MVC Tournament - Non-WSU Games Thread

[Play Angry]

DBU ends Evansville's season with a 3-0 win.

[shockfan89_]

Redbirds leading SIU 1-0 after 3 1/2.

[shockfan89_]

SIU with 5 in the 5th now lead 5-1.

[1972Shocker]

SIU with 5 in the 5th now lead 5-1.

They got those 5 runs on only 3 hits but were the beneficiary of 4 walks from Redbird pitching.

[Play Angry]

Will be interesting to see if ISUr has any fight left following last night's heartbreaking loss and getting punched in the mouth pretty good in the 5th by the Salukis.

[shockfan89_]

BTW how do you pitch to Hilliard in that situation. Unless the pitcher missed his spot the coach needs to own that loss.

[Play Angry]

BTW how do you pitch to Hilliard in that situation. Unless the pitcher missed his spot the coach needs to own that loss.

Yea first pitch fastball down the pipe probably wasn't a smart move there unless you have Nolan Ryan velocity.

[WuShock16]

BTW how do you pitch to Hilliard in that situation. Unless the pitcher missed his spot the coach needs to own that loss.

To be fair, you can't pitch around him because there were runners at first and second, so you don't want to put the tying run in scoring position. Sam was also 0-3 for the game at that point, so he wasn't lighting it on fire last night. It probably came down to the Redbird pitcher throwing up a meatball that Sam didn't miss.

[shockfan89_]

Yes but 0-3 against a different pitcher. I understand not wanting to load the bases, but they only thing that beats you is a long ball or 2 or 3 hits back to back. I guess I consider Sam one of the hottest hitters in the MVC right now. I would have made someone else beat me...

[ShockerFever]

What a pity to see the Redturds go two and que.

Have a nice trip back to AbNormal.

[1972Shocker]

BTW how do you pitch to Hilliard in that situation. Unless the pitcher missed his spot the coach needs to own that loss.

I don't blame the coach for his decision to pitch to Sam in that situation. He was 0-3 against the lefty starter Hendren. If you walk him then Ryan Tinkham, who is a very solid hitter as well, only needs a single to tie and perhaps a double to win. Sam needed a double (maybe) or triple to tie the game and a home run to give the Shocks the lead. The pitcher did not make a very good pitch and credit for Sam having a plan of attack and when he got what he was looking for he did not miss.

Actually, Hendren may have very well pitched to Hilliard if it wasn't for the at bats Farris and Kirk had in making the 1st two outs of the 8th inning. Farris had a 10 or 11 pitch at bat leading off even though he struck out and I believe Kirk had a 5 pitch at bat before grounding out. Combine that with the 5 pitch at bat where Hendren all but had Vickers struck out on an 0-2 pitch that he just barely ticked enough for the ball to miss the catcher's glove before he dove out over the plate to hit a 1-2 change up into RF to extend the inning plus Kihle's walk which I think was a 7 pitch at bat. Not only did those at bats set the table for Sam but they added 27 pitches to Hendren's pitch count which put him at 127 for the game prompting the pitching change.

I probably pitch to him in that situation but I would definitely try to keep the ball away from him, especially with the way the wind was blowing from the LF corner to the RF corner.

[Cdizzle]

Yes but 0-3 against a different pitcher.

A pretty reasonable case could also be made that the coach should not have changed said pitcher.

[1972Shocker]

A pretty reasonable case could also be made that the coach should not have changed said pitcher.

Perhaps, but 127 pitches is a ton of pitches and if Hilliard homers against Hendren, who has given up 12 home runs this year, then the Coach is skewered for leaving Hendren in too long. The bottom line is when your moves work out your a smart coach and when they don't your an idiot.

[shockfan89_]

A pretty reasonable case could also be made that the coach should not have changed said pitcher.

Yes but I think he was at 127 pitches so that was definitely the deciding factor.

[Cdizzle]

Perhaps, but 127 pitches is a ton of pitches and if Hilliard homers against Hendren, who has given up 12 home runs this year, then the Coach is skewered for leaving Hendren in too long. The bottom line is when your moves work out your a smart coach and when they don't your an idiot.

Yep. End of the day, if I was the coach, I wouldn't have my pitcher face Hilliard because I wouldn't want the PC over 130. And when the reliever comes in, I wouldn't want the tying run on 2nd base.

I would want my closer to not put an 88mph cheeseball over the center of the plate. Sometimes there is only so much you can do.

Also, suck it MVC. We ain't done Evansvilling the crap out of you yet.