MAY 31 FRIDAY

GAME DAY : MCNEESE VS INDIANA STATE NOON ESPN3

The journey begins today at noon in Nashville as the McNeese Cowboys attempt to upend 2nd seed Indiana State. McNeese will send Aidan Anderson to the mound to match up with ISU’s lefty Triston Polley(7-1 2.53). This is a matchup I am not really excited about due to two factors. History tells me that MLB pitchers who exceed their normal pitch count in a start, often pay a price on the next trip to the mound. Aidan threw 133 pitches in his opening start in the SLC Tournament against UIW , and then on two days rest came back to throw another 78 pitches on Saturday against UCA.

To tell you the truth, I have never heard of a pitcher throwing 211 pitches in three days. I have to believe there will be a residual effect. If not, this guy is a true workhorse from an era of guys like Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal, and Fergie Jenkins. It has been six days since he pitched, but we are in unknown territory here.

The other concern is the left-handed pitcher we are facing. Teams are all built differently. Houston has a strong right handed group of hitters and teams hate to throw left handers at them, especially with a short porch in left field. Texas is just the opposite with their team built around left handed power hitters to take advantage of the right field distance. Thus, teams are alternating their pitching rotation to stack left handed pitchers against them. They have faced 6 lefties out of the last 7 pitchers which is unheard of since only 20% of pitchers in the MLB are left handed.

McNeese does have an advantage in this sense. Hardin, Rasbeary, Dickerson, Bourque, and Gonzales are all left handed hitters. They are not as good of hitters against  left handed pitching. Unfortunately, there are not any choices off the bench for right handed hitting with the exception of Jacob Stracner. He could get a start today at 1st to even out the lineup, but Dickerson is the Pokes leading hitter(.317) and Jacob is hitting .212. I don’t think it will happen. I don’t know what happened to Austin Nelson, but this would be a situation in which he could add right handed power as a DH or 1st baseman.

Of course, Dickerson could return to right field if Coach Hill thinks Stracner’s bat would supply more than Julian Gonzales. It would swing the order to 5 righties and 4 lefties. It would probably sacrifice defense and speed, but a manager has to take the ballpark into consideration as well. Vandy plays short in left field with a “Green Monster” type wall. In this case, not all bad that MSU is seeing a lefty.

The good news is that the Pokes have some right handed power to help offset the deficiencies of so many left handed hitters. Nate Fisbeck, Carson Maxwell, Shane Selmon, and Dustin Duhon are all right handed hitters who carry a little bit of punch. I expect Duhon behind the plate today because Brett Whelton is also left handed.

Don’t expect any gifts from ISU today. They are one of the best defensive units in the nation, certainly 1st in the Missouri Valley Conference.

FOOTBALL GAME TIMES

The fact that most programs are sending off their advertising billboards and schedules to printing companies, the deadline for setting game-times is fast approaching us. A number of announcements came out this week in TV schedule announcements. LSU will play their first three ball games at 6:30 P.M. which is a trend away from 7 P.M. games. The big news this week was that CBS used their first refusal to choose LSU vs Alabama as their 2:30 P.M. prime game. If CBS passed on this game, ESPN was certain to name it as their 6:30 P.M. prime time game.

McNeese will play their first three games at 6 P.M. Oklahoma State has announced the Pokes game in Stillwater will be at 6 P.M. This is good news to me because I can leave in the morning and make it by mid-afternoon and then just plan on staying overnight. It is still too early to have 1 P.M. kickoffs even in northern Oklahoma. It could very well still be upper 90’s at 1-3 P.M.

Texas was told that Fox will demand that the State Fair game with OU  begin at 11:00 A.M. This eliminated most tailgating, but fans do like to roam the State Fair after the game. At least the winner does. I like day games in Conway, Arkansas because it is more convenient even if you are spending the night, but UCA has put this game at 6 P.M. It appears that SFA will use McNeese as homecoming because their game is at 3 P.M. which I do like. McNeese fans should like the 3 P.M. start for Lamar in mid November.

MCNEESE BASKETBALL

Three former Cowboys have found homes to play next season. Summer school will be starting in about a week so players need to find a place to play immediately. Kevin Hunt will play at Morehead State in Kentucky for 2019-2020. They have a new coach and coming off a poor season, so this should be a good fit. Richard Laku is headed out to California to play at San Bernadino. I expect that the new coach at San Bernadino learned of Laku from Jacob LeDoux who played for this coach last year at Permian-Basin.

Ty Anderson never played at McNeese which I credit to not qualifying. Thus he is also headed to D2 to Charleston College. Kelvin Henry left after Coach Simmons left and ended up at D3 LSU-S. Jacob Bonnington transferred to Weatherford JC and averaged 8 pts and 5 rebounds. Demarco Owens had one year left and he spent it at Montivallo University in Alabama where he averaged 10 points and 6.6 rebounds. Q. Wilson and Kalob LeDoux sat out this past year at Louisiana Tech and Southeast Missouri State in order to be eligible this year in D1.

