I am headed to Corvallis tomorrow evening, where I will cover both Tulane and Nicholls for The Advocate. It was touch and go whether I would get approval to be out there, but I got the positive word yesterday evening after booking a flight a couple of days earlier that was not refundable but could have been applied to future flights.
Oregon State is the clear favorite to win the regional based on its talent, which is rated among the the top 10 in the country, but the Beavers played a soft schedule and had some lapses during the year, so they do not appear to be invincible. They played fewer games against NCAA tournament teams, going 5-4, than Tulane, which went 7-7.
Tulane's bats were terrific against AAC pitching this year and even against ECU's Trey Yesavage, who is projected as a top 15 pick in the draft, so it will be interesting to see what the Wave can do with ace Aiden May, who was a nondescript pitcher (Juco, then 6.35 ERA last year at Arizona) before transferring to Oregon State His nunbers in his last four regular-season starts were off the charts. He allowed 16 hits and one earned run with five walks and 37 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings while dominating NCAA regional team Oregon, Washington State, UCLA and Pac-12 champion Arizona, which had to be fun after the year he had with the Wildcats. He had two bad outings this year--on the road at Cal and at home against Arizona--but he did not allow a run in his other four Pac-12 starts at home. Obvioulsy, Chandler Welch needs to be on his game again, and the Wave cannot afford a defensive lapse like Marcus Cline's botched double-play opportunity.
Oregon State is tough at home. The Beavers went 24-2 there this year and have won seven of the nine regionals they have hosted, going 24-5. That said, four of their opening-round wins against 4 seeds were by 1 run, and they lost to Cincinnati in 2019. I don't really have a feel for what will happen Friday because Tulane appears to be a lot better than it was earlier in the year when it got smoked by UC Irvine and even UTSA at home. I also don't know how the Wave will handle the atmosphere of a big, loud crowd after not experiencing anything like that all year. Road games at ULL and USM came the closest.
I did not think Tulane had any shot to beat Yesavage in the opener against ECU and was proven wrong. I can't wait to see what the Wave does against May.
I give Nicholls an outside shot to beat UC Irvine. Mike Silva in an incredible coach who gets the best out of his players, but the Colonels' pitching is suspect. Their ace, Jacob Mayers, throws really hard and is tough to hit, but he walked more batters than he pitched innings, which is unheard of for an ace. He also has not faced a lineup as good as UC Irvine with the possible exception of Nebraska, which scored 4 runs in 4.2 innings off him. Nicholls is peaking right now, but I just don't know if that team has enough talent to beat a big boy. UC Irvine retuned every player who had an at-bat last year, and it showed in a potent lineup.
Tulane should be able to handle Nicholls if they meet in the loser's bracket, but let's see if the Wave can pull the big upset and get a chance to avenge six mostly lopsided losses to UC Irvine in a row. This is not the same team UC Irvine faced at the beginning of the year. Although Luc Fladda has been merely OK as a second-day starter, maybe he gained confidence from getting the last five outs against Wichita State in the AAC title game.
Look for Tulane to issue a lot of free passes to Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana, he of the .400-plus average and 26 home runs. I got the feeling Jay Uhlman was a lot more confident about his team's ability to hit May than get Bazzana out.
This regional should be fun. I can't wait to get out there.
Oregon State is the clear favorite to win the regional based on its talent, which is rated among the the top 10 in the country, but the Beavers played a soft schedule and had some lapses during the year, so they do not appear to be invincible. They played fewer games against NCAA tournament teams, going 5-4, than Tulane, which went 7-7.
Tulane's bats were terrific against AAC pitching this year and even against ECU's Trey Yesavage, who is projected as a top 15 pick in the draft, so it will be interesting to see what the Wave can do with ace Aiden May, who was a nondescript pitcher (Juco, then 6.35 ERA last year at Arizona) before transferring to Oregon State His nunbers in his last four regular-season starts were off the charts. He allowed 16 hits and one earned run with five walks and 37 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings while dominating NCAA regional team Oregon, Washington State, UCLA and Pac-12 champion Arizona, which had to be fun after the year he had with the Wildcats. He had two bad outings this year--on the road at Cal and at home against Arizona--but he did not allow a run in his other four Pac-12 starts at home. Obvioulsy, Chandler Welch needs to be on his game again, and the Wave cannot afford a defensive lapse like Marcus Cline's botched double-play opportunity.
Oregon State is tough at home. The Beavers went 24-2 there this year and have won seven of the nine regionals they have hosted, going 24-5. That said, four of their opening-round wins against 4 seeds were by 1 run, and they lost to Cincinnati in 2019. I don't really have a feel for what will happen Friday because Tulane appears to be a lot better than it was earlier in the year when it got smoked by UC Irvine and even UTSA at home. I also don't know how the Wave will handle the atmosphere of a big, loud crowd after not experiencing anything like that all year. Road games at ULL and USM came the closest.
I did not think Tulane had any shot to beat Yesavage in the opener against ECU and was proven wrong. I can't wait to see what the Wave does against May.
I give Nicholls an outside shot to beat UC Irvine. Mike Silva in an incredible coach who gets the best out of his players, but the Colonels' pitching is suspect. Their ace, Jacob Mayers, throws really hard and is tough to hit, but he walked more batters than he pitched innings, which is unheard of for an ace. He also has not faced a lineup as good as UC Irvine with the possible exception of Nebraska, which scored 4 runs in 4.2 innings off him. Nicholls is peaking right now, but I just don't know if that team has enough talent to beat a big boy. UC Irvine retuned every player who had an at-bat last year, and it showed in a potent lineup.
Tulane should be able to handle Nicholls if they meet in the loser's bracket, but let's see if the Wave can pull the big upset and get a chance to avenge six mostly lopsided losses to UC Irvine in a row. This is not the same team UC Irvine faced at the beginning of the year. Although Luc Fladda has been merely OK as a second-day starter, maybe he gained confidence from getting the last five outs against Wichita State in the AAC title game.
Look for Tulane to issue a lot of free passes to Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana, he of the .400-plus average and 26 home runs. I got the feeling Jay Uhlman was a lot more confident about his team's ability to hit May than get Bazzana out.
This regional should be fun. I can't wait to get out there.
