2014 College Baseball Thread (UPDATED - Opening Day Friday)

[KNUBB]

LSU rollin

 

[NAHSTE]

See you in Omaha!

 

[NAHSTE]

We almost have the full CWS field set, only thing left to settle is the battle of the Carolinas at noon tomorrow. If you have access to a computer screen at that time I'd advise you check it out on espn3.com.

Having said that, here is how the bracket will break down for the opening weekend. A lot of new blood in the mix this year, it is a bit shocking to see Rice, Florida State and Vandy missing from the bracket but it's equally cool to see Indiana, NC State and Louisville make appearances. We have two teams returning from a hiatus, as Mississippi State and Oregon State return for the first time since 2007. Fittingly, they meet in the first game to start the festivities.

ROUND 1

Bracket 1

Saturday, 6/15 3:00 pm
Mississippi State vs.
3 Oregon State

Saturday, 6/15 8:00 pm
Indiana vs.
Louisville


Bracket 2

Sunday, 6/16 3:00 pm
NC State vs.
(winner of South Carolina vs. 1 North Carolina)

Sunday, 6/16, 8:00 pm
UCLA vs.
4 LSU

I'm excited gentlemen. I hope you all find a bandwagon to jump on and enjoy it like it's March Madness. This tournament gets every bit as wacky as the basketball counterpart, and the underdogs win just as often. You know where my allegiances lie, but mainly I just want as many eyeballs on college baseball as possible.

From a VSN perspective it would be nice if NC State and LSU advance because the two teams would face in the winner's bracket of round 2 and we have a lot of posters here with Wolfpack ties. Knubb and I will troll them into watching if we have to.

If we can get guys like Champ and :ccbrink: into this glorious game for even a few hours, maybe it will generate some buzz. Who knows what can happen? That's the beauty of baseball.

 

[Goober]

We almost have the full CWS field set, only thing left to settle is the battle of the Carolinas at noon tomorrow. If you have access to a computer screen at that time I'd advise you check it out on espn3.com.

Having said that, here is how the bracket will break down for the opening weekend. A lot of new blood in the mix this year, it is a bit shocking to see Rice, Florida State and Vandy missing from the bracket but it's equally cool to see Indiana, NC State and Louisville make appearances. We have two teams returning from a hiatus, as Mississippi State and Oregon State return for the first time since 2007. Fittingly, they meet in the first game to start the festivities.


I'm excited gentlemen. I hope you all find a bandwagon to jump on and enjoy it like it's March Madness. This tournament gets every bit as wacky as the basketball counterpart, and the underdogs win just as often. You know where my allegiances lie, but mainly I just want as many eyeballs on college baseball as possible.

From a VSN perspective it would be nice if NC State and LSU advance because the two teams would face in the winner's bracket of round 2 and we have a lot of posters here with Wolfpack ties. Knubb and I will troll them into watching if we have to.

If we can get guys like Champ and :ccbrink: into this glorious game for even a few hours, maybe it will generate some buzz. Who knows what can happen? That's the beauty of baseball.

Nahste barely posted about LSU Baseball all year, and then they make the tournament and he's all over them all of a sudden. Bandwagon fan.

 

[NAHSTE]

Tar Heels survive game 3 and eliminate the Cocks. Field is set, see you in Omaha.

 

[NAHSTE]

Tremendous opening game between Oregon State and Mississippi State yesterday, a lot of fun.

State survived a rocky 9th and the game ended with a potential game winning 3-run homerun being caught at the wall. It made for an alright finish, but it's kind of sad that nobody can hit a HR in this giant park with these dead bats and balls -- by all rights that should have been gone, the batter absolutely crushed it, and in any other stadium the Beavs go walk off there. But I guess a fly out to the warning track is almost as cool.

:flaccid:

Indiana took the nightcap over Louisville, backed by a complete game shutout for Joey DeNato (4 H, 3 BB, 8 K). It was the first win by a Big Ten team in Omaha in 30 years.

