I'm assuming Arizona is throwing left-hander Garrett Irvin today. They didn't tell Ole Miss the starter ahead of time yesterday, but Irvin obviously makes sense and it's his day in the rotation. The 6-foot, 180-pounder is coming off his best start of the year, throwing a complete game shutout against UC Santa Barbara with 10 strikeouts and no walks. He's a bit feast or famine though. Dixie State got to him for four runs in four innings. On the year, he has a 3.5 1 ERA with 71 strikeouts and 33 walks in 84.2 innings. He's only allowed four home runs.
He's got a three-pitch mix, and the fastball is 87-89 and may max a touch above that. He tries to elevate it a lot to get swing and misses. It's going to be a key tonight because Ole Miss has to punish him when he doesn't elevate enough and then lay off when it's in the eyes. It's not overpowering, but there's some deception in his high leg kick.
The curve ball is pretty sharp with a 1-7 break and it can flash, but it's just average most of the time. It's typically not consistent, but it was last week. I like the changeup to right-handers. He keeps up arm speed really well, and he will get some hitters out on their front foot. He pitches off the fastball, but he'll mix well and try to pitch backwards more the second and third times through.
Last night Ole Miss lost because it didn't hit fastballs early in the count that got too much of the plate. That's the question again tonight. The breaking ball is fine, and if it's great, then it's a tough night, but the odds are it's just fine. Too much swing and miss on the breaking ball is Ole Miss' fault more than Irvin's great stuff. Hit the fastball that's over the plate and misses its location high-low and then don't get too fooled on the changeup.
He's got a three-pitch mix, and the fastball is 87-89 and may max a touch above that. He tries to elevate it a lot to get swing and misses. It's going to be a key tonight because Ole Miss has to punish him when he doesn't elevate enough and then lay off when it's in the eyes. It's not overpowering, but there's some deception in his high leg kick.
The curve ball is pretty sharp with a 1-7 break and it can flash, but it's just average most of the time. It's typically not consistent, but it was last week. I like the changeup to right-handers. He keeps up arm speed really well, and he will get some hitters out on their front foot. He pitches off the fastball, but he'll mix well and try to pitch backwards more the second and third times through.
Last night Ole Miss lost because it didn't hit fastballs early in the count that got too much of the plate. That's the question again tonight. The breaking ball is fine, and if it's great, then it's a tough night, but the odds are it's just fine. Too much swing and miss on the breaking ball is Ole Miss' fault more than Irvin's great stuff. Hit the fastball that's over the plate and misses its location high-low and then don't get too fooled on the changeup.
