D1 - Weekend Preview: March 27-29
Surprising Missouri seizing opportunities
By Kendall Rogers
Missouri might finally have found its identity in the Southeastern Conference.
As was the case with fellow ex-Big 12 team Texas A&M, the Tigers entered the SEC two seasons ago not real sure what to expect. Long-time Mizzou head coach Tim Jamieson had experienced a lot of success in the Big 12, and sure, he knew the SEC was a good conference. But this good at the top, and goodness, this balanced?
It is pretty clear the Tigers didn't make a smooth transition at first. Missouri struggled immensely in its first season in the conference, while the second wasn't better despite having some quality arms. Missouri finished its first two seasons in the SEC with an overall record of 38-65. It was that bad, and it left me wondering if the Tigers had what it took to make that full transition once and for all.
Missouri has enjoyed the services of righthander Reggie McClain. (Kyle Mazabob)
Missouri has enjoyed the services of righthander Reggie McClain. (Kyle Mazabob)
Well, thanks to Reggie McClain, Tanner Houck, and plenty of others, the answer is a resounding yes, as the Tigers enter this weekend's crucial series at No. 3 Texas A&M with a 19-7 overall record, 5-1 mark in league play, and clearly on the cusp of the latest D1Baseball Top 25.
The Tigers have had quite the whirlwind season thus far. They started the year on a hot note, going 10-1, albeit against not exactly the greatest competition. Then, in a home series, the Tigers were swept by Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
That knocked Missouri right out of Top 25 consideration, and rightfully so.
"I think the bottom line is that no matter who we've played, we've struggled to score runs. We just have a team that really has to pitch it well to win, even in the midweek," Jamieson said. "The names of teams we're playing aren't historic, but I still think they're pretty decent clubs. For us, this is pretty much the same team each day. We're not going to have a lot of run scoring opportunities. We just really have to play defense and pitch. That's about it."
The Tigers had their will tested in that Milwaukee series. Missouri had been so fragile in 2013 and '14, and that series left many of us wondering if it was one they'd recover from. Jamieson's club left little double very soon after, hitting the road and sweeping Georgia in a series where it allowed five runs in three games. Then the Tigers returned home last weekend to take a series from South Carolina, and they could have swept the series if they could have held off the Gamecocks after racing out to a 3-0 lead early in third game.
Missouri suddenly is in great shape despite having an offense that might permanently just struggle outside of Brett Bond (.291/.354/.395) and vastly improved third baseman Josh Lester (.289/.387/.422), who has increased his batting average over 50 points from last season. The Tigers are hitting .250 overall, and also possess a .249 average in league play, though they're just two weeks into conference play so there is time to improve that number.
"I think we can be much better offensively, but the biggest issue we have is we're giving away too many at-bats," Jamieson said. "We need be a bit more disciplined with our approach. We have good team speed, but we don't have a lot of power. We do have some guys who can at least drive balls into the gaps. We just have too many lapses as an offensive unit. It's not a physical thing, it's just a situation where we haven't stepped up there when we've needed to.
"It's frustrating for me," he continued. "I think there's more in there."
Regardless of what the offense does the rest of the way, the Tigers have a consistent and powerful force in their pitching staff. The Tigers rank third in the league in team ERA, two spots behind Texas A&M - their opponent this weekend - and have allowed the fewest runs of anyone in the league through six games.
How have they done it? It's pretty simple, and it starts with McClain and Houck.
McClain transferred to Missouri from Manatee (Fla.) CC, and has been a real Godsend. He's a command-heavy pitcher who is steady mentally and not afraid to hold the Friday night role. McClain has been terrific thus far, sitting with a 1.74 ERA in 46.2 innings, along with 40 strikeouts and only seven walks. In addition to his impeccable command, McClain possesses quality stuff. He's 87-90 with his fastball and keeps his pitches down in the zone. He also can mix in quality secondary stuff, including a changeup.