NC State vs. UNC coming up this afternoon, should be an intense game between two familiar opponents. And of course LSU plays UCLA tonight, we outchea.

 

[Goober]

Each of the 8 CWS teams has been assigned an official VSN smiley to represent them:

Indiana = :holyshit:

UCLA = :bearsalute:

LSU = :catlas:

NCSU = :xchamp:

OSU = ttershake:

UNC = :jordandance:

UL = itino:

MSU = up:

 

[Goober]

So after one round, it is not looking good for Teams :catlas:, :jordandance:, itino:, and ttershake:.

 

[NAHSTE]

GG Bruins :bearsalute:

 

[NAHSTE]

Brutal loss for LSU, stranded 15 runners, went 2-10 with RISP.

They join Louisville in the "2 and 'cue" category. UNC survives for another day.

 

[NAHSTE]

UCLA beat NC State to take control of the winner's bracket. From the Baseball America recap:

Trea Turner electrified TD Ameritrade Park on Tuesday night—for a couple seconds, at least.

Down by a run against UCLA in the eighth inning, North Carolina State had two men aboard with Turner, the All-America shortstop, facing David Berg, the All-America closer. Turner drove a Berg offering deep into the Omaha night, eliciting gasps from the press box and a roar from the crowd. And then UCLA left fielder Christoph Bono caught it on the warning track, taking the air out of N.C. State’s comeback bid and propelling the Bruins to a 2-1 win.

...

It was a typical UCLA win. In fact, it was UCLA’s second straight 2-1 victory, and its fifth 2-1 game since May 17. The Bruins threw strikes, played defense, and took advantage on the rare occasion when their opponent issued free bases. It isn’t sexy, and it isn’t electrifying—the Bruins are seldom even going to give fans a momentary thrill by hitting a ball to the warning track in this park. They are hitting just .169 as a team through two games.

This park is such a joke. I miss the old 'Blatt more and more with each game winning 3-run bomb that dies 10 feet shy of the wall. This is not real baseball. Pitchers can make as many mistakes as they want and never get punished for it under these conditions. It's impossible to hit a home run to the middle of the field, and there's 100 feet of foul territory. This is deadball era shit.

 

[KNUBB]

UCLA beat NC State to take control of the winner's bracket. From the Baseball America recap:



This park is such a joke. I miss the old 'Blatt more and more with each game winning 3-run bomb that dies 10 feet shy of the wall. This is not real baseball. Pitchers can make as many mistakes as they want and never get punished for it under these conditions. It's impossible to hit a home run to the middle of the field, and there's 100 feet of foul territory. This is deadball era shit.

Fuck these bats. Fuck that park

 

[NAHSTE]

Nostalgia hour, to a time when this event was special.

 

[NAHSTE]

2014 Season Preview

2014 Season Preview

I know it's hard to believe when you look outside, but baseball season if officially upon us. The road to Omaha starts Friday night. Let's take a look at the players and teams you'll want to familiarize yourself with this season.


