Shockers vs. Panthers game thread

[shoxlax]

Let's see how the first 4-6 weeks go. Pitt had a heck of a pitcher and they certainly used him as long as possible.

Curious.... Does BK protect his pitchers too much. Seem to have a history of good, underworked pitchers who when they make the Big Leagues suffer from injury. Perhaps he protects them a bit to much and doesn't really improve their arm strength and endurance.

All I know is the first three guys Pitt rolled out threw over 90 mph. That used to be us.

[Veritas]

True... Didn't Dreifort's fastball hit 100+ ?
Not too hard to hit a fastball in the 90s if you know it's coming. Their other pitches must have been spot on and kept the Shox off balance. I just think BK handles his pitchers with Kidd Gloves. Not sure if that's good or bad. HCGS made mention on KWCH of how prepared and long the SP for Pitt played. Couldn't read between his lines of whether the Pitt pitcher was abused or the Shocker pitchers are light weights.

[garylee]

first, get rid of the black pants ! on the positive side i think this years team is a well
balanced team with lots of depth, good young arms and a couple beasts in the middle
of the order. there will be alot of wins starting today and going forward.

[pinstripers]

Major league hitters have a helluva time hittin a high 90's fastball even if they know it's coming.

[Veritas]

Big difference between 90 and 95 in reaction time. My opinion is a major leaguer expecting a fast ball in the low 90s will probably make pretty solid contact. The key word is expecting and looking for it. The Pitt pitcher was mixing it up pretty well ( at least that's the way it sounded).

[Shok]

[QUOTE]Curious.... Does BK protect his pitchers too much? Seems to have a history of good, underworked pitchers who when they make the Big Leagues suffer from injury. Perhaps he protects them a bit too much and doesn't really improve their arm strength and endurance./QUOTE]

I don't think throwing 10 or 12 fewer innings over the course of a college career is going to create a weakness that shows up several years later and causes your arm to blow up, but not throwing those extra couple of innings on a 40 degree day in mid-February may keep you from doing damage to your arm that may directly or indirectly keep you from having a decent pro career. I know the Shocks have had their season end at least a couple of times when opposing coaches have abused their ace's arm and I'm sure there have been plenty of early season games like this one as well where the other team was willing to let their #1 guy go a lot longer than ours, but for all the bad things that can be said about our coaching staff, I'm glad that a willingness to jeopardize a kid's career to get a win isn't one of them.

Now having said all that, this Jerry Oakes in his first year as Pitt's pitching coach has been an assistant at Coastal Carolina for the last few years where the are usually in the top 10 in ERA, so I'm sure his opinions are much more educated than mine.

[SB Shock]

HCGS made mention on KWCH of how prepared and long the SP for Pitt played. Couldn't read between his lines of whether the Pitt pitcher was abused or the Shocker pitchers are light weights.

I think he was trying to insinuate that Pitt was playing unfair by using their pitcher deep into the game. But he only threw 110 pitches on the nose. That tells me their coach had a strategy and pitch count set. It is WSU hitter fault they didn't get him out earlier, but he was just better than they were. He strikes out 9 and only give up 5 hits. Tip your cap.

Meanwhile Elam looked like what his summer numbers showed - mediocre. Gave up 7 hits in less than 5 innings and has a WHIP of 1.71. He threw 77 pitches. You just are not going to have much success. The bigger story is the bullpen - atrocious. This used to be the strength of the team. Even when WSU offense might not have been great, you could count on a pitching staff that was only going to give up 3 runs. Now WSU has a bullpen that gives up 3.

[shox1989]

The second game starts in a little over an hour. It will be interesting to see if our guys bounce back and take the last 2 games. I am hoping that Kris Gardner is nails today. I also hope he can go quite a few innings. The bullpen makes me nervous. From a hitting standpoint, I thought Bayliff, Coy and Gillaspie looked pretty good at the plate. Everyone else not so good.

[shocks02]

0-0 going to the bottom of the 2nd.

[shox1989]

Pitt hits a homer to go ahead 2-0 in the third.

[shoxlax]

Our hitters aren't used to seeing this good of pitching. Gene pretty much said that before the game.

How much has this program fallen when our coach makes a comment like that?

[shox1989]

Coy hits a triple after Casey G. hit a single and the Shox get on the board. Score now 1-2 in the bottom of the 4th with Harbutz up to bat.

[shox1989]

Harbutz hits a line single to center to tie the game!

[shoxlax]

Our hitters consistently are behind in the count. Green's plate appearance was typical of the last four years.

I have a feeling we will give those runs right back.

[shox1989]

Ought oh. Gene is out to the mound. He is going to the bullpen. Keep your fingers crossed. Foster Vielock coming out for the Shox. He inherits runners on first and third with 2 outs.