a closer at Sam Houston for two years and he’s like a legit number one he carved in the Big 12 tournament it was Unreal and then you know then you go kaon Witherspoon the next day who’s 96 with a mid 80 slider so um you know I Duke Duke I’d be Duke would be my pick to Fitzy but Oklahoma is kind of underrated it’s interesting um Kendall take us to the uh eight seed Tallahassee Florida State please yeah that’s going to be an interesting one you know I think stutson uh if you look at that Regional as a whole stetson’s a club that has had you know had to battle through a really difficult a sun you look at you know Austin Peak and Assa State Etc that was actually a pretty good League at the top so they’re battle tested Steve triper will have those guys ready you know you look at UCF and then in the three hole Rich wall in his first season making the NCA tournament very interesting you know I think Aaron saw them earlier this year and you know they don’t have like they don’t have huge arms but they’ve got you know they’ve got a couple of guys who will you know command The Zone pretty pry you know pretty solid stuff you know Alabama’s a team for me like if somebody’s going to come through this Regional outside of FSU uh it’s Alabama you know the the question for me as it always kind you know tends to be with the tide is how does Ben hes throw when Ben hes throws well Alabama tends to do pretty well and so you know how he pitches this weekend is key and certainly uh when you look at you know the the middle that the Alabama lineup they’re very good up the Middle with Justin LeBron uh so you know I like Alabama’s Club But ultimately I like Florida State here you know Jamie Arnold uh has just been Sensational for them you know they’re getting healthier on the mound it looks like uh it looks like cam lier threw a bullpen at the ACC tournament I’m guessing that means he’s probably going to throw at some point in the regional uh if you’re throwing a bullpen at the ACC tournament and of course you know I love their lineup with you know with Cam Smith and James tibs in the middle of that thing I think FSU takes here a business this weekend setting up a super with Duke because I took Duke in the Norman Norman Regional oh love it Joe with I’m going to take a look at ston they’re arguably their two best pitchers are Zay copper Smith and Cole Stallings I packaged those two guys together because they both have 23 or more appearances this year out of the bullpen I’ll be fascinated to see how Stetson uses those guys do they try to stagger them use them on different days do they stack them together and and go all out to to get a win in the opener against Florida State but those are two good cards to play late in games for the Hatters and so I’ll just kind of be interested to see how they use them I want to go I want to go Connor Whit but I’m just looking real quick to see who was the other starter for Florida State because it feels like I love the offense D dorsy so I would say yeah and Andrew Armstrong started a game too and that did not go as well but dors did dorsy start the final Fitzy is that what happened yeah yeah did not did not throw well he actually got a hit both appearances this week yeah so I’m gonna say Conor Whitaker like Flor as good as Florida state is I don’t know if they can win this Regional without someone besides Jamie Arnold contributing a good start Connor Whitaker is the guy all along that they’ve wanted it to be besides cam lighter and he’s battled some injuries too so give me Conor Whitaker is a really c key person in this thing good FY I like that you know Gage Miller I mean could go to this this Ballpark and go off for Alabama uh just had a huge year in his first year for the tide 1100 Ops uh 18 home runs I mean controls his own more walks and strikeouts love this guy’s bat just love it and he hits for power and uh I’d like to see what he can do with Dicker love it Joe are you taking us to the number five seed fville I would love to beautiful place um it’s look I mean I think we we understand if Arkansas pitches to the top of its ability no one else is winning this Regional like I think that’s just the long and the short of it now the issue is they have not necessarily been there lately we can Bank on Hagen Smith right and they’re gonna I’m sure they’re going to pitch off against Simo and and by pitching off they mean like Mason Molina who’s still pretty good um to try to save Hagen Smith for the one game that’s my assumption um but you know Molina’s not been quite as good they moved him to the bullpen um you know as an effort to kind of just reset him Brady Tiger has not thrown very well of late will McIntyre is slipping you know his ER really since you know mid-march into early April has has been pretty rough um so do we see you know Gabe GLE in a starting assignment this weekend who might actually be their best arm honest outside of Hagen Smith obviously um so do they do they pull that trigger and just try to do something really different do they just stick to the guys they’ do they dance with the ones who BR them the entire way and just hope that’s good enough I’ll be interested to see latch obviously has been really hot they’ve been playing well the second half of the season they came on strong so that’s not necessarily a comfortable matchup there for Arkansas latch’s a program that that has um has a lot of belief and boy I mean with Kansas State it if the talent clicks like sure like that could be your Regional finalist opposite Arkansas or whoever um we’ve talked all season about the high-end Talent it’s just kind of about what they get from everyone else and you wonder in the regional format if that’s if that’s a good fit I suppose we’ll see all right so I’m gonna go Ethan Bates who of Louisiana Tech who man if there’s no one named Jack kleon or Carson binge like how is Ethan Bates not the olar rudal Lord winner he has 15 home runs 7 4 RBIs and 17 saves 17 saves in a college season I I feel like I’m misreading the stat but I’m not so Ethan Bates the other thing of course he’s for Louisiana Tech he started his career at Arkansas so that’s interesting too I think he’s an Arkansas kid so you know how does he feel about going back to fville it seemed like it all happened on good terms but Ethan Bates feels like he’ll be a factor in this thing yeah that’s a good call there uh coach runes um you know it’s interesting for a while Jackson Wentworth was kind of like the the guy in in the Kansas State Bullpen and then they needed to figure something out uh you know in the rotation just get some length and they moved him into a starting rle and uh you know I think that’s the key for them is is what can Wentworth give them I me as many big names as they have here on this team uh this guy is kind of the one that they need to to set the tone and it’s the cutter is just a a bastard pitch you know that’s that’s he’s going to he’s going to feed it to you over and over again good luck with it he’s got other stuff but that’s the pitch and so um you know that’s guy got my eye on 107 strikeouts 22 walks and 75 Innings that’ll play boys yeah it will K rizle yeah I’m gonna go with Hudson white for Arkansas you know when I saw them a couple weeks ago at A&M um he had two huge hits in that series and you know when they needed him the most in a clutch situation he stepped up he he actually you know he has a 