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The morning after an exhilarating evening of baseball, we recognized the importance of celebrating the future stars reuniting with the legends of the past. Now, refocusing and preparing for opening day next Friday is imperative. Despite the festive atmosphere, we cannot ignore that the momentum from our last two scrimmages has dissipated. Our hitting, which previously surged with 18 hits and 14 hits in those outings, fell flatlined today with a mere five hits, including only one extra-base hit.
Today’s rotation of 8 pitchers, some of whom pitched last night, revealed the drawbacks of back-to-back appearances. We faced this issue last year, relying on the same relievers game after game, which led to sore arms and critical losses. This season, our bullpen is more diversified, making it crucial for JD to be strategic in managing the roster. It’s essential that we identify a reliable setup and closing duo. While our defense is improving, there is still significant room for enhancement.
The scouts at today’s scrimmage had their eyes on Brian Walters, who appears to be our Sunday starter. While it hasn’t been officially announced, it’s evident that Nick Robert is poised to start on opening day, with Griffin Hugus taking the mound as our Saturday night starter. While I may not agree with these choices, I am prepared to see how the situation unfolds.
Our pitching rotation is not the only aspect undergoing changes; our starting lineup will also experience significant shifts, both in players and their batting order. It’s quite clear that Hudson must be displeased with batting 8th last night, especially given that his potential would be better utilized in the 5th position, following Cuvet and Galvin. I was surprised to see Derek Williams batting 5th and playing right field over Jake Kulikowski or Fabio Peralta. Our outfield is teeming with talent, and over the coming weeks, I anticipate that this area will see the most changes and player movements.
This is getting ahead of ourselves; the focus this morning was on Brian. Like Robert and Hugus, Brian pitched for five innings, which is the minimum JD expects our starters to achieve. Brian met expectations for the first four innings, delivering seven strikeouts with only two hits, no walks, and, crucially, no runs. In the 5th inning, he faltered slightly, hitting back-to-back batters, marking the only blemish in an otherwise strong performance.
Alex Stanyek faced Brian assertively, at least during the first two innings, before departing early in his rotation due to a lack of control over the ball. After missing all of last year because of an injury, he anticipated his return in spring training. However, based on his current performance, he still has a long way to go and will likely see only limited play, coming later in the season. After an initial strikeout, his day was marked by two walks, an out, and then two more walks, resulting in a run. The struggles continued in the second inning, with three consecutive walks loading the bases. An RBI ground out followed, capping the inning with an RBI sacrifice fly to right field, which scored two additional runs—triggered by a lack of awareness on the throw-in from right to second base. It became clear that there would not be a third inning for him and it may be a considerable time before he gets another chance to appear on the mound in the future.
Jake Dorn replaced Alex in the third inning and pitched for two frames. After allowing an initial double to Tanner Smith, Jake settled down, preventing Tanner from advancing past second base and finishing his second inning without allowing a run, thanks to an incredible defensive play by Jake Kulikowski, who robbed Evan Taveras of a sure double down the right-field line.
With Jake’s departure after two innings, the rest of the scrimmage was dedicated to one inning each for Lazaro Collera, AJ Ciscar, Reese Lumpkin, Ryan Ashford, and concluding with Carson Fischer. Notably, Ashford and Fischer were the only players who did not pitch on Saturday night, as Ashford had taken the mound on Wednesday and Fischer on Friday. It is crucial to utilize the full bullpen effectively to ensure we maintain a healthy pitching roster, which will be vital as we approach the end of this long season and into the postseason.
AJ Ciscar was the first entry in the single-inning rotation and the one who came out on the short end. Michael Torres led off the 5th and laid down a bunt back to AJ, who threw it low to first, which was manageable, but Renzo was unable to hold onto the throw. Errors, for the most part, come back to haunt you, and such was the case here. Next batter, Gaby Gutierrez is HP. A FO to center by Covet had Torres tagging up from second, putting runners on the corners, one out. Hudson hits the ball back to AJ, who falls while retrieving the ball and, still on the ground, throws wide of first, E1, scoring Torres. With runners on 2nd and 3rd, AJ digs in and gets Degoti and Areizaga both to ground out 6-3.
Lazaro Collera defied the odds in the sixth inning, skillfully dodging a near disaster when a sharply hit line drive headed straight for first base resulted in Dorian being doubled up—Dorian barely had a chance to react as he attempted to return to first. Fabio initiated the inning with a flawlessly executed bunt that nestled perfectly between first base and Lazaro; he outpaced the play to first with no one covering the base. Following suit, Dorian connected with a single, advancing runners to first and second with no outs. Bobby Marsh made an excellent attempt with a perfectly placed hit down the first base line, yet it fell directly into the first baseman’s glove, who caught it with his foot on the bag, leaving a stunned Dorian unable to get back to first.
The day’s excitement peaked as Ryan Ashford, Reese Lumpkin, and Carson Fischer confidently showcased their skills on the mound. Ashford, notable for his rollercoaster preseason, concluded on a strong note by striking out three of the four batters he faced.
The offense was clearly out of sync at the plate today. Their hitting prowess plummeted from double-digit hits in the past two games to just five hits, with only one being a double from Tanner Smith. No players managed multiple hits, a stark contrast to the previous two games, where the team lit up the scoreboard. If we are to make any serious run into the postseason, we must eliminate days like this at the plate. A performance as lackluster as today’s will lead to a long and frustrating season. The offense must be the tip of the spear, not the nail being hammered down by the opposition.
It’s still undecided whether this will be the final scrimmage before Friday’s opener. If it takes place, it will most likely be on Tuesday or possibly even Wednesday. I recommend giving the pitching staff a much-needed rest and focusing on fielding drills, along with extended time in the batting cage. Our true challenge will arise in three weeks against the Gators. We have nine games to prepare, and I fully expect us to be 9-0 when we head to Gainesville.
