-Really late night. I hung around for a long time at the stadium after the game ended and it wound up being around 3:45a when I finally got back home. The moon was HUGE last night in eastern Alabama around 2:30a Eastern, incidentally. With a full day of work today and class tonight, it made for a long day today, but it was well worth it. Wish I could do it again.
-I was really proud of Dylan Cole. He made some big pitches through the first five innings and I would classify that as his best career outing. There was no reason to run him out there in the 6th. I elaborated on that in a post below, but that was a constant theme for us this year. I do think that we had more bullpen depth than we realized this season, but all year long, we kept trying to milk those extra outs out of the starter and too many times it backfired on us. All year long we struggled with inherited runners from the bullpen, and we put ourselves in that position last night as well. We'll never know, but I bet Miss State doesn't put up a 3 spot in the 6th inning if Jarrett Brown gets a clean inning to start with.
-In the 6th, we allowed a run to score from 2nd on an infield hit with no error on the play. I can attest to how relentlessly they worked on defensive situations this fall and this pre-season (and presumably, during the year). Giving up a run in that circumstance, in that situation, was really disappointing. We had that issue against Alabama last year where got their catcher in a run down between 2nd and 3rd and inexplicably failed to cover the plate and allowed the catcher to trot home for a non-contested run. So many times during the fall and January, I watched us practice and thought "THAT will never happen here again." Last night was on that same level, though, I thought... I don't blame Stricklin for it. They worked on those situations plenty, but we just didn't execute it last night. And credit Miss State for being aggressive with it too. That was as much emotion as I think I've ever seen from a 3rd base coach on a non-winning run.
-Lucas Laster.... I'll remember that name for awhile. It was a good call by Cohen and Thompson. They saw how Ross Mitchell shut us down in the middle game earlier this year. Laster is a very similar guy, just with a lot less innings. We haven't hit soft tossing lefties in as long as I can remember. I think that if Laster was given a chance to finish the 9th, we probably don't tie it. But then, they can't just leave a guy like Holder in their bullpen in a single elimination deal.
-To that end, rallying off of Holder was really impressive. He's the best closer we saw all season, in my view. Maybe he didn't have the very best numbers, but I thought he was the best guy.
-Jess Posey did his job all year long.... and again last night. It's hard to believe that guy was a sub .200 hitter. It seemed like he was about .750 in "doing his job" with guys on base this season.
-Finally, on Brandon Stephens..... I didn't talk to him last night, but wanted to, and wanted to say "You had the best defensive season a catcher has had here in a decade.... what happened there at the end isn't what I'll remember from you.... it's barely a foot note on your year." My heart really broke for him.... baseball can be a cruel game sometimes and it's hard to believe that it ended like. I really enjoyed watching Stephens behind the plate this year and he's got nothing to be ashamed of on his year.
-In a lot of ways, the game last night mirrored our whole season. It's an empty feeling the day after. It always is, even in years like 2010 or 2013. I was really proud of the effort last night, though... We really battled and showed a lot of heart.... I can't wait for the day that we can show up over there with a regional bid in hand, and just look to win a few games and keep everyone sharp. That's when the SECT is FUN.... I mean, really fun. It's a great atmosphere over there, regardless, and driving in last night, I got really excited just seeing the stadium again from the entry road. I honestly think that the SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover is one of the very best parts about this league.
-I was really proud of Dylan Cole. He made some big pitches through the first five innings and I would classify that as his best career outing. There was no reason to run him out there in the 6th. I elaborated on that in a post below, but that was a constant theme for us this year. I do think that we had more bullpen depth than we realized this season, but all year long, we kept trying to milk those extra outs out of the starter and too many times it backfired on us. All year long we struggled with inherited runners from the bullpen, and we put ourselves in that position last night as well. We'll never know, but I bet Miss State doesn't put up a 3 spot in the 6th inning if Jarrett Brown gets a clean inning to start with.
-In the 6th, we allowed a run to score from 2nd on an infield hit with no error on the play. I can attest to how relentlessly they worked on defensive situations this fall and this pre-season (and presumably, during the year). Giving up a run in that circumstance, in that situation, was really disappointing. We had that issue against Alabama last year where got their catcher in a run down between 2nd and 3rd and inexplicably failed to cover the plate and allowed the catcher to trot home for a non-contested run. So many times during the fall and January, I watched us practice and thought "THAT will never happen here again." Last night was on that same level, though, I thought... I don't blame Stricklin for it. They worked on those situations plenty, but we just didn't execute it last night. And credit Miss State for being aggressive with it too. That was as much emotion as I think I've ever seen from a 3rd base coach on a non-winning run.
-Lucas Laster.... I'll remember that name for awhile. It was a good call by Cohen and Thompson. They saw how Ross Mitchell shut us down in the middle game earlier this year. Laster is a very similar guy, just with a lot less innings. We haven't hit soft tossing lefties in as long as I can remember. I think that if Laster was given a chance to finish the 9th, we probably don't tie it. But then, they can't just leave a guy like Holder in their bullpen in a single elimination deal.
-To that end, rallying off of Holder was really impressive. He's the best closer we saw all season, in my view. Maybe he didn't have the very best numbers, but I thought he was the best guy.
-Jess Posey did his job all year long.... and again last night. It's hard to believe that guy was a sub .200 hitter. It seemed like he was about .750 in "doing his job" with guys on base this season.
-Finally, on Brandon Stephens..... I didn't talk to him last night, but wanted to, and wanted to say "You had the best defensive season a catcher has had here in a decade.... what happened there at the end isn't what I'll remember from you.... it's barely a foot note on your year." My heart really broke for him.... baseball can be a cruel game sometimes and it's hard to believe that it ended like. I really enjoyed watching Stephens behind the plate this year and he's got nothing to be ashamed of on his year.
-In a lot of ways, the game last night mirrored our whole season. It's an empty feeling the day after. It always is, even in years like 2010 or 2013. I was really proud of the effort last night, though... We really battled and showed a lot of heart.... I can't wait for the day that we can show up over there with a regional bid in hand, and just look to win a few games and keep everyone sharp. That's when the SECT is FUN.... I mean, really fun. It's a great atmosphere over there, regardless, and driving in last night, I got really excited just seeing the stadium again from the entry road. I honestly think that the SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover is one of the very best parts about this league.
