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As we approach the opening pitch in less than two weeks, there is an urgent need to consolidate our preseason efforts into a cohesive and competitive team. Regrettably, the current performance trends are not promising. The defense has shown no significant improvement, with a decrease from 15 hits last night to just 10. Similarly, the pitching staff has struggled to deliver an impactful performance.
The sole positive takeaway from this evening’s proceedings: the weather.
Time is of the essence; we must expedite the development of a competitive team. While we anticipate being able to contend effectively in non-conference games at the season’s outset, the true assessment of our readiness will come in our matchup against Florida. This encounter will ultimately determine our preparedness for the challenges of ACC play.
A few scouts came out tonight to watch Griffin Hugus’ performance. Last week Griffin was a postal card wonder facing 9 batters and striking out 4. Tonight, he cruised through the first 3 innings only after Jake Ogden took the first pitch to start off the festivities at the Light to deep left. Jake was cruising around second thinking he got a HR only to discover that Gaby Gutierrez had made a miraculous catch, leaping high at the fence to take away the round-tripper. That would turn out to be the highlight performance of the night. As well as Griffin was pitching, he had one thing working against turning in a spotless performance of no hits. In the 4th, the defense entered into the pitcher’s world with back-to-back errors, resulting in a pair of runs and having the inning cut short with only one out. Possibly this will all go away with consolidating the mismatch with the starting 4 in the infield. The humidity might have been a factor tonight, not being able to get a good grip on the ball.
Griffin’s opposite number was freshman Tate DeRias. Put an asterisk next to Tate’s name as an up-and-comer. He showed his prowess in the first inning by striking out two batters and picking off Gaby at first base after she reached on a single. In the second inning, after walking the first two batters and Ethan Puig laid down a perfect bunt to load the bases, he managed to escape with only one run, scoring on a 6-3 groundout by Brandon DeGoti.
The second set of pitchers tonight were Reese Lumpkin and Ryan Ashford. Reese got caught in the quagmire called “defense”. Errors kill, and they did just that, allowing a run to score. An error at third, followed by a passed ball, was all Michael Torres needed to bring Tanner Smith home from second on a single. The following inning, he dug his own troubles with an opening single followed by a pair of walks to load the bases. Derek Williams picked up the RBI with a 5-3 groundout. Catching woes again in the 7th setting it up for a Todd Hudson RBI single. Reese closed the session in the 8th with a quick 1,2,3,
Ryan Ashford met a similar fate in the 5th with a 2-out single by Jake Kulikowski, another of the many balls to get by our catching crew, setting up an RBI single by Renzo Gonzalez. Ryan rebounded in the 6th without giving up a run.
Last night AJ Ciscar left early in his rotation, complaining of dizziness. Happy to report he returned tonight for an inning, and according to his parents, the dizziness was from lack of being hydrated. An evening of rest and plenty of fluid in return gave us three quick groundouts (6-3,4-3,
6-3).
We didn’t see any award-winning pitching tonight, but they managed to prevent the offense from having a breakout evening. The poor defense was responsible for several of the runs, but with the starting five, we should see more consistency, leading to fewer errors and definitely fewer pass balls. As for the offense, it leaning more towards small ball, struggling to move beyond just pounding out singles. One positive is that with runners in scoring position, they are making progress, which was a consistent issue last year. The hits were sparse, but they made them count when it mattered. No extra-base hits and only one player with multiple hits: Michael Torres went 2 for 3.
The hours progress swiftly as we approach the conclusion of the second week, with only one week remaining until the Alumni Game scheduled for next Saturday. Currently, there are no events listed beyond next Saturday; however, the developments over the upcoming week will dictate the possibility of hosting one or two additional scrimmages prior to the commencement of the season. Tomorrow is an early riser, with the first pitch set for 10:30AM.
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