TV: ESPN Radio: WRUF 850 AM / 98.1 FM Listen Live - ESPN 98.1 FM - 850 AM WRUF Stats: StatMonitr Stat Feed. Weather: 81 Deg at the start and 83 to finish. 0% chance of precip. NW Wind @ 21-22 = blowing out to center field. Starting Gator: #12 Jr RHP Waldrep (3.99, 10-3, 99.1 IP) Starting Earl: #30 Jr LHP Ackenhausen (2.86, 3-0, 28.1 IP) Go Gators!
How quickly things can turn in the game threads. We had every chance to win Game 1 but the good news we are not out of it. Keep your chins up Gator fans, especially the newbies around here. This team has already invested in too many comebacks to give up on them now. We've got 27 outs on Sunday to figure this thing out. I'm sure we will use every one of them.
We need to put Robertson at lead off. Can't do worse than Cade of late and his speed puts pressure on the other team. Drop Cade to #6 to lengthen our lineup and take pressure off of him. 1) CF Robertson 2) LF Langford 3) 1B Jac 4) SS Rivera 5) C BT 6) 2B Cade 7) DH Heyman 8) RF Evans 9) 3B Colby
Have to be able to hit the ball on the ground or execute a bunt to utilize speed. Haven't seen that in a long time. I could see Halter at leadoff but don't think we will c a change.
Robertson should not bat lead off. Period. Halter maybe. Hell I'd flip flop Rivera and Cags. Cags is in big trouble for next season if he doesn't adjust. He has zero patience and has been completely exposed.
Went through this last year with Jud's struggles at the plate. No way you take a guy out of the lineup with 22 homeruns,........ you move him down in the order to get (try to) a new perspective. Same thing this year now for Cags. It's a potential two game season, he's got to move out of the 3 hole.... I'd swap him and BT. Got to have some type of production there to get runs. Cade has the potential for the longball so in a 2 game season he is staying at leadoff. Robertson cant even make contact with a bunt attempt. Time for some of these guys to figure it out in the Fall, not now. I'm pissed that we had chances to win this thing tonight and did not close it out, pitching and hitting, or lack of both situations at crucial times. Tomorrow is another day and Monday is another day...... Win tomorrow with a new shaken up lineup and ignite these sticks. Dont even want to talk about pitching and 0-2 counts and a grooved pitch. Arrrrgh! I'm with these boys and they CAN win it all. GO GATORS!!!!
As to Robertson starting or even leading off, remember he is one of our worst hitters when facing a LHP. LSU might be starting a LHP on Sunday so Robertson would be sure to struggle. And don't say no one else was hitting anyway. You have to go with what you should be able to expect within reason. I agree we need to make a few changes but Robertson is much better against RHP so bring him in as soon as LSU makes the change if they start a LHP. I will go back to a similar lineup suggestion I made heading into the final stretch that never unfolded. SS - Rivera LF - Langford 1B - Caglianone DH - Heyman C - Riopelle 2B - Kurland RF - Shelnut LF - Evans 3B - Halter Rivera and Heyman have been two of the warmest bats so move them up (notice I said warmest and not hottest). Rivera doesn't need to "protect Cags at bats" because there's nothing to protect right now. If Rivera gets on he has to test the catcher at least once on a steal. Robertson would come in as soon as they bring a RHP in for either Shelnut or Evans and finish out that way. Riopelle is all or nothing right now so keep him at 5th to swing away in the middle of the order.
On the year our record after a loss is 12-3 and 2 of those losses were at South Carolina. My point, if you throw out the SC weekend which had a few external factors going on, then this team just about always wins the next game after a loss. So let's go win this one and worry about Monday's game when it gets here.
And lastly, maybe losing is what our hitters needed to wake up the bats again. We are in a do or die situation so their focus should be at a high level. Now dadgumit Gator fans keep your focus and stay behind this team and stop bickering with each other. Its just a game thread at the end of the year and all these what ifs ain't gonna change a thing at this late stage. So just go enjoy the game while we still have it. Go Gators!
I really hope BT and/or Rivera had a lot to say after Saturday night. In theory we have the better starting pitcher next 2 games but won't mean anything without stringing together consistent hits. We can pretend we didn't get dominated on the state sheet but they were much closer to ringing up a lot of runs than we were.
Robertson came i cold off bench and put bat in ball. He at least had a quality AB as opposed to about 70% of our other at bats. Amazing how this kid gets scrutinized. So he missed two bunt attempts. He then at least hit the ball. Crews actually had to move to catch it. Much better than staring at strikes and then swinging at ball over head.
This is for whole team what you say correct? I ask because I saw close to 20 strikeouts last night where Boone hit the ball and Robertson wasn’t one of those 20.
I believe LSU will have lefty Nate Ackenhausen in the mound Ackenhausen- 3-0 2.86 era if not him could be: Thatcher Hurd 7-3 5.97 era. expect to see out of pen ( if we hit a little): Gavin Guidry and Blake Money. Guidry has a plus curveball.
I predict the lineup will be exactly the same as it has been for the CWS. O'Sullivan's view will be that the guys just need to be more disciplined and execute.
Unfortunately I think we are witnessing a team that is just better than us from top to bottom in their order. Almost everyone one of their hitters grinds each at bat. Ours do not and provide them with very easy innings. Sproat did a heckuva job each inning as he was constantly on the ropes. Now look at what Floyd put up. Threw 80% fastballs belt and up with ease. Can you imagine what the score would be if Sproat tried that? When looking at their lineup head to head I would only take our C and SS over theirs. This is realizing Crews / Wyatt are in CF. Yet even though we were completely out played we had a chance to win. Today we will see if we have any fight left in us.
Today is a great day for baseball, and it is ALWAYS Great To Be A Florida Gator! We are winning this game today, and we are winning this 2023 College World Series.