288 average overall but he’s actually been pretty good in SEC play uh I know after the series he was hitting well over three 300 in the SEC so uh he would be the key for me because I think the biggest thing for me for when I look at Arkansas is I think we all feel really good about their pitching staff but can they score enough runs because the thing about Kansas State and ltech um you know obviously things Chang with Hagen Smith on the mound but you’re gonna have to beat them without Hagen Smith at some point so those are two teams that can score runs and for Arkansas to win this Regional they’re gonna have to score something and I think it’s where Hudson white kind of enters the equation love it uh Joe you’re the one that started us off there so I’m going to take us to the number 12 seed Virginia Charlottesville Virginia also a lovely Town um you know Virginia they’re second in the country they’re hitting 341 this is one of the most incredible offenses out there um very skilled physical athletic and imposing if we got a Virginia Arkansas Super Regional boy that would be something um and so you know Virginia’s on this they they kind of after the national title they went they had a program L and now they’re on a heer they’re trying to go to Omaha for the third time since 2021 I think yeah third time in four years would be crazy um so Virginia’s you know Virginia has not pitched very well this year but their offense just scores 10 a game so it doesn’t matter the um Penn uh Penn Quaker is who they’re taking on let me put myself on the timer Penn remember went two and0 in Auburn last year and you like people that don’t follow the ivy league like this is real talent these these teams have like Wyatt Hensler of Penn if if he doesn’t Sign Pro is going to A&M next year and their their um their their Ace Cole safiro is committed to wake so it’s like the Penn has real players um they did not win the ivy they won the ivy league tournament Columbia did that St John’s um seems like just a really interesting team remember St John’s beat Florida at Florida earlier in the year so and the rest of the series was rained out uh and then Mississippi state’s the team I don’t have as good of a handle on they have 21 losses that’s a lot of losses for for an SEC team however they have 20 SEC wins right or qu yeah 20 SEC wins 21 I think yeah so there you go so I mean Mississippi state is what I like about Mississippi state is there’s a toughness there that they wanted to recover from a program standpoint like like Jonathan meren is top of mind for me and you know Johnny long probably takes it overboard I’m not even sure if he’s their starting catcher anymore but you know like they’re feisty Mississippi States got their fight back so this one’s very interesting um yeah that you got a little you get some Northeast flavor and then you’ve got the blue bloods in Virginia and Mississippi State go ahead Fitzy yeah uh I’m gonna give you dangelo cincha because uh he’s awesome and it’s you know he’s he’s not he’s just he’s just not like a a trick guy if if you only know him as a switch pitcher yes he can switch pitch but I mean like he’s he’s he’s a first round Talent as as a right-handed pitcher and he’s still draftable as a left-handed pitcher but he’s he’s his future is going to be as a righty and it’s electric he’s really figured it out this year the pitch ability piece I mean it’ll be mid90s with a real Wipeout slide piece and and uh uh about the you know 1008 strike outs 29 walks in 84 Innings I mean I assume they’re gonna stick with Stephen on Friday um Cal Steven’s been great and then you have ccha on Saturday and if you you know you’re gonna try to beat that Virginia offense as good as they are uh that’s the guy that you want doing it I think KR yeah I tell you what I think when you look at Mississippi State we talked so much about you know Regina’s offense and rightfully so it’s an electric offense one of the top offens in the country so I’m gonna say Mississippi state’s gonna have to score some runs if they play them and I’m going to go with Dakota Jordan uh you know Jordan was hitting around 400 uh about a month ago is hitting around 330 now um he really struggled in the SEC tournament you know Joe was there and you know he he uh you know he was pulled out of a game in a clutch situation they end up having Nate Chester Nate Chester end up getting a hit but they end up putting a Nate Chester for him in a clutch situation in the game so he gives you an idea just a the message that lonus is trying to send and B how much Dakota Jordan’s really struggling but when he’s on guys he’s one of the best hitters in college baseball so I Circle uh DJ is is kind of the guy for me going to the weekend for Mississippi State Joe there’s only one right answer here so don’t mess this up oh boy I feel like I’m going to mess it up uh I was actually going to go with car osmer for pin um Steven shock will appreciate this choice because he’s a he’s a two-way guy but he’s he’s more effective on the mound although he’s having a nice sh at the plate but it’s a funky slot reliever for pen and on a staff that has stuff you mentioned zyro going to wake Eli Tropa relievers going to Texas and he runs it up there to 97 um osmer is is a funky slot guy with a lot of movement he’s headed to Alabama next year um so that’ll that’ll be interesting to see how that that translates but he’s the guy who who pin uses kind of here and there and is a little bit of a Swiss Army knife in terms of of what he can he can give the team on a on a pretty talented pitching staff like you mentioned runes now what was the right answer that I did not give yeah the right answer was um a 6’8 225b right-hander from St John’s named Mario or Mario P the fish the fish the fish but uh but uh be that as it may well well done um Fitzy does that take you do you take us to Tucson I do I do take us to Tucson um pesa’s had a big Year by the way sub which stands out in this day age uh love this Tucson Regional guys it’s really loaded I think you’ve got four teams here I feel like it’s the best Regional from top to bottom I think gr Canyon is the best four seed in the field uh you know just a proven Club they won their league by five games uh they did not win their coners tournament but uh you know due to a technicality they still get in uh they could give Arizona a hard time in that first game I love that little little uh uh intrastate matchup there I think Arizona’s really good you know won the pack regular season and tournament I’ve talked all year long about how much I like their three starting pitchers one of the few teams that has got three horses you know every week you know with Clark candotti and Cam walty and Jackson Kent uh it sounded like runes you were suggesting maybe Kent’s a little bit gassed I wonder if that makes them you know there a couple of things to to wonder about with Arizona after a long week there but I think they’re very good balanced Club I like their Bullpen Dallas Baptist uh love that match up between Ryan Clark and I’m sorry Ryan Johnson and Derek Clark in the opener the big you know know power righty who hammers The Zone going to be a probably a day one pick against the little Lefty the all fit team you know Clark who’s just a pitchability guy who is just a bulldog as mean as a bear love the love that guy that’s a great match up JJ weather hold best player in