"For him, it's his ball and attitude, and he's going to be down in the zone, get ahead early in the count, and his stuff is going to have really good life at the plate," Jamieson said. "He gets a lot of swings and misses on balls in the strike zone, and isn't afraid to pitch backwards. He just commands so well and doesn't walk anyone. It also helps that we've played good defense behind him, too."
Then there's Houck. The skinny 6-foot-5, 202-pounder has drawn some very impressive reviews and lofty comparisons through the first few weeks of his collegiate career. The Illinois native was a 12th-round pick of the Blue Jays out of high school, but opted to go to college. So he entered college with high expectations. Houck didn't waste any time impressing the coaching staff, sitting anywhere from 89-93 in the fall and showing electric overall stuff, clearly showing he had what it took to be in the weekend rotation.
The righthander has been a consistent force in the rotation, and he's coming off one of his most impressive outings yet, striking out eight, not walking anyone and allowing just two runs on eight hits in eight innings in a win over South Carolina last weekend. In that game, Houck sat anywhere from 89-93, with a lot of 93s, and even touched 94 on a couple of occasions. He also showed good secondary stuff with a Frisbee slider that reminds Jamieson and the Tigers a lot of former LSU righthander Aaron Nola during his sophomore campaign.
"You have to be poised, competitive and mature to pitch in this league at this age, and he's just one of those guys I don't even call a freshman anymore. Because he doesn't pitch like one," Jamieson said. "You're going to see a lot of 93s and even some 94s, and if you remember Nola as a sophomore, I think he's advanced as Aaron was as a sophomore. He throws from a similar arm slot, and he throws a little harder. He also doesn't walk anyone.
"His fastball has life to it, and really, the only time folks have been able to hit him is his fastball, when he's tired, tends to flatten out a bit. With that said, he's ahead of anyone we've ever had as a freshman, including Aaron Crow, Max Scherzer and Kyle Gibson. He just throws strikes, doesn't get rattled, and will just continue to get better as he also develops his changeup."
The Tigers have other quality options on the mound, too. Fellow starting pitcher Peter Fairbanks has a 1.82 ERA in 34.2 innings, while closer Breckin Williams has been a force at the end of games, tallying six saves already and a 1.26 ERA in 14.1 innings. Williams is another power arm for this team, sitting 92-94 with a swing-and-miss curveball and good slider. But most importantly, he has a great closer's mentality and attacks the zone.
It'll be interesting to see how the Tigers progress the rest of the season. In theory, you'd think the offensive woes would eventually catch up to them. But they haven't yet, and Mizzou just keeps getting great starts from its pitchers.
It's taken a while, but the Tigers finally have an identity in this league.
Texas embraces unique approach
By Dustin McComas
AUSTIN, Texas - Normally at this point in the season, long-time Longhorns head coach Augie Garrido has a weekend rotation, closer, and lineup locked in. As past seasons progressed, changes in those roles were very rare. Part of that was because Texas had strong starting players that took over those roles and never relinquished them. However, part of that also was because, believe it not, Texas simply didn't have the depth in recent years. It's different now.
Texas needs righthander Parker French to have a strong weekend against Nebraska. (Texas)
Texas needs righthander Parker French to have a strong weekend against Nebraska. (Texas)
Now, Garrido has a dugout and bullpen full of talented players that can contribute in many ways. After two weeks in Big 12 play, the rotation, outside of veteran righthander Parker French and maybe Chad Hollingsworth, isn't set in stone. And the closer spot - a position at Texas that's treated like quarterback on the football team - is not just up for grabs; it's a matchup-based platoon. This season is a unique one for Texas, which never pinch-hit and went away from roles in the postseason last year mostly because it didn't have anyone else. That uniqueness is something Garrido and the Longhorns are embracing.
"Right, it is," responded Garrido Wednesday afternoon when asked if this season was different from past ones because roles aren't as filled as normal, and they're comfortable in that because of the depth and production. "That comes from the recruiting depth."
