tmh8286 Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 No, I'm not predicting who we might play again - last time was a fiasco, and besides, ORUBlue82 has that covered. But I wanted to pick up on one little statement that Geoff made on Saturday. He said that the WIU coach, Stan Hyman, said that he didn't want to show all of the pitching he had available before the Tournament - so who didn't we see? Anyone that could give ORU trouble during the tournament? So far as I can tell, here's who they've got left: Pitcher Starts ERA W/L Travis Tolsma 13 4.16 5-5 Mark DeBernardo 6 5.14 6-0 Aaron Madill 4 7.83 3-1 I suspect that we'll have no trouble with any of these guys. Tolsma is the best pitcher they have that didn't play this weekend, has the second most starts and has the third best ERA on the team. So we'll have to see just what he's got to offer next week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 I have got to believe that there has to be something dramatic (i.e., injured players, bad officiating, etc.) for us to lose two games this weekend. All three teams have played us close at least one game during their 4-game series this season, but the other three games were no contests. It would have to take two perfect games from our opponents to beat us out of this Tournament and into the NCAAs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 Agreed, Bogus - but I always get nervous this one weekend of the year. We know that we are the prohibitive favorite, but odds are that we WILL lose this tournament SOME year. Hopefully, that year is a long way off. With the strong pitching corps, I don't think we are at much risk this year, but we still need to take care of business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Haxton Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 Side note-- Debernardo beat Iowa on Wednesday.. That's why he didn't go over the weekend. I have no idea what's going to happen. Should be a pretty crazy weekend. Team practicing in St. Louis right now. Ready to get back to Macomb and take care of business. By far, ORU has the best players, the most talent, the best arms, the best bats and the best coaches. That should be enough to bring home the bacon. I'm ready to find out... Reporting live from downtown St. Louie I'm Geoff Haxton. Late Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted May 21, 2007 Author Share Posted May 21, 2007 While he hasn't started as many games as Tolsma, and has a higher ERA, DeBernardo's W/L ratio is certainly better. He could be a threat . . . . . . .NAAAAAH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUJason Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Centenary, Western Illinois and Valparaiso each know that the only way to win this tournament is to go 2-0 in the first 2 games. With that in mind, I assume that Centenary will start their best pitcher against us. It is possible that Western Illinois and/or Valparaiso might gamble and save their best pitcher for their 2nd game (presumably against ORU if they can get past their 1st round opponent). That strategy, while risky, would give them their best chance to win the tournament. I think these teams know that if ORU is 2-0, then none of them will be able to win 3 games in a row, including 2 games against ORU, in a 3-day span, based upon their thin pitching. Does anyone recall if one of our Mid-Con opponents has taken that risk over the last few years and held their ace for the 2nd game, assuming they would be taking on ORU? Is that what happened a few years ago when ORU lost 1 of the first 2 games and had to make it through the loser's bracket to win the tournament? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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