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Week 1 Matchups to Watch

Comebakatz3

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We are now 3 weeks and 1 day away from college baseball, and I’m itching for it like a kid with the chicken pox. I keep checking pretty much daily to see if UK has put up their 2022 baseball media guide, but so far no go. Instead, I stumbled upon some other schedules and I thought I’d point out some big time matchups happening in the first weekend:

State Farm College Baseball Showdown:
Auburn – Oklahoma, Texas Tech (14), Kansas State
Texas Tech – Michigan, Auburn, Arizona
Michigan – Texas Tech, Kansas State, Oklahoma
Oklahoma – Auburn, Arizona, Michigan
Arizona (15) – Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech
Kansas State – Arizona, Michigan, Auburn

This is the most premier tournament. Features just two ranked teams this year, but still a lot of P5 teams butting heads. Will give us a really good idea of how a lot of these teams will do this season. UK faces Auburn late in the year.

Long Beach State (24) at Mississippi State (4)

This one could be a blast. Wish Price would be on the call, but LBSU is typically fun to watch and I’m sure Miss State will be a mad house after their first title.

Texas (1) v. Rice

Number 1 overall, Texas isn’t taking it easy hosting Rice. Rice hasn’t been great lately and they replace Matt Bragga with 1st year head coach Jose Cruz, Jr, but it should still be an interesting in-state series. Especially given that their head coach has less than 1 year of coaching experience. Yes, of any coaching experience. Cruz attended Rice from 92-95 and went on to play professional baseball until 2008. Not sure what he did from 2008 to 2020, but on December 8, 2020 he was named assistant hitting coach for the Detroit Tigers, and then on June 9, 2021 (yes, 6 months later), he was named head coach for the Rice Owls.

Vanderbilt (3) v. Oklahoma State (7)

If you can stand the whistling, this will be another one to watch. Especially given that this one will have some UK connections. Dillion Marsh, Jimmy Ramsey, and Jake Thompson are all former UK players that will now play for OK State, and former UK assistant coach Roland Fanning is now the Director of Player Development there. Thompson redshirted at UK and then left and last year he was an honorable mention All-Big 12 performer that finished second on the team with a .342 batting average while playing 1st, LF and DH. He also led the Big-12 in conference only hitting with a .393 average. So, that one should be a great series to keep an eye on and see what happens with former UK connections as well as just to watch Vandy be their usual selves..

Stanford (6) v. Cal State Fullerton

This isn’t the CSF of old, they won just 20 games a year ago, but still an interesting west coast matchup.

Hatter Classic:
Notre Dame (13) – Manhattan, Stetson, Delaware

Probably not the most competitive tournament, but Stetson regularly puts out a competitive team. UK connections with Stetson as well as Cam Hill and Trey Harmon will suit up for the Hatters.

MLB4 Classic:
TCU (17) – San Diego State, California, Houston

These four will essentially round robin one another.

Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic:
Oregon State (18) – New Mexico, Gonzaga, Gonzaga, New Mexico

UC Irvine (20) at Louisiana

Louisiana is unranked, but they are still always a very tough team that regularly makes the tournament.
 
Those are some good games. The thing that really aggravates me is college baseball isn’t really carried much on TV until at least mid-season. You would think the SEC Network would at least carry a Friday night game until basketball is over but nope.
 
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Those are some good games. The thing that really aggravates me is college baseball isn’t really carried much on TV until at least mid-season. You would think the SEC Network would at least carry a Friday night game until basketball is over but nope.

Way better than it used to be. Not all that long ago we had to pay to watch a camera posted in the press box. Or you had radio for free. Now every home game is streamed by SEC/Espn for free, with high quality broadcasts.
 
Way better than it used to be. Not all that long ago we had to pay to watch a camera posted in the press box. Or you had radio for free. Now every home game is streamed by SEC/Espn for free, with high quality broadcasts.
^THIS^

I did see that the schedule at UKathletics finally updated to include the TV plans for the first few weeks of games.
Every single game until at least Evansville on March 2nd will be carried on ESPN+ or SECN+. So that's a positive.
 
^THIS^

I did see that the schedule at UKathletics finally updated to include the TV plans for the first few weeks of games.
Every single game until at least Evansville on March 2nd will be carried on ESPN+ or SECN+. So that's a positive.
A further update, now all games up to the High Point series through March 13th is also carried by ESPN+ or SECN+.

17 days until first pitch, gentlemen!
 
I'm ready for the UK Baseball season to start. I want too fast forward a month to the start of spring and baseball. I hope we have a good team. Do you think we will @Comebakatz3? I know we have the best shortstop in the country. I'm excited to watch Ritter.
 
I'm ready for the UK Baseball season to start. I want too fast forward a month to the start of spring and baseball. I hope we have a good team. Do you think we will @Comebakatz3? I know we have the best shortstop in the country. I'm excited to watch Ritter.

I'm not overly optimistic. Like you, I hope we do, but I'm not letting my hopes get too high.

There are just so many new faces with this team that it's really hard to say. One example... we have 0 players that have more than a year of experience facing opposing SEC pitching. So it's hard for me to know how we will hit.

I think we have 2 pitchers that return and have faced league hitting more than one time. So, some of these guys like Stupp or Lee who will be juniors but due to Covid will be facing SEC hitters for just the 2nd year, and that might mean they take some good and big steps forward.

We have a somewhat favorable schedule all things considered. In excited to see how it goes and how the questions get answered as the season goes on.
 
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I'm not overly optimistic. Like you, I hope we do, but I'm not letting my hopes get too high.

There are just so many new faces with this team that it's really hard to say. One example... we have 0 players that have more than a year of experience facing opposing SEC pitching. So it's hard for me to know how we will hit.

I think we have 2 pitchers that return and have faced league hitting more than one time. So, some of these guys like Stupp or Lee who will be juniors but due to Covid will be facing SEC hitters for just the 2nd year, and that might mean they take some good and big steps forward.

We have a somewhat favorable schedule all things considered. In excited to see how it goes and how the questions get answered as the season goes on.
Yeah, I just looked at the media guide Definitely a lot of new faces.
 
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Sucks that Kentucky natives like Trae Harmon transferred out and I totally forgot about it.
 
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Yeah, I just looked at the media guide Definitely a lot of new faces.

I think pitching will be at least average and not terrible by any means. So, how well we do hitting, especially situationally, is the bigger concern.
 
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I think pitching will be at least average and not terrible by any means. So, how well we do hitting, especially situationally, is the bigger concern.
You sure know your stuff. More so than any poster on any sport on here.

What’s your background if I could ask? Former UK baseball player or patent? Coach? Booster?

Enjoy reading your comments. I made a baseball/ softball double header last season. Surprisingly we beat LSU in baseball and equally as surprising blew a big late inning lead to lose to Ga in softball. Still was very impressed with zuK softball. Will try again
 
You sure know your stuff. More so than any poster on any sport on here.

What’s your background if I could ask? Former UK baseball player or patent? Coach? Booster?

Enjoy reading your comments. I made a baseball/ softball double header last season. Surprisingly we beat LSU in baseball and equally as surprising blew a big late inning lead to lose to Ga in softball. Still was very impressed with zuK softball. Will try again

Thanks, I really appreciate the kind words. I'm just a fan. Started listening to UK baseball in earnest in 2006. Have l listened or watched most games since then. Grew up playing baseball and loving UK sports, so it's a pretty natural passion for me.
 
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