Shocks at Dallas Baptist

[1972Shocker]

Taylor does need to do something about that propensity to walk the lead off batter.

[1972Shocker]

Betcha I know what the play of the game is!

[Cdizzle]

10-3 Final. Shox win.

I hate to jump the gun and just forget about 30 losses, but is this a baseball team all of the sudden?

In the last 14 games, WSU is 10-4. The average RPI of their opponents is 55. They are 2-4 against Top 25 opponents. They are averaging 6.3 runs per game while hitting .294. They are drawing more than 4 walks per game, and have committed 12 errors in those 14 games. They are striking out nearly 9 times a game, but are somewhat making up for it because they are hitting with significant power over that stretch.

I still don't think the Shox have the pitching to win the MoVal tourney. But I also don't think anybody else really wants to play them right now, which is a huge shift given where they were 3 weeks ago.

[tru2thaduce]

2 out of 3 this week against good teams tells me there is a chance.And it could be 3 of 3 if we had got a big hit in the first inning yesterday.

[Kung Wu]

10-3 Final. Shox win.

I hate to jump the gun and just forget about 30 losses, but is this a baseball team all of the sudden?

In the last 14 games, WSU is 10-4. The average RPI of their opponents is 55. They are 2-4 against Top 25 opponents. They are averaging 6.3 runs per game while hitting .294. They are drawing more than 4 walks per game, and have committed 12 errors in those 14 games. They are striking out nearly 9 times a game, but are somewhat making up for it because they are hitting with significant power over that stretch.

I still don't think the Shox have the pitching to win the MoVal tourney. But I also don't think anybody else really wants to play them right now, which is a huge shift given where they were 3 weeks ago.

Are the juco players turning a corner is it more attributable to others finally getting cranking?

[1972Shocker]

Are the juco players turning a corner is it more attributable to others finally getting cranking?

I think it is some of both.

[ShockerFever]

Definitely intriguing.

For sure, I'm not gonna get my hopes up, but at least there's some fight left in the team. It's a shame the draft is gonna eat away at that going into next year.

[Play Angry]

Beautiful night at the ballpark and a really fun win. Hopefully the rain holds off tomorrow.

[SB Shock]

Nice victory. Hopefully this team can continue to battle and make that improbable run and extend the season.

[shockfan89_]

It was a great game! In my opinion the best win of the year. We easily could have run-ruled them had we got a few more bounces to go our way. We are hitting the ball very well right now. Let's carry that through today and into next week!

[xazshox]

More post game comments

To those of you who are wondering what happened to WSU's pitching getting so good all of a sudden, I think Brent Kemnitz's comments on his post game radio show a couple of weeks ago are pertinent. He was most adamant that the key to it is mental toughness. He discussed the topic quite a bit. He reviewed recent showings by various pitchers that had been inconsistent. Since then, they have been much more consistent. Chase Williams is one of them and he has also suddenly added an excellent change up to his repertoire. His slider is in the 85 to 90 mph range & his fastball is even faster. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do today in the rubber game with DBU.

And, regarding the possibility of Sam Hilliard leaving this year, I'm pretty sure that Brent Kemnitz commented on that subject within the past 2 weeks when he said that Hilliard has made the decision to stay. If you review his bio on Go Shockers, when he was at Crowder College last season, he split time between pitching and hitting. What struck me about it when I read it was the limited number of innings he pitched & also the limited no of at bats he had, too. He's not going to do both in pro baseball. My guess is that he has decided he needs to gain more experience at WSU next season before he signs with a ML team.

Btw, Mo State beat Bradley yesterday so WSU & Bradley are now tied for 3rd place in the MVC race going in to today's games.

[Dave Stalwart]

To those of you who are wondering what happened to WSU's pitching getting so good all of a sudden, I think Brent Kemnitz's comments on his post game radio show a couple of weeks ago are pertinent. He was most adamant that the key to it is mental toughness. He discussed the topic quite a bit. He reviewed recent showings by various pitchers that had been inconsistent. Since then, they have been much more consistent. Chase Williams is one of them and he has also suddenly added an excellent change up to his repertoire. His slider is in the 85 to 90 mph range & his fastball is even faster. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do today in the rubber game with DBU.

And, regarding the possibility of Sam Hilliard leaving this year, I'm pretty sure that Brent Kemnitz commented on that subject within the past 2 weeks when he said that Hilliard has made the decision to stay. If you review his bio on Go Shockers, when he was at Crowder College last season, he split time between pitching and hitting. What struck me about it when I read it was the limited number of innings he pitched & also the limited no of at bats he had, too. He's not going to do both in pro baseball. My guess is that he has decided he needs to gain more experience at WSU next season before he signs with a ML team.

Btw, Mo State beat Bradley yesterday so WSU & Bradley are now tied for 3rd place in the MVC race going in to today's games.

It's going to be pretty neat if somehow the Shox find a way to take third this year.

[WuShock16]

It's going to be pretty neat if somehow the Shox find a way to take third this year.

This on multiple levels. The good thing about 3rd place in regards to the Valley Tournament would that WSU would be on DBU's side of the bracket, having just taken 2 of 3 from them. That would be a big confidence boost. Just have to continue to take things one game, one inning, one batter, and one pitch at a time.

[Shocker85]

And, regarding the possibility of Sam Hilliard leaving this year, I'm pretty sure that Brent Kemnitz commented on that subject within the past 2 weeks when he said that Hilliard has made the decision to stay. If you review his bio on Go Shockers, when he was at Crowder College last season, he split time between pitching and hitting. What struck me about it when I read it was the limited number of innings he pitched & also the limited no of at bats he had, too. He's not going to do both in pro baseball. My guess is that he has decided he needs to gain more experience at WSU next season before he signs with a ML team.

The thing is that the MLB draft is different than the NBA. Players don't "declare" per se and can be drafted if eligible.

If a team wants to take a flyer on Hillard in the 5-8 rounds, they can and try to sign him. Bonus for those rounds still isn't too bad and the temptation to take it and start development under the ML team coaching can be tough to resist. Now if Hillard thinks he can turn himself into a 1-3 rounder, he should stay.

I think something has to be said about Butler's ability to keep the team's attention even though they have had only modest success (or worse). By this point, #10 would be saying stuff like "I can't reach these guys." "These guys are refusing to make the necessary adjustments." etc. Butler has them believing although the talent needs more development and the injuries have taken a severe toll.

Kudos to Butler & Kemnitz.

[shoxilla]

Headed to ballpark, can't remember if Baptists drink beer?