NCAA TOURNAMENT OPEN THREAD: Oklahoma vs. Washington State
by Craig Powers on May 31, 2009 10:02 AM PDT
in WSU Baseball News
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PrintThe Cougs face their second straight elimination game today and the opponent is very different that the one they saw yesterday. While Wichita State was scary because of their impressive starting pitching, Oklahoma's lineup is what strikes fear into the hearts of their foes. David Stilley takes the mound for WSU and Garrett Richards does the same for the Sooners.
Garrett Richards is most definitely hittable. If the Cougars put a lot of runs on the board today, it's not because they are relaxed or acclimated to the environment, it will because they are facing a pitcher that is just not very good. From the stats, it would appear that Richards is a power pitcher with very poor control. He strikes out a very impressive 24.5% of the batters he faces, but he also walks 12.1% of them. Richards gives up a lot of homeruns (nearly twice the national average) and he allows a .379 on-base%. The Cougs have a very good chance to be successful at the plate today. They need to be patient and they will get guys on base. They will have opportunities to drive the baseball and push a lot of runs across against this guy.
More good news is that David Stilley is the better pitcher is this matchup. The bad news is that Oklahoma is a very good hitting team. They hit a lot of homeruns and draw a lot of walks. Stilley has very good control, but he does give up his fair share of homers. If he can limit the free passes and keep the guys off base when the bombs happen, he can be effective today.
It was discussed yesterday, and I agree, Oklahoma is the better matchup for this first game today. Winning two straight games at OU's home park would have been a daunting task and OU's pitching is not all that great once you get past the number one guy. If the Cougs win this one, they will need to beat Arkansas twice to advance to the Super-Regionals.
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They're thinking they can show up tonight at 7....
and watch them play Arkansas. Hate to disappoint them.
Go Cougs!!!
I don't really like bunting in the first inning
Let this guy beat himself.
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
Argy need to eat that
He had no chance to throw him out.
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
Big K for Stilley there
He needs to limit this to two runs
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
Could have been a lot worse....
If we don’t start hitting it’s going to be a long day. Their starter looks better to me than the ace and #2 guys.
4 pitch walk
Nobody should be swinging at the first pitch from this guy
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
Go cougs
Had my 2nd grandson last night @ 11:50, in Pullman, he’ll always be known as “butch to me”. His dad won the lewiston grandslam (softball) friday night with 17 homers….I’m pumped…..I’ll be heading back to the hospital in a minute so, I’ll be listening maybe watching, but training for a future game at the least. Go Cougs
Congrats!
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on May 31, 2009 11:31 AM PDT up reply actions
awesome
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on May 31, 2009 11:33 AM PDT up reply actions
Missed the homer
Trying to login. I’ll take it and watch a replay later!
I don't know if Burg should be out there
He hasn’t really done much with the bat. He looks like he is pain
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
That was a nasty curve
This guy has good stuff, he obviously has control problems
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
Leadoff walks are a disaster....
And so preventable. Come on Dave, your stuff is good enough to trust your defense.
No harm done that time
Playing with fire though
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on May 31, 2009 11:44 AM PDT up reply actions
Baseball is a very funny game....
Georgia beat Ohio State the other day 24-8 and now they are trailing them 13-6 in the 7th. Payback is a bitch!
If this guy is getting his curve over
That’s a bit scary
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
He's in a groove
I wish he would walk people like he is supposed to!
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on May 31, 2009 12:01 PM PDT up reply actions
We've got a few guys that aren't performing at the plate....
We need to sit on this guy’s fastball and put some balls in play. Easier said than done, I know but I expected us to hit a little better than we have so far.
This ump is as inconsistent as the one that worked the....
Oklahoma vs Arkansas game last night. Oklahoma’s coach got tossed in the 8th for sticking up for his pitcher and rightfully so. Marbut did the same between innings. The key is to establish a zone and stick with it. That makes it fair for everyone.