Baseball America's Top 25


[table="width: 650, class: grid, align: left"]
[tr]
[td]Rank[/td]
[td]Team[/td]
[td]2013 Record[/td]
[td]2013 Rank[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]1.[/td]
[td]Virginia[/td]
[td]50-12[/td]
[td]11[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]2.[/td]
[td]Oregon State[/td]
[td]52-13[/td]
[td]4[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]3.[/td]
[td]Indiana[/td]
[td]49-16[/td]
[td]7[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]4.[/td]
[td]Cal State Fullerton[/td]
[td]51-10[/td]
[td]10[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]5.[/td]
[td]NC State[/td]
[td]50-16[/td]
[td]6[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]6.[/td]
[td]Florida State[/td]
[td]47-17[/td]
[td]12[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]7.[/td]
[td]South Carolina[/td]
[td]43-20[/td]
[td]14[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]8.[/td]
[td]Mississippi State[/td]
[td]51-20[/td]
[td]2[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]9.[/td]
[td]LSU[/td]
[td]57-11[/td]
[td]5[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]10.[/td]
[td]Vanderbilt[/td]
[td]54-12[/td]
[td]9[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]11[/td]
[td]Oregon[/td]
[td]48-16[/td]
[td]17[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]12.[/td]
[td]UCLA[/td]
[td]49-17[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]13.[/td]
[td]Clemson[/td]
[td]40-22[/td]
[td]NR[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]14.[/td]
[td]UL Lafayette[/td]
[td]43-20[/td]
[td]NR[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]15.[/td]
[td]Rice[/td]
[td]44-20[/td]
[td]16[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]16.[/td]
[td]Miami[/td]
[td]37-25[/td]
[td]NR[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]17.[/td]
[td]North Carolina[/td]
[td]59-12[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]18.[/td]
[td]Texas[/td]
[td]27-24[/td]
[td]NR[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]19.[/td]
[td]TCU[/td]
[td]29-28[/td]
[td]NR[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]20.[/td]
[td]Louisville[/td]
[td]51-14[/td]
[td]8[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]21.[/td]
[td]Alabama[/td]
[td]35-28[/td]
[td]NR[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]22.[/td]
[td]Kansas State[/td]
[td]45-19[/td]
[td]13[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]23.[/td]
[td]Florida[/td]
[td]29-30[/td]
[td]NR[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]24.[/td]
[td]Texas A&M[/td]
[td]34-29[/td]
[td]NR[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]25.[/td]
[td]Arkansas[/td]
[td]39-22[/td]
[td]18[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

Players to Watch


[table="width: 650, class: grid, align: left"]
[tr]
[td]Skye Bolt[/td]
[td]CF[/td]
[td]UNC[/td]
[td]So.[/td]
[td].321[/td]
[td].418[/td]
[td].491[/td]
[td]6 HR[/td]
[td]10 SB[/td]

[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Michael Conforto[/td]
[td]LF[/td]
[td]Oregon State[/td]
[td]Jr.[/td]
[td].328[/td]
[td].447[/td]
[td].526[/td]
[td]11 HR[/td]
[td]6 SB[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Mike Papi[/td]
[td]1B[/td]
[td]Virgnia[/td]
[td]Jr.[/td]
[td].381[/td]
[td].517[/td]
[td].619[/td]
[td]7 HR[/td]
[td]6 SB[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Derek Fisher[/td]
[td]LF[/td]
[td]Virginia[/td]
[td]Jr.[/td]
[td].293[/td]
[td].405[/td]
[td].483[/td]
[td]7 HR[/td]
[td]8 SB[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Brandon Downes[/td]
[td]CF[/td]
[td]Virginia[/td]
[td]Jr.[/td]
[td].316[/td]
[td].393[/td]
[td].569[/td]
[td]10 HR[/td]
[td]6 SB[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Kyle Schwarber[/td]
[td]C[/td]
[td]Indiana[/td]
[td]Jr.[/td]
[td].366[/td]
[td].456[/td]
[td].647[/td]
[td]18 HR[/td]
[td]54 RBI[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Trea Turner[/td]
[td]SS[/td]
[td]NC State[/td]
[td]Jr.[/td]
[td].368[/td]
[td].455[/td]
[td].553[/td]
[td]7 HR[/td]
[td]30 SB[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Alex Bregman[/td]
[td]SS[/td]
[td]LSU[/td]
[td]So.[/td]
[td].369[/td]
[td].417[/td]
[td].569[/td]
[td]6 HR[/td]
[td]16 SB[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Caleb Adams[/td]
[td]LF[/td]
[td]UL Lafayette[/td]
[td]Jr.[/td]
[td].339[/td]
[td].435[/td]
[td].651[/td]
[td]16 HR[/td]
[td]55 RBI[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Max Pentecost[/td]
[td]C[/td]
[td]Kennesaw State[/td]
[td]Jr.[/td]
[td].290[/td]
[td].369[/td]
[td].503[/td]
[td]3 HR[/td]
[td]30 RBI[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Joey Pankake[/td]
[td]3B[/td]
[td]South Carolina[/td]
[td]Jr.[/td]
[td].311[/td]
[td].387[/td]
[td].496[/td]
[td]11 HR[/td]
[td]7 SB[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Bradley Zimmer[/td]
[td]RF[/td]
[td]San Francisco[/td]
[td]Jr.[/td]
[td].320[/td]
[td].437[/td]
[td].512[/td]
[td]7 HR[/td]
[td]19 SB[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]