Cowgirls Add Recruit

Coach Cryer signed  Shaela Gardner of Chipola College to wrap up her 2019 class. Gardner, a 5-10 guard from Memphis, Tennessee, comes to McNeese after helping Chipola College post a 22-6 record and a final ranking of No. 15 in the nation during her sophomore season. She averaged 4.6 points per game, a 37.0 three-point field goal percent and shot 85 percent from the free throw line.

I really do not want to be pessimistic in reviewing this 2019 class, but I feel a need to point out my opinion. I have seen this before and it generally doesn’t work out well. Coach Cryer is  faced with a decline in productivity in her program since Coach Williams left. The Cowgirls followed a 20-13 season by Donald-Williams with 14-17, 12-18, and finally 7-22. I think most would agree this is not the direction to go. With the departures in the past three years, I suspect some discipline problems within the group.

Generally, coaches tend to gravitate to replacing problems with better student -athletes, not necessarily better athletes.  My point is I am very impressed with the additions to the roster when it comes to character, leadership, and academic prowess.  In other words, these are some great people. The theme of every article I seem to be writing these days is that the better the players you have, the better the results will be. I have reminded readers that I saw a distinct difference right away with Keasler recruits than Sonny Jackson’s recruits. I saw some great recruiting under Kirby and Tommy Tate as we stacked excellent teams in 2000-2002.

I have mentioned decline in recruiting in men’s basketball put Dave under the microscope as well. We can go through all the sports and see where recruiting makes a difference. McNeese baseball is where they are today due to additions in recruiting last year as well as a very good senior class.

Therefore, I really am pulling hard for Kacie Cryer to get her program turned around. However, as great as this incoming class is in all phases, I am really worried she did not help herself on the playing floor. There is no doubt this group in 2019-2020 will be easy to cheer for because they seem to be a very strong group in work ethic and character.

But I will use a quote by Art Briles that still haunts him today. Remember “Those are some bad dudes. What was she doing around those guys?” This was his remark after a female accused one of his players of rape. Baylor won with bad people, but great players. The key is to find good players who you can control and lead to better behavior. I am not advocating recruiting bad dudes, but they have to be able to play some ball in order to win.

 

 

 

MAY 30 THURSDAY

COWBOYS HEAD TO NASHVILLE 

There is a McNeese Cowboy voted to the “All Mug” team for D1 baseball website Foul Pole Sports. 

2019 All-Mugshot Team

FINAL D1 TOP 25 POLL

MCNEESE’S OPPONENT FINISHES 23RD

Indiana State last went to the College World Series in 1986. The experts say this is the most talented team since 1986, and they feel they have a shot at the College World Series. Of course, Vanderbilt is standing in the way.

DID YOU KNOW?

Indiana State has had 29 players make it to the Major Leagues over the years. None are very famous to the average fan, but they do have one very famous alum who may have the most recognizable name in baseball. Tommy John was a great basketball and baseball player at Terre Haute High School and enrolled at ISU. His thoughts of playing basketball ended when the Cleveland Indians offered him a signing bonus. Tommy became a professional baseball player but remained in school and finally graduated. He later became an All-Star pitcher for the Dodgers and ended up with a torn elbow ligament.

Tommy agreed to try a new surgery to transplant another ligament to his elbow, and it gave him an extended career. The name of the new surgery was “Tommy John Surgery.”

UIL SOFTBALL STATE TOURNAMENT HAS TWO FUTURE COWGIRLS

Friday at noon  Angelton(37-2) vs Forney

Texas A&M pledge Trinity Cannon and Kansas pledge Savanna DesRochers have combined for 110 hits, 30 home runs and 141 RBI, with Cannon leading the Dallas area with 17 home runs and DesRochers leading the area with 71 RBI. But a big reason why defending 5A state champion Forney is averaging 10 runs per game in the playoffs is the hitting of McNeese State signee Caleigh Cross and junior Sadie Hewitt. In 10 postseason games, Cross is hitting .485 with three home runs, 15 runs and 13 RBI. Hewitt is hitting .457 with six doubles, 10 runs and 18 RBI. Hewitt has four RBI in each of the last three games for a team ranked No. 22 in the nation by USA Today. DesRochers, an all-state junior pitcher, is 25-2 and hasn’t allowed more than two runs in any playoff game.

Friday at 3 P.M. Klein Collins (37-2) vs Comal Canyon

Canyon is led by shortstop Sydney Belvin, a McNeese State signee , who is hitting .500 for the season.

SOUTHERN ADDS CHARLEY AYRO TO THE STAFF

Former McNeese linebacker Charley Ayro has joined Wayne Cordova at Southern. This now means McNeese will open the season against two former coaches from 2018 and then have to face Lance Guidry and Kerry Joseph at Southeastern Louisiana.