Indeed, it does. Assistant coaches Skip Johnson and Tommy Nicholson have teamed up to stock the roster with talent top-to-bottom. Heck, the combination of the new baseballs, production, and talent has even changed the rate at which Garrido implements his famous small ball strategy on offense.
"I think we are hitting the ball hard and often," Garrido said. "And I think it will kind of change the way we use the offense. We have to get runners moving a little more in different ways than just bunting them over and stealing bases. Because of the way we're hitting the ball, we might move into more hit-and-run, run-and-hits, and move them that way."
We're accustomed to big names like Huston Street, J. Brent Cox, Austin Wood, Chance Ruffin and Corey Knebel as All-American closer types at the end of games for Texas. Right now, the Longhorns are comfortable using a six-man bullpen that includes three righthanders (Ty Marlow, Kyle Johnston, Connor Mayes) and three lefthanders (Travis Duke, Ty Culbreth, Kirby Bellow). Of those six, four different ones have recorded at least one save this year. Texas tries to get to Mayes - a freshman with a strong mix of low-90s fastball, slurve, and changeup - against righties late and Bellow, who has enjoyed a renaissance on the mound thanks to a changed delivery and move to a plus curve instead of a hard slider, against lefties.
"I think that's a good analysis of the current situation," responded Garrido when asked if Texas is taking comfort in its platoon-like approach to closer. "But I think we're starting to gain more confidence in Connor Mayes as someone that will throw strikes with a variety of pitches at the end of the game with runners on base and the game on the line. And the same goes for Kirby Bellow. I think getting to those two is where we are right now. That appears to be establishing itself more clearly."
Although the lineup is steadier, Garrido hasn't hesitated to use its depth, like pinch-hitting freshman Joe Baker late in Tuesday's comeback win on the road at Texas State.
"And the same thing for the players. We haven't done a lot of pinch-hitting
as you go into championship play, you're going to get matchups from the pitching and you want to be able to counter that," Garrido said. "We have that [ability]. But the first thing is to develop the team and the team concept. That's why you see me hold to the lineup pretty steady all the way through
these players have in their heads a description of what each position in the batting order is supposed to do, and it's hard to get that out too
we haven't really completely committed to that process yet. The good news is they have a strong will to win and they have the talent to act on it because in every game we've made a move (late) to win the game from the offensive side, and that's not something we've had for quite a while."
Garrido said Wednesday he hopes to take his team by TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha during the team's weekend trip to the Cornhusker State to face streaking Nebraska. He also hopes to ride the depth and talent of this team to Omaha a couple of months from now.
Tennessee looking to hit 'reset' button
By Aaron Fitt
Dave Serrano doesn't mince words. If he thinks his program is a couple of years away from contending, he says so publicly. If he thinks he's got a good club, he doesn't back down from speaking boldly about his expectations.
Serrano is refreshingly candid in a way that few coaches are. Heading into this season, he made it clear that he expected his Tennessee Volunteers to make a leap forward - to make a regional for the first time since 2005, but also to make a run in the postseason. Given the talent on the roster, it was not an outlandish forecast, and we ranked the Vols No. 25 in our preseason rankings.
So Tennessee's 10-11 start (1-5 in the SEC) has been a notable disappointment, both to those outside the program and to insiders. And Serrano isn't shying away from that reality, either.
Dave Serrano
Dave Serrano
"I like this team; I'm as confused as anybody," Serrano said. "Obviously there's a lot of frustrated people in our fan base, and I get that. There's every right to be frustrated; this team has underachieved. I'm OK saying that because I'm in the front of the boat. I don't know what has crept in, but a tightness. A tightness has crept in. I blame myself because I came out for the first time in four years and said our goal is Omaha, looked past the SEC tournament, the regionals and the super regionals. That's probably a mistake on my part. That's probably too big of a vision to look at."