this Regional there’s there’s a lot of intrigue all any one of these teams um could make a lot of noise and certainly the top three could all win it Kendall muted I’ll go for Grant Jay for Dallas Baptist I mean a lot of the talk would be about RJ and the job that he does on the front of that rotation but I think in this desert heat uh you know the ball can fly and I think a guy like Grant Jay 21 home runs 57 RB has you know a lot of KS 79 strikeouts versus 32 walks but you know Ops well over a thousand and he’s had a really nice year for them so I just think a power hitter like him getting in a Groove at high Corbin is going to be a big key for the P the Pats this weekend injuries have been an issue with West Virginia this year most notably with J.J weatherholt but I’ll highlight Logan sa their catcher who was splitting time with Sam white earlier this season missed some time with injury since coming back he’s been a real Iron Man back there he’s basically caught every game for six weeks now or something like that so having West Virginia healthy and sa as a little bit of an avatar for that I think puts them in a position where now as as as Aaron says like they could win this Regional which is not something when you go back to mid-season we would have said because they they felt like they were just running on fumes because they they had so many guys out were important pieces of what they thought they could be by the way boys i i people are saying that this was not only is this the potentially the best Regional but it was the best Regional preview on the D1 baseball website just just just wanted to do some reporting there believe it yeah believe it you better believe it um but you’re right West Virginia is really fun Grand Canyon’s really fun my my favorite player in this Regional I mean JJ weather hold how do you not pick him cam walty is an awesome story as you mentioned jayton Krauss of DBU is like this redheaded dude who’s 6 foot three 227 pounds and has hit a bunch of home runs he looks like a viking like he’s just if he’s the epitome of big donkey seriously he is a donkey like if he’s 63 227 then I’m 4 foot 10 like he’s way bigger than that so and and you know I don’t even chaon Krauss I mean come on is that like a fake I feel like he should be playing for the fight Norse he should be playing college football gosh who was the who was the first baseman for Oklahoma State last year who was a former norsman who looked Griffin D Griffin D ding how could I forget I just couldn’t come up with it one of my all-time favorite Vikings uh yeah feel like Kim and ton are related somehow they must be um so Kendall take us to um Chapel Hill please who is the number four seed they they I guess being the four seed apparently stinks now because holy Cal North Carolina yeah what’s really funny about this Regional is I think Scott Forbes probably feels like the tar Hills are in a perfect position you know going to this Regional everybody’s going to talk about LSU all the tigers are hot don’t let the Tigers get hot meanwhile you’ve got North Carolina who has weathered a lot of injuries on the mound uh they’re balanced offensively you know what’s kind of crazy if you just kind of go through North Carolina’s power numbers this year pretty incredible Parks Harbor 20 bombs Casey cook 18 Vance Hut 22 Luke Stevenson 13 and then Alberto Asuna at 14 man that’s just a lot of power throughout that lineup so I think I think North Carolina is going to feel like you know I wouldn’t say an underdog against LSU but I think a lot of people are just going to assume that you know you LSU’s roll in a town they’re going to win this Regional so I think North Carolina will be ready I think LSU for me obviously I want to keep an ey on Christian Little’s injury situation as crazy as it sounds because he’s struggled throughout his career he’s been a big key for them down the stretch and you know it sounds like he had a little bit of a a back injury of some sort at the SEC tournament last week so I’ll be curious to see how he throw R but you know the thing about LSU guys Gage jump and Luke Heman have been fantastic in front of that rotation Griffin Herring has has formulated into one of the best relievers in college baseball and of course that offensive lineup I I said I tweeted this out last week during the SEC tournament but no offense to him but when Michael brazwell is getting clutch hits left and right like you’re on a heater as a team so keep it ey on LSU I would say wford is really interesting to me congrats to JJ Edwards in his first season of getting them into the postseason but keep an eye on Zack Cowan in that first game at LSU you know he’s a funky righty he’s a little different look for them and he’s put up some fantastic strikeout numbers this year um so keep an eye on those guys as well and of course you know Long Island the Sharks making a postseason appearance in North Carolina this weekend I’m not sure I like their chances against these teams but we’ll see what happens very cool I’m gonna go like with the the the instead of a person a group to me the North Carolina Bullpen is really important in this thing I don’t think LSU has a good Bullpen outside of um Griffin Herring but North Carolina’s got a real Bullpen Matthew Matas Dalton Pence Matt Poston I’m GNA kind of freeze it right there like those three dudes if they can play a huge role in this Regional I think that’s a Difference Maker LSU May outplay North Carolina for seven Innings but North Carolina at the end of the games feels very dangerous yeah and Ben Peterson in that mix as well love that quartet uh the player I’m going to give you here is is Marshall tul from wford I was doing the regional superlatives for this uh Vance Honeycut of course is is most exciting player how could he not be you know the the the Dynamo that he’s been but holy cow you look at Marshall Tool’s numbers guys uh talk about filling up the the statline hits 38 383 1100 Ops he’s got nine homers 10 triples 15 doubles and by the way 42 stolen bases and 45 tries I mean this guy does it all uh this Watford offense is scary they rank like 10 10th or 12th and the as an Ops or something six or something in stolen bases they can beat you a lot of different ways and and he’s the guy who just is is is the centerpiece boy those are crazy numbers you know one thing I was thinking about looking at uh looking at Park Harbor’s power numbers is like can you imagine him in Georgia’s lineup this year with all those guys like ouch totally nuts all right boys well done we we did pretty good right there so let’s go to the right side of the bracket I’m going to take us to uh Lexington Larry from Lexington um and so Kentucky proud Park hosting Kentucky has had never made back-to-back regionals before ever and now not only they’ve done that but they’re hosting them back-to-back years the atmosphere last year at Kentucky proud Park was outrageous like awesome awesome awesome awesome so I hope it’s that way again Western Michigan’s there congratulations to Billy gnen you know who’s done a phenomenal job there it’s a chance to give a shout out to Bowling Green who had an incredible year but didn’t win the Mac tournament but Western Michigan my college teammate Cory me is their assistant coach his son Grady is their second baseman um so Cade Sullivan’s their first baseman he’s a really good player really good hitter um