DEREK PLUCIENSKI IS HIRED AS GOLF COACH

AD Bruce Hemphill has announced that Derek Plucienski has been hired as the new golf coach at McNeese. I believe this is a solid hire due to Derek being a young and up and coming coach with the desire to be successful and move up the ladder. No doubt he has the knowledge and experience as a golfer; now he has to prove he can lead a program and recruit. I was concerned that McNeese would settle for a part-time older coach who is semi-retired, or someone with few ties to the golfing community. Derek is from New Orleans and attended Brother Martin High School.

BIO FROM ULL GOLF SITE

Derek Plucienski is in his second season as an assistant coach with the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns golf team, after joining the program in 2018.

Plucienski served as the Tournament and Operations Manager for the Gulf States Section PGA from 2016-17 directing over 25 Section events annually. Prior to his time with the PGA, Plucienski spent a year with the APT Professional Golf Tour as a Tournament Operations Director overseeing 26 events during the season.
 
Plucienski played professionally from 2013-14 setting the Country Club of Jackson course record with a round of 63.
 
A native of Slidell, La., Plucienski played four seasons at Southern Miss being named the team captain from 2011-12. Plucienski earned All-Conference USA second-team honors in 2011 after posting the fourth lowest stroke average in school history at 73.1. He was named a David Toms Award Finalist and also competed in the NCAA Colorado Regional that same season.
 
Plucienski also had success prior to college winning the 2007 Gulf States PGA Junior Tour Championship and the 2006 Louisiana Premier Golf Championship. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sport management from Southern Miss in 2011. Plucienski also has a master’s in sport management from Southern Miss in 2013.

GRANT ANDERSON DOING WELL AT CLASS A

As a Texas Ranger fan, I get a newsletter each day updating how our prospects are doing at each level. Former McNeese pitcher, Grant Anderson, is playing in the Sallie League in North Carolina for the Hickory Crawdads. He is currently 5-3 with a 2.73 ERA. In 26 innings, Grant has allowed 20 hits along with 32 K’s and a WHIP of 1.1. He also has four saves.

It is my hope that Texas moves him up to Down East which is High A. Grant is 21 years old so he is fighting Father Time. High A will be more challenging, but it is time to prove he can compete with some older and more prominent prospects.

REGIONAL STUDS

The MLB baseball draft is Monday so  you can believe every MLB scout in the country will be spread out observing the Regional Playoffs. Folks watching the LSU region will see one of the top three rated outfielders in the country. The Rangers are looking at Hunter Bishop of Arizona  State if he falls to #8. McNeese fans tuning in to see Vanderbilt will see possibly the best outfielder in the draft. J.J. Bleday of Vandy is moving up the charts to be taken in the first five picks. This is a very unusual draft because two outstanding catchers are available who could go in the Top 10 picks. Adly Rutschman of Oregon may go #1 as scouts think he could be another Johnny Bench. Shea Langelieres of Baylor is rated just below Adly as a catcher.
 

 

MAY 29 WEDNESDAY

The McNeese track and field program will conduct a one-day clinic this Thursday from 5-8 P.M. at the Bill and Lena Henning Track and Field Complex.

The clinic is for males and females ages 8-18 and will cover instructions for sprints, jumps, hurdles, throws, multi-events, long jump and triple jump, and will be conducted by McNeese assistant coaches Vijay Saxena and Ben Chretien. Cost is $80 and registration can be found at the McNeese website.

MCNEESE FOOTBALL COACHES BUSY

Last Sunday the McNeese football staff was in New Orleans working the LSU/ Tulane Football Clinic. LSU and Tulane have partnered the last couple of years in offering this satellite camp in hopes of drawing more in-state prospects as well as out of state prospects. Sterlin Gilbert and several staff members will work alongside LSU later this summer in other prospect camps. There were over 800 high school students attending the New Orleans camp this past weekend.

This is a real bonus for McNeese in that it is providing extra opportunity to scout talent that they may otherwise not get to see. For instance, North Gwinnett High School DT Chuck Smith was offered by McNeese on Monday.

TRAGEDY ON MEMORIAL WEEKEND

Memorial weekend has always been one of the deadliest weekends to travel in the USA. Beloved Auburn Tiger announcer Rob Bramblett and his wife Paula were killed by a 16 year old drunk driver in Auburn over the weekend. Rob was the beloved “Voice of the Tigers,” which means in the South, you are heard on airwaves in the smallest of towns.

Last Saturday night Wisconsin assistant basketball coach Howard Moore and family were traveling to Detroit for the holiday. Moore’s car was hit head-on by a 23 year old drunk women driving on the wrong side of the road. Moore survived, but his wife Jennifer and daughter did not make it.