The Vols have lost road series to Florida International, UC Irvine and Florida. They had an early series against Rutgers canceled due to wintry weather, which was certainly a developmental setback for Tennessee. They hit rock bottom last weekend, getting swept at home by Georgia in embarrassing fashion. On Saturday, the Volunteers committed seven errors and allowed nine unearned runs. They made three more errors and gave up four more unearned runs on Sunday. They exhibited awful baserunning in the series too, running into unforced outs repeatedly.
"It was a low point in my coaching career of not being able to control anything that was happening," Serrano said. "And I'm in it with them. But we're trying to focus more the positive. We've just got to let it go and move forward."
This week, Serrano said the Volunteers were hitting the "reset" button on their season. He told his players to treat Wednesday's game against Cincinnati as Opening Day. They know they can't change the past, but they can refocus on smaller, shorter-term goals, and then maybe their bigger goals can still be attained. The Vols responded with a 7-0 win against the Bearcats. It wasn't a flawless performance - they still committed two errors and mustered just four hits in the victory - but they pitched well. And most importantly, they are now 1-0 in their new season, with a trip to in-state rival and national superpower Vanderbilt looming this weekend.
Last year, Tennessee's series victory over the Commodores in early April was the high point of its season. It was an intense, chippy series in Knoxville, and it brought out the best in the young Volunteers. On paper, this Tennessee team is good enough to beat anybody - it's just a matter of playing smart.
"They have talent," said one scout who has seen a number of Tennessee games. "They just find ways to beat themselves."
Tennessee has a brutal .951 team fielding percentage, so it must begin by playing better defense. There is hope for this unit; at least the Vols have two quality defenders in the middle infield with shortstop A.J. Simcox and second baseman Nick Senzel.
That Simcox/Senzel duo also makes up two of UT's top four hitters. Senzel (.354/.422/.557) and preseason All-American Christin Stewart (.324/.462/.676, 6 HR, 19 HR) would be formidable middle-of-the-lineup threats for any team in college baseball, and junior Vincent Jackson (.347/.472/.417) has dramatically improved his on-base skills and become a good leadoff man, though he is not driving the ball the way you might expect a 6-foot-6 physical specimen to.
Nick Senzel (Photo by Andrew Bruckse/Tennessee Athletics)
Nick Senzel (Photo by Andrew Bruckse/Tennessee Athletics)
Tennessee needs more production from the rest of its lineup, and it needs more consistency in its lineup. Serrano said he is going to try to settle on a core group of starters and resist shuffling the lineup; two-way talent Andrew Lee has begun to play regularly at DH, and expect him to be a powerful fixture in the lineup going forward. The Vols also need more out of NAIA transfer Chris Hall, who was one of the team's best hitters in the fall but has gotten off to a brutal start for Tennessee, going just 1-for-28 (.036).
"That's a guy we need to get going," Serrano said. "He was a spark plug for us, and he's played well below his capabilities.
"The other thing I think we've done to ourselves, we went in with a plan for ourselves. Then we start playing musical chairs with some guys, and I think it brought a sense of doubt. Every team I've been a part of that was successful, there's been some solidified spots."
On the mound, Serrano is making a tweak to his rotation this weekend. Bulldog Bret Marks and talented lefty Drake Owenby will remain in the top two spots, but Kyle Serrano (Dave's son) will move from the Sunday spot into the bullpen, and sophomore righty Hunter Martin will take over the Sunday starter job.
"I would say out of four starts, Kyle's been very good in two and very average in two," Dave Serrano said. "His stuff has been phenomenal - he was up to 97 this weekend. But it's the same old deal, he's working too hard
I think this will take some pressure off him, allow him to throw that 94-96 fastball and spin that breaking ball, shorten the repertoire of pitches he has to use. It's there, it's just taken longer than I thought it would. I think it's a confidence deal. He's no different from this team. I hate the word 'potential,' but that's what he has and this team has."
