It is hard to gauge what the Tulane baseball team will do this year, although the eye test has been positive and this team clearly enjoys playing more than last year's, which went through the motions for stretches.
But if Tulane is going to reach a regional, this week is the time to step up and go 4-1 after a mixed bag in the first three weeks. The Green Wave cannot afford to lose to UNO, which should be down from the last two years (although it has a sensational Friday starter), when it beat Tulane at Maestri Field.
Southeastern will be tough as always, but the game is at home and Tulane and weekend quality starter Chase Solesky will be on the mound.
Purdue, Tulane's weekend opponent at Turchin Stadium, is ranked 9th nationally in RPI, which means nothing at this point but does probably mean the Boilermakers are much better than they have been in the past (they went 10-44 two years ago). Breaking down their 8-2 start, it's hard to see where the good RPI comes from. They split two close games with Notre Dame, which won a series at LSU to start the year, got hammered by a regional quality Stetson team and have played no one else that really ever makes the postseason often.
The bottom line is good teams should win a series against Purdue at home. It will be very interesting to see how Roper bounces back Friday. Jewett was not happy with his uncharacteristic negative demeanor against Fullerton, when he was upset at himself after every missed pitch and appeared to lose his focus, but he added he had never seen that from Roper before. Massey needs to pitch better, too. I have not seen one pitch from his last two games, but he has been ineffective both times. Gillies looked really good on Sunday, but Fullerton's coach, a straight shooter with strong opinions, was less impressed, as you'll see if you scroll down.
I have been very encouraged by Tulane's approach at the plate. Nobody can break it down better there than WaveOn in the other thread. Obviously the pitching needed to be vastly improved this year for the Wave to have a chance, but my biggest concern was an anemic lineup incapable of producing anything against decent pitches. That concern has been allayed, at least so far.
Here is what Fullerton coach Rick Vanderhook said after Sunday's game.
How disappointed are you in having seven guys caught for missing curfew last night?
"Rules are rules. I'm not going to bend the rule just to win a game. We play in Hawaii, and Hawaii's a pretty cool place if you've ever been there. Las Vegas is pretty sweet. They had a good amount of time (to explore New Orleans without breaking curfew), and they didn't get in on time. It just so happens that I was the one checking. That's probably the worst thing it could be for them. We had a pitcher in right field, and at the end of the game he played at first base and he got a base hit. He had a good day, and then we had to make some moves because the other guys who play were too scared to play a new position and didn't know what to do, so I guess they've never watched baseball before."
Why did you have the suspended players sit together at the top of the bleachers by the right field wall?
"I wanted them to be fully embarrassed. I should have put them right in the middle like over here somewhere, but they got the gist of it. They are in the football stadium running right now."
What is your impression of Tulane?
"They are physical. They have a physical, athletic team. Witherspoon didn't kill us. That dude's going to kill some people. The leadoff hitter is solid. Travis (Jewett) said last year he played catcher, and he can hit. They can hit and they can run. This turf probably plays pretty good for them. Grass is probably a little bit different, but I like the club on the field a lot."
What did you think of Gillies?
"I thought he was OK. He got to pitch against a little lesser of a lineup, so that was good (for him). He threw strikes and he could spin the ball in the count early over the plate, which he did. That team's going to play in June, at least in my eyes. They are as good as Houston, which we played last week. They are similar to Stanford in the field. They are more physical than UCLA. They have good pitching, although they don't have the (same) starting pitching (as UCLA)."
What do you mean by physical?
"They are strong. They hit the ball hard and have authority to it. They can really bust the gaps well."
But if Tulane is going to reach a regional, this week is the time to step up and go 4-1 after a mixed bag in the first three weeks. The Green Wave cannot afford to lose to UNO, which should be down from the last two years (although it has a sensational Friday starter), when it beat Tulane at Maestri Field.
Southeastern will be tough as always, but the game is at home and Tulane and weekend quality starter Chase Solesky will be on the mound.
Purdue, Tulane's weekend opponent at Turchin Stadium, is ranked 9th nationally in RPI, which means nothing at this point but does probably mean the Boilermakers are much better than they have been in the past (they went 10-44 two years ago). Breaking down their 8-2 start, it's hard to see where the good RPI comes from. They split two close games with Notre Dame, which won a series at LSU to start the year, got hammered by a regional quality Stetson team and have played no one else that really ever makes the postseason often.
The bottom line is good teams should win a series against Purdue at home. It will be very interesting to see how Roper bounces back Friday. Jewett was not happy with his uncharacteristic negative demeanor against Fullerton, when he was upset at himself after every missed pitch and appeared to lose his focus, but he added he had never seen that from Roper before. Massey needs to pitch better, too. I have not seen one pitch from his last two games, but he has been ineffective both times. Gillies looked really good on Sunday, but Fullerton's coach, a straight shooter with strong opinions, was less impressed, as you'll see if you scroll down.
I have been very encouraged by Tulane's approach at the plate. Nobody can break it down better there than WaveOn in the other thread. Obviously the pitching needed to be vastly improved this year for the Wave to have a chance, but my biggest concern was an anemic lineup incapable of producing anything against decent pitches. That concern has been allayed, at least so far.
Here is what Fullerton coach Rick Vanderhook said after Sunday's game.
How disappointed are you in having seven guys caught for missing curfew last night?
"Rules are rules. I'm not going to bend the rule just to win a game. We play in Hawaii, and Hawaii's a pretty cool place if you've ever been there. Las Vegas is pretty sweet. They had a good amount of time (to explore New Orleans without breaking curfew), and they didn't get in on time. It just so happens that I was the one checking. That's probably the worst thing it could be for them. We had a pitcher in right field, and at the end of the game he played at first base and he got a base hit. He had a good day, and then we had to make some moves because the other guys who play were too scared to play a new position and didn't know what to do, so I guess they've never watched baseball before."
Why did you have the suspended players sit together at the top of the bleachers by the right field wall?
"I wanted them to be fully embarrassed. I should have put them right in the middle like over here somewhere, but they got the gist of it. They are in the football stadium running right now."
What is your impression of Tulane?
"They are physical. They have a physical, athletic team. Witherspoon didn't kill us. That dude's going to kill some people. The leadoff hitter is solid. Travis (Jewett) said last year he played catcher, and he can hit. They can hit and they can run. This turf probably plays pretty good for them. Grass is probably a little bit different, but I like the club on the field a lot."
What did you think of Gillies?
"I thought he was OK. He got to pitch against a little lesser of a lineup, so that was good (for him). He threw strikes and he could spin the ball in the count early over the plate, which he did. That team's going to play in June, at least in my eyes. They are as good as Houston, which we played last week. They are similar to Stanford in the field. They are more physical than UCLA. They have good pitching, although they don't have the (same) starting pitching (as UCLA)."
What do you mean by physical?
"They are strong. They hit the ball hard and have authority to it. They can really bust the gaps well."
