There's no reason for a game story. No one needs a play by play of that, and Mike didn't say anything noteworthy. There's nothing to say after that. Ole Miss was dominated in all phases. The defensive issues allowed it to spiral, and the Rebels have to be better in the field considering their path to wins is close games. That much is obvious, and Ole Miss didn't do anything necessary last night to win.
In saying that, Alex Lange was very good last night. He's been inconsistent at times this season, mostly due to his curveball not locating at all, but it did last night, and it's the best offspeed pitch Ole Miss will see this season. Like David Dellucci has said and was certainly the case, you have to hit the fastball, and Ole Miss didn't do that. And it's hard and it cuts and runs, and there's a reason he's going in the top 10 picks this summer, but it's still the pitch to hit. Just look at the curve and move on.
I'm not surprised Lange shut Ole Miss down. Going into last night, the path was keep LSU somewhat cold at the plate and win a low-scoring game. Obviously that didn't happen.
It was James McArthur's worst outing of the season, and next week will be critical for him and Ole Miss as he'll be matched up against Tanner Houck -- another first round pick. On Thursday, he couldn't locate his fastball down and the offspeed pitches were flat and up in the zone, as well. LSU didn't miss fastballs and made him throw get-me-over pitches in bad counts. It was one start. I'm not going to go crazy on McArthur after one game in Baton Rouge.
I get all the frustration with the moving parts and some of the lineup decisions. Your options at first base are Colby Bortles, a true freshman or a JUCO transfer. Two of those have never played the position before this year, and Cole Zabowski has struggled with handling the bag defensively. I think I still would have played Zabowski. Lefty with possible power and he's 7 for his last 21 at the plate.
Kyle Watson is 0 for his last 18 offensively, and he's not giving the amount of quality at-bats or the defense that Grae Kessinger is. Ole Miss is a competitive bat short to fill out the lineup right now, so these moving parts will likely continue.
The Pollyanna but true statement: It was just one game. 1-0 or 28-2 means exactly the same, and the two teams will reset tonight at 7 p.m. But the early innings have never been more critical. David Parkinson desperately needs some early zeroes, and Ole Miss has to establish something against Jared Poche because he's a rhythm pitcher who can get in these insane stretches of dominance.
I know the offense has been the fatal flaw for more than a month before those five games of five runs or more, but that wasn't it last night. Lange doing that was somewhat anticipated. The pitching and defense have to be better for this team to win. And last night they were both bad. I can't blame Bortles for the onslaught in that inning. He's out of position and had made great catches that were more of what he was used to. He's not going to be great with his feet around the bag at first. Not enough reps.
Credit to Tim Rowe. He had two more hits and just keeps swinging.
Box score: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools...o_pdf/2016-17/box_score/stats_20170414aaa.pdf
In saying that, Alex Lange was very good last night. He's been inconsistent at times this season, mostly due to his curveball not locating at all, but it did last night, and it's the best offspeed pitch Ole Miss will see this season. Like David Dellucci has said and was certainly the case, you have to hit the fastball, and Ole Miss didn't do that. And it's hard and it cuts and runs, and there's a reason he's going in the top 10 picks this summer, but it's still the pitch to hit. Just look at the curve and move on.
I'm not surprised Lange shut Ole Miss down. Going into last night, the path was keep LSU somewhat cold at the plate and win a low-scoring game. Obviously that didn't happen.
It was James McArthur's worst outing of the season, and next week will be critical for him and Ole Miss as he'll be matched up against Tanner Houck -- another first round pick. On Thursday, he couldn't locate his fastball down and the offspeed pitches were flat and up in the zone, as well. LSU didn't miss fastballs and made him throw get-me-over pitches in bad counts. It was one start. I'm not going to go crazy on McArthur after one game in Baton Rouge.
I get all the frustration with the moving parts and some of the lineup decisions. Your options at first base are Colby Bortles, a true freshman or a JUCO transfer. Two of those have never played the position before this year, and Cole Zabowski has struggled with handling the bag defensively. I think I still would have played Zabowski. Lefty with possible power and he's 7 for his last 21 at the plate.
Kyle Watson is 0 for his last 18 offensively, and he's not giving the amount of quality at-bats or the defense that Grae Kessinger is. Ole Miss is a competitive bat short to fill out the lineup right now, so these moving parts will likely continue.
The Pollyanna but true statement: It was just one game. 1-0 or 28-2 means exactly the same, and the two teams will reset tonight at 7 p.m. But the early innings have never been more critical. David Parkinson desperately needs some early zeroes, and Ole Miss has to establish something against Jared Poche because he's a rhythm pitcher who can get in these insane stretches of dominance.
I know the offense has been the fatal flaw for more than a month before those five games of five runs or more, but that wasn't it last night. Lange doing that was somewhat anticipated. The pitching and defense have to be better for this team to win. And last night they were both bad. I can't blame Bortles for the onslaught in that inning. He's out of position and had made great catches that were more of what he was used to. He's not going to be great with his feet around the bag at first. Not enough reps.
Credit to Tim Rowe. He had two more hits and just keeps swinging.
Box score: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools...o_pdf/2016-17/box_score/stats_20170414aaa.pdf
