Augie is fond of saying that baseball is a game of infinite possibilities. Well that may be correct, but when all is said and done, there is only one possibility for this team tonight: win. Win or go home. The Heart Attack Horns have thrived under pressure so far in this College World Series, which speaks volumes of their character. However, the same team choked last night, proving that LSU is a horrible matchup for our Horns.
How is this a horrible matchup? Texas's strength is starting pitching. However, LSU has a left hand-heavy lineup and all our starters are right handed. Further, we have a power-pitching right handed rotation that likes to pitch off the fastball and that is prone to giving up the home run. Only Dicharry (a non-starter) really relies on a change-of-pace pitch (his nasty change). Assuming Jungmann goes tonight, LSU is going to see more of the same approach as they saw last night -- though hopefully not the same from Jungmann, who was as bad as the diapers I can look forward to in 7 or so months.
Obviously, we are past the point of mere concern and into "all cliches are out the window" land. The Horns' best hope would seem to be playing loose and carefree, having fun, and seeing what happens. If we are close at the end, anything is possible. But we looked tight once the 8th inning rolled around last night, and that doesn't bode well for tonight. I hope I am wrong, and we will end up tomorrow night singing a totally different Queen song.
Well, Taylor Jungmann certainly handled the pressure well. That was a legendary clutch performance tonight. We needed a solid performance from him in the worst way. We needed quality innings to keep LSU's offense in check and save our bullpen. So the kid throws a complete game and holds LSU to 1 run. Huge.
ReplyDeleteAs for Game 3, we can only hope we get something similar from Cole Green. Frankly, I'd be happy if we could hold LSU to 5 runs tomorrow night. Green is a battler, but he's not going to overmatch LSU's lineup like Jungmann did. Of course, it's all hands on deck for the bullpen tomorrow, so it's not like we'll need 7 or 8 innings from Green. I would think Austin Wood will be available and Chance may be able to give us something as well.
On offense, we really need to do a better job with runners in scoring position. We squandered at least four or five chances tonight with guys being stranded on 2nd or 3rd. Jungmann made it all a moot point, but I highly doubt we get that luxury tomorrow night.
It should be fun. One game to decide the championship. What more could you ask for?
Oh, and Les Miles is a complete douche.