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Pizza Bowl

earsky

Four-Star Poster
Jan 12, 2010
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Started today. Really been impressed with team speed,defense and attitude.

Neighbors has made several gems at second. Hot looks to have an edge at 3rd while Alicea looks like a better version of himself-he's locking down that ss position...so far.
 
Black takes game #1 5-4 in a pretty evenly matched contest after falling behind 2-0.
Red team rallies for 1 in the 9th before the Black team turns 2 to thwart the comeback.
Pretty good game all around.
 
Got to the game 2nd inning yesterday,already 2-0 and I'm thinking what did I miss?
You only get one guess...Tague Davis already launched a bomb. They pretty much pitched around him the rest of the game 😅
 
Red team takes game two 2-1 in 10 innings.
Forbes vs Detmers in a classic pitching duel with some outstanding pitching from both and at least a half dozen defensive gems on hard hit balls.
Forbes has his sights set on having a great season,hitting spots at up to 98 mph. Detmers making a run at cracking the weekend rotation,as he is super competitive.

Some serious baseball over there today folks.
 
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There's a real battle raging in the outfield with no less than 6 guys going at it for 3 spots.
Let's start with Zion Rose. What's there to say about this young man...he's a baller,with last season being no fluke. From there, obviously King has the edge,being in the system for his 4th year,he has been playing right field exclusively.

Lippe is one of the better defensive outfielders I've seen for 1+ seasons and he may be on the outside looking in as Lucas Moore and transfer Garret Pike are battling King for opening day honors. When I first saw Pike,I couldn't believe he hit 20 homers last season at Toledo. He's not as big as King,Rose or Lippe. Then I saw the swing...wow! He broke the 0-0 tie today with a 400 foot bomb.

We could see one of these 5 dhing on any given day. Freshman Griffin Crain will be a player of the future out there. He's been very impressive in CF.
 
I think I saw Cutts pitch yesterday in relief,but they aren't handing out roster sheets or doing any introduction on the scoreboard,so I am having to do my own work with hooking up faces to names of these new guys. It's particularly difficult with pitchers since they're not on the field all the time. Tbs, getting back to Forbes...there is a reason he's no longer looking at being a two way player and that's because he showed it on the mound yesterday. Six innings and still throwing in the mid to upper 90s with location 😳 🤔 👀. It was very impressive to see up close,as I'm sure it was for the 8-10 scouts on hand.

Detmers also looked great,relying on that off speed stuff,which he routinely threw for strikes,complimenting his fastball which is low to mid 90s.

Neighbors(transfer from Cal North) is an old school no nonsense 2nd baseman,oozing with enthusiasm who's chatter is heard above all others. If you're not hearing his constant voice of encouragement for the pitchers,you're watching him make plays at 2nd that tell you he's one of the better defensive players over at that position in a minute.
Tague Davis (yeah that guy again) put on a display at 1st base yesterday,with his 6ft 3 body making several impressive stretches and digs. He's not just a hr hitter.
 
You're welcome! Outfield exclusively. He will be in the batting order every day. That I'm sure of,as Klein and Sophomore Tyson look to be 1-2 catching. Z looks like the likliest guy to be dhing quite a bit because he's behind a few others defensively in the outfield.
 
A few more thoughts about what I perceive to be developing with the weekend rotation unfolding during these practice games and going forward. After watching Parker Detmers and Forbes go at it yesterday,I'm thinking I was watching two of three weekend starters if the season were to start tomorrow. It's a pretty good 1-2 punch,with several others trying to crack that rotation for spots 3 and 4(midweek).

With Biven locked in as our primary closer again(and I see nothing changing that) we're set to probably see Patrick come out of the gate on Friday to set the tone with Parker either Saturday or Sunday. I feel confident saying we're likely looking at our best 1-2 punch since 2020 when it was Reid Detmers and Bobby Miller. There,I said it😅

Others that may get into the conversation :
West,Cutts(transfer from Indiana St) Michael (transfer from San Diego)
 
What about Hartman? I figured he’d be in that rotation before Detmers.
 
