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D1Baseball Weekly Chat: April 25
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Kvothe the Arcane
12:43
Barring a dramatic turnaround South Carolina will miss the postseason for the 4th time in 7 years (with an actual tournament). What has gone wrong with this program in recent years and how can they turn it around?
Kendall Rogers
12:43
There's been something missing with the Gamecocks ever since Chad Holbrook took over, and it has continued with Mark Kingston at the helm. Here's the thing -- we all got spoiled with Ray Tanner and the fact he has so many classes roll in that were ultra cohesive, winners and just guys that grabbed the limelight. South Carolina (and not many teams in college baseball) have had units and teams like that since. It's just been weird. I do think South Carolina would be more consistent if it was healthier on the mound. Not having Bosnic and some others is an absolute killer (see the midweek pitching results).
West Coast Baseball Fan
12:44
With Kempner hopefully back for the Zags this week, how does this impact Gonzaga's projected seed?
Kendall Rogers
12:44
West Coast -- means the Zags are in a good spot, at minimum, to be a Top 16, and probably in solid shape for a Top 8. I don't see the Zags losing a series the rest of the year as long as Kempner is back.
cool 1
RG
12:45
Here come the Hawkeyes! Iowa is through the meat of its B1G schedule with road series wins vs Rutgers and Michigan. The four remaining opponents are all under .500 in league play. With a mid-50s RPI, can they make a push into at-large territory, or will opponent record weigh them down no matter how many games they win the rest of the way?
Aaron Fitt
12:45
Interesting question here. Three of those last four series are against teams with losing overall records, which isn't great for the RPI, but at least Purdue has a good record despite its lousy RPI. So maybe Iowa can hang around in at-large RPI range if it wins all four of those series, especially since that would result in a very strong B1G record, which could give them more RPI leeway.
Greg
12:46
What a bizarre conference record for Notre Dame: they've been swept by Louisville and Duke, but they've also swept Clemson, Florida State, and now Wake Forest. What should we make of the Irish? Regionals hosts?
Aaron Fitt
12:46
It has been a weird year, you're right... but here they are, No. 2 in the RPI and tied for first in their division at 11-7. Yes, definitely a host.
Bob
12:48
Sunday was a bit disapointing, but overall happy with how Miami played this weekend. What type of matchup am I gonna be watching this weekend vs Georgia Tech?
Aaron Fitt
12:48
Feels like the over/under should be 25 runs for every game played at Russ Chandler Stadium right now -- and that's partly because Georgia Tech can score runs by the boatload but also allows runs by the boatload. Miami has shown more offensive firepower than I expected, but I'm not sure the Hurricanes want to get into a slugfest with the Jackets. I'll be fascinated to see if Miami's strong pitching staff can subdue that explosive GT offense on the road. It's a pretty similar assignment to the one they faced two weeks ago at Blacksburg, and the Hokies scored 25 runs in those first two games.
Tigue
12:50
The Cajuns appear to have displaced Georgia St as the 3rd team in the Sun Belt. With three series against bottom five teams in the league, plus a money-maker against the Bobcats to go, are we looking at the first NCAA appearance in the Matt Deggs era?
Aaron Fitt
12:50
My gut says yes, really like how Louisiana is trending, with five straight quality wins, including three very good ones vs. South Al, Georgia Southern and Georgia State. Sitting at 12-6 in the league, No. 44 in the RPI, it definitely feels like the Cajuns are on their way to regionals. Obviously we'll have to watch that RPI closely down the stretch.
Joseph
12:51
Good morning guys.  Love the content and the insight you provide.  At this point in the season, who is your favorite to win Coach of the year and why is it Scott Berry?
Kendall Rogers
12:51
Berry and Vitello would be strong Coach of the Year choices right now. Hell, I'd throw Todd Interdonato into the mix as well. Mitch Canham is another, and if A&M went on a run and hosted and made a run in the postseason, Jim Schlossnagle would have to be in the mix, too.
Tim_CA
12:52
Wow, can Tennessee get swept and still be #1 in the land? That record is wild. Do they rank on all-time teams in your opinion, or too early to tell without hardware?
Aaron Fitt
12:52
This is one of those questions that will probably have to wait until the end of the year, but there's no question Tennessee has put itself in the conversation among the all-time great seasons. If they can close the deal in Omaha, they've got a chance to be the GOATs.
Trey
12:53
What does Alabama need to do to feel safe about their NCAA bid?
