2014 Season--What happened?

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.

2015 Roster--UNOFFICIAL

Right Handed Pitcher

Trevor Fitts   6-2, 223
Senior 
Helena, AL
Will Cox   6-4, 231
Senior  
Amory, MS
Ben Hudspeth   6-0, 225
Junior-RS
Tupelo, MS
Preston Brown   6-0, 190
Junior-RS
Germantown, TN
John Marc Shelly   5-11, 195
Junior 
Germantown, TN
Myles Gentry   5-11, 190
Junior 
Gulfport, MS
Cole Barlow  6-2 190
Junior-JC Transfer
Madison, MS
Paul Young   6-2, 196
Sophomore-RS
Milton, FL
Austin Sexton   6-2, 173
Sophomore
Madison, AL
Dakota Hudson   6-5, 207
Sophomore
Dunlap, TN
Zac Houston   6-6, 234
Sophomore
Poplarville, MS
Jacob Billingsley   6-1, 182
Freshman-RS
Senatobia, MS
Levi Mintz   6-3, 210
Freshman-RS
Centre, AL
Avery Geyer   5-10, 203
Freshman-RS
Navarre, FL
Aaron Dominguez  6-0 190
Freshman-HS
Chino Hills, Ca
Jesse McCord  6-2 190
Freshman-HS
Spanish Fort, Al
Cole Gordon  6-6 230
Freshman-HS
Lutz, FL


Left Handed Pitcher 

Ross Mitchell   6-1, 162
Senior-RS 
Smyrna, TN
Lucas Laster   5-11, 178
Senior
Lewisburg, TN
Trent Waddell  6-3 210
Junior-JC Transfer
Tuscaloosa, AL
Daniel Brown  5-11 175
Sophomore-JC Transfer
Tyler, TX
Vance Tatum   6-4, 194
Sophomore
Olive Branch, MS
Glenn Irby   6-1, 196
Freshman-RS
Florence, AL
Paxton Stover  5-11 180
Freshman-HS
Newbern, TN
Andrew Mahoney  6-2 210
Freshman-HS
Daphne, AL
Taylor Stafford  5-9 170
Freshman-HS
Columbus, MS



First Base

Wes Rea   6-5, 275
Senior-RS 
Gulfport, MS
Trent Waddell  6-3 210
Junior-JC Transfer
Tuscaloosa, AL
Daniel Garner   6-0, 214
Sophomore-RS 
Madison, AL
Reid Humphreys 6-2, 201
Sophomore 
Brandon, MS
Brent Rooker 6-3, 202
Freshman-RS
Cordova, TN
Dylan Ingram  6-3, 214
Freshman-RS 
Pike Road, AL
Cole Gordon  6-6 230
Freshman-HS
Lutz, FL


Second Base
  
Seth Heck 5-10, 168
Senior
Edmonds, WA
Kyle Hann   5-8, 174
Junior
Oakville, Ontario, CN
John Holland  5-11 175
Junior-JC Transfer
GA
Dale Burdick  6-0 175
Freshman-HS
Spring Hill, TN
Ryan Gridley  5-9 170
Freshman-HS
Milton, GA

Short Stop

Seth Heck  5-10, 168
Senior
Edmonds, WA
Kyle Hann  5-8, 174 
Junior  
Oakville, Ontario, CN
John Holland  5-11 175
Junior-JC Transfer
GA
Dale Burdick  6-0 175
Freshman-HS
Spring Hill, TN
Ryan Gridley  5-9 170
Freshman-HS
Milton, GA

Third Base

Matthew Britton  6-0, 195
Senior   
Cullman, AL
Kyle Hann  5-8, 174
Junior 
Oakville, Ontario, CN
Reid Humphreys  6-2, 201  
Sophomore 
Brandon, MS
 
Catcher

Zach Randolph   6-1, 196
Senior-RS
Amory, MS
Cody Walker  5-11, 204
Senior
Columbus, GA
Josh Lovelady  6-0, 190
Junior-JC Transfer
Prattville, AL
Gavin Collins  5-11, 200
Sophomore
Lake Forest, CA

Out Fielder

Jake Vickerson  5-10, 184
Senior
Tuscaloosa, AL
Jacob Robson   5-9, 172
Junior 
Windsor, Ontario, CN
Cody Brown  5-10, 184
Sophomore-RS
Biloxi, MS
Brent Rooker  6-3, 202
Freshman-RS
Cordova, TN
Joey Swinarski  6-2, 188
Freshman-RS
Winter Park, FL
Taylor Stafford  5-9 170
Freshman-HS
Columbus, MS

 
UNDERLINE are returning starters.