With Skye Bolt, Joey Pankake and Max Pentecost, we're talking 80 grade names... Bolt's stellar freshman season was derailed by a significant leg injury... Trea Turner is the most exciting player in college baseball, an electric runner with gap power out of the leadoff spot... Bregman won national Freshman of the Year honors in 2013 and could double his power output this year... The UVa kids bring power, discipline and athleticism to the table... Papi's .517 OBP is not a typo... Zimmer is built like a tight end, 6'5 230 with a rare blend of power and speed.

Pitchers to Watch


[table="width: 650, class: grid"]
[tr]
[td]Carlos Rodon[/td]
[td]LHP[/td]
[td]NC State[/td]
[td]Jr.[/td]
[td]2.99[/td]
[td]132 IP[/td]
[td]184 SO[/td]
[td]45 BB[/td]

[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Aaron Nola[/td]
[td]RHP[/td]
[td]LSU[/td]
[td]Jr.[/td]
[td]2.42[/td]
[td]216 IP[/td]
[td]122 SO[/td]
[td]18 BB[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Andrew Moore[/td]
[td]RHP[/td]
[td]Oregon State[/td]
[td]So.[/td]
[td]1.79[/td]
[td]131 IP[/td]
[td]72 SO[/td]
[td]28 BB[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Thomas Eshelman[/td]
[td]RHP[/td]
[td]Cal State Fullerton[/td]
[td]So.[/td]
[td]1.48[/td]
[td]116 IP[/td]
[td]83 SO[/td]
[td]3 BB[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Justin Garza[/td]
[td]RHP[/td]
[td]Cal State Fullerton[/td]
[td]So.[/td]
[td]2.03[/td]
[td]115 IP[/td]
[td]95 SO[/td]
[td]17 BB[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Brandon Finnegan[/td]
[td]LHP[/td]
[td]TCU[/td]
[td]Jr.[/td]
[td]3.18[/td]
[td]79 IP[/td]
[td]86 SO[/td]
[td]35 BB[/td]

[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Andrew Suarez[/td]
[td]LHP[/td]
[td]Miami[/td]
[td]So.[/td]
[td]3.95[/td]
[td]87 IP[/td]
[td]57 SO[/td]
[td]19 BB[/td]

[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Jonathan Holder[/td]
[td]RHP[/td]
[td]Mississippi State[/td]
[td]Jr.[/td]
[td]1.65[/td]
[td]55 IP[/td]
[td]90 SO[/td]
[td]21 SV[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]


Rodon is as close to an ace as you can find, he will be the number 1 pick in the draft, and has a Randy Johnson-esque slider from the left side… Nola could be a top 10 pick this spring; he never walks anybody and can spot 93-94 to both sides of the plate… Moore and Eshelman (3 walks in 115 innings!) are you typical low 90s control/command guys who like to work down in the zone… Finnegan is a very projectable draft prospect due to the fastball life (93-98 from the left side)… Suarez is another lefty climbing up draft boards. He's up to 95-96 and is Miami's most draftable starter despite being the Sunday guy… Holder is probably the best closer in the country, anchoring down the 7th, 8th or 9th on any given night for the nation's most frequently used bullpen.

Bandwagon Guide


Virginia - The Cavs are loaded with a balanced, experienced lineup and an elite pitching staff. They are the number 1 team entering the season, so if you want to latch on to a winner this is the obvious choice. Only thing standing in their way is the 59-year old voodoo hex over teams from the ACC.

