I know it's hard to get excited when you say Vanderbilt, but this is one quality baseball team. While they are only ranked #25 in the polls, they are ranked #12 in the latest RPI, only 3 spots behind LSU. Vandy is 2nd in the SEC and 13th in the NCAA with a 3.16 ERA. But their starting pitchers have some really sick ERA numbers: Game 1 LSU -- Sr. LHP Lane Mestepey (5-5, 3.93 ERA, 71.0 IP, 13 BB, 39 SO) VU -- Jr. RHP Jensen Lewis (6-2, 2.20 ERA, 65.1 IP, 13 BB, 66 SO) Game 2 LSU -- Jr. LHP Clay Dirks (8-1, 3.06 ERA, 64.2 IP, 20 BB, 45 SO) VU -- Jr. LHP Ryan Mullins (5-0, 2.42, 52.0 IP, 17 BB, 46 SO) Game 3 LSU -- Jr. LHP Greg Smith (6-2, 2.57 ERA, 70.0 IP, 19 BB, 58 SO) VU -- Fr. LHP David Price (2-2, 2.22 ERA, 48.2 IP, 22 BB, 70 SO) Smoke said he'll play Weaver behind the plate most of the weekend. We'll need some timely hits, as it looks like runs will be at a premium. Also need to get Mestepey going tonight. If you like good pitching and low scoring games, this series should be your cup of tea! Need to take 2 of 3 this weekend! BTW, there is an 80% chance of rain in Nashville this afternoon and tonight. Clearing up tomorrow morning, but will be cool. Looks like we may be playing two on Saturday!
I look for Lane to snap out of his funk and pitch well tonight. After that, it's up to the bats, and the other guys in the rotation. Taking at least two of three from these guys at their place would go a long way not only in the SEC standings (tournament-wise), but in the all-important RPI (which, I believe, is around 9 at the moment).
Here's some more stats for the series Vandy will be missing their 3rd sacker. Tough break. Here's some per game comparisons to chew on: Bat Avg----Runs--Hits--HR's---Slg%--XB's--SO's--OBA--Fld% LSU-.298---7.5---10.7--1.4---.494---3.9---5.8---.379--968 VU--.293---5.5---10.1---.8---.421---2.7---5.4---.365--968 Pitching ------ERA--Runs--ER's---Bat Avg--Hits--SO's--BB--HR's--XB LSU--3.70--4.5---3.7-----.248-----8.4---6.9--2.8--.6---2.7 VU---3.16--3.9---3.2-----.233-----7.9---9.9--3.4--.3---2.2
This should be a good series. I look for LSU to win 2 for sure and maybe 3 depending on if our bats stay hot.
man i hope we can get another great outing by greg and a good outing by our bats to win the series tomorrow...would be great :tigbas: :geauxtige
