Oklahoma is going with ace left-hander Jake Bennett on Saturday against the Rebels. He allowed four runs on five hits in six innings against Texas A&M in the College World Series opener, striking out three and not walking a batter. On the season, Bennett has a 3.66 ERA in 110 innings with 123 strikeouts and 22 walks. In the super regional against Virginia Tech, Bennett threw seven innings and allowed one earned run. He gave up three runs to Liberty in 5.2 innings in the regional opener and came back for two innings of one-run ball against Florida.
He started the season on fire, allowing three earned runs in his first 30 innings, and he has been steady to really good for most of the season since then. He's gotten banged around three times: seven runs in five innings to Oklahoma State, six runs in 4.2 innings to Lamar and seven runs in 4.2 innings to TCU. Hard contact, not walks, are usually the issue when he's not his best.
The 6-foot-6 sophomore profiles as a bad matchup for Ole Miss, especially to left-handers, but he doesn't have any one pitch that's particularly devastating. They just all work together really well. He's a three-pitch guy who probably profiles as a starter at the next level. He'l sit in the low 90s tonight from a high three-quarters arm angle and he throws across his body a little bit which will add difficulty for left-handers. The right-handed batters have to punish the fastball.
The slider is 82-85 if he's sharp, and he does a great job tunneling it off his fastball. That's what Ole Miss struggled with this week versus Arkansas -- not recognizing it's a slider until it's too late and then waving at it. He's going to go slider-heavy to lefties and try to get swing and misses on pitches down and out of the zone, so Ole Miss has to do a better job picking it up. It has good two-plane break, and it's his best pitch.
He'll throw a changeup to right-handers that's not a great pitch, but it's troublesome if he keeps it down in the strike zone. He replicates arm speed with it most of the time but can get a little off and give it away with his arm angle and arm speed at times.
The Rebel right-handers need to hit the fastball and should see it well. But you have to get it. Miss fastballs and it's going to be very difficult to get to Bennett. The slider isn't as difficult for them and they can make him throw it for a strike. Waving at the changeup or rolling over it would be a sign that things aren't going as well. Left-handed hitters have to pick up the slider. That makes the fastball much more manageable.
He throws hard, throws strikes and is a really quality arm. He allowed one earned run in a combined 11.2 to Auburn and LSU early this season. It's not any one pitch, but he's one of the best in the country at using all three together with the same angles and arm speed. OU has done a great job developing him. He's gettable but he makes you earn it.
I'd give OU an advantage today and Ole Miss an advantage tomorrow. In a way, the pressure is on the Sooners today.
RebelGrove.com's College World Series coverage is brought to you by the Clearwater Group.
The Clearwater Group is a Mississippi based public affairs firm focused on lobbying, communications and grassroots advocacy issues. They represent a wide range of national and state businesses and associations who are involved in healthcare, gaming, engineering, education, telecommunications, finance and a number of other industries interfacing with government.
The firm has a proven track record of guiding successful client issues involving the state legislature, state agencies as well as local governmental entities. If your business has legislative issues or projects being considered by state officials, partner with the Clearwater Group to ensure you have a strategic plan to put you on a pathway to success.
He started the season on fire, allowing three earned runs in his first 30 innings, and he has been steady to really good for most of the season since then. He's gotten banged around three times: seven runs in five innings to Oklahoma State, six runs in 4.2 innings to Lamar and seven runs in 4.2 innings to TCU. Hard contact, not walks, are usually the issue when he's not his best.
The 6-foot-6 sophomore profiles as a bad matchup for Ole Miss, especially to left-handers, but he doesn't have any one pitch that's particularly devastating. They just all work together really well. He's a three-pitch guy who probably profiles as a starter at the next level. He'l sit in the low 90s tonight from a high three-quarters arm angle and he throws across his body a little bit which will add difficulty for left-handers. The right-handed batters have to punish the fastball.
The slider is 82-85 if he's sharp, and he does a great job tunneling it off his fastball. That's what Ole Miss struggled with this week versus Arkansas -- not recognizing it's a slider until it's too late and then waving at it. He's going to go slider-heavy to lefties and try to get swing and misses on pitches down and out of the zone, so Ole Miss has to do a better job picking it up. It has good two-plane break, and it's his best pitch.
He'll throw a changeup to right-handers that's not a great pitch, but it's troublesome if he keeps it down in the strike zone. He replicates arm speed with it most of the time but can get a little off and give it away with his arm angle and arm speed at times.
The Rebel right-handers need to hit the fastball and should see it well. But you have to get it. Miss fastballs and it's going to be very difficult to get to Bennett. The slider isn't as difficult for them and they can make him throw it for a strike. Waving at the changeup or rolling over it would be a sign that things aren't going as well. Left-handed hitters have to pick up the slider. That makes the fastball much more manageable.
He throws hard, throws strikes and is a really quality arm. He allowed one earned run in a combined 11.2 to Auburn and LSU early this season. It's not any one pitch, but he's one of the best in the country at using all three together with the same angles and arm speed. OU has done a great job developing him. He's gettable but he makes you earn it.
I'd give OU an advantage today and Ole Miss an advantage tomorrow. In a way, the pressure is on the Sooners today.
RebelGrove.com's College World Series coverage is brought to you by the Clearwater Group.
The Clearwater Group is a Mississippi based public affairs firm focused on lobbying, communications and grassroots advocacy issues. They represent a wide range of national and state businesses and associations who are involved in healthcare, gaming, engineering, education, telecommunications, finance and a number of other industries interfacing with government.
The firm has a proven track record of guiding successful client issues involving the state legislature, state agencies as well as local governmental entities. If your business has legislative issues or projects being considered by state officials, partner with the Clearwater Group to ensure you have a strategic plan to put you on a pathway to success.