Illinois can you know they had they got off to a tough start Dan hartlib and that crew really wred themselves Illinois can really slug they are very physical I don’t know if that’s a great fit for this Regional it depends on how Kentucky proud Park plays but Illinois has got there’s just a very mature team and program who can Slug and then Indiana state is one of these just Elite two seed that probably should have been a host and I do think Indiana State’s a tricky matchup for Kentucky because they can defend you know like they’re they’re they they they play good defense in the infield Grant McGill you don’t want to run on Indiana State’s catcher Grant McGill he is an elite thrower you know they’ve got Randall Diaz and hosway Etta up the middle uh you know Kentucky versus indiia State could get really spicy and fun um so I don’t know kuy it just you know kuy’s pitching is interesting to me do they have enough in the bullpen it got a little dicey at the end of the year and then Indiana State doesn’t quite have the same pitching that they had last year but I think this is a fun one Fitzy who’s a player of Interest wow yeah um you can go in a lot of different directions here I should be more prepared but I’m I’m not you know I’m I’m I’m going to throw Luis Hernandez at you we talked so much about the two guys in the middle for Indiana State the middle infield Diaz and Etta but Hernandez I mean had a has had a monster year he’s a leading hitter got 22 bombs you know RBI machine um over there at first base he’s really kind of the the big run producer for them I like their their team a lot I just think they’re really balanced but he he’s the kind of the guy that you don’t want to beat you Kendall I’m gonna go with a milon petray in Kentucky I really like this dude I mean he’s he’s kind of the table setter for them offensively he’s really good up the middle he’s a big leader for Kentucky and I kind of I kind of feel like UK as a whole kind of goes the way of Petr a little bit and so I’m gonna go with him that’s a good one by the way Kentucky you have the best home run celebration in college baseball this year with the Spider-Man thing um just the hand congratulations on that I don’t know what that’s worth but uh Fitzy can you take us to the number 16 number 15 Seed Oregon State Beavers core Vegas I can and if I may just real quickly piggy back in your last Point what’s with everybody this year like the the one celebration where they all just like do the three-way hug with their heads together like it’s boring it’s it does it’s ter to photograph it does not translate or the I love you the I love you hand sign or whatever yeah I’ve never been a fan of that one either everybody’s doing that one now but you’re yeah the Bro hug at home plate is boring that’s that’s the best descriptor for it just doesn’t get it done for me who would who would have thought that Aaron would be advocating for the the fur coat with a daddy hat well yeah I mean anything interesting I’m here for anything interesting I I never had a problem with fur coat with a daddy hat I always thought that was fun uh and also the even even something like the helmet’s tap you know at least it’s like it’s you can get a photograph of the guy’s face you know know like that’s that’s anyway onward uh Coralis uh Oregon State gosh this is a fun one Oregon State UC Irvine Nicholls and to Lane um you know it feels like the beavers and the aners kind of are are are you know Omaha caliber clubs to me I’ve kind of thought that all year long about both of these teams um but I do feel like it kind of sets up pretty well for Oregon State because you know Nick pinto and and Jacob Myers the two aces are going to probably get burned in that opener between Irvine and Nichols um now that said I mean you can’t Overlook tane if you’re Oregon State Tan’s played pretty well here down the stretch um you know jayan’s Club they just have a knack for getting it going in the conference tournament and they found their way back into into a regional here um but you know you got to feel like the Beavers at home they got a pretty good shot in that opener and then you’re sitting pretty maybe uh without having to face one of those aces in the next game so that’s the advantage you get for being a one seat but I want to tell you something our friend uh coach Mo Bobby Mor sent his his kind of like own the Zone thing where he talks about the the difference in in Ops uh you know your Ops versus your opponent’s Ops and Irvine leaps off the page here guys they’re the the highest uh in this in this field with his own the Zone formula they’re very good they’re very good top to bottom offensively uh and and you know maybe it’s not the sexiest pitching staff around but I think they’re good enough to make some noise that’s said I like the Beavers at home I think this is an Omaha Club I just think this year they’ve got to find it’s been a while they’ve been there since 2018 um I just think their offensive Personnel is just they’re just too good obviously Travis bazan is one of the most exciting players in the country and it’s his chance to shine here on the national stage in the postseason Kendall uh speaking of owning the zone at the plate how about my man mil Smith at UC Irvine um he’s had a great year for them Kaden kle was kind of the headliner coming into the season but my Smith has been fantastic guys Ops of 1.54 44 walks to 28 strikeouts uh he’s got some pop in the bat he’s got Gap power 43 RB you know when you look at the top of this UC Irvine lineup with with him kindall Woody Hayden uh that’s a really solid Trio so uh for you know the aners to get through this thing we know OSU is an offensive club for UC Irvine to get through this thing they’re going to have to be offensive as well and Corvalis and those are the three guys you know with with Smith leading the way they kind of stir the drink uh just a fun factoid last time Irvine went to Omaha 2014 they were in fact sent to the Coralis Regional so there we go yeah very I’m actually really intrigued not to not to prolong this discussion on this Regional but I’m actually very intrigued to see these the the two big West teams in the postseason just because the rest of that League was so bad this year like we don’t really know what to expect but my hunch is those two teams are pretty good like they’re really good I I would push back on the big West actually being that bad this year I think it was better than usual you know he had a few more teams there at the top that were in the mix Hawaii Hawaii I mean well Hawaii had a better year but I mean you know Cal Paulie got smashed in in non-conference I mean they did well in conference but they got destroyed at non-conference yeah I I just think you had five teams there with Northridge Hawaii and and pulie that were all uh you know I think it was actually an okay year in the big West there was just no middle to the big West this year like three of those teams three of the three teams in the league are looking for a coach right now and then but you know Tommy Nicholson at UC Davis to get us completely off track boy he did an awesome job they had their best year in a 100 years um or since they won the league a few years ago uh my player in this one is Jacob Meyers is fascinating you should do yourself a favor and look up his stats you mentioned him Fitzy this this is amazing 15 starts 69 Innings 