Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Privateer Island Fan Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Baseball Season Beginning
Topic Started: Feb 16 2018, 11:35 AM (428 Views)
MidCityBuc
Junior
[ *  *  * ]
Baseball season begins tonight with the MLB Andre Dawson Classic.

UNO will face UIC, a team coming off an excellent 2017 season. However, they lost a lot of their offense to the draft. They were picked to finish second in the Horizon League. It'll be a good chance to see how Bryan Warzek looks as the new ace of the staff.

There is some bad news for the Privateers. According to Coach Dean on the "Dunc & Holder Show," UNO will be missing two of their 3 preseason All-Conference selections for a significant period. John Cable is apparently out for the season. I think I remember them referencing a hamstring injury that he suffered in the fall delaying the start of his season, but now it seems that he will miss all of it. Coach Dean mentioned that Veillon will miss at least 2 months. He did not specify why. These are clearly crushing blows to the lineup.

I would expect Kenneth Yetter, a pretty well rated freshman catcher, to receive a lot of innings behind the dish now. The lineup will probably need to rely on big years from Owen Magee and Jay Robinson as returning guys. Keep on eye out for John Mauldin, who put up big numbers at BRCC, and Cody Ducote (LSU transfer/former Delgado stud) to try to stabilize the heart of the lineup. Hopefully the bat of Darren Willis can catch up to his slick glove and the pitching depth is as talented as it is substantial.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
MidCityBuc
Junior
[ *  *  * ]
Privateers pick up a really nice Opening Night win. The Bucs won it 5-4 in 10 innings.

Bryan Warzek was dominant to begin the game, striking out 8 in his first 3 innings. He then faltered a little in the middle innings and UNO fell behind 4-2. William Griffin did an excellent job righting the ship and went 2+ innings without allowing any runs and induced a plethora of weakly hit balls. Matthew Oset really shined in the 9th and 10th innings. His stuff, at least from what I can tell by watching on UNO Showcase, looks electric. If he can command like this every night, Coach Dean has a closer.

The Privateers created a lot of opportunities on offense. They didn't make an awful lot of loud contact, but they capitalized when they needed to. Magee and Ducote came up with big hits, and Willis knocked the walkoff single. Jay Robinson reached base 3 times in the leadoff spot. Overall, a nice first game for a UNO team that has to make a lot of adjustments on the fly after losing two extremely important members of the lineup.
Edited by MidCityBuc, Feb 16 2018, 09:33 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
clmerrit
Junior
[ *  *  * ]
The walkoff:

https://twitter.com/Privateers_BSB/status/964706778083659776
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Steve
Member Avatar
Administrator
[ *  *  *  * ]
6-3 loss to Alabama State at Barrow in game two.

Fun opening night win aside, I think we are in for a pretty long year. We are going to need, at a minimum, a second Bryan Warzek to materialize to have any shot at seriously competing this year. More likely I see this as a 15-20 win year and near or at the bottom of the Southland. Offense wasn't going to be great even with the two all-conference guys that are now missing, but now we are in for some pretty brutal offensive games when facing arms of any quality.

Still, I am always happy to be watching baseball in whatever form.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
MidCityBuc
Junior
[ *  *  * ]
I am curious what the story is behind the departures of Tristan Clarke and Dakota Phillips. Clarke had a nice season with 215 ABs, flashes of power, and a SportsCenter top play in the SLC Tournament. Phillips had 65 ABs and would have been a senior. Both players are playing for Tennessee Wesleyan University of the NAIA. I'm sure there are many mechanisms in play as far as the movement of student athletes, I just found Clarke's departure especially interesting.

Today's starter against Southern is Brayson Smith. He is another transfer from Northwest Florida and sports some pretty impressive strikeout numbers from his time there. Hopefully he has a nice outing and UNO can come out of the weekend at 2-1. We will see if the lineup develops as the season moves along. The team will need to pitch and glove the ball at a high level. Alabama State has won 30 plus games every season since 2013, so they are a solid program. Bucs need to take care of business against the Jags on Sunday afternoon.
Edited by MidCityBuc, Feb 18 2018, 02:46 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Steve
Member Avatar
Administrator
[ *  *  *  * ]
I heard Clarke was an academics issue. Seeing as how he's been drafted before I'm not sure why he didn't just sign as a free agent in somebody's minor league system instead of going NAIA. I'm sure there was a reason.

