With the win, the Frogs set up a rematch with the UCLA Bruins at 3:30PM tomorrow. Just for fun, I looked up the weather to make sure there was no rain in the forecast. Instead, Omaha will offer up 20-30MPH winds from the South. If my compass is correct, that means a lot of long balls tomorrow.

The Frogs have announced that Matt Purke will be tasked with keeping the Bruins in the ballpark while the LA Times is reporting that Rob Rasmussen will likely be the starter for UCLA. Here is how they match up:

Rob Rasmussen: (Lefty) – (11-2) – 2.73ERA – 99IP – 117K – 28BB - .208 Avg
Matt Purke: (Lefty) – (15-0) – 3.03ERA – 110IP – 140K – 32BB - .216 Avg

But two things stand out in this matchup. Rasmussen will be facing a lineup loaded with right handed hitters whereas Purke should face a more balanced lineup. The other key statistic is Rasmussen has allowed 9 homeruns on the year and Purke has allowed just 6. Those numbers are likely to go up though.

I still love the way UCLA battles and makes contact. They have short swings where the bat stays in the zone a long time, so they certainly could fare better than most against Purke. A windy day seems to favor the Frogs as TCU has hit 96 homers on the season, while UCLA has only hit 63. But that is why they play the games.

What you need to know is everyone is available at this point. I think Purke has a longer leash than most. I wish Tyler Lockwood had not thrown 73 pitches last night because he is a ground ball pitcher and could have been valuable tomorrow, but Trent Appleby may be asked to step in tomorrow if Purke has troubles. I also believe Kyle Winkler and Paul Gerrish will be ready to go if need be.

I did want to rewind a little bit and address some decisions that Coach Schlossnagle has made this tournament. It is funny because there are 5-10 calls every football game that it seems fans judge football coaches for. But college baseball lives in anonymity in a lot of ways that Coach Schlossnagle does not necessarily get the same kind of grief that Coach Patterson may. But now that the games are being played in front of national audiences, people have brought up some questions.


Why did Davy Wright play against Florida State?

I never heard an answer for this one, but my hunch is he wanted to get Wright some experience in case Jerome Pena reinjures his back. Pena last batted in the 6th inning, so if it was for defensive replacement or for injury, the substitution could have happened in the 7th inning. Instead Wright entered in the 8th inning and proceeded to make an error on his first play. If it was about getting guys playing time and experience at the College World Series, I think we would have seen wholesale changes, but Wright was the only entrant. So I believe it was insurance for Pena.


Why did Kyle Winkler stay in the game so long?

My answer is this. Kyle Winkler might be the most cerebral pitcher we have on the team. By that I mean, he tends to get better as a start goes along because he adjusts to strike zones and his mechanics better than anyone. However, you could tell that he did not have very good command against UCLA and was continually keeping the ball up. Schloss chose to have faith in his workhorse like he has all season, but it just did not work out. I give Schloss the benefit of the doubt on that one.


Why did Jimmie Pharr pinch run against UCLA?

This one baffled me. When you have Kyle VonTungeln and Josh Elander on the bench with a lot more speed, why is Pharr running? In addition, Pharr is your backup catcher if Holaday were to get injured. I understand holding out VonTungeln because he is a lefty bat, but Elander would have been a better option to pinch run in that situation.

Why did Kyle VonTungeln pinch hit against UCLA?

Because he is a left handed hitter and Gerrit Cole was not throwing a ton of strikes to lefty Matt Curry. However, Joe Weik had the best at bats of anyone on the team against Cole and there was no reason to pinch hit in that situation. Even if you decide to pinch hit, why are you pinch hitting with a guy batting .236 and who is striking out 1 of every 4 at bats? Obviously, I would not have pinch hit, but I would have preferred Pharr or Elanderin that situation.

Why did Steven Maxwell come out so early?

I phrase it this way because the start by Maxwell seemed far better than the start by Winkler, even though it was far from outstanding. That said, I liked the decision to go to Lockwood as early as Coach did. With the wind blowing out the way it was, Lockwood is a ground ball pitcher who can keep the ball in the park. Maxwell was not bad, but he was not good and at the time I thought pulling Maxwell gives you the option to bring him back while Lockwood gave us the best chance to win.

Why did Kyle VonTungeln pinch hit against Florida State?

I actually thought VonTungeln pinch hitting against Florida State was a very smart move. With 2 men on and 2 outs in the 7th, it was clear the Seminoles had no intention of throwing strikes to lefty Matt Curry. All game, both teams threw balls outside of the strike zone to lefthanders fearing that the wind would blow a ball out of the park. After Curry walked on 5 pitches, Coach Schlossnagle forced their hand making the Seminoles throw a strike to a lefty. Though KVT struck out in the 7 pitch at bat, I thought this was a very smart move that ended up not paying off.