All