Shox at East Carolina - 04-8-2022

[shocks02]

Big-time praise for Cameron Bye.

https://twitter.com/pr927fm/status/1513243823958372364?s=21&t=VuKKPdARRdJ4udkKZ07yWg

[Ashockalypse]

It’s sure nice not to be swept. Scratch and claw wins this year and take a significant step next year.

[Kung Wu]

I hope we start to develop a strong home field advantage over the next couple years.

[WuDrWu]

I hope we start to develop a strong home field advantage over the next couple years.

I'm out there waiting for you all.



USF avoided starting 0-6 in league by hanging on at Tulane to salvage the getaway game 13-8.

Cincy took 2 of 3 vs Houston, beating the Cougars in Cincy today 9-6.

UCF run-ruled Memphis without the Tigers ever getting to bat.....they scored 10 liver lips in the top of the 1st. Their leadoff guy, redshirt junior Gephry Pena (Santiago, Dominican Republic) was 2 for 2 in the inning, both bunt singles.

Bunt, walk, K, single, double, home run, pitching change, home run, single, K, bunt, double, double, single, flyout. 10 hits, 10 runs. Ouch. Tigers actually cut it to 10-6 before losing 15-6.

Odd troubling stat....if we so much as give up a run, one single run, in conference play, we lose.

UCF and Tulane lead the conference at 5-1. ECU is 4-2. Cincy and Houston are 3-3. We're 2-4 and USF & Memphis are bringing up the rear at 1-5.

Cincy is the only team to play both opening series at home, we're the only one to play both on the road.

Next week is Cincy here, ECU @ UCF, Tulane @ Houston & Memphis @ USF. All games Thursday, Friday, Saturday due to Easter Sunday.

[1972Shocker]

Bye's Brilliance Secures Pitcher of the Week

https://goshockers.com/news/2022/4/11/baseball-byes-brilliance-secures-pitcher-of-the-week.aspx

Bye fashioned the best outing of his career on Sunday against East Carolina, blanking the Pirates over a career-best 8.0 innings to pick up the win in a 5-0 Wichita State victory. The sophomore matched a personal best with eight strikeouts, including fanning the side in the fifth, all while allowing just three hits and three walks. Only one East Carolina runner reached third base on the afternoon.

It's the second consecutive Pitcher of the Week award for Wichita State after Jace Kaminska was honored last week for his performance against Houston.

[SB Shock]

It’s sure nice not to be swept. Scratch and claw wins this year and take a significant step next year.

What is there about this team that makes you think they will take a "significant step next year"?

This team is 4-5 versus Quadrants3 and 4 teams and 3-7 in last 10. It is not like this team is building any momentum that would give you hope they are getting it figured out and getting better.

[Ashockalypse]

What is there about this team that makes you think they will take a "significant step next year"?

This team is 4-5 versus Quadrants3 and 4 teams and 3-7 in last 10. It is not like this team is building any momentum that would give you hope they are getting it figured out and getting better.

Ok but I am still hoping they get better. I also thought our recruiting class was supposed to be pretty good. Is that wrong?

[Kung Wu]

This team is .. 3-7 in last 10.

But 7 of those were away games, and ALL of them were against Q2 or better teams. To me the only head scratching loss in the last 10 games was vs Creighton at home. Losing to Kansas sucked, especially the magnitude of the loss, but it was still a Q2 away game.

For me the real concern is: Can we start consistently winning tough home games down the stretch? That's where a young squad should show improvement.

[SB Shock]

But 7 of those were away games, and ALL of them were against Q2 or better teams. To me the only head scratching loss in the last 10 games was vs Creighton at home. Losing to Kansas sucked, especially the magnitude of the loss, but it was still a Q2 away game.

For me the real concern is: Can we start consistently winning tough home games down the stretch? That's where a young squad should show improvement.

U can make all the excuses you want, but the program took a step back this year. They can’t hit, and got some holes in the pitching staff that means no lead is safe even when you get good pitching efforts.

[WuDrWu]

Ok but I am still hoping they get better. I also thought our recruiting class was supposed to be pretty good. Is that wrong?

Our recruiting class IS strong. I know it will sound like blame, and it's not my intention to point out any one person, but most of our struggles this season are due to experienced players not performing to, not even expectation, but just as good as they were last season, and a much more difficult schedule (last year non con SOS 122, vs this year 54 (and about to go lower with 2 each vs OSU (21) OU (18) & KSU (117) remaining). Now, you are who you are and you play who's in front of you, and we're 5 games under water now and not much hope to get out from it. There's still a lot of season to go, although post season hinges on winning in Clearwater now. ECU isn't the king they have been. They're good, and they're used to winning, and we certainly are not. That's the biggest difference.

I don't really want to talk about next season, it's mostly useless especially with so much left this season, but we should return 2/3 of a solid, if not spectacular, weekend rotation (Bye will be gone). Miner is making progress. We have some pieces in the field but we need some stars. We should be able to return Ingram, Stroh, Cornblum, XC, Rodden, Thornhill & Stark. Rogers is likely going to get a fair number of chances to prove himself here on out. That should be enough to build around. Gage Williams has done, imho, a very nice job behind the plate, and I believe we're bringing in studs at that position. We're going to find players and guys that want to compete, one way or the other.

I'm NOT making excuses. We SHOULD be better than we are this year. I'm still hopeful we can find a way and finish strong and be in a position to win in Clearwater We do have a schedule that is favorable for a strong finish. 4 of our next 5 conference series are here, the lone road series at Memphis before finishing at USF. But, unfortunately, as I've said more than once, at some point you have to start winning and we just haven't done that. This weekend is going to present an odd hurdle. Cincy can really, really hit, but they have no good starting pitching to speak of and depth as bad, or worse, than ours. It's the movable object vs the resistible force. But, they expect to win. We shall see.

Man, if just half of Stevens, Kocis, Stroh, Sigrist, McDonough & Hynes were performing just to last year (to say nothing of improving over last year)..............But they aren't. So we go with what we have, and it's our job as fans to support them, and to not be outdrawn at home. So get off your duffs and get to the game and support these guys.

[Kung Wu]

U can make all the excuses you want, but the program took a step back this year.

You haven't even began to scratch the surface of my ability to make excuses.

[NCAABound]

You haven't even began to scratch the surface of my ability to make excuses.

[Kung Wu]

U can make all the excuses you want, but the program took a step back this year.

Took a step back in starting pitching? No.
Hitting averages? Yes.
Relief pitching? Yes.
Fielding? Yes.
Steals? Yes.
Home runs? Yes.
Wins? Yes.
Losses? Yes.
BBIQ? Maybe.

Sure. Sure, they took a step back on some of those things. Maybe even most of those things. But what you gotta do is you gotta step back and you gotta ask them "how do you feel?" And then you gotta dive into your inner self and ask the same question of that inner self, "How do YOU feel?" You know it. I know it. We both know it ... this team has taken a major step forward in how they feel. And that's where you hang your hat in 2022. Does my team feel good? And to that, I say "Yes"! I feel good! They feel good! We! Feel! Good! A toaster for you! And a toast for you! and you! and you! Toasters for everybody!

[1972Shocker]

[Kel Varnsen]

Perfect. An underrated part of that movie.