Yeah, even if we have a stealthy second Warzek on staff, the defense has to be pretty damn good behind him. It's just going to be really hard to win many games with this lineup. I think Dean had the program set up to make a nice run this year but injuries and academic casualties have crushed things this year. I see we have Misty Suri with UNO now, he's a Saints/Pelicans medical guy. Say no more.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
NSPRIVATEER
Senior
[ *  *  *  * ]
Clarke is a huge loss, as is the injury to Cable. It is hard not to imagine a step back in the program this season.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
clmerrit
Junior
[ *  *  * ]
Misty Suri has been with UNO for a few years as the team Orthopedist. He's been at a bunch of basketball over the last few years.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Steve
Member Avatar
Administrator
[ *  *  *  * ]
Yeah, yeah, I'll leave him alone, just being flippant. Sort of. I mean, the Saints did let him go. Criminey though, these baseball injuries are just so Pelicans-y. One minute (I mean as of very recently) Cable is going to be ready for opening day, just maybe not as a catcher. Will work him in at 1B/DH while he finishes recovering. Then, blam, without notice, gone for season. Even appears to be walking okay and performing as a bullpen catcher, but regardless, done. I still have no idea what happened to Veillon.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
MidCityBuc
Junior
[ *  *  * ]
I saw Veillon in a knee brace in an Instagram post from the baseball team. Coach Dean mentioned that something happened at practice. I am wondering if Cable will be able to redshirt and DH next season.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
reduno
Senior
[ *  *  *  * ]
The saints and pelicans medical staff certainly , perception wise, was faulty. Maybe it was just the jinx of Greenbrier :) but for a few years. both of these teams seemed to have MANY more injury issues than many others. The fact that the saints cut ties isn't a good thing.
I don't know the man, and AM NOT blaming him etc but much like the saints, hearing one thing and then seeing a player lost for the season is like being told it'll be 80 today and we get snow.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Steve
Member Avatar
Administrator
[ *  *  *  * ]
Let's just say that I expect Cousins to miss about three seasons, and then they'll announce that the problem was actually in his elbow.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
reduno
Senior
[ *  *  *  * ]
Well it could've been a hernia :D whatever the injury of the year is each year.

I think at last count when the season ended, the saints had 21 players on IR? 11 of which had been a starter or projected starter. I'd like to see how this fares in relation to other teams.

But I'm off thread here.........I can't honestly project the saints and pelicans injury bugs to the privateers....but again, perception is reality to lots of people.

And what's the news on Rosa? Since he wasn't seen on SR night I suppose it's unofficially official he's redshirted? Or did my tired old mind miss that announcement?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Steve
Member Avatar
Administrator
[ *  *  *  * ]
There has been no announcement on Rosa but you'd have to assume he's redshirted, and I hope he is. He would be a very important guy on next year's team.

Baseball team falls 4-2 to Jackson State tonight. Second loss to a SWAC team in the first four games. 2 runs and 4 hits against Jackson flippin' State. Again, gonna be a lonnnnnng year. Though that said, if they win 11 games this year 3 of them might be against LSU and Tulane, so keep hope alive for tomorrow night, right? Yeah?
Edited by Steve, Feb 20 2018, 09:31 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Unofan
Senior
[ *  *  *  * ]
About the most impressive thing about tonight's game was the size of the home plate umpire. He was huge; must have been 6'10. Otherwise, it was a very forgettable game. We only had a handful of well hit balls, it seems. The pitching, especially in relief, looked decent. Jackson State only had 5 hits, although two were home runs.

Losing four players who Coach Dean was counting on for this season, Clarke and Phillips who transferred, and Cable and Veillon to injuries, has obviously really hurt. That's a lot of power hitting lost. Hopefully, the new players will step up. It's way too early in the season to judge, but it doesn't look too promising at this point. We'll see.
Edited by Unofan, Feb 21 2018, 09:47 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Slidell
Member Avatar
Senior
[ *  *  *  * ]
Steve
Feb 20 2018, 07:49 PM
Let's just say that I expect Cousins to miss about three seasons, and then they'll announce that the problem was actually in his elbow.
B)

No kidding!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
« Previous Topic · UNO Sports Main Board · Next Topic »
Add Reply