As the season progresses, "potential" becomes irrelevant, and only results matter. Serrano hopes this team is still capable of harnessing its potential, like the 2004 Cal State Fullerton team did. Serrano was an assistant on the staff for that group of Titans, which famously turned a lackluster first half into a run to the national championship.
"By no means am I comparing these two teams, but in 2004, we couldn't do anything right. Then something clicked," Serrano said. "I'm holding onto the fact that something's gonna click. We do need to have more fight. Baseball is a game of adversity and failure. We've got to be able to fight through that adversity and failure and still achieve our goals.
"We've kind of scaled down to smaller short-term goals. Let's just get to the SEC tournament, which is still in our reach. We have a lot of work to do, but let's focus on how good this is going to feel when we get this turned around
I could eat my words, and I've kind of already eaten my words a little bit. Because one thing about me is I have confidence; I have confidence in our kids, confidence in our organization. So sometimes I'll speak highly of our team, where some guys play the coach-talk. There's no doubt in my mind, we're going to look back in May and June and say, 'We turned a really difficult, horrible situation into a positive situation.' There's no doubt in my mind. Two or three years ago, I couldn't have said that, because we didn't have the ability to do that. We have the ability now."
Checking in with Houston's Todd Whitting
By Kendall Rogers
It wasn't long ago Houston coach Todd Whitting was looking for some answers.
The Cougars, who entered the season with the highest preseason ranking in program history, had just split a four-game series with Columbia at home, and began the Houston College Classic with a pair of losses to LSU and Texas A&M, scoring just two runs in those two games, and having ace righthander Jake Lemoine struggle immensely against the Aggies. We've now found out that Lemoine was pitching through a shoulder impingement, and is now on the shelf for another week or two. But at any rate, the Cougars were having a tough weekend, and though they captured a win over Hawaii to end the tournament, it wasn't exactly accomplished in typical Houston fashion. It wasn't the weekend a top-10 club puts together.
Houston needs guys to step up with Jake Lemoine still on the shelf. (Kendall Rogers)
Houston needs guys to step up with Jake Lemoine still on the shelf. (Kendall Rogers)
Questions still abounded about Houston.
The veteran Cougars have since answered a lot of those questions, and frankly, quelled a lot of doubts. They've won 10 straight contests since playing the Aggies at Minute Maid Park, and they've found dramatic ways to win games. Just earlier this week, the Cougars rallied late to beat Lamar at home, and that came following a road series sweep over a quality New Mexico club without Lemoine.
"I think early on, everything just kind of hit us at once, whether it was struggling or injuries, and this team just kind of went into a tailspin. Those things can happen," Whitting said. "We're just playing really, really hard right now. This team just has a next man up mentality, and it's special to see.
"The season is so long, and teams are going to have ups and downs. Every team is going to go through a stretch where they're not playing well in some situations. But even in those situations, you can right the ship pretty quickly. And it's seemed we've done that."
Not everything has been impressive for the Cougars during this winning streak. For instance, they enter a huge American Athletic Conference series this weekend against UCF without Lemoine, and also have relegated senior righthander Aaron Garza to the bullpen the past couple of weeks. Whitting said Garza is throwing better out of the pen, but the Cougars obviously would have preferred him to be a quality starter like he was for the first three years of his collegiate career. UH also needs Jared Robinson to step up. Robinson was expected to log a lot of innings this year, and his role was magnified when Bubba Maxwell went down with an injury. Robinson, though, has a 4.91 ERA in 11 innings, and hardly has been a knockout reliever.
Adding to the headaches for Whitting and his coaching staff, the Cougars found out Thursday that outfielder Michael Pyeatt, who had been out since the start of the season with a foot injury, will now miss the rest of the season as surgery is required to fix his issue. The good news is the Cougars expect to get spark plug Connor Hollis back this weekend. Hollis has been dealing with a hamate bone injury, and the Cougars love to have him back in the mix. UH still isn't sure where he'll play in the field, but corner outfield is a safe bet.