74 walks 105 strikeouts people are hitting 160 against Jacob Meyers so he will like you said he’ll face Nick Pinto who’s got like 55 career starts um he leads the country he’s probably got more than that right now and um and he’s his grandmother’s from Philadelphia by the way upper Arby in the house um but Irvine is one of the is the team one of the teams in the country that draws the most walks so Irvine versus Meyers is fascinating like that’ll be that’ll be crazy so um anyway yeah that’s a fun one uh Kendall you want to take us to the number 10 seed uh NC States in Raleigh yeah how about that you know I think NC State to me is just Ultra scary uh I’ve got NC State getting all the way to Omaha I think just the way they’ve been offensively they’ve you know they they’ve pitched well in some big situations down the stretch uh you know you look at South Carolina the question for me with the Gamecocks is can they play this weekend the way they did in Hoover I’m skeptical but if you look at the week they had in Hoover Uh Cole Ms was really good a lot of clutch hits uh their defense was awful uh the last couple of games in Hoover but you know Cole mesina was a was a key for them I think when you look at what they can do on the m you know Garrett Gay’s a really nice arm obviously Ty goods are really you know a high quality arm Eli Jones you know they they’ve got a few arms they can kind of match up with these teams specifically NC State but I you they’re gonna have to play better defense and again I I’m skeptical they can play that the way they did all last week this weekend and I think NC State’s a difficult matchup uh Bryant Ryan clausman getting the Bulldogs back to the postseason the Bryant Athletic Conference um you know they’ll be pesky as usual and then James Madison keeping on finwick Trimble I guarantee you runes and berky will be talking about this guy on the ESPN roundabout show finwick trimbles had an awesome year for the Dukes just a big- Time power hitter in the middle of that lineup uh you know did a nice job at the Sun Belt tournament so keeping ey on finwick Trimble James Madison guys can really hit Lord Fenwick Trimble to you correct Lord Fenwick oh that’s Fenwick Trimble but by by the way Nick Pinto is up to 61 starts right now in college baseball I mean how amazing is that so player to watch what I want to say is I want to say the NC State Bullpen you know the the Freshman particular like Jacob duden and Cooper Coniglio are just awesome I just I I think you’re right kennel NC State’s got this really neat team that is hard to understand you know like veterans like Alec maevic who’s the alltime or is the active leader in games played in college baseball right now Garrett Pennington who was division two to division one so anyway Fitzy sorry I just totally violated my own rule but NC State’s roster is super fun they are and and really it’s four young arms there in that Bullpen that have kind of uh been the key in my opinion to their to their run those four young arms at the back because starting pitching is is fine but you know it’s it’s not going to blow you away the bullpen is really good that’s a strength for them um you know who besides Messina and Petri that’s my key for for South Carolina uh if you look at their their War leaders as a team it’s m and Petri and then it’s Parker Nolan is the that guy you know and it’s it it just they they’re going to need a little more support I think you can you can kind of work around those two guys a little bit you just have to not let those two guys beat you uh so my my my my player to watch here for South Carolina is fill in the blank it’s it’s got to be someone other than in Petri you know someone’s got to step up we need we need more guys to to you know and hey I guess they played well last week I didn’t get to see any of those games I was in the ACC but uh clearly they’re they’re figuring something out maybe playing better at the right time so they’re certainly dangerous I think South Carolina coming in here with almost house muddy nobody’s really like you know they’re bubble team toward the end of the year like they’re not hosting don’t have to deal with the the intensity of of the home Regional and their fans maybe it’s an advantage going out in the road that is a really good point fit you on South Carolina all right so I’m going to take us to the Athens Regional George is the number seven seed how about Wes Johnson’s last three years of his career big league pitching coach win a national title as the pitching coach at LSU and then have Georgia as a top eight National seed in your very first season so this Regional is fascinating Georgia Army who’s in The Regionals for the sixth straight year when I’ve done when I did research on Army people told me they’re catcher Derek Berg like I I had somebody TT me said hey he’s he’s a big leader like that dude don’t don’t get the Army part confused like this dude can really play he said he stands out I think he’s like a converted infielder too um actually I know he is um Georgia Tech and then UNCW UNCW 12 regionals in the last 21 years as a as a CA program that is so hard to do like that program is remarkably consistent so I’m going to kind of steal your guys Thunder and but I’m I’m gonna say what stands out to me about this Regional is home runs because you’ve got Charlie Condon with 35 you’ve got Tanner thatch of UNCW with 27 and you’ve got Drew burus of Georgia Tech with like 24 so you know Georgia Tech they they actually I think their Fielding percentage is like 9980 this year they’ve played way better defense than they’ve been giving credit for cam Jones becoming a two-way player for them really turn you know kind of turn the Worm but um this is an interesting one I I’m not so sure George is gonna have an easy time with this field uh but I do think there’ll be a lot of home runs hit there so go ahead FY yeah uh that’s a good call it’s it’s I I love this Wilmington team I think they’re really well balanced I I think they’re they’re old um you know and and you do have some arms I think the bullpen actually has some power pieces that they can throw out you L Craig is the guy I’m going to throw at you even though I like I like Wilmington’s rotation a lot sales Schaffer and Taylor but Luke Craig kind of the anchor of that Bullpen uh it’s it’s real stuff you know and and just you know bullpens matter in the postseason they’ve got a good one and he’s he’s I mean it’s a 219 ra seven saves he ton of strikeouts I mean he’s a he’s a real Difference Maker Kendall uh is it is it against the rules to stick with UNC Wilmington here go for it I well I just go off of what R just mentioned and fully fi can be an absolute launching pad and remembering the name Tanner thatch you know I wrote about him last year on our side and boy I tell you what he’s had a great year from a power standpoint 27 bombs 74 guys RB there’s a little bit of swing and Miss there but boy he’s had an outstanding year for them and of course Trevor Marsh is another big time piece for the Seahawks so the Seahawks offensively you know they may not have as much they may not have the sheer number of just double digit home run guys but the two guys they have especially thatch I mean they could go off this weekend at fully filled I feel like in Squeeze Play we’re going to be in the Athens region a lot I that one is has some real Intrigue to me well