The Next Step

The weather has warmed up, the lineup has been set to what strengths and weaknesses the opponent has, the starting pitching has been shaky but has kept us in the ball game.....now we need to take the Next Step.
And that would be putting it altogether and win 2 of 3 on the weekends. It starts on Friday.

For us to host a Regional we must start winning weekend series. The non-conference games are almost done and we have done an excellent job with them. Kudos to the scheduling. These teams are competing in the conference title races with the exception of a couple (Alcorn St for example). We are 21-2 with 3 tough games left: Ole Miss-Pearl, at Memphis and Oral Roberts-home. If we can finish 23-3 or better that would be special. That schedule has really helped our RPI which is a big factor in hosting a Regional (along with winning weekend series).

The four worst SEC records-wise are Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee and Auburn. We only play Auburn. This fact alone will prevent us from being SEC Regular Season Champions. LSU or Vanderbilt looks to have the inside track on that. Vanderbilt could go 9-0 against the 3 East teams mentioned above.

So we move on to the next goal of a season and that is hosting a Regional. Some may say making the SECT but with 12 of 14 making it, that won't be a problem. We have to start winning weekend series, period. It is the name of the game now.

RHP Brandon Woodruff had a really nice outing this past Tuesday in Mobile. This will propel him to start pitching on the weekend, maybe not this weekend bc Ole Miss lurks next Tuesday in Pearl and that is another big RPI game and rival game.

As the season goes along, some players start to get better and they start to gel. The pieces of the puzzle start to fall in place. We want to kick into another gear for the stretch run. Hosting a Regional will give us great advantages that hopefully propel us to the promise land...Omaha.