Whenever you have such a successful season like we did in 2013, the next season puts even more expectations on the team. We lost a few players but they were big contributors in so many ways. We returned 3 of 5 infielders, all the OF's and most of the pitching staff. We could not duplicate what we lost, a consistent starting pitcher who pitched past the 7 inning (Graveman), a hitting machine who got on base when no one else did (Frazier) and someone who struck fear into the opposing pitcher when he hit (Renfroe). We are not to the point where our recruiting just churns out great players like these guys. We are almost there.
The preseason as I put it (non-conference games) started off bad. We were supposed to play a lesser team in Hofstra but played Western Carolina and lost our first game. We lost to Memphis who was seemingly good at the time but they tanked later on. Then we lose 2 games to Holy Cross. These 4 losses have a theme, lack of hitting with runners in scoring position. Then we buckle down and win 7 straight.
Our first road trip of the year didn't go well at all. We lost 3 of 4 games in Arizona. At this point we are 13-7 and we lose 1 game to weather (snow), and didn't make it up. This affects RPI along with losing to Holy Cross, etc. I could tell at this time, we were behind in regional hosting scenerio. The only way we could host is by doing really well in the SEC.
And we did do well in conference play winning 18 games but came in 2nd in the West. We were swept by our biggest rival in LSU. And on the biggest weekend of the year, Ole Miss came in and won 2 of 3. We lost another very winnable non-conference game to Jacksonville State again by leaving too many runners on base.
We finish the season 35-20. Again, at this point those non-conference losses loom big. A 40-15 record looks better to the committee handing out regionals. And those five more wins, would have bumped up the RPI. This is why every season we need to win 20 non-conference games out of 26. We finished 17-8 with one not made up.
Entering the spring, I knew we needed a SEC starter that would pitch 7 innings on the weekend. I was hoping it would be JC transfer Paul Young but his elbow never did feel right and he surgery. Then the domino affect set in and Will Cox and John Marc Shelley went down as well. Losing Kyle Hann and Jacob Robson hurt also. These guys would have added depth and maybe gotten better by the end of the season.
One of the things, that did shock me this season is some hitters never got hot at the plate. Usually with 9 guys batting you will have 3 batters consistently hit well, then they cool off, 3 other guys get hot. This is what eventually led to our season being ended so early, we could not get the big hit in key situations.
In 2014, we did win 18 SEC games, go to another SEC tournament and play in a NCAA regional tournament. We were expected to do better but yet with the lack of hitting, injuries and still lack of dominating starting pitching, we did rather well under the circumstances.
I will post what I expect to happen in 2015. I can't wait until next year.
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