Ole Miss analytics put this out this morning: Yesterday Ryan Rolison threw 23 sliders, 19 for strikes (82.6%). Twice as many resulted in strike three (8) as balls (4).
Not too shabby, huh? Rolison's opening pitch of the day was 92 MPH. He was up to 94 MPH and he easily held his velocity through the 80 pitches. The slider was efficient as evidenced above, and the changeup is better than last season. I couldn't decide whether to make much of his pitch count, and I'd like to see a few more first pitch strikes, but that's being nitpicky. Winthrop simply couldn't put the bat on the ball.
@cbrister55 hit on it in another thread why I liked Thomas Dillard's at-bats. The recognition was improved, and he stayed on the ball instead of pulling off trying to jerk it like a lot of times last season.
Tim Rowe's home run had an exit speed of 106 MPH and traveled 402 feet. He worked all offseason to use all fields and not be so hooky, but it's a great sign that he still pulled that pitch out of the yard. He has to be comfortable, and he's at his best when he drops the barrel and looks for gaps, so it's just one game but he was great at selecting what pitches to drive and what pitches to take the other way or try to go back up the middle.
Tyler Keenan has a lot of power, and he reminds me a lot of Colby Bortles offensively and defensively. One similarity to Bortles that I wish he wasn't -- at least in the early going -- quite so evident is his tendency to hit the ball with top spin. That double would have left the yard if it didn't come off like a tennis forehand.
Best sign of last night compared to last year's struggles: Four two-out RBIs and Ole Miss advanced runner on 11-of-15 opportunities.
Ole Miss didn't play any reserves last night. I know Mike wants to get Elko a start, but he would probably like a left-handed starter to do it. Winthrop only threw righties last night and is starting two more right-handers this weekend. Curious to see how he shuffles some players.
SEC SCORES
Arkansas 14, Bucknell 2
USM 11, MSU 0
LSU 7, Notre Dame 6
VMI 7, Carolina 6
Alabama 16, Valpo 2
Georgia 22, Georgia Southern 9
Vandy 9, Duke 1
Kentucky 6, Wofford 1
Auburn 6, Longwood 0
Maryland 4, Tennessee 0
Florida 7, Sienna 1
Missouri 3, FIU 1
A&M 4, Rhode Island 1
OTHER WEEKEND OPPONENTS
ULM 7, Eastern Illinois 6
ULM 3, Eastern Illinois 2
Long Beach 4, St. Mary's 1
Tulane 4, Wright State 3
Not too shabby, huh? Rolison's opening pitch of the day was 92 MPH. He was up to 94 MPH and he easily held his velocity through the 80 pitches. The slider was efficient as evidenced above, and the changeup is better than last season. I couldn't decide whether to make much of his pitch count, and I'd like to see a few more first pitch strikes, but that's being nitpicky. Winthrop simply couldn't put the bat on the ball.
@cbrister55 hit on it in another thread why I liked Thomas Dillard's at-bats. The recognition was improved, and he stayed on the ball instead of pulling off trying to jerk it like a lot of times last season.
Tim Rowe's home run had an exit speed of 106 MPH and traveled 402 feet. He worked all offseason to use all fields and not be so hooky, but it's a great sign that he still pulled that pitch out of the yard. He has to be comfortable, and he's at his best when he drops the barrel and looks for gaps, so it's just one game but he was great at selecting what pitches to drive and what pitches to take the other way or try to go back up the middle.
Tyler Keenan has a lot of power, and he reminds me a lot of Colby Bortles offensively and defensively. One similarity to Bortles that I wish he wasn't -- at least in the early going -- quite so evident is his tendency to hit the ball with top spin. That double would have left the yard if it didn't come off like a tennis forehand.
Best sign of last night compared to last year's struggles: Four two-out RBIs and Ole Miss advanced runner on 11-of-15 opportunities.
Ole Miss didn't play any reserves last night. I know Mike wants to get Elko a start, but he would probably like a left-handed starter to do it. Winthrop only threw righties last night and is starting two more right-handers this weekend. Curious to see how he shuffles some players.
SEC SCORES
Arkansas 14, Bucknell 2
USM 11, MSU 0
LSU 7, Notre Dame 6
VMI 7, Carolina 6
Alabama 16, Valpo 2
Georgia 22, Georgia Southern 9
Vandy 9, Duke 1
Kentucky 6, Wofford 1
Auburn 6, Longwood 0
Maryland 4, Tennessee 0
Florida 7, Sienna 1
Missouri 3, FIU 1
A&M 4, Rhode Island 1
OTHER WEEKEND OPPONENTS
ULM 7, Eastern Illinois 6
ULM 3, Eastern Illinois 2
Long Beach 4, St. Mary's 1
Tulane 4, Wright State 3
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