I thing too I will say this real quick runes uh you know we talk about teams with a little bit of chip on the shoulder I I do think there’s an element with Randy Hood’s team where like people are going oh you know George either has an easy draw or oh they get to play Georgia Tech and I think I think UNCW may may sense a little bit of that that going in the weekend like people are just thinking it’s Georgia Tech and Georgia and oh by the way we’re here so keep an eye on that and all year along it’s like people are talking Northeastern people you know looking in the mirror looking at the mirror here but nor Eastern nor Eastern got a lot of hype all year long and I think like I I know for a fact that that kind of ticked off wilington and like they went up there and won that series and it’s like why don’t we get any credit you know yeah totally chip on their shoulder team I think they’re very sneaky dangerous here Fitzy take us to um Clemson South Carolina the number six overall Seas yeah Clemson uh you know gosh they just find ways to win and it’s it’s not been as as easy for them down the stretch it feels like um you know it’s one of those teams because they’ve had so many comeback wins um you know and some kind crazy stuff happens you almost wonder sometimes is is this sustainable but they just find ways you know even in the ACC tournament they’re down six nothing to Louisville and they still find a way to come back and win with Louisville’s playing for its postseason life uh clemon didn’t have that much to play for they they just you know uh they’re winners and and that’s I think their their biggest strength they’re also a good offensive Club of course a very good offensive Club but I think you look at maybe losing their Short Stop chuo to injury is you know it hurt them I mean Jacob henderer he played Short Stop last year uh Davidson he’s he’s a very good player very good player but like that’s maybe a minor cause for concern for me I think their defense is not as strong as it was before certainly um you know they’re and they’re pitching I mean it’s just there’ve been ups and downs with that staff I mean Eden kanak the Freshman has been the best guy Vanderbilt it feels like has has is the better pitching if if you kind of you know I was reading Joe Healey’s excellent breakdown of this Regional on our side and yeah they’ve got to clear I think the best kind of three or four arms there that that they’re going to start you know we’ll see what what Carter Holton delivers he’s kind of the x- factor guy here but um I just you know that Vanderbuilt team again it’s been a weird year for them they’ve not been Elite like we’re so used to seeing for Vander built um and then you got Coos another team that just felt like they had kind of a disappointing season as a preseason top 25 team but we know they’re super offensive and so we’ll you know we’ll see how the the ballpark plays this weekend um that place can is usually more of a pitching more of a fair ballpark I would say but at times the ball can jump I mean you know they hit a lot of home runs that’s their strength um can they pitch enough that’s been the question mark for them all year in high point another very offensive club uh first time in a regional you know you probably not EXP a whole lot from them in this in this Regional full of Blue Bloods but they are very very scary offensively so they might be able to make some noise love it wait good use of the clock right there Fitzy well done Kendall who’s a player of interest for you mudy MC muten Stein can say can I can I employ the earin fit approach here of fill in the blank for Coastal and the reason why to say that is because I saw them last week at the Sun Belt tournament and boy they had some awful offens off def approaches like it was bad man like they scored three runs in two games they looked out of sync and like Aaron said man like this offense can be outstanding Kaden Bodine Sam antonacci Zack Beach Blake b barthal i mean they got dudes and they did not hit at all last weekend at the Sun Belt tournament they looked very out of sync and so I just go with their offense as a whole because I you know I had them and when we did our superlatives our regional Round Table I had them as my sleeper to make a run to Omaha because it’s Gary Gilmore’s last year they kind of they honestly shouldn’t have been in the postseason they get in but they got the talent especially offensively to go on a run in this tournament and uh so I just think the offense to me is a big key that’s interesting I want to say Carter Holton of Vandy because he just like his freshman year remember he had his last three starts he did not give up a run in SEC play and he’s just not been the star arm that I thought he was going to be but I’m going to give you guys cam canella for this reason Clemson has lost five consecutive home regionals five straight home regionals they’ve lost think about let that sink in for a second they’ve not Advanced from a regional since 2010 I don’t believe think about how much history there is and and I just think Cam canella and Eric bage are just not going to let that continue I think they’re winning this Regional um just on like Hey we’re we’re done with that like we we’ve had enough I you know and I I noticed that it’s funny that you mentioned that because uh when they were they came out flat against Louisville like I said they’re down 6 nothing um and canella was the one guy who’s like still playing he’s kind of chippy you know like staring the picture down on high he got on base all five times and it felt like he kind of willed this team to win and and also backage kind of like called the meeting in the middle Innings is like hey like just think about what the people in the stands think about you guys right now or like people watching on TV do do you think they like what they see do you think they’re impressed you know it’s like he didn’t he didn’t like let in we just asked them you know pretty simply and and they you know and they flipped the switch man it’s it was it was pretty impressive I love but Kendall can you take us to Stillwater uh Oklahoma that’s the 11 seed the Oklahoma State Cowboys you hesitated there were you about to say Still Water Kentucky yeah I don’t know where I was going with that what is what is the uh you know what I can’t get out of my brain is there’s a clip on uh let me press pause there’s a clip on Twitter right now of Stephen shock um um um lamb basting the committee for sending Niagara to Stillwater Oklahoma it is it is Joy yeah it is what cuz Niagara Falls falling water Still Water it was it did not it did not sneak past the sesus boys they clipped it put it on Twitter it’s worth your time it is so it is it is so big Steve it is really glorious gotta find that one yes go ahead Kendall yeah now that we got that out of the way uh if you like home runs still water is going to be the place for you this weekend again I berky and runes and KB will be watching this a lot and Mr schik will be on this Regional a lot this weekend Oklahoma State guys um this this is a club that I felt like you know the last few weeks of the Season played pretty well Nolan Schubert a hit one in the orbit over the weekend at Globe Life somebody told me he hit it in the middle of the second deck which is pretty incredible yeah so noan is obviously the key for them uh you know Nebraska you know Josh