Strangest stat of the tournament to date: Miss. State won last night, 2-1, in 17 innings without a single pitcher throwing more than 46 pitches.
Seems more of a "take your mom to the ballpark" thing... But since you've enlightened me to a different perspective...this one certainly qualifies.
Speaking of pitchers dominating on short rest, aTm sophomore stud Daniel Mengden (of Houston) threw a complete game on Thursday (106 pitches), then another complete game on Tuesday (119 pitches) to eliminate Florida yesterday He was rated higher as a recruit than Nola, and check out how great he's done as a sophomore this season: UF -- 9.0 inn, 5 hits, 1 ER, 11 K's, 1 walk, .161 Tenn -- 9.0 inn, 7 hits, 1 ER, 4 K's, 2 walks, .233 LSU -- 8.0 inn, 5 hits, 1 ER, 5 K's, 0 walks, .179 Mizzou -- 8.0 inn, 2 hits, 1 ER , 10 K's, 3 walks, .083 Bama -- 7.0 inn, 4 hits, 3 ER , 6 K's, 3 walks, .167 Arkansas -- 6.0 inn, 5 hits, 2 ER , 6 K's, 2 walks, .238 Miss St -- 7.0 inn, 4 hits, 2 ER , 7 K's, 3 walks, .167 Auburn -- 7.0 inn, 7 hits, 0 ER , 4 K's, 0 walks, .259 S. Carolina -- 6.0 inn, 4 hits, 3 ER , 3 K's, 2 walks, .182 Ole Miss -- 5.2 inn, 6 hits, 1 ER , 2 K's, 1 walk, .260 Georgia -- 8.0 inn, 6 hits, 1 ER , 8 K's, 0 walks, .207 Cal State Fullerton -- 6.0 inn, 5 hits, 1 ER , 6 K's, 0 walks, .227 Florida Coach Kevin O’Sullivan on Mengden: “The difference in the ball game was that their starter got stronger as the game went on. We weren’t given very much...we have to tip our hats to Texas A&M." A&M Head Coach Rob Childress on Mengden: “I felt for the first couple of innings we were basically slept walk thought the game; ...we had Danny (Mengden) wobbly earlier and from that point, from the fourth and fifth inning, I thought he was was good as he’s been for the last month which is pretty special...For me, going into the game, I was hoping that we would get six (innings) out of him. By the sixth inning he settled in and was really good. Then we go to the seventh and I talk to him, and he gets us through the eighth and he’s as crisp as he’s been all game. He really wanted to go out there for the ninth...For me, he’s been as dominant as anybody we’ve had at Texas A&M in the last month.” Mengden: “I kind of got in a rhythm there. I didn’t get started the way I wanted to. It didn’t feel that good to begin with, but I started feeling better. ... I finally got in the rhythm.” Florida OF Harrison Bader: "I don’t think they got stronger as the game went along."
What's even more crazy is that, in that ONE game, Mizzou had TWO long, masterful performances by TWO different pitchers: Mizzou junior stud Rob Zastryzny (of Texas) went the first complete 9 innings last night (124 pitches after getting a rest last weekend). Check out how great he did last night, just like he did vs LSU earlier this season @Mizzou MSU: 9.0 inn, 7 hits, 1 ER, 7 K's, 2 walks, .219 LSU: 7.2 inn, 5 hits, 1 ER, 7 K's, 1 walk, .172 THEN, one of Mizzou's bullpen guys, Keaton Steele, comes in a throws a 7-inning shutout (105 pitches) before Jake Walsh came in and got the loss after only facing four batters and giving up the game-winning run Miss State Head Coach John Cohen: "their left-hander (Rob Zastryzny) was fabulous; the right-hander they brought in was outstanding (Keaton Steele); they can really pitch. We’ll all probably know (Zastryzny’s) name when he pitches in the big leagues, he’s really good.” Mizzou Coach Tim Jamieson: On team’s pitching: “I couldn’t have asked for a better game. It’s been a microcosm of this year. ... we held our own ... I’m proud of the way my guys competed." On Rob Zastryzny: “I thought he was focused tonight and on a mission. This is about as well as he’s been all year. He’s a guy I believe will be pitching in the Major League. He has the talent and competitiveness. ... He’ll make a big mistake rarely and...tonight he made no mistakes.”
Given the choice, I'd imagine the Gamecocks would much rather be facing a tired Mizzou rotation versus Miss. State. That has all the makings of a pretty good ball game. Odds are MSU stays in the winners bracket considering UofSC isn't the same team in the SEC tourney as they tend to be in the NCAA's. MSU took 2 of 3 this season with their loss coming in extra innings.
Nola on radio now: "i needed the rest...was great for me...i feel a lot better....i pitched a lot of innings this year...looking forward to tomorrow" (when he goes vs Arkansas or Ole Miss)