INDIANA STATE PREVIEW

I have been asked to give a quick synopsis of what the Pokes will see out of Indiana State.  First of all, they are the #2 seed in the region for a reason. The Missouri Valley is not as balanced a league as the Southland Conference, but their top two or three teams are always very good. Dallas Baptist is in this league for baseball and they are a national powerhouse. DBU went into the tournament as the #1 seed and ranked #24 in the USA. They were swept by Indiana  State in the winner’s bracket finals on Saturday. ISU had to beat them twice and they drilled them 9-5 and 16-3.

The result was that it pushed Indiana State ahead of Dallas Baptist’s RPI into the 24th in the nation followed by DBU at 25 and Illinois State at 26. So their top three programs are really good and stronger than our highest rated programs. The SLC has 7 programs listed in the next 8 RPI’s dealing with the two conferences.

Indiana State’s strength is pitching as they finished 2nd in the Missouri Valley ERA rankings. Their 3.60 ERA is outstanding. They have two great pitchers in Collin Liberatore (10-1) and Tristen Polley (7-1). Teams are hitting only .208 against Liberatore while Polley is being hit at a .253 clip. You have to believe that ISU knows that Vanderbilt will be a tall order if they win, so their decision will be who matches up best against McNeese (left vs right or right vs left) as well as Vandy.

What helps the pitching staff immeasurably is their defense. They are the best defensive team in the Missouri Valley as their #1 fielding percentage bears this out. Their hitting is ranked 4th in the league with a team batting average of .267, but a cool .366 on base percentage. The one statistical advantage McNeese shows is speed. ISU has only 30 stolen bases this year compared to the Pokes 89 steals. The two top hitters for Indiana State are Jared Watkins (.312) and Clay Durgan(.298).

All I am going to say is that it could be worse. I consider Vanderbilt the top team in the country, but UCLA has a difference of opinion. The strength of schedule that McNeese played really played a big part in getting the #3 seed. I wished for a new opponent from a different part of the country and my wish was granted. It is time to have our oil checked by the best in the country.

SEC MEETING IN DESTIN

The College Football station that I listen to daily in the car is set up in Destin, Florida this week for the AD/HC meetings of the SEC. I heard several good interviews with head football coaches and several discussions on scheduling, etc. The SEC is in a real Catch 22. Everyone in the world wants them to go to a 9-team SEC scheduling format except those that matter. I have to agree with the brass of the SEC. Tell me; what needs fixing in SEC competition and revenue? You will always hear of the need to get rid of LSU vs Florida, Georgia vs Auburn, and Tennessee vs Alabama. The media says “Who cares that they are precious rivalries that have been played for a 100 years.”

All of the programs are debating a simple solution to this problem when there is no simple solution. Those at UGA, LSU, and Alabama that complain about having to play tough rivals from the East can be shown that there are no guarantees who will be good from decade to decade. LSU went .500 over a 20 year span in the era in which five coaches tried, but fell short(Arnsbarger was the exception). So Steve Spurrier had it easy with LSU. But Florida has been down the past six years as they have gone through three coaches. Yes, Tennessee used to whip Alabama regularly after Bryant retired, but they have gone through several coaches and can’t touch Bama now.

The point that many of the ADs are making is that the league is at their all-time popularity high. There have been six years of playoff football and they are always represented, sometimes twice. The money is unbelievable as they not only get SEC Championship money, but Final Four money. As they see it, it is the Pac 12 and Big 10 that need to be making changes, not the SEC. They already have the strongest strength of schedules because most teams play 6 of the top 15 programs in the country year in and year out.

Poor old Texas A&M is going to play  four of the top five teams in the country in 2019. They have Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Auburn, South Carolina, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss. The media and fans only care about their entertainment. Yet, as soon as they fail to win championships, they want everyone fired. I guess the media wants them to drop UTSA and add Florida.

Well, you get the message. With an 8 game schedule, teams are able to play an extra home game. They also often help pay for smaller programs in their state such as UTSA . Personally, I don’t care what the SEC comes up with, but my advice is don’t bite off your nose in spite of your face. Whatever they are doing is working because everyone in the nation hates you. Keep cashing those checks and going about your own business.

MAY 28 TUESDAY

Nashville here we come!!!! #McNeese heading to the #Vanderbilt regional and will be the No. 3 see vs Indiana State in the first round. #GeauxPokes pic.twitter.com/1zxt62lh0L

— McNeese Baseball (@McNeeseBaseball) May 27, 2019

The NCAA Selection Committee got it right as far as I am concerned. There is no doubt this is a tough regional, but they are all challenging. I am just happy the players get to experience a new road trip and playing teams they have not faced. Nashville is a terrific city for fans to visit and enjoy all the sites they have to offer.