Karen can he kind of continue what he started um last weekend at the Big 10 tournament six six home runs I believe for the entire week the Big 10 tournament so he’s red hot Brett Sears is a really nice arm at the front of that rotation uh and then the Florida Gators like like who’s GNA show up this weekend you know somebody asked me last night like hey what do you think about Florida this weekend I’m like I don’t know just go flip a coin because we have no idea what Florida’s gonna do so I think the big key for me when I look at Florida is I feel like they have a tendency to get home runs from you know Kobe Shelton Tyler shellnut kags um Luke Heyman guys like that but what’s happened to them a lot this year fellas is they’re hitting solo home runs I would like to see the stat of how many solo home runs they have because they’ve had a lot this year in the games that I’ve watched I think the big key for Florida is is is getting guys on base and when those those big guns come up they can actually score multiple runs instead of just getting solo shots with two outs so that’ll be a big ke for Florida then Niagara you know keep an eye on Eric ratac he’s put up great numbers this year 30 walks 23 strikeouts 1.89 Ops again the the theme going this this weekend is that place is a launching pad and Eric has 16 bombs with 67 RBIs so if the purple Eagles are gon to pull an upset in the first game against OSU uh Mr rac’s gonna have to have a big game man Elite clock management right there Kendall look at that um so my player is the Oklahoma State rotation that’s Brian holiday Sam Garcia and Carson binge they’re kind of like you know a more off I don’t know maybe they’re they’re they’re they’re yeah I’ll say it they’re more offensive version of Arizona where they just they’ve gotten quality starts over and over again on the weekends but it is a lot of pitch to contact and it is still water so it is I’m interested to see that but Oklahoma State’s rotation is their separator in this Regional does that play out Fitzy is there a lot of pitch to contact like look at the strikeout race Garcia 110 strikeouts in 85 Innings holiday 118 and 104 you’re right like let me say let me rephrase it they there’s a lot of punchouts but it’s it’s not like even binge throws 94 but it’s not like it plays right at the number it doesn’t play up and you know Garcia’s a lot of upper 80s and but you’re right like I need to correct that because they do miss bats but it’s not like they’re not like kags throwing 98 yep that no that’s that’s true uh for sure especially those first first two guys but they’re I’m just blown away by how well they’ve pitched as a staff this year in that ballpark it’s almost like Wake Forest just like how did Wake Forest lead the nation in ra last year how how did Oklahom State have this really good pitching staff in that ballpark it’s amazing but this this time of year it’s a different animal you know it’s tough place to pitch which is why I’ve got my eye on Brett Sears for Nebraska been one of the best pitchers in America all season long8 and0 with a two flat erra uh just a strike throwing machine Advanced pitch ability I think he closed out the Big 10 title game um you know I I imagine he’ll nonetheless pounce back and and Pitch the opener against Florida I haven’t heard for sure but um you know that that’s a guy that not easy place to pitch but I mean this guy I think is Wily enough that he gives them a chance to to keep that that Florida offense in line in the first game Kendall Kendall once again is going with Mr mcmu Stein uh in this Regional um boy I’m gonna go with Liam Peterson for Florida um I think if Florida is going to make a run in this Regional Peterson has to throw really well for them their pitching has been an absolute disaster at times and he’s got premium stuff but he is a young a young arm and in this environment you know o bra especially if they play Oklahoma State it’s gonna be Rowdy so how he does this weekend really could could determine you know what they can do moving forward because when you look at you know the the W the rest of the rotation you know you got guys like bri and Neely but Peterson has the best stuff of all of them uh Fitzy let the record show that Kendall’s last muting is on me because I asked him to preview the regional and then give a player so that’s on me coach Roney put that on my tab please on my nonsense tracker I I I want to be fully accountable thank you for that that’s my fault I I set my teammate up to fail there um two more regionals I’ll take us to Santa Barbara the number 14 seed I you know I’m gonna mention our good friend at ESPN Scott Gerson you know Santa Barbara does regular season games on TV and it’s it’s there’s challenges right like it’s just it’s not built for TV and I think ESPN’s got a really good plan this weekend and I think Santa Barbara’s park I think it’s Caesar uhaa yeah yeah however you say it Saka is at the end that part I think it’s going to look gorgeous I think it’s going to look like Santa Barbara California like and their pling surface even though they wanted Turf has turned out to be awesome they really like it it’s natural grass so Santa Barbara’s got an Omaha pitching staff they’ve got a real Slugger in the middle and and Aaron Parker Brandon dery their catcher the division three three transfer who had been great he had been hurt a little bit at the end but Santa Barbara is just a really good team you don’t go 42 and 12 by accident Fresno State’s in there as a four seed I thought they would be the class of the Mountain West and they weren’t this year they won the tournament but um Fresno State is a dangerous offense Roco Pepe of Long Beach State did not play in the Mountain West tournament and he had a great year he’s got a bad foot so that’s an injury to watch um Oregon and San Diego are very similar to me they’re both like the Iceman from Top Gun where they don’t they like if you believe that more games are lost than games are won Oregon and San Diego do that they just are really fundamentally sound they know what winning baseball looks like and they wait for you to screw it up and then they just go win the game um you know and Oregon had that incredible streak of Series wins this year in in the pack where they they weren’t sweeping but they were winning so San Diego very strong up the middle they’ve got the transfer power hitter Jacob Christian who hit a million home runs at Point lman Nazarene um hopefully I have that that the right um division two school there but yeah it’s it’s it’s all West Coast it’s a very West Coast Regional um Santa Barbara feels like the most complete team there Fitzy agree with you there um yeah you pick my pocket on the player so I’m just delling for time for a second while I go to somebody else who who was your guy I was going to talk about Jacob Christian he’s kind of I’ll [ __ ] I’ll go ahead go ahead I’ll go real quick um I think the big key for me when you look at Oregon if they’re going to make a run through this thing it feels like every time Oregon’s had a big weekend it feels like we’ve heard the name Jeffrey herd he’s probably the most athletic guy in their lineup he’s got a little bit of Pop I mean if you look at his power numbers you’re like yeah what what pop are you talking about but I’ve seen him up close he’s got some popping as bad he’s Ultra athletic and you know they have not