Seniors--10
Juniors--
Sophomores--
Freshmen Redshirt--7
Freshmen--

Returners--
New--

The next step

Going 2-2 in SECT was a good thing. We are a 2 seed in a regional before and a 2 seed after. We didn't better our regional standing. What we did was play 4 games, got work in, new players played some.

The SECT means nithing to me. If you can get a bye and win out is the only scenerio I would like. That is 4 games. Any games over 4 is pushing it.

Now our guys can rest, practice on things that need practice and get ready for the next round. We want to win the regional.

Jacob Lindgren with his performance against South Carolina, I think has solidified himself to at least a 1st round supplemental pick. A lefty that gets outs is a hot commodity.

Regular season over

I won't spend too much time on this subject. Started out strange w the snow out. 2015 non conf schedule will be different I assure you. We can't play these high RPI teams anymore Holy Cross ended well above 200.

On to the postseason. No school and plenty time to rest up. Both are good things after a grinding season. Take it one part at a time. First up is Georgia. Must win BC its single elimination.

TAMU Weekend

It sure has been an up and down season. More so than in years past. We have been on win streaks this season but can't seem to continue for any length of time to make a real difference. We won 6 in a row the last two weeks, then we can't get a hit that really turned the game around the last two vs TAMU. We do hit the ball hard but we have little luck with runners in scoring position.

We are out of the SEC Championship race. There are 9 games left and we are 4 games back from Florida.

Usually, 35 wins plus a good RPI will get a team into a Regional. We have 28 with 11 games left. 9 SEC games, 1 nonconf game and at least 1 SECT game. So we need to go 7-4.

We do have 2 SEC away series left and the RPI is higher for those wins. We are currently at 41 RPI and should be around 30.

Missouri series

Got three wins, awesome. That's what we wanted. We are gaining momentum. But, now we have a short week w a big midweek game and our pitching is thin on experience for Tuesday. A few of the true freshman have to pitch versus Ole Ms. In front of a sold out crowd in a pro park.
We need to compete against OM a lot better than the series. Our offense really needs to step it up in Pearl. We need to score lots of runs.

The next few days are crucial. After Saturday, we can feel better if we win 3 of 4. We need all the wins we can get.

Our true freshman, both hitters and pitchers will now be counted upon more as we get near the end.

LSU Series

Well, from a record standpoint, this past weekend stinks. We still can't beat LSU 2 out of 3. We haven't done it in 8 years now, that hurts. As I have been thinking about it, it comes down to baseball talent. I am talking the last 3-5 years. We can get some really good players but not enough that LSU gets. We do have some projects, that are mediocre players bc we are trying to fill a spot or couldn't get anyone else. That scholarship issue rears its ugly head. But our recruiting picked up last year and in the next couple of years we will have very good classes.

LSU seems to have a 1st round starting pitcher every year, that is one big difference in the teams. The state of Louisiana does have more HS talent, no doubt, and LSU gets most of those. We on the other hand, have to get the top 2 in state, then get the rest from out of state and JC.

I compared LSU winning the last 8 years to OM winning the Egg Bowl for 8 years straight. This stings me real hard, as it should all State fans. LSU is our biggest baseball rival and they are beating us every year.

How we change the outcome? Recruit the better players, period. We have the 2nd ranked class in school now, the 2015 class is shaping up nicely and we aren't through with it yet. We are hitting the West Coast hard in recruiting.

I am disappointed we didn't at least win 1 versus LSU bc getting swept is a horrible feeling. But, this medicine we took just might light the fire under us to propel us the rest of the way. Bad losses tend to do that to clubs...