JotCast | D1Baseball Weekly Chat: Feb. 17

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D1Baseball Weekly Chat: Feb. 17

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Kendall Rogers

8:10

All right gang -- that's all the time we have! Thanks for your questions.

Kendall Rogers

8:10

Matt -- The thing I loved to see with the Beavs this past weekend is that all of their stars were ready to rock and roll Opening weekend. Aiva Arquette hit a mamoth home run and hit well over .500, and Trent Caraway was fantastic as well. if I'm being honest, I'm ultra excited to see fab freshman Dax Whitney this weekend. I was told he was up to 97-98 mph with his FB in Surprise over the weekend, and he obviously had a great start with eight strikeouts in a shutout performance. I expect the Beavs to play well this weekend -- the weather certainly won't affect those PNW boys.

Matt

8:10

I know OSU always takes care of business in Surprise, but both Xavier and Indiana have quality clubs. What stood out to you most about the Beavs and what are you most looking forward to with the Round Rock Classic matchups?

Kendall Rogers

8:05

Was nice to see the Hogs get something going offensively in a couple of those games. The pitching was pretty much as expected. The guy that caught my attention was Brent Iredale. He had a great fall and we've heard so much about his potential -- but he goes out and hits .469 with two homers and nine RBIs in his first weekend in an Arkansas uniform. Not bad ... not bad at all!

Hog in Maryland

8:05

Thoughts on Arkansas' 4-game sweep of Washington State?

Kendall Rogers

8:03

Will -- I think the offense will be pretty solid. Bill Mosiello taking the offense back over is a game-changer for the Frogs. I'm not bashing TJ Bruce at all. He's a very fine coach. Just saying Coach Mo was a perfect fit for that TCU program, and he's an excellent hitting coach. As much as it sucks to lose Ben Abeldt, pitching depth is a strength for this team this season. Good time to have that high-quality depth, that's for sure.

WillBill

8:03

The Frog bats showed up big time in San Diego. Do you think the Frogs now have enough offense to help offset the loss of their ace starter for the season?

Kendall Rogers

7:59

Joshua -- I love this question. Thanks for asking. I think for us it's the fact Cincinnati went on the road to the No. 11 team in the country, won two of three, was a hit away from SWEEPING the series, and destroyed Duke in the series finale, 19-5. That's just such an impactful weekend for the Bearcats, who obviously were a proven commodity at the end of last season as well. Kerrington Cross had some massive ABs throughout the series. Louisville, Southern Miss, Ole Miss, Stanford are all programs, for instance, right there in the thick of the T25 race.

Joshua

7:59

Why did you select Cincinnati for the top 25 over the other teams that had strong weekends (Michigan, Louisville, Ole Miss, etc.)?

Kendall Rogers

7:58

I'd say Texas Tech. There are guys on that Arizona roster who have performed at a very high level in the past who didn't this past weekend. If you were forcing me to put $ on one of the two teams, it would be U of A.

Joshua

7:58

Arizona and Texas Tech both went 0-3 against strong competition. Which Big 12 team should be more concerned right now?

Kendall Rogers

7:57

ES -- Ultimately, the season will not move back until the SEC or ACC shows a willingness, or has a movement to do so. I do wonder with ESPN owning both the ACC and SEC Networks if there's a push to do that at some point. Right now, you don't really see college baseball on either network much until the very end of hoops season. If you moved the season back a month, you'd essentially have an entire month of inventory you didn't have before. It's a compelling argument beyond the most obvious arguments in favor of it.

Eric Simmons

7:57

Should the start of the College Baseball Season be pushed back a month because of the cold weather? I think they should

Kendall Rogers

7:55

Very solid first weekend for Lane Burroughs' club. I was particularly impressed by what Luke Coole did in his first start of the season, striking out seven in five shutout innings of work. We will find out a lot more about LT and USM this weekend, but overall, extremely encouraged by LT's pitching throughout the weekend -- at least until today. But that tends to happen in a fourth game of a series.

Scott

7:55

Thoughts on Louisiana Tech's performance this past weekend as well as the upcoming schedule they have from now until over the next month plus. Has to be one of the harder schedules from a non P4 standpoint in the country.

Kendall Rogers

7:52

I would say the pitching. I'm very confident the veteran hitters will get their act together. Just one of those weird weekends. I'm a little more skeptical about the pitching after seeing the Wildcats up close this past weekend. McKinney, for instance, has a big-time arm, but I'm wondering if he sticks on Friday nights for much longer. We shall see. I try not to overreact from one weekend, but a lot of things went wrong with the Wildcats over the weekend. I am buying stock in the offense, however.

Tim Taylor

7:52

More concerning for Arizona fans: Pitching or veteran hitters not hitting?

Kendall Rogers

7:47

Dan -- they decided to get rid of the program again. I wouldn't expect it to come back anytime soon, but never say never. I'm still holding out hope that Colorado brings back baseball at some point. One can hope! Tough to see that happening in today's college athletic climate, though.

Dan

7:47

What ever happened with Boise St? I recall they were coming back to d1 and might have won an early season series in Austin several years ago

Kendall Rogers

7:46

Took care of business in dominant fashion as expected against a not so great team. With that said, there's still plenty you can take away. Frank Anderson is one of the best pitching coaches in the business for good reason. Marcus Phillips had a successful first start, and how about how Liam Doyle looked over the weekend? Those were 'somewhat' two question marks for me coming into the season. I'm not remotely surprised that Doyle dealt, however. Offensively, Hunter Ensley is once again riding the hot hand after his showing in Omaha last June. Outstanding weekend. I'm excited to see the Vols down here in Houston in a couple of weeks.

guest

7:46

Thoughts on the defending champs opening weekend?

