vs UNCW
- hapapp
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Re: vs UNCW
Not sure I would describe a 1-3 weekend as solid, though we were competitive in three of the 4 games. Our starting pitching was good enough to win those three. However, our relief corps took the loss in two of the three games and really struggled yesterday giving up the lead three times. Perhaps the point we struggled most was in the batters box. As a team we hit .165 for the weekend and have only three players currently hitting above .200.
It is early and a 1-3 start doesn't forecast the season. We did play much better after the first game loss and took #24 UNCW to the wire. Hopefully, in the series with G-W the bats will wake up. Playing so many games on the road to start the season is tough. I trust Coach Smith will keep the team upbeat and resilient along the way.
It is early and a 1-3 start doesn't forecast the season. We did play much better after the first game loss and took #24 UNCW to the wire. Hopefully, in the series with G-W the bats will wake up. Playing so many games on the road to start the season is tough. I trust Coach Smith will keep the team upbeat and resilient along the way.
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Re: vs UNCW
I think you nailed it. Starting pitching is good. Middle inning relievers and closers have work to do. Hitting definitely needs to get better. I think this team will grind it out and the coach will improve things as the season moves forward. We were competitive.hapapp wrote:Not sure I would describe a 1-3 weekend as solid, though we were competitive in three of the 4 games. Our starting pitching was good enough to win those three. However, our relief corps took the loss in two of the three games and really struggled yesterday giving up the lead three times. Perhaps the point we struggled most was in the batters box. As a team we hit .165 for the weekend and have only three players currently hitting above .200.
It is early and a 1-3 start doesn't forecast the season. We did play much better after the first game loss and took #24 UNCW to the wire. Hopefully, in the series with G-W the bats will wake up. Playing so many games on the road to start the season is tough. I trust Coach Smith will keep the team upbeat and resilient along the way.
"I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy"
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Re: vs UNCW
Yeah that's the only conclusion I could draw as well. Which isn't unbelievable with it being the 4th game of the weekend.AppDawg wrote:When I saw Herman take the hill in the middle of the 9th, I thought the same thing. Talking with a friend the only thing that makes sense is we didn't have arms available after already playing 3 games Friday and Saturday.Yosef10 wrote:Brutal 8th and 9th innings. I'm far from an expert on the personnel of the team but I'm confused as to why you would run Herman out there for the 9th.
Tough one.
Not a bad showing by the Apps overall the weekend. They will need to work on their situational hitting as we left a ton of guys on and didn't fair too well with RISP. All fixable mistakes.
- AppGrad78
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Re: vs UNCW
One thing I hope coach Smith addresses for future seasons is the disparity between home and away games. I think we have something like 18 home games versus 36 road (or neutral site) games. Although the home-field advantage isn't as pronounced in baseball as in other sports, it does count for something.
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Re: vs UNCW
You guys have watched major league baseball as well? - right?AppFan11 wrote:Really..... you have bases loaded and no outs and top of the order up and you can't produce a run....... all you need is to get the ball in the outfield. They need lots of batting practice.
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Re: vs UNCW
Away games mean travel time, time away from classes, and disruption of overall schedule. Being able to stay home and play games is a big advantage in my opinion in just about any sport regardless of the fan aspect. The Apps early season schedule is always brutal from a travel prospective.AppGrad78 wrote:One thing I hope coach Smith addresses for future seasons is the disparity between home and away games. I think we have something like 18 home games versus 36 road (or neutral site) games. Although the home-field advantage isn't as pronounced in baseball as in other sports, it does count for something.
- hapapp
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Re: vs UNCW
I'm sure its because of the weather that we travel so much early on. The irony is this year, playing at home early would have been fine to this point.
- JTApps1
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Re: vs UNCW
Having an extra game this weekend compare to UNCW likely came into play later in the game. It is good to see us being competitive against a ranked team, and we had chances to win 3 out of 4 this weekend. This year is about establishing a new culture and getting better which is starting to happen little by little.
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Re: vs UNCW
That is exactly the reason for the disparity. It becomes a major hassle when you have to reschedule games due to weather.hapapp wrote:I'm sure its because of the weather that we travel so much early on. The irony is this year, playing at home early would have been fine to this point.
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Re: vs UNCW
I'm optimistic for the season. First two games the boys were swinging at bad pitches up in the zone chasing. The next two games were more disciplined working pitch counts and swinging at their pitch. The bats will come alive as time goes on first tourney out they played well. Very upbeat dugout always high fives on coming in from field.. Big culture change in the works.
Be patient App Faithful... Omaha is not a destination.... It is a Mindset...
Be patient App Faithful... Omaha is not a destination.... It is a Mindset...
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Re: vs UNCW
One of my favorite things I heard from the dugout yesterday... "Win This Pitch"epiphone_74 wrote:I'm optimistic for the season. First two games the boys were swinging at bad pitches up in the zone chasing. The next two games were more disciplined working pitch counts and swinging at their pitch. The bats will come alive as time goes on first tourney out they played well. Very upbeat dugout always high fives on coming in from field.. Big culture change in the works.
Be patient App Faithful... Omaha is not a destination.... It is a Mindset...
- MtnDevil95
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Re: vs UNCW
During last week's Black & Gold podcast, Coach Smith spoke a lot about the culture of team baseball that he wants to focus on first and foremost, which I think will be vital to the long term success of the program. When asked about offensive strategy he mentioned having a mindset to extend innings and getting specific to have the players extending at bats. He talked about recognizing that, hopefully there are not any 3 up 3 down innings, even if there are did the players push an 0-2 count full? It starts with the specifics and builds on that.
I wasn't able to watch all the games this weekend, but it seems to me the team made some progress on this front.
I wasn't able to watch all the games this weekend, but it seems to me the team made some progress on this front.
“When you take that field today, you've got to lay that heart on the line, men. From the souls of your feet, with every ounce of blood you've got in your body, lay it on the line until the final whistle blows.”
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Re: vs UNCW
Yes. There were several 1-2 and 0-2 counts where we drew a walk, including in high leverage situations late in the game. The Freshman Grubbs was especially impressive with his plate discipline.MtnDevil95 wrote:During last week's Black & Gold podcast, Coach Smith spoke a lot about the culture of team baseball that he wants to focus on first and foremost, which I think will be vital to the long term success of the program. When asked about offensive strategy he mentioned having a mindset to extend innings and getting specific to have the players extending at bats. He talked about recognizing that, hopefully there are not any 3 up 3 down innings, even if there are did the players push an 0-2 count full? It starts with the specifics and builds on that.
I wasn't able to watch all the games this weekend, but it seems to me the team made some progress on this front.