The seeding obviously took more into consideration than just RPI. It certainly did not hurt McNeese’s resume to have wins over Houston, Louisiana Tech, and LSU. This regional begins on Friday with McNeese taking on Indiana State at noon. It will be broadcast on one of the ESPN channels. Vandy will host Ohio State in the nightcap at 6 P.M. local time.

LSU is pleased with their regional with a first round game against Stony Brook. Southern Miss and Arizona State are the other two programs involved. Southern is headed to Starkville, Mississippi to face Mississippi State. The committee paired LSU’s bracket with Georgia, thus guaranteeing this bracket will send an SEC team to Omaha.

HOW IT WAS DONE!

I was listening to a morning show on MLB Radio on Monday when the discussion came to managing a baseball game. The three ex-players/GMs talked of how owners and GMs were going a different direction the past couple of years with the hiring of inexperienced managers who happen to be “in touch” with young players, but have not had much experience in the minors as managers.

It is much like the discussion of Georgetown hiring Pat Ewing, Michigan hiring Juwan Howard, and Jerry Stackhouse been hired at Vanderbilt. Many followers of college basketball question hiring coaches with no experience in college coaching or recruiting. All three were assistants for a couple of years in the NBA, but never had been a head coach or had experience in high school or college. Pat Ewing is 24-36 in two years in conference play for Georgetown. The common theme to the discussion is that Michigan is losing one of the greatest college bench coaches in history, but hoping that an NBA name can improve recruiting. Hum…….

My point being that baseball is part psychologist, part coaching, and a whole lot of managing. There are some “old school” managers who have been replaced due to the psychology part such as Buck Showalter, Mike Scioscia, and Jeff Banister. These were not guys who put their arm around players, patted them on the butt, and continually sent them text messages about how great they could be. They were “do your job” and I will leave you alone type personalities. The coddling of so many of the great “travel team” players today has caused a problem in the minors and the majors with guys who cannot be driven by “tough coaching.”

In a roundabout way, I have tried to determine where does Justin Hill fit into this equation. About the only thing I can judge is managing style. The actual coaching on the field is often delegated to a hitting coach, a fielding coach, or a pitching coach. I am not going to attempt to judge how well certain players adjusted to the hitting philosophy, etc. Each guy has a result sheet that pretty much sums up his year.

What I can comment on is managing a game. To the casual fan, many moves and lineup decisions may appear to be random or not thought out well. I am no causal fan. I have followed this sport for many years and I think through every move a manager makes. If you recall, I wrote early in the season that I loved having Payton Harden in the lineup because I am a big believer in on-base percentage and speed. I also had no problem pointing out that I disagreed with Justin for batting Fisbeck in the one hole and Hardin in the second hole.

I am fully aware of the thinking that having a left handed hitter hitting second is an advantage for him. If the leadoff hitter gets on, it keeps the first baseman on the bag and adds about 15% more opportunity for a pull hitter to hit the bigger gap between first and second. Ideally, I like a speed guy leading off because if he gets on, it changes the pitch selection. Check out the great base stealers in MLB over the years and see what the #2 hitters hit. In other words, the second hole hitter gets more fast balls due to the speed on base. One of the successful moves that I give Hill credit for is minor in detail, but I thought changed the whole composure of the batting order.

He moved Harden to lead off after a couple of weeks and Fisbeck’s power numbers went up as well. Fans may not have been paying attention to the dawdling of the lineup card through out the non-conference schedule, but it was obvious to me he was looking for the right combinations. Every night I hear managers talk on post game shows about how important it is to not stack hitters together. In this day and age of using multiple pitchers, you cannot afford to have 3-4-5 as all right handed hitters, or all left-handed hitters. It makes it too easy of a decision for a manager to bring in a left hander after Fisbeck hits if you get three or four left handed hitters in a row.

So there were some subtle changes being made as to batting order through out the year. It is becoming more common for a manager to hit a speed guy in the nine hole to give him back to back speed guys who can bunt, steal bases, and score runs. In fact, Reid Bourque and Payton Harden combined to score 71 runs and steal 36 bases as the #9 and #1 hitters.

I thought the move of Dickerson to first base at the end of the season helped keep hot hitters in the lineup and the defense at first during the tournament was outstanding. However, any good manager will play the hot hand as well as hunches. Jacob Stracner got hot for a couple of weeks and he took the role at first base. Julian Gonzales was a seldom used right fielder, but he seemed to be getting hit with the pitch or walk at a very high rate late in the season. In limited action he was getting on base at a .380 clip and added speed to the lineup. His 13 for 16 steals was very impressive.

I could go on and on, but most fans do not even pay attention to the moves unless they are a parent and their kid is being affected. I call this managing, and I thought Justin Hill deserves credit for pretty much using the standard book of baseball in his moves. He is also responsible for tinkering with the pitching staff. We may have set a record for starting pitchers, but he did not have a set Friday, Saturday, Sunday lineup of three returning pitchers.

