Interesting day in SEC Baseball

[MDM4AU 332]

#13 AUBURN DOWNS DAVIDSON, 10-4

DIAMOND VOLS HOLD OFF LIPSCOMB 4-3

#1 VANDERBILT BASEBALL HOLDS OFF WESTERN KENTUCKY 6-4

BULLDOGS GET PAST BLAZERS IN 12-10 SEE-SAW BATTLE

LSU 2, CENTENARY 1

#16 OLE MISS DOWNS AUSTIN PEAY 4-3 TO TAKE FIRST GAME OF SERIES

JACKSONVILLE EDGES FLORIDA, 6-5

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON DEFEATS #2 GAMECOCKS 5-4 IN 10 INNINGS

GOLDEN EAGLES MISS NO-HITTER IN BLANKING CRIMSON TIDE, 5-0

[Ranger12 46]

All those scores just makes my point I made in the Lipscomb thread when they beat us...any decent small college team can beat any good bigger college team any day. All it takes is for the bigger school's pitching to be off that day and the smaller school to be clicking. College baseball is not like college football in which a bigger program is clearly more dominant then a smaller program. There are more good high school baseball players then there are big school programs, so smaller programs are able to take in the overflow and compete with the big dogs sometimes.

[mowegl 4]

Diamond Vols? How lame is that?

But yeah, people who make comments like that really dont know what they are talking about when it comes to college baseball. But several losses like that can be a bad sign. LSU is just bad I think.

[chinook 0]

Diamond Vols? How lame is that?

sounds like a girls softball team name

[Ranger12 46]

Diamond Vols? How lame is that?

But yeah, people who make comments like that really dont know what they are talking about when it comes to college baseball. But several losses like that can be a bad sign. LSU is just bad I think.

Yeah, like UAT's three loses. Now, I have to admit that Troy and Southern Miss are decent programs that are better then Lipscomb, but those are still programs that UAT should be able to beat. Just like you said, when you have three losses, before the conference schedule has even started, to smaller programs that you should beat, then there is a problem there. Especially when one of those programs throws a 1-hit shutout against you and you almost had another lose to a weaker program (McNeese St.). If UAT does not get their act together, they may be looking at a season like we had last year.

UT seems to be heading for a disaster this year also, while their instate rival, Vandy, is looking sharp.

COC beating SC was a shocker, but like we said, a small program can beat a big program anytime and anywhere when it comes to college baseball.

[BamaGrad03 146]

Yeah, like UAT's three loses. Now, I have to admit that Troy and Southern Miss are decent programs that are better then Lipscomb, but those are still programs that UAT should be able to beat. Just like you said, when you have three losses, before the conference schedule has even started, to smaller programs that you should beat, then there is a problem there. Especially when one of those programs throws a 1-hit shutout against you and you almost had another lose to a weaker program (McNeese St.). If UAT does not get their act together, they may be looking at a season like we had last year.

On the Southern Miss broadcast last night, they said USM was ranked either 25th or 28th. We also JUST finished a series and were playing with our 4th starter against their ace.

[kickinwang 0]

Yeah, like UAT's three loses. Now, I have to admit that Troy and Southern Miss are decent programs that are better then Lipscomb, but those are still programs that UAT should be able to beat. Just like you said, when you have three losses, before the conference schedule has even started, to smaller programs that you should beat, then there is a problem there. Especially when one of those programs throws a 1-hit shutout against you and you almost had another lose to a weaker program (McNeese St.). If UAT does not get their act together, they may be looking at a season like we had last year.

On the Southern Miss broadcast last night, they said USM was ranked either 25th or 28th. We also JUST finished a series and were playing with our 4th starter against their ace.

i could be wrong...but i think EVERY team JUST finished a series. and mcinnis (usm's "ace") is their mid-week starter (even says that in his bio). won a tuesday night game against south alabama, a wednesday night game against se lousiana, and a tuesday night game against uat. their number one pitcher would be ryan belanger

[BamaGrad03 146]

Yeah, like UAT's three loses. Now, I have to admit that Troy and Southern Miss are decent programs that are better then Lipscomb, but those are still programs that UAT should be able to beat. Just like you said, when you have three losses, before the conference schedule has even started, to smaller programs that you should beat, then there is a problem there. Especially when one of those programs throws a 1-hit shutout against you and you almost had another lose to a weaker program (McNeese St.). If UAT does not get their act together, they may be looking at a season like we had last year.