Indiana - Another loaded, veteran lineup. Five hitters returning who posted .300./.400/.500 slash lines last season. Indiana is possibly the nation's best offensive club top to bottom. If it it's not the Hoosiers, it's these next guys …

UL Lafayette - The directional school formerly known as USL led the nation in home runs last year and returns almost all of that power. The Cajuns should host a regional this year and are a good bet to make their first trip to Omaha since 2000.

Cal State Fullerton - Your typical Fullerton squad, disciplined line drive hitters and elite starting pitching. Not exactly the most exciting brand of baseball, but it gets the job done.

Mississippi State - Unorthodox pitching usage makes the Bulldogs interesting. They rarely let their starters get past the 3rd inning, opting instead to rely on their deep and dominant bullpen. Also, their big 1B Wes Rea, all 6'5 285 lbs. of him, is a load in the middle of their lineup.

Oregon - Like their football team, Oregon's game is predicated on speed. Unlike their football team, however, the Ducks are severely offensively challenged. They play your typical west coast style of fundamentals, pitching and small ball and try to win games 1-0 or 2-1. As we saw last summer, that style of baseball is maddeningly effective in Omaha. So they are kind of like UCLA, but not UCLA. Fuck UCLA.


The Cathedrals


Alex Box Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA
Obligatory Alex Box pr0n, please forgive me

 

Dudy-Noble Field, Starkville, MS

 

The Left Field Lounge is possibly the greatest spectator set up of any sport in America. Fans tow run down pickup trucked and motorhomes into highly coveted parking spots before the season and place temporary seating on top. You get the full tailgate experience, replete with grilling and coolers full of booze while literally being able to hang over the left field wall.

PK Park, Eugene, OR

 

When the Ducks converted their baseball program from club level to division 1 in 2009, they built this modern gem. During the summer, the short-season A Eugene Emeralds play here.

Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium, Tallahassee, FL

 

Blue Bell Park, College Station, TX

 

The exterior structure wasn't built until 2012, but it turned this old metal behemoth into an old timey faux retro park with charm.

Willard Stadium, High Point, NC

 

It's one of the purrtiest small scale ballparks you can find in America.

Spring Mobile Park, Salt Lake City, UT

 

This one's kind of cheating since the Utah Utes share it with the AAA Salt Lake City Bees. But dat view tho.



National TV Guide
See attached .pdf

 

[Youk]

Army starting the season this Friday with a 3-game series vs. William & Mary

#ArmyWagon

 

[Woy]

*obligatory post where I bitch about RMU not having a beisbol team*

Will try to watch future Cy Young winner Carlos Rodon in every one of his starts this season.

 

[Goober]

Who is the fuckboy who deleted :bearsalute:?

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Who is the fuckboy who deleted :bearsalute:?

Submit it to Chrispy or in the smiley thread. We had to re-install the vBulletin software and all gifs had to be uploaded again. I guess we missed that one.

 

[NAHSTE]

Friday night produced a lot of upsets and near upsets. No top team was safe. Here's your top 25 round up:

Kentucky 8, Virginia 3
Western Carolina 3, Mississippi State 2
Cal State Fullerton 12, Washington St. 0
Oregon State 4, Gonzaga 3
Florida State 12, Niagara 3
LSU 2, UNO 0
Indiana 1, Texas Tech 0
Portland 1, UCLA 0
Vanderbilit 5, Long Beach State 2
Oregon 3, Hawaii 2
Louisville 7, West Virginia 6 (10)
Rice 10, Stanford 3
Eastern Michigan 6, Clemson 5 (10)
Miami, FL 6, Maine 3
Cal Poly 3, Kansas State 0
Oklahoma State 10, Incarnate Word 5
Baylor 9, Arizona State 7
Florida 4, Maryland 0
TCU 5, Jacksonville 0
Texas A&M 10, Northeastern 2
Eastern Illinois 5, UL Lafayette 1
California 7, Texas 0

And via twitter, your best opening night image, taken from Northeastern vs. Texas A&M:

 

[Matt]

Rondon had 125 pitches today... TJS in the near future for this fella. Just stupid to keep him in with that many pitches.