Kendall Rogers
12:53
I think 14 or more league wins would get it done, and the Tide should get there sitting at 9 league wins at the moment.
TedD
12:54
College of Charleston is putting together a nice season, running away with their conference, a series win over East Carolina, and a mid-week win over Texas. How bullish are you about what Chad Holbrook is doing there?  This season? Coming seasons??
Aaron Fitt
12:54
Good call Ted -- it took a few years for everything to come together under Holbook at Charleston, but it sure feels like it has happened this year, when the Cougars were flying under the radar a bit heading into the season. I think he's a great fit as the head coach there, and I expect CofC to remain a top-tier program in that league along with UNCW and Northeastern for the foreseeable future. Will be interesting to see if Holbrook can get that program back to the heights it experienced during the Pawlowski and Monte Lee eras; there's clearly a blueprint there, that can be a premier mid-major program, because it has been in the past.
Guest
12:54
What concerns do you have for Notre Dame? I think one of the only shaky areas is pitching. What are your thoughts on the remaining schedule as well?
Kendall Rogers
12:54
Guest -- I wish Notre Dame would be more consistent. I feel like one weekend we're wanting to move them way up the rankings because they look like the 1917 Yankees. Then, the next week, they drop an ugly series and they're bumped back down. I think this is a really good team, though, and I love what John Michael Bertrand has done at the front-end of the rotation.
Cary Rasband
12:57
It feels like the time has come to look to #4 seeds that can really give #1 seeds fits, and possibly even win a regional.    to that end, I am looking at Central Michigan, who I know so little about.   Usually the formula for this success, is an unbelievable ace, and a really good #2, and then also a decent bullpen.   When I look at the CMU pitching stats, they just don't overwhelm me.  Indeed it would like like CMU has the first component in Andrew Taylor.    But, the number 2 starter's, Logan Buczkowski, numbers don't look great.    Also, the bullpen, other than Palmblad really don't have numbers that jump out at me.     IS CMU this year's #4 seed to watch?
Aaron Fitt
12:57
Yeah, the Chippewas are very dangerous -- remember they made some noise in regionals last year, knocking out Michigan and UConn before falling to Notre Dame in the regional final. And in 2019, they beat Miami in the Starkville Regional opener, so there's very strong recent history with this program. Taylor is a legit ace with real stuff, he can beat anybody -- that might be the guy I would least want to face as a 1 seed in a regional opener. And they're another team that plays a really fun, aggressive style of baseball that you don't see much in the power conferences, so I think it could give people a hard time.
Aaron Fitt
12:57
This has been a really fun chat -- thank you all so much for the great conversation. See you next week!
Jon Jon
12:58
How close is GCU to the Top 25? 4 Top-10 wins is mighty impressive.
Kendall Rogers
12:58
Really solid club, but needed better than a 2-2 week, IMO, to get into the Top 25.
Joe Harris
12:59
Thoughts on TCU this year with the new head coach?
Kendall Rogers
12:59
Joe -- I've liked what I've seen from TCU. I thought Kirk would be just fine as a head coach, but you never know until it happens. When I saw TCU in Austin, it looked like a well-coached, disciplined club. So far so good for the Frogs.
Oaklandrollingcats
1:01
Pitt had a shaky week, injuries aside what does this team realistically have to do to make the tournament? Really hoping for no repeat of last year. Sitting at 10-10 get duke, notre dame, and Georgia tech after 5 non con in the coming week. 14/15 ACC wins and they would be in?
Kendall Rogers
1:01
I would say Pitt needs to win two of three final series to feel pretty safe. Also, that North Carolina A&T series could be an absolute killer from an RPI standpoint. Better not lose one of those games to a 257 RPI club!
Pat_Waterman
1:02
How bout Jacob Palisch? Carrying his Stanford performances to an A&M team who I wouldn’t want to see in the playoffs. What is A&M’s ceiling?
Kendall Rogers
1:02
Pat -- Palisch's rise is one of the great things about the game of college baseball. Palisch was primarily a fastball-changeup guy at Stanford, but he's added a nasty breaking ball this spring and that has been the difference. As for the Aggies, love the offense, the starting pitching is fine -- but the bullpen is so, so thin.
Middle of the Big 12
1:04
Do you guys think West Virginia and OU are both regional teams?
Kendall Rogers
1:04
Both teams would be easy choices to make the field right now.
Kendall Rogers
1:05
All right gang -- that's all the time we have today! Thanks for joining us as usual. You all are awesome!
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