#4 LSU @ #1 South Carolina (for a shot at SEC Title)

Wow!!! Three good teams lost today for LSU to be sole SEC Champs. We beat FLA and MSU by a count of two game to one, so we should have won it outright anyway. Oh well, at least there aint no BCS in baseball...LOL !!!

Way to Geaux Tigers!!!

 

First off, congrats to the Tigers for ANOTHER regular season SEC Championship. But man, this stat here is an eye opener. The 'dead bat' era of college baseball has really changed the game. Remember when Gorilla Ball was in full swing, these were HR totals for individuals (starting with South Carolina), not a whole team. Brandon Larsen hit 40 HR in '97 and I think Brad Cresse hit 38 one year too.

I'm not saying that changes didn't have to be made. Eventually, a pitcher was going to be seriously hurt or even killed if they continued with those lightweight aluminum bats and we're lucky it didn't happen when they were in use. And, it was kind of ridiculous seeing football scores at baseball games. But, I think the latest changes to the bats right before the 2010 season was too much. It's all about pitching and small ball now. I think I read somewhere that the sweet spot on today's bats is only like 2" (as compared to 4" in 2009). I think that's too much. There was nothing wrong with the bats that were used in 2009.

Agree or disagree? Are the bats where they need to be for the college game? For me, I'd just like to see a little more power, but not like it was when we set the NCAA record (that will never be broken) for 188 HRs in 70 games back in '97. The team also hit a HR in an NCAA record 77 consecutive games; from June 8th 1996 - Feb 21st 1998.


http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/baseball_RB/2012/D1.pdf

 

I know you're talking homers but, how about 8 doubles in one inning vs. Ga. Tech in 1996.

 

The Tigers also had 22 plate appearances and 27 total bases in that inning.

 

how many runs did they score?

 

These bats are very similar to the real wooden bats that are what baseball is all about. I love it, when a pitcher makes a good pitch he gets rewarded for it instead of giving up a hit. And now they can throw inside without worrying about the batter hitting a HR off the handle.

And pop ups stay in the park, you have to really get into a ball for out to go out. Now if they could just get rid of the ping...

 

As previously mentioned, I know there needed to be a change. I'm just saying that they accomplished all that you mentioned above with the changes before the ones in the 2010 season. There was no need to change them again. That change basically took away ALL hitting for power.

 

i think they are trying to make it as close to the pros as possible, which is win-win for everybody... the LSU players (will make it easier for them to adjust to pros), the LSU program (recruits will be more likely to come to LSU over the minors if we play a more pro-style ball game), the MLB teams (easier to scout college players if they play a more pro-style game), etc

for example, look at home runs: in the 56 game regular season that just concluded, these were your home run leaders in the SEC:
1. Mike Zunino, UF............ 15 (the equivalent to 43 home runs in a 162-game MLB season)
2. Preston Tucker, UF......... 14 (the equivalent to 41 home runs in a 162-game MLB season)
3. Zach Kirksey, UM........... 13 (the equivalent to 38 home runs in a 162-game MLB season)
4t. Matt Snyder, UM............ 12 (the equivalent to 35 home runs in a 162-game MLB season)
4t. Luke Maile, UK............. 12 (the equivalent to 35 home runs in a 162-game MLB season)
6. Mason Katz, LSU............. 11 (the equivalent to 32 home runs in a 162-game MLB season)

and these were the home run leaders in the ACC:
1. Mac Williamson, WF......... 17 (the equivalent to 49 home runs in a 162-game MLB season)
2. Tyler Horan, VT............ 15 (the equivalent to 43 home runs in a 162-game MLB season)
3. Ryan Mathews, NCST...........14 (the equivalent to 41 home runs in a 162-game MLB season)
4. Daniel Palka, GT........... 12 (the equivalent to 35 home runs in a 162-game MLB season)
5. James Ramsey, FSU........... 11 (the equivalent to 32 home runs in a 162-game MLB season)

that seems about right. last season, a guy for Virginia Tech, Andrew Rash, hit 18 home runs in 51 games, which would be the equivalent of 57 home runs in a 162-game MLB season. and last season, Mikie Mahtook hit 14 home runs in 56 games, which would be the equivalent of 41 home runs in a 162-game MLB season

now yeah, the days of LSU's Brandon Larson hitting 40 home runs over 69 games, and Rice's Lance Berkman hitting 41 home runs over 63 games in the same season are over. but that would be the equivalent two guys hitting 94 and 105 home runs in the same MLB season, which of course is ridiculous

 

They scored 18 runs, 17 consecutive batters reached base, 13 hits and 17 rbi in that 7th inning.

 

Lord, with that coming so late in the game how long did the game last? I'm guessing about 4-5 hours.