I was somewhat controversial when I mentioned that when you go 25-33 in 2018, you have to have some changes. Recruiting is the best way to improve on the field talent and I think this was accomplished. With the three weekend starters returning with an ERA of over 5.00, I suggested that the front line starters needed some change as well. We must have tried 8 or 9 pitchers to earn those starting spots and some nights it got ugly. We had freshmen who could not get out of the first inning, and we had veterans who struggled as well. However, the Pokes figured things out in the final month.

Just a little thing like freshman Will Dion becoming a dependable late inning guy made a huge difference. It allowed Aidan Anderson to try starting. Once Aidan took off as a #1 level pitcher, it pushed a couple of guys out of the weekend roles to midweek starters, or the bullpen. The Pokes went 15-4 down the stretch to get to the point of 35 wins. It took players stepping up and coming together as well as the entire staff pushing the right buttons.

It has not been a good athletic year for McNeese overall. Football needs to see some changes and I think you are missing the boat if you think just a change in coaching will solve all the problems. I am a big believer in players do make a difference. Therefore, we will need to see some upgrades at positions, or some old players taking their game to a different level. Basketball was a disappointment, and it was proven that just bench coaching was the problem. Upgrades were needed, and I can’t wait to see if this was accomplished. Every sport that failed to reach their goals can self-evaluate and locate the reasoning. We are hoping they can solve the problems and make 2019-2020 a better year overall.

 

 

 

NCAA UPDATE

GOOD JOB NCAA! MCNEESE HEADED TO NASHVILLE…………………….

https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/baseball/d1/2019

NCAA UPDATE

GOOD JOB NCAA! McNEESE TRAVELS TO NASHVILLE!

https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/baseball/d1/2019

MAY 27 MEMORIAL DAY

The NCAA will announce their bracket this morning at 11:00 A.M. The team will be at Walk-Ons, located at 5313 Common St. in Lake Charles to watch the NCAA Regionals selection show on ESPNU. Fans are invited.

 

Six SEC teams will host including LSU. LSU finished 16th in the RPI, but managed to jump over Texas A&M who was 15th after all play was finished on Saturday night. I shortchanged the SLC in guessing that the Pokes would be slotted in the 57-61 range in the bracket. If you look at all the #4 seeds, McNeese would be 4th out of 16.

45 Liberty

69 Wofford

85 Bryant

86 McNeese

89 Jacksonville State

99 Harvard

104 Grand Canyon

139 Fordham

144 Stony Brook

151 UNC-Willmington

152 Army

183 Quinnipiac

190 Illinois-Chicago

198 Nebraska-Omaha

206 Southern

236 Florida A&M

I think they will place teams to the closest regional 1-16 seeds in the tournament. So I expect Southern to head to Vandy since they are #1 seeded. Oxford or Starkville if they want to save money.  If they went by RPI, then LSU’s 16th RPI seed would have them in the same bracket as top 4 seed Liberty. However, they can just manipulate the bracket and say LSU is a 13 seed and will host McNeese. Here are the 16 host cities.

•    Athens, Georgia – Georgia (44-15)
•    Atlanta, Georgia – Georgia Tech (41-17)
•    Baton Rouge, Louisiana – LSU (37-24)
•    Chapel Hill, North Carolina – North Carolina (42-17)
•    Corvallis, Oregon – Oregon St. (36-18-1)
•    Fayetteville, Arkansas – Arkansas (41-17)
•    Greenville, North Carolina – East Carolina (43-15)
•    Los Angeles, California – UCLA (47-8)
•    Louisville, Kentucky – Louisville (43-15)
•    Lubbock, Texas – Texas Tech (39-17)
•    Morgantown, West Virginia – West Virginia (37-20)
•    Nashville, Tennessee – Vanderbilt (49-10)
•    Oxford, Mississippi – Ole Miss (37-25)
•    Stanford, California – Stanford (41-11)
•    Starkville, Mississippi – Mississippi St. (46-13)
•    Stillwater, Oklahoma – Oklahoma St. (35-18)

COWGIRL PITCHER TRANSFERRING

Cowgirl pitcher Amber Coons of Monroe is transferring to ULM. Amber pitched the fourth amount of innings for the Cowgirls with 66 innings pitched and a 4-4 record.

FUTURE SCHEDULING

It seems the hip thing to do these days is to schedule football game 5-10-15 years in advance. It is almost like some of the powers are playing with Monopoly money because there is no way they will know the NCAA landscape in 2035. I do think you can estimate the timetable that guys like Nick Saban and Dabo Sweeney plan on retirement.