Bradley

7:46

GoBeavs -- really looking forward to that one as well, especially if Virginia gets Evan Blanco back as expected. That'd be a great battle with Nelson Keljo. Cavaliers lineup started to show signs of what we expect them to be at the end of the Puerto Rico Challenge, so should be a good matchup as they settle in. They'll need to be able to keep up because that Beavers lineup is formidable and off to a heck of a start.

GoBeavs

7:46

I am really looking forward the Oregon State vs. Virginia game this friday. What are your thoughts on that game?

Kendall Rogers

7:44

B -- I was honestly rather encouraged by the Rebels. I'm not ready to say they're back for good and that's that, but I saw a lot of very positive signs. First, I like how they responded from being punched in the gut by Texas. Not easy to just wash that away a few hours later. I thought Luke Hill looked locked in offensively, and he's a very clear emotional leader for this team. Hayden Federico looked like a guy on Sunday who is going to force his way into the lineup as well. I absolutely love how the plays the game. I thought Judd Utermark made some very hard contact as well. The one thing I will say is that I'm particularly interested to see how the bullpen materializes as the season progresses. At any rate, MUCH different vibe with this team over the weekend. Very similar feeling to Louisville for me.

bryan

7:44

Any big takeaways for Ole Miss over the weekend? Elliot looks like he's gonna pick up right where he left off. Pitching was good friday and sunday. And the bats finally came alive against Clemson. Not sure if clemson ran out of arms, or if the Rebs might have some hitters this year..

Kendall Rogers

7:39

Jay -- yeah, you always want to try to go 3-1, but honestly, 2-2 against that slate on the road is not bad. GCU is a true road game, though, and a good club as well. Gabe Swansen and Will Walsh were obviously big-time bright spots given Swansen's nine RBIs in four games + Walsh's outstanding start. I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say I'm looking forward to that NU game against LSU in a couple of weeks. That'll be fascinating.

Jay

7:39

Anything takeaways for the Huskers' opening weekend? Tough to swallow 2-2 when 3-1 was riiight there.

Kendall Rogers

7:35

Michael -- Just because someone isn't ranked to start the season doesn't mean they aren't respected. But Kentucky lost a ton from last year's club. I think the Wildcats have a little something to prove this year. With that said, I was encouraged by transfer pitcher Nic McCay over the weekend with his five shutout innings against Lipscomb. We might not know a lot more about UK for a bit because of the non-conf slate, which is a little light.

Michael

7:35

Why is Kentucky not in the top 25? I know losing Ammiratti to Georgia hurt pretty bad but they made it to Omaha last year and deserve more respect as a program.

Kendall Rogers

7:33

Let's tap the brakes there a little bit, Eric. But yeah, the Gators certainly looked the part of the weekend, and Pierce Coppola was a very bright spot as well. Offensively, how about Brody Donay? I think I pinpointed him as a breakout candidate coming into the season. Hit .700 with three homers and five RBIs this past weekend. Curious to see if that continues.

Eric Simmons

7:33

I think if Florida's pitching improves I think they can win it all what do you think?

Kendall Rogers

7:28

I'll touch on this real quick since I answered a question about Schubart earlier. I was very encouraged by Oklahoma State's offense. Brueggeman, Daugherty and Avery Ortiz, among others, had some really, really impressive at-bats at times. With that said, there does not seem to be a ton of juice on the mound (yet). I do think Bodendorf has a really good changeup, but curious to see how that fastball evolves playing a rugged Big 12 schedule. I like that I'm getting another look at OSU in Houston in a couple of weeks.

Levi

7:28

Curious if you were encouraged by what you saw from Oklahoma state this weekend or is stil

Kendall Rogers

7:26

This is our annual February reminder that one loss in a weekend series doesn't torpedo you in the rankings -- certainly not Opening Weekend. Amazing weekend for the FSU pitching staff, but I like where we have those two teams slotted for now. Things can certainly change.

7:26

How does fsu stay behind georgia who lost a buy in game?

Kendall Rogers

7:25

Strong weekend for Coastal Carolina, and a really big weekend for Kevin Schnall to get off on the right foot. The most encouraging thing to me was that Coastal allowed just seven runs in four games. We know Coastal is going to hit -- but if the Chanticleers can pitch at a high level, too, watch out for these guys. Extremely dangerous. As for the SBC, obviously Louisiana had a rough weekend, but Southern Miss - along with Coastal -- are top of mind for me as potential Top 25 teams soon.

Vince

7:25

How far is Coastal from the top 25, and how many SunBelt teams would you ever feel comfortable with in the top 25? Some quality teams this year...

Bradley

7:24

I think it's hard to bet against Avent at this point. Really like the players he brought in and the first weekend, competition aside, showed that potential. McHugh & DeCriscio & Fraasman (& Ossenfort) all seemed to fit right in with what we'd expect from a NC State lineup. Obviously it's early, but it seems like the Wolfpack are going to be a dangerous offensive team yet again.

Guest

7:24

Is there anything we can take from NC State's video game like run production given the opponent? Did Avent piece together enough of an offense to compliment this pitching staff?

Kendall Rogers

7:19

Suddenly, there's a lot to be excited about with this tournament, isn't there? Michigan's starting pitching was outstanding down in Puerto Rico, TCU just did a clean sweep of WCC favorite San Diego on the road after losing Ben Abeldt earlier in the week, and Arkansas clearly has elite pitching .. yet again. I think I'm more curious to see how Michigan and TCU do against the Hogs. That's the measuring stick for both of those teams for me. And certainly, that Arkansas offense will be top of mind. Our Aaron Fitt will be in the house (and hopefully staying awake in the Field Suite) for us later this week.

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