been very good offensively down the stretch and really the second half of the season so I think Jeffrey herd’s going to need to have a big weekend for Oregon to make this thing but I do like what the ducks have on the mound with Grayson ginzel and you know RJ Gordon those are that’s a pretty good one-two punch yeah it is and speaking of of of good onew punches I mean I just I love that Santa Barbara pitching staff guys I mean the top end of it is uh is for Middle even though you know Matt AER was kind of the guy that was the preseason All-American coming in uh it’s it’s been it’s been Ryan Gallagher it’s been Tyler Brenner it’s been Mike Gutierrez you’re just not going to find a lot of a lot of staffs that can match that group uh you know it’s it’s it’s a topheavy staff I mean those top four arms pitch a lot of innings but I think those guys are tough to beat if they can if they can extend those guys and get you know get length out of those guys I think that’s the key for Santa Barbara love it Fitzy would you like to do College Station or would you like to defer to Big techs as people like to call Kendall big text if you’re ready for it Go dive in no see no again put that on my tag why not put that put that on my tab I I I I’m well no it’s on my tab I was over here writing an email while was talking so I didn’t want y’all to hear click click click um yeah how about this Regional you know what’s really interesting is I think a lot of people are going to go oh ADM has to play The Cajun who are the sun Bel champ and oh by the way they to get through their rival in Texas but the thing is the committee actually did them a little bit of a favor because they probably have the worst four seed in the tournament if you go look at what greenlings did out a conference not very good um and then I I feel like their Super Regional matchup is yeah it’s not easy but it’s not the most difficult so with that said uh this is going to be a really interesting weekend I think the biggest key for A&M um is getting Jay Lavalette and Braden Montgomery more consistent especially Montgomery uh he was not very good uh you know at the SEC tournament as a matter of fact just a ton of swing and miss a lot of talking himself as he went to The Dugout Jay Lavalette has kind of been one of those guys lately that’s it’s either a home run or he strikes out or grounds out uh so those two guys getting on track this weekend I think it’s going to be huge for ADM I like their chances with the wind blowing out and at 90 degrees in College Station that’s just a bad recipe for teams playing A&M on the road in that environment um Texas for me pitching pitching pitching we all know about their offense Jaylen Flores Jared Thomas Max Blue the Big 12 freshman of the Year love love love the top of their lineup but can Max scrubs Ace Whitehead and a struggling lebaran Johnson do really well in College Station and again an offensive friendly environment to be determined I’ve got a lot of question marks on that one so the big key that’s that’ll be the big key for Texas then for Louisiana um I think the biggest thing for me is they they’ve got premium uh pitching depth you look at the front end the rotation with Andrew Herman uh and Chase Morgan Chase Morgan coming back home he’s grew up in Cyprus which is about an hour from College Station and then they have my man LP at the back end I’m not even gonna try to say his last name uh they got LP U LPL at the back end L yeah L yeah there we go and uh you know he’s up to 96 97 he’s got electric stuff other than Evan ashon back and maybe Griffin Herring LP might be the best reliever in college baseball so he’s going to be a big key for them and of course keep an eye on my man Kyle dear the best shortstop in college baseball this guy listen listen I got a lot of problems with with you and squeezing in De barge after the buzzer stealing him from the rest of us and also failing to mention Chuck beon how dare you how dare you sir how dare you how dare you I feel like I’m stealing your girlfriend though if I mention Chuck B I mean I’m just saying you can’t you can’t talk about the best closers in college baseball not even mention Chucky B get out Charlie Ball Game hey uh my player to watch in this tournament I’m gon I’m gonna just repeat what Kendall said learon Johnson if he’s right he could go like eight Innings shut out baseball like he’s so nasty when he’s right but it’s very tenuous because he could also walk seven you know it’s his stuff is really hard to square up but I think if Texas is going to do something Leber if they’re going to be a real factor in this it can’t be Lear and Johnson struggling I don’t I don’t see how they can overcome that because there’s not enough uh in that pitching staff to your point Kendall other than that so uh Fitzy what say you player to watch ultimately I think A&M is a juggernaut and if I were if I were the Vegas odds makers I might make them the favorite to win at all uh as good as Tennessee is they’re one a and one b in some order there however uh if you know this is not this is not a cakewalk Regional you know Texas as we’ve seen you know they’ve beaten good teams Louisiana um I like their team a lot and you mentioned DeBarge I’m go back to that because you didn’t get to talk about him much but what a dynamic freaking player best to stop in college baseball is right uh incredible Defender incredible arm he’s not tall he’s like fit sized roughly um you know I don’t know 5’9 something like that but he’s got serious bat speed he’s just an electric athlete he really runs he really hits he does everything uh he should be a first round pick even though he’s short do the right thing Scouts do the right thing love it uh boys that was well done this this this podcast always goes long there’s just no way around it I want to say thank you to Soldier Sports and S2 cognition um I will be uh in studio for squeeze play this week Fitzy will you be in on site in the Carolinas should you try to go Command Center yeah I’m gonna bounce around between Chapel Hill Raleigh and Greenville at least that’s the plan I don’t know if I’ll be able to execute that but at least a little bit of bouncing uh got my eye on Chapel Hill on on Saturday night if LS UNCC materializes I think that would be a lot of fun Command Center for you KR no I’ll be in College Station but uh we’ll be uh trying to escape some rain there’s they got about an 80% chance of rain on Friday potentially two inches of rain on Friday and then uh like a 50% chance of rain on Saturday so it could be an interesting weekend in College Station yeah boy that’s interesting how about it uh boys let’s wrap it there of just for anyone doesn’t have a subscription to the site yet 24 season at checkouts get you 24% off you do not want to go into the postseason without a sub getting all these previews the advanced stats so much you keeping track of the scores so much great stuff on the site so that’s it everybody happy Regional week enjoy the the one of the most wonderful weekends of the college baseball season and we will catch you next time on the D1 baseball podcast
5 Comments
For my fellow State fans. Charlottesville regional starts at 23:00.
You’re welcome. Hail State!
Wps
Arkansas has the easiest regional and possibly the easiest super regional.
Mr. Fitt is a SEC hater, I believe.
Really enjoy your podcast! Looking forward to the regionals!