Alabama has their typical non-conference schedule loaded with teams like Western Kentucky, Central Michigan, Southern Miss., UT-Martin, ULM, and New Mexico State through 2025. Then Coach Saban has agreed to play West Virginia a home and away series, then Notre Dame(2026 and 2027), and then Oklahoma in Norman in 2028. My guess he wants his successor to have a nice schedule. LOL

Dabo has many of the 50-131 ranked teams on his non-conference schedule through 2026, but picks up LSU, Notre Dame, Georgia, and Oklahoma all in Home and Away Series from 2026 to 2035. It all looks good now, but who knows what it will look like in 2035?

Texas could not get A&M to agree to play, but they have LSU, Arkansas, Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Florida , and Arizona State scheduled from 2020 to 2028 on the road as well as getting return games. Tom Herman is young enough to see this schedule if he remains at Texas.  With OU on the schedule every year as well, he better have a damn good team to avoid two losses in any given year. They all talk about the playoffs being extended, but don’t plan on anything happening prior to 2025.

VIDEO

MAY 26 SUNDAY

COWBOYS WIN SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

 

Congratulations to Coach Hill, the staff, and the players for going undefeated and winning the SLC Tournament. Aidan Anderson, you are a “work horse.” I have to wonder what the Pokes would have done if his brother Grant had returned for his senior year. Grant is in Class A with the Rangers and hitting 92-94 quite regularly.

I will try to catch up prior to Monday on all other news. The brackets will be released tomorrow morning, but I have a feeling I know what will happen. LSU will be given a regional, and they will save money and stick McNeese playing LSU in the first game. I hope this is not the case, but I have learned the past few days that even at the highest level where money is being made, it is still all about the money. I just hope for the players sake that they get somewhere different than in Louisiana. Starkville or Stillwater would be better. LSU will probably be a 14-16 seed out of the Top 16.

By my calculations, McNeese should be seeded somewhere between 57-61 in a 64 team field. In a 64 team bracket #61 plays 4, 60 plays 5, 59 plays 6, 58 plays 7, and 57 plays 8. I am aware that they put everyone into four 16 team brackets, but this is the best way to explain it. Nothing should change as far as national pairings.

If LSU is placed at 14-15-16, then the worst team in their regional should be ranked 49-50-51. McNeese is a long way from being ranked 49-51 so theoretically we should be looking at somewhere like Louisville, Stillwater, Atlanta, or Starkville considering the latest RPI had UL, OSU, Georgia Tech, and Mississippi State as team somewhere between 6-9 seeds.

Of course, the NCAA may just paved the way for certain teams to advance due to the money factor. Frisco will always want North Dakota State, James Madison, Jacksonville State, Eastern Washington, or a Southland Conference team in their finals.

So I maybe way off in my assessment, but it will not shock me if the NCAA manipulates their seeding. It is like the basketball tournament. They know Omaha wants LSU, as does the TV people. LSU will not be given a Super Regional on Monday because they will not be a Top 8 seed. But they can match them with a Mississippi State or Georgia Tech and then put a very strong team in their bracket to improve the chances of one of these Top 8 gets knocked off. Let’s just wait to see what the match-ups will look like.

If you cannot tell that I am still pissed about the NCAA manipulating the 2015 football bracket so that McNeese would play Sam Houston in their first playoff game, then you are misreading me. LOL

MAY 25 SATURDAY

UPDATE: I will be out town tonight so Sunday morning blog maybe later in the day.

 

POKES IN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

The McNeese baseball team continued to produce a “never-say-die” attitude on Friday night as they rallied from a 3-2 deficit late in the 8th inning. The Pokes loaded the bases in the bottom of the eight, but still trailed by one. Jake Dickerson took the count to 0-2 and allowed UIW to be one pitch away from getting out of the jam. Dickerson promptly  punched a looping double down the left field line that plated two runs to put the Pokes in front 4-3. The Pokes added an insurance run moments later on an infield hit.

McNeese would have never had the opportunity to rally in the bottom of the eighth without the outstanding middle innings relief of Peyton McLemore. Peyton kept the game tied 2-2 with 3.1 innings of shutout ball. Will Dion gave up a run in the top of the 8th inning after a tad bit of hard luck. Justin Hill brought Dion into the game to face a lefty to start the 8th. McNeese played the left handed hitter to pull the ball and thus shaded 2nd base slightly towards first base. The hitter hit a routine ground ball to the right side, but a shaded overplay allowed the ball to get through for a hit. Ultimately this run scored.

Once McNeese took the lead, Cayne Uechert closed the door in the 9th inning and the Pokes were in the championship game. Nate Fisbeck hit two solo home runs to get McNeese to the 2-2 tie. 

Due to the College World Series format for this tournament, the Pokes will not have the luxury of having to be beaten twice. McNeese will play the 1 P.M. winner between UCA and Southeastern Lousiana at 6 P.M. tonight in Sugar Land.