What about Hartman? I figured he’d be in that rotation before Detmers.
Yeah I knew I was leaving somebody out. Lol
Hartman and Detmers with Forbes or Hartman or West midweek. Detmers has come quite a ways and I expect to see him on the weekend. I've been wrong before,but I do like the starters.
 
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I thought Hartman was very good last year. Forbes just needed to be healthy and add a pitch to his arsenal. Detmers, I thought, seemed to lack confidence last year (or, consistent confidence). I’d love to see West fully healthy as well.
 
I thought Hartman was very good last year. Forbes just needed to be healthy and add a pitch to his arsenal. Detmers, I thought, seemed to lack confidence last year (or, consistent confidence). I’d love to see West fully healthy as well.
Forbes put on a show Wednesday for the scouts. I think he's healthy and looks primed to have a great year. Detmers looked great too. West is good to go. Haven't seen Hartman pitch yet.
 
Rose catching today. Just threw out Alicea
Again,Pike with that swing. I believe room will be made for him in the outfield or dhing. Possibly why we're seeing Rose catching some still. The options with moving guys around defensively to get the best 9 hitters on the field is what I'm seeing. Like Rose,Pike planting himself into a batting spot.
 
Left after 10.

My biggest takeaway today was the lack of walks. Pitchers pounding the zone and usually getting ahead. When they weren't,they were battling back.

Hoping to see Hartman tomorrow.
 
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Red team wins in 13 innings yesterday after being behind 6-1. Second straight extra inning game. Red go up 2-1 in the series and game 4 set for 6pm tonight.
 
@ Bardman
Hartman on the bump. Nasty curveball. He looks great
 
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Lessman going for the Red team. Two lefties with nasty nasty breaking balls in or around the zone. We like 👍
 
@ Bardman
Hartman on the bump. Nasty curveball. He looks great
I do think he’s on the mend from something less invasive than Tommy John. I had the feeling he was on a shorter pitch count, but he pitched 4 full innings.
 
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Great reporting Earsky!

If you had to make some judgement on where this UL Baseball Team stands when compared to where the ACC Teams are, or at least where they have been in the last several years, how do we stack up?
 
Great reporting Earsky!

If you had to make some judgement on where this UL Baseball Team stands when compared to where the ACC Teams are, or at least where they have been in the last several years, how do we stack up?
I'd say we're looking at bouncing back. There are a lot of pieces in place,both in the field and with the starting pitchers.
They're going to fly under the radar coming in,probably be picked midpack ACC. There once again are ongoing battles for 3-4 spots on the field and probably 2 of the 4 starting pitching spots.

The bullpen will once again be a key,but I really expect it to be steadier.
We'll need certain guys expected to carry this team to have great seasons and then hopefully be hot at the right time.

I think Patrick is pitching today at 1,possibly going against Parker. Remember the name Peter Michael,a transfer from San Diego,who's in the mix for a starting gig.
 
We will compete weekend in and out once ACC play starts. Hopefully everyone stays healthy,but the 9 player batting order is once again 2 deep.
 
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Red team wins to cut into Black lead.
Series3-2 now.
Forbes had another stellar performance. Moore with 4 hits.

I noticed something yesterday kinda goes hand in hand with some comments I've made during this series about outstanding defense. We were in the outfield while our grandson was playing and there were a handful of balls hit between outfielders that were potentially doubles,cut off by the outfield and turned into singles 😳
Not just once,but several. These guys are fast.
 
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Game 6 tomorrow @3
If yall get a chance,check out Mac's video from police and firefighter night last week. I think it's on Twitter and YouTube.

Some interesting nuggets from CM and towards the end about the stock he's putting into the last couple of games of this series,as the Red team(with three to four guys that are favored to win opening day spots) are behind in this series-backs against the wall.
It told me we COULD be in for a few surprises opening day,depending on how the Red team responds.
This series for more than just pizza.
 
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Didn't make it but the series is over. Rose's team wins 4-2
Per X Cutts(transfer from Ind St) had a pretty good game.
 
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