Dawg83

What a night. So happy for the longtime MSU fans that have endured so much over the years. This was a very good team all year that, while not perfect and while they had some notable bumps in the road, they were always better than they got credit for. And the ceiling was always very very high, just needed to be peaking at the right time. They did just that and had to go through a gauntlet from the Super Regionals on to get the long awaited title. Legendary performance by Will Bednar. And so many others had great tournaments too. Chris Lemonis has proved himself to be among the elite coaches in college baseball.

Tonight went as well as it possibly could have for State. Win the game and not use Sims at all? You take that every day. I expect Sims and Bednar to account for the majority of the game tomorrow, but you very well may need at least one other guy to bridge the gap. You know you have a big challenge with Rocker, lay off the slider. Easier said than done but it’s the key to getting to him. Should be an incredible atmosphere, I’ve been in Omaha the last two days and scrambling to find tickets now.

I think today is kind of a push but if it goes to Game 3 it’s hard to say it wouldn’t be advantage Vandy with Rocker throwing. You’re talking about one of the best postseason pitchers in college baseball history. Only thing that might change that is if State was somehow able to win today without extending Sims, that seems fairly unlikely though. You’d also have to hope that Rocker is a little off on shortened rest, and it would be his third start in a week and a half so it’s not out of the question. Gotta win tonight first.

It was always going to be a major challenge to beat a fresh Leiter without Bednar available. You can make a very valid argument I think that it’s better to lose the way State did than lose a close 3-2 game where you burn through some major bullpen bullets. Clearly you would’ve preferred a win but in baseball I think a blowout loss can be better than a close loss many times. Helps you preserve some key pitchers. On a similar note, I’m not really sure why Vandy extended Maldonado like they did with a big lead. Throwing your best bullpen arm 46 pitches in Game 1 when you had a big lead was a really odd decision to me.

For Game 1, your only chance to beat Leiter was for MacLeod to be good. Instead he probably had the worst start of his career. I hate that a good pitcher like MacLeod is going to end his college career on such a sour note, because when he was on he could be REALLY good. But he had a fairly inconsistent year and then his last three starts went very very poorly. It’s a shame that this will probably be what people remember him for, he had a way better career than the last few weeks would suggest. So yeah clearly State is in a tough spot right now. I have no idea on what Harding and Bednar’s availability is and not the nearest clue who gets the start tomorrow. The way I see it, three things have to go State’s way for them to come back and win these next two games. 1. Bullpen has to be elite. Tonight was actually very good after the first inning. Vandy has not been great offensively. Must keep the ball in the strike zone and force them to beat you, can’t give up all the freebies like tonight. I’m almost certain you’ll see Sims at some point tomorrow, perhaps in an extended role. Other guys have to step up too, can’t expect Sims to go win two games in two days for you all by himself. 2. State has to hit Vandy well tomorrow. I’m not expecting Rocker to start until Wednesday if needed. You have to get runs tomorrow against Little or Reilly. State has struggled at the plate in Omaha, tomorrow needs to be a good day offensively. 3. If you get to Wednesday and are facing Rocker, you just have to hope and pray he’s a little off on short rest. I hate to say it but you’re probably not beating that guy with a championship on the line... IF HE IS AT FULL STRENGTH. If he’s a lesser version of himself then you might have a chance. But obviously that’s a huge if. State has to make it to Rocker before they do anything else.

I’m assuming MacLeod/Leiter is your Game 1 matchup. Who knows after that. If Vandy loses the first game I could see them throwing Rocker in Game 2, if they win the first Game I bet they hold him for a potential Game 3. Excited to get to go in person this time. The Dogs obviously have a big challenge here but I definitely would not rule this bunch out. The bullpen talent is enough to give them every chance to win two more games.

The Vandy/NC State thing is infuriating to me. I am gutted for NC State’s team. They can buy a ticket to watch the games unmasked but can’t play in the games. Beyond stupid. And of course Vandy is the one who benefits from this. State and Texas get to burn through whatever pitching they have left tonight while Vandy gets to sit on their butts and rest and they did absolutely nothing to earn it. Congrats to whoever wins tonight, your reward is a fresh Jack Leiter on Monday.

Some are already questioning the decision to not go to Sims in a tie game in the 9th. I think I can make sense of it either way. Stinnett isn’t a scrub but he’s also not your best guy. Pretty clear State really didn’t want to use Sims unless they had a lead. This staff pushed a lot of buttons with the bullpen that worked on Tuesday, and many of those same buttons didn’t/haven’t worked tonight. It just is what it is. Looking likely that State will have to play one more time and use Bednar. You wish you could’ve won Game 1 and saved him for the title series but you gotta get there first.

Game is on now, but NC State will be without several key players. I guess that’s better than nothing, I was worried for a minute they would make those kids forfeit which would’ve been total BS.

Major developing story in Omaha, Vandy/NC State game being delayed due to COVID issues with NC State. Un. Real.

Texas beat Virginia late last night. Close game for 8.5 innings and then UVA’s bullpen fell apart for the second game in a row. So you have your final four. NC State/Vandy and MSU/Texas to determine who plays for a national title. More rain in the forecast today, I think there’s a chance they get the first game in but MSU/Texas may get bumped until tomorrow. Would really appreciate the Dogs winning in one game, we have determined that we will be making the drive to Omaha if State is playing for a national title and I would like as much heads up as possible, LOL. I guess beggars can’t be choosers. Two chances to win one game against a team you are 2-0 against. It’s not a given but you feel like you have a good chance here.