On the Southern Miss broadcast last night, they said USM was ranked either 25th or 28th. We also JUST finished a series and were playing with our 4th starter against their ace.

i could be wrong...but i think EVERY team JUST finished a series. and mcinnis (usm's "ace") is their mid-week starter (even says that in his bio). won a tuesday night game against south alabama, a wednesday night game against se lousiana, and a tuesday night game against uat. their number one pitcher would be ryan belanger

You're right. Either way, losing on the road to the #26 team in the country is not like losing to a "lesser" team. Like you guys made it out to be.

[AURainman 6]

Excuses are like *****s. Everyone's got one. And they all stink. Of course BG03 was born with about a million ******s, it seems.

Bama's got an uphill battle ahead of them, not unlike the way we were the last few years.

I'm glad to see AU baseball back in the top 15 again.

[Ranger12 46]

I was waiting for BG3 to chime in.

BG, you missed the whole point of the post...you guys have lost three games to teams that you are supposed to be better then. It would be different if Southern Miss was the only loss to a team you that is supposed to be a lesser program, but you have THREE. I guess you also missed the part of my comment where I did say the Southern Miss was a decent team, so I was not taking anything away from them. However, again, you were still highly ranked and they were unranked when you played them, as well as the other two loses you guys have.

As I stated earlier, excusing one loss, maybe even two losses to a program you should be able to beat is acceptable in the college baseball environment, BG, but how do you explain three before the conference schedule has even started? BG, I am not making fun of UAT's program. I am pointing out that they are supposed to be a top baseball program that is not playing up to the level they should be. A program like theirs should not have three losses to lesser programs before the conference schedule has even started.

BTW...

Collegiate Baseball News- UAT #22, Southern Miss #27

NCBWA- UAT is #13, Southern Miss #26

USA Today/ESPN- UAT #22, Southern Miss unranked

Baseball America- both unranked

UAT's other two losses, Troy and Villanova...both are unranked in all polls.

Looking at the Baseball America poll, it seems to be very different then the other polls. Link

[AUesquire 1]

I don't worry too much about the occasional loss to "Lesser" teams early on. In looking at the top 25-30 teams, there are a lot of losses on the records of the traditional powers. No big deal. Baseball is so different than a lot of team sports in that one guy, namely a pitcher having a good night, can completely control the outcome of a game. A pitcher for Lipscomb or Southern Miss will most likely take the mound having never been scouted by AU or UT or Bama and the hitters have probably never faced him either. If he's on, he's probably going to come out on top.

One loss to a team you don't play or see very often is no big deal. Consistently losing series to Lipscomb and Davidson and Cof Charleston etc. woud be cause for concern. The SEC slate is where contenders and pretenders will be decided.

[BamaGrad03 146]

It has always been my understanding that when you play, Villanova, for example...dropping one game in a 3 game series isnt that big of a deal.

[Ranger12 46]

It has always been my understanding that when you play, Villanova, for example...dropping one game in a 3 game series isnt that big of a deal.

So now you are trying to defend the loss to Villanova also? I could see doing it with Southern Miss or Troy, but Villanova? I guess you are also going to justify that squeaker 4-3 win over McNeese St. also? Again, if that was the only weaker team you guys have dropped a game to so far, then it would not be a big deal, but it was not the only game you have dropped to a weaker team is it? Heck, if you had only two losses and they were to Troy and Southern Miss, I probably would not think so much of it. However, those three losses together is not a good sign for UAT when the get into conference play.

It would be much difference if you won 2/3 every weekend in SEC play, then that would be considered getting the job done. You can try to spin it however you want, but Villanova, Southern Miss, and Troy are not in the SEC bro.

I don't blame you for trying to stay positive and spin out. After the season your football team had and also how your basketball team dropped like a rock during the regular season, the baseball team is all you have to lay your hopes on now and that has not started off as expected either. Well, maybe the gymnastics team or the softball team can salvage the UAT athletic program this year.