I'm back ...for a minute
doesn’t seem to do as good last time I checked in as the two runs came in…..sorry
Yeah
Seems like Jones should be able to get there.
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on May 31, 2009 12:06 PM PDT up reply actions
This ballpark is nice for Stilley
He can give up those deep flyballs and they don’t go anywhere
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on May 31, 2009 12:06 PM PDT up reply actions
3 up 3 down nice fielding
not bad positioning for the 5th
No idea
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on May 31, 2009 12:17 PM PDT up reply actions
If the OK guy throws 95
Stilley must be at least in the low 90’s
Pretty this ump just makes up the strike zone from pitch to pitch
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
*Pretty sure
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on May 31, 2009 12:18 PM PDT up reply actions
That was a really good call by the ump
it is rarely made
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
I can't remember the last ground ball out
Thank God this ballpark is huge.
Anything!!
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on May 31, 2009 12:38 PM PDT up reply actions
nice
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on May 31, 2009 12:39 PM PDT up reply actions
This guy looks like a major leaguer right now.
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on May 31, 2009 12:40 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah they've been doing that periodically
Very cool.
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on May 31, 2009 12:42 PM PDT up reply actions
Success?
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on May 31, 2009 12:45 PM PDT up reply actions
He's starting to get a little more inconsistent with the curve
I think we need to sit on the fastball a little more and see if he can keep getting the curve over as he fatigues. The fastball is hard but it looks straight.
this game is frustrating
mostly because they’re making good contact on the ball and we aren’t. seems almost inevitable. hope i’m wrong
awesome
hbp on a 1-2 count….
As good as we could have asked for
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on May 31, 2009 12:54 PM PDT up reply actions
So if they bunt the runners over
We should intentionally walk the three hole hitter
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
Crap Crap Crap
A miracle if we don’t give up a run here
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
That was a good pitch, just unlucky
Argy made a nice play to save a run
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
considering we've hit the ball out of the infield around 10 times in the past 2 games....no
it’s not looking good.
oklahoma has to feel good that they only used one pitcher against us….
We just haven't hit the ball worth a darn all weekend....
And when we did against Wichita State we didn’t put up enough runs.
Don't know why it was either
We weren’t facing particularly dominant pitchers. OK’s pitcher dominate the lineup today.
Gotta hand it to Stilley, though. Good outing
You don't want to know
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on May 31, 2009 1:24 PM PDT up reply actions
7-2
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on May 31, 2009 1:25 PM PDT up reply actions
Let me remind everyone that these guys were ranked 8th....
in the Pac-10 preseason. Then they played one of the most challenging schedules in the country and wound up in Norman. The took 2nd in league and if they would have beat ASU one more time, they would have ended up tied for 1st.
They have had a great season and it has to end sometime. Arkansas and Oklahoma are no slouches. I’m very proud to be represented by these guys. Simple as that.
i don't think anyone disagrees
today was just disappointing.
it just felt like they were making good contact the whole game and we weren’t. it was inevitable something like the 7th inning happened. it just hurt when it actually did.
I hear ya....
I feel the same way too.
Arkansas gets 7,500 fans to watch Tuesday night league games. Oklahoma has a great baseball tradition too. It doesn’t happen overnight, they’ve been putting out great baseball programs for many years and they get tons of support. Wichita State is the same too.
For a small school like WSU in the middle of a very small population area to put together a good team like this one, it’s sweet. Now that we are back on the baseball map, we have to follow it up next year and the year after that with more good teams. Eventually we will get back to Omaha.
no sour grapes here
I’m extremely proud of the team. Put baseball back in the spotlight a little, GREAT season.
Think of it this way....
Out of 27 innings, only 2 of them really sucked. Baseball is a game of inches. We could just as easily be sitting in the cat bird’s seat right now, but a great play in right field by Wichita State kept us from that possibility.
In Oklahoma's big 7th....
That seeing-eye hit could have been an inning-ending double play. I’m looking forward to next season already. It was a fun run and a very successful season, IMO.
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