CALEIGH CROSS -FORNEY HIGH SCHOOL

I got more than I bargained for while attending a regional final softball game between 5A powers Forney and Frisco Reedy High Schools. I am getting tired of administrators putting playoff games at stadiums that are undersized to host big events. Last fall the big game between Allen and Rockwall was played at Garland’s William’s Stadium which seats around 10,000 or so. I wrote that I was there 45 minutes early and the stadium was full. A couple of thousand folks had to stand outside the stadium and watch through fences.

Wylie High School has an excellent facility, but it is a softball ball park with about 700 seats. I arrived one hour early figuring that they had underestimated the crowd. I was correct. It was full before the teams even warmed up. I would guess around 400 fans had to sit on a hill outside the park to watch the game. The fence surrounding the field had wind screen that prevented fans from seeing inside.

Forney won the game going away 11-1. McNeese signee Caleigh Cross showed great athleticism and a real optimistic collegiate softball career. Caleigh plays shortstop and was much taller than I anticipated. In fact, she was the tallest player in the starting lineup. She is a left handed slap hitter with speed, but showed some power when she actually tried something other than slapping the ball to left field. She drove the center fielder to the wall to catch a fly ball in the 3rd inning.

In one of the weirdest situations I have ever witnessed, Reedy had some terrible luck. Their two best players are sisters Micaela and Maia Wark. Micaela is only a soph and has hit 17 home runs and is considered a Top 100 player. In the first inning, Maia, the shortstop, tripped over the foot of the first baseball and sprained her knee. The dad was visibly upset and shouting at the umpires. I think dads are worse than moms with the girls. She would be lost for the game. Micaela is an excellent pitcher, but was no match for Forney’s big bats. In the 4th inning, a Forney hitter laced a fastball back to the pitcher’s mound at about 80 mph.

Micaela had no response time and the ball hit her squarely above the eye and knocked her out. She was led off the field and into a ride to the hospital. It was reported that she will be fine, but it was scary. The Forney pitcher wore a mask, but not Micaela. The horror of this dad was not my favorite thing and led me to leave at this time. The game was called one inning later due to a mercy rule.

TIFFANY STECZO

Cowgirl signee Tiffany Steczo of the College of Central Florida hit her 3rd home run in the College World Series on Friday, but it was not enough to overcome giving up 15 runs. Tiffany now has 28 home runs for the year. Central Florida played three games on Friday and will play another couple today if they win. The games are being played at St.George, Utah, not Las Vegas as I reported on Friday. The teams all spent a night in Vegas and discussed how much fun Vegas was, but the games are about 110 miles away. The elevation is near 3,000 feet, so the ball is carrying very well.

ART BRILES

The Mount Vernon ISD school board voted 7-0 last night to hire fallen Baylor coach Art Briles. Art got a two year contract, but he was in no position to demand anything. He has been an offensive coordinator in Italy. Briles will be coaching at Mt. Vernon High School.

Wikipedia is “supposed” to use facts in their descriptions of people and events, but the author immediately changed the profile for Mount Vernon High School minutes after he was hired. This is pretty sad for “a professional organization.”

Mount Vernon High School was a public high school in Mount Vernon, Texas, United States. However, language in the contract signed Art Briles in 2019 forced the school to relocate to bowels of Hell itself; a place only previously occupied by Art Briles himself, and others condemned there for their equally heinous acts. Although the trip to their football stadium is long and arduous, legend says it is worth the trip, and when you get there, say hi to Art Briles for Stugotz.

Is it possible the site was hacked?

The great Don Meridith was a graduate of Mount Vernon High School.

LSU BEATS MISSISSIPPI STATE

There is not a newspaper in Louisiana, including website Dandy Don, that has not written that LSU has punched their ticket to hosting a regional. The experts placed LSU in Atlanta as a 2nd seed stating that LSU’s road record of 7-14 and RPI of 21 may not be enough to get into the Top 16. I have written that the radio voices continue to point out that there is a lot of pressure to get LSU back to Omaha. The merchants in Omaha reported that they took a 30% decline on food and alcohol sales without LSU. The guys on ESPN radio said money would be a factor and that the best way to Omaha is hosting regional.

The radio folks did say that with Texas A&M losing twice  might allow the NCAA to justify giving A&M’s slot because the Aggies blew it. The last bracket drawn last night had Nashville,  Starkville, Athens, and Fayetteville as shoe-ins to host. They had Morgantown , Raleigh, and East Carolina as possible spots that could lose their spot to LSU if the NCAA decides to give LSU a hosting spot. West Virginia (15th), North Carolina State (13th) and East Carolina(9th) were all rated ahead of LSU’s 21 st rating going into this weekend’s action. No doubt a win over Vandy today would send LSU into a legitimate Top 16 seed.

The question of the experts outside of Louisiana is will wins over #4, #8, and #12 seeds with a loss to #4 and #1 be enough to jump five spots into the Top 16? As mentioned, a win over #1 seed sows up a hosting spot.