Week 1 SEC

[Comebakatz3]

What a crazy opening weekend. Four teams were either swept or got a sweep, with all four being swept coming from the East. Only one team in the East, UGA, has a winning record in the SEC after the first weekend with even Vandy and Florida going 1-2. UGA apparently has a kid toughing 100mph and Scott Stricklin is finally making the Dawgs into the team that I thought he would when they grabbed him from Kent State in 2014. Everyone is probably scratching their heads about Florida and Vanderbilt, but it is only going to get worse for one of those two as they have to play one another next weekend. Tennessee looked to have rebuilt their program and had snuck into the top 25 with just 1 loss coming into the weekend. They were on the road, but couldn’t manage to best Auburn in any of their three games. Kentucky’s next opponent took two of three against Vandy, putting up 7+ runs in their two wins and shutting out the Dores on Sunday.

Kentucky ranks 11th in the league in batting average after one weekend at .198, and 12th in runs scored with 7 and have the second most strikeouts (34). Kentucky pitching didn't fare much better and is ranked thirteenth with a 5.60 ERA and UK is dead last in walks given up. They are last in runs given up (25) and tied for last in earned runs given up. UK pitching did pretty well in regards to giving up extra base hits, actually giving up fewer than most teams, I think they actually tied for third lowest. LSU hit .262 against us, which is the second highest in the league, and we also hit 6 LSU batters, which is highest in the SEC.

 

[Tskware]

wind was blowing in all weekend at LSU per the radio broadcast which kept both teams from hitting many extra base hits.

 

[Comebakatz3]

wind was blowing in all weekend at LSU per the radio broadcast which kept both teams from hitting many extra base hits.

That is true, it was blowing in and there were a lot of big flies that seemed to just not take off at all, and that is for both teams.

 

[STUCKNBIG10]

I see no hope this year. I suppose that things are looking up if we can win the next two series at home against top-notch teams, but the cupboard looks extremely bare.

 

[Big_Blue_1018]

I see no hope this year. I suppose that things are looking up if we can win the next two series at home against top-notch teams, but the cupboard looks extremely bare.

I just hope we don’t get swept both weekends.

 

[Comebakatz3]

I see no hope this year. I suppose that things are looking up if we can win the next two series at home against top-notch teams, but the cupboard looks extremely bare.

This weekend becomes more telling. We have played two juggernauts of sorts and we played them both on the road. This team is inexperienced and they aren’t yet accustomed to those environments and winning on the road. So, can get grab a win or two this upcoming weekend? If we are swept again then I think that all excuses are out the window and we really have to start questioning the direction of our season, and of even possibly the program.

Looking at the lineup, we definitely lose Shinn, Rodriguez, and Gei. Shelby, Collett, Hill, Daniel, Reed, and Lewis are all technically draft eligible. That means that we could lose 9 guys who start or play major minutes. That leaves Kessler, Ellington, and Schultz returning. So, the scary part of that is that we aren’t really even fully developing for the future. It seems that Mingione really loves the JUCO guys and in all reality, we really haven’t played a lot of younger guys in the field since he has been here and I think that is really showing this year. We are relying on a ton of older players that are either JUCO guys or that haven’t seen much time, and that is a poor recipe for success IMO.


On the mound, it is kind of the opposite in a way, but the fact that we only have one pitcher, a leftover from Henderson, as a guy who can give us SEC quality starts is pretty scary now and for the future. We just haven’t had anyone entirely step up and become a serious contender for Saturday and Sunday. Can Marsh be that guy? Will Hazelwood, Ramsey, and other sophomores step up or continue to struggle? The bullpen is a scary prospect with a ton of freshmen, but none of them looking like world-beaters (outside of maybe Daniels who is a very good get out of trouble pitcher). It is a long season and things can certainly change, but there are some big red flags flying over KPP.

 

[sluggercatfan]

What a crazy opening weekend. Four teams were either swept or got a sweep, with all four being swept coming from the East. Only one team in the East, UGA, has a winning record in the SEC after the first weekend with even Vandy and Florida going 1-2. UGA apparently has a kid toughing 100mph and Scott Stricklin is finally making the Dawgs into the team that I thought he would when they grabbed him from Kent State in 2014. Everyone is probably scratching their heads about Florida and Vanderbilt, but it is only going to get worse for one of those two as they have to play one another next weekend. Tennessee looked to have rebuilt their program and had snuck into the top 25 with just 1 loss coming into the weekend. They were on the road, but couldn’t manage to best Auburn in any of their three games. Kentucky’s next opponent took two of three against Vandy, putting up 7+ runs in their two wins and shutting out the Dores on Sunday.

Kentucky ranks 11th in the league in batting average after one weekend at .198, and 12th in runs scored with 7 and have the second most strikeouts (34). Kentucky pitching didn't fare much better and is ranked thirteenth with a 5.60 ERA and UK is dead last in walks given up. They are last in runs given up (25) and tied for last in earned runs given up. UK pitching did pretty well in regards to giving up extra base hits, actually giving up fewer than most teams, I think they actually tied for third lowest. LSU hit .262 against us, which is the second highest in the league, and we also hit 6 LSU batters, which is highest in the SEC.

Dismal stats for the CATS.

 

[CATabulous]

With what we lost from last year’s team, I kind of figured that this program was going to take a step back. The SEC is a gauntlet. I think it will be very difficult for this team to break even in conference play. I really like Mingione and believe that he can sustain success here. With the resources that have been committed to baseball, I’m sure Mingione knows that expectations are going to be high.