"He played in a little simulated game earlier this week and had a couple of hits," Whitting said. "He's an energy bat for us, and it's good to get him back in there."
UH will need some arms to really step up to take a series from a very good UCF club this weekend. Junior-college transfer and righthander Kyle Dowdy (2.28, 23.2) has been solid in the weekend rotation after being moved from the bullpen to that role, while Taylor Cobb could also start this weekend. Cobb works at 89-92 with a good breaking pitch. However, there are times when Cobb doesn't have that breaking pitch working for him. Freshman lefthander Seth Romero is the other option to start this weekend. Romero is an arm we've chronicled already this season. He sat 92-95 in the Houston College Classic, and has continued to develop his secondary stuff, making him more ready to be a starter.
"We threw Romero against Rice last week to get him ready to start this weekend, so that's likely what we're doing. But Cobb is in the mix," Whitting said. "Cobb's body type kind of reminds me of Jake Arrieta when I was at TCU. He kind of has that downhill delivery and he's kind of upright. As for Seth, his secondary stuff is still OK, but he's got to get better with it. But his fastball is down and up, and side-to-side. It continues to be a very good pitch."
Houston still isn't a finished product, but in the midst of a 10-game winning streak, Whitting and his staff can't ask for much more at this point.
Five Teams Needing Wins
By Kendall Rogers
Mississippi State1. Mississippi State - The Bulldogs have been unimpressive the first two weekends of conference play, and it has them in a huge hole with series losses to Alabama, and surprisingly, on the road against Kentucky last weekend. Here's something to chew on: While the Bulldogs hitting .260 isn't too big of a surprise, how about State's pitching staff having a 6.92 ERA in the first two conference series? Until that combination takes a turn for the better, things might not change much this weekend against Auburn. Of course, the Tigers have their own host of issues, too.
University of Virginia logo2. Virginia - There's no doubt coach Brian O'Connor is one of the best in the business, so we're expecting the Cavaliers to make a run at some point. The Cavaliers might've made a turn for the better in a midweek 10-7 win over Liberty, but we'll see what happens this weekend in South Bend against Notre Dame. Here's a surprise, though: The Cavaliers really struggled at times on the mound last weekend, issuing 34 walks in three games. We knew Virginia wouldn't have an amazing offense, but if the staff struggles again this weekend, it could again spell doom.
Cal State Fullerton Titans logo3. Cal State Fullerton - Is there a more Jekyll and Hyde type of team out there than the Titans? One week these guys will look very good, then for two weeks they'll look just plain bad. Well, the Titans are coming off back-to-back series losses to Long Beach State and Indiana after sweeping Texas Tech. Now, they must take on a much improved Cal State Northridge squad, albeit at home. Fullerton obviously has a terrific one-two punch in Thomas Eshelman and Justin Garza, but the offense has to be better. The Titans enter the Northridge series with an ugly .249 batting average.
Pepperdine logo4. Pepperdine - The Waves have plenty of time to work their magic, especially with series against Portland and Pacific - albeit on the road - the next two weekends. But I'm frankly surprised the Waves are 11-15 overall and just haven't been able to establish an identity. Interestingly enough, righthander Jackson McClelland has one of the more odd stat lines you'll see: He's got a 1.71 ERA in 42 innings, but 20 walks and just 28 strikeouts. It seems he's been able to pitch his way out of trouble effectively.
Stanford logo5. Stanford - You know, the Cardinal does have that built-in excuse that injuries have taken their toll, especially with losing someone of the caliber of righthander Cal Quantrill. But the Cardinal just isn't getting it done overall. Stanford dropped yet another series last weekend to Arizona, and now is 10-11 with a series at Arizona State on the docket. Hint: I don't think that series turns out well for "9" and his team, but I've seen stranger things happen. Stanford has two hitters (Matt Winaker, Mikey Diekroeger) in its everyday lineup hitting over .300. That's not going to get it done.
D1 - Weekend Preview: March 27-29