MSU SCOUT
A couple of things before the scout.
Andy Cox is ranked #4 in the NCAA in hits allowed per nine innings.
His WHIP (0.94) ranks at #34 in the country.
AJ Simcox ranks #8 in the NCAA in Sac Bunts, 1st in the SEC.
Christin Stewart ranks #8 in the NCAA in Triples, 1st in the SEC.
Will Maddox ranks #50 in the NCAA in stolen bases, 2nd in the SEC.
MSU 31 - 18, (14-10), RPI 37, SOS 34, 20-10 Home.
UT... 28 - 18, (10-14), RPI 41, SOS 38, 8-10 Away.
RUNS/GAME
OFFENSE MS: 5.1 runs/game.
OFFENSE UT: 5.8 runs/game.
DEFENSE MS: 3.6 runs/game.
DEFENSE UT: 4.4 runs/game.
MARGIN MS: +1.5
MARGIN UT: +1.5
THE LINE UP
Last Weekend
C. T Bradford - .277 *leads team with 5 3B's
A. Detz - .236 * tied for team lead HR, 3 with Wes Rea (.259) who has a team high 45 SO's
B. Pirtle - .346 * leads team w/ 65 hits
S. Heck - ..275
G. Collins - .315
C Brown - .280
J. Vickerson - .255
D. Armstrong - .289 *leads team in SB/ATT, 13/15
M. Britton - .244
As a team, they have a BA of .274, UT is .280...
They've hit 58 doubles, 8 triples and 12 home runs, UT has hit, 72 doubles, 16 triples and 17 home runs...MS has played 3 more games than UT...
They are 60/80 in SB/Att. compared to 75/101 for UT...
They are the best fielding team in the league with a .980 fielding percentage. We were up there with them for most of the season, but we've fallen off over the last two weeks. Our fielding percentage is .972...
As a team, they've only committed 38 errors on the season, no player has more than five...by contrast UT has committed 51 E's and Simcox and Smart lead the way with 11 and 9 respectively....
PITCHERS
Friday
Trevor Fitts (Jr. RHP) 2.62 ERA, 4-2 w/l, 55 IP, 58 H, 18 R, 16 ER, 8 BB, 52 SO, .262 b/avg.
* that a pretty incredible BB/SO ratio...8/52
hmy:
* He's had 11 WP's and 6 HBP
Saturday
Ross Mitchell (Jr. LHP) 2.12 ERA, 7-4 w/l, 89.1 IP, 4 CG's, 71 H, 25 R, 21 ER, 22 BB, 42 SO, .220 b/avg.
This is the guy Backwards K is talking about, he's also mentioned in the video...he's given up 14 doubles, a team high...I also noticed that MS ranks at the top of the league in wild pitches and passed balls, of course, we have to be on base to benefit from that. His 22 BB's are also a team high. It will be interesting to see how are guys do against Mitchell, especially if we drop the first game....Another note, the guy that starts at Catcher is a true frosh, but they bring in a junior to catch Mitchell...or they did last week...he's down for 4 WP's and 10 HBP...
Sunday
Preston Brown (So. RHP) 2.28 ERA, 4-1 w/l, 43.1 IP, 37 H, 12 R, 11 ER, 15 BB, 31 SO, .239 b/avg.
OUT OF THE PEN
Jonathon Holder (Jr. RHP) 2.70 ERA, leads team with 6 SV's
Jacob Lindgren (Jr. LHP) 1.18 ERA, has made 20 appearances, has 73 SO's in 38 IP...
hmy:
SUMMARY
This is going to be a tough environment for our Vols this weekend. Statistically, the two teams aren't far apart. MSU's veteran group of pitchers combined with their top notch defense is going to be a tough nut to crack.
We must get on base and pressure them into making some mistakes and use the wild pitches, passed balls, and HBP to our advantage. They don't make many fielding mistakes and they are adept at turning two, so not hitting into double plays will be critical imo, and we haven't being doing a great job of that as of late.
We'll also have to play much better defensively and of course, we can't come out flat. If we do make some mistakes, it will be imperative not to lose composure, if they let the crowd get on them, it will snowball.
We have the talent to play with these guys, offensively, they aren't anything we aren't used to seeing and they don't have the fire power of a UK...
We can't get swept and winning the series would really help the cause, but it's going to be a tough one to get, it's doable, but we need to play the best ball of the season this weekend.
GBO!!!