He was already in the game as a pinch runner/defensive sub and his place in the order just so happened to circle back around. He actually scored what ended up being the winning run on the Dubrule single in the 8th.

Stanford has no pitching depth so they didn’t have much choice. Had they beaten Vandy I think NC State would have smoked them on Friday. You’re at the stage now where if you have a depleted bullpen it’s all hands on deck. Even starters. You’re more likely to see someone like MacLeod out of the pen in a do or die game for State rather than someone like KC Hunt.

Honestly I think it’s about the same level of difficulty. Going to be pretty much a toss up either way. And for me it will depend more on who State would have available pitching-wise. If State wins on Friday I think they have at worst a 50-50 shot of winning it all. However, if they get to the championship but don’t have Bednar available for at least the first two games and perhaps not the entire series, I would put their chances at lower than 50%. I do think they have what it takes to get one more win Friday or Saturday, I just don’t know which day I think it will be. And they could feasibly lose both. But I like the position they are in for now.

State obviously has one more game to win before we can really dive into a potential championship series. But…. If you wanted to project this thing out for State, might not be the worst thing in the world for Vandy to win with Rocker on Friday. And then whatever happens on Saturday with Leiter vs. NC State’s ace just happens. Either way you would face a team without their total arsenal at full rest. Granted, that advantage is somewhat negated if State has to play on Saturday too. No question that your absolute best chance to win the whole thing is to finish off Virginia/Texas on Friday and save Bednar for Game 1 of the finals. Could be wrong but I am expecting a Texas win tomorrow night. Pete Hansen has been terrific for them and I expect him to be effective, and I feel like Virginia may have a hard time bouncing back from a brutal loss like they suffered against State. Certainly anything could happen in Omaha, though.

That’s an all time classic game for State. Up there with the ‘99 Auburn football game and the ‘04 Alabama basketball game in terms of totally shocking comebacks in games with major stakes. The two home runs were obviously massive and will get all the publicity, but State’s bullpen had their game of the season tonight. And it wasn’t just one or two guys, it was a bunch of them, including some that hadn’t pitched in forever. Also thought Josh Hatcher’s infield hit was massive to keep the rally going after the bases had been cleared on the first homer. Talking about a guy that has had a brutal year and he came up with a very clutch at-bat in the most important game of the year.

This McGarry guy was terrible the entire regular season and has suddenly become Roger Clemens in the postseason. Crazy. State has not hit well in Omaha, period. Obviously facing some great pitching but midway thru this game they’ve been scoreless in 12 of 13 innings they’ve played this week. Bad night for pitching so far but doesn’t matter if you provide zero run support.

Texas sends the Vols home. Great season for Tennessee, now I guess we will see if they hang on to their coach. Texas will get the State/Virginia loser on Thursday.

NC State is dang good. They may be the favorite to win it all at this point. Rolling through LA Tech, Arkansas, Stanford, and Vandy like they have is an incredible run. State-Virginia tomorrow, just a massive game all around. I think it’s one State has to win to have any realistic chance of winning a title. Both teams are starting guys that are excellent when they are on their game but both have had pretty big consistency issues. I do like State’s chances and think they are the better team, but UVA is one of those streaky teams that can make you wonder how the heck you lost to them if you aren’t careful.

Heck of a game. All time clutch pitching performance by Will Bednar. And breaking news from Oxford, Bianco is getting an extension and staying put. So there’s that.

Back to actual baseball talk, I’m really impressed by what NC State has done this postseason. They’re way better than their seed, if not for a really bad start to the season they probably would’ve hosted easily. They will have a massive challenge with Leiter tomorrow night but they figured out a way to beat Kevin Kopps so you can’t rule anything out. Arizona-Stanford is an incredibly strong loser’s bracket game. Both of those teams can slug it and both have some pitching depth issues so that may be a game where both teams score double digits. State-Texas is a really good matchup tonight. I think State has a great chance to win but obviously a Texas win is entirely possible too. In some ways I’m almost more intrigued by the early game. Not sure what to make of Virginia, or how Tennessee will look on the big stage.

Unfortunately it will be the same crew tomorrow that called the game tonight. The “B” team that calls the day games is far better than the “A” team that calls the night games, in my opinion, I don’t just love Tom Hart but he’s fine, and McDonald and Burke are usually very good.

Peterson is very good. It’s Ravech and Perez that I have an issue with. They are MLB guys that don’t cover college baseball all season and then they bring them in at the end for the biggest games of the year. And it’s very obvious every year that they know very little about the teams that are playing.

Can’t believe I just sat through 12 innings of The Whistler and Eduardo Perez. That was one of the better CWS games of recent memory and it was pretty much ruined by a commentary team that doesn’t know jack about college baseball (KP excluded) and the total sideshow that is the whistler. It’s an embarrassment that a great program like Vandy has that jerk affiliated with them.

His development of Chad Girodo is one of the craziest things I've ever seen. Took a guy that was throwing batting practice the first three years of his career and had him pitching as good as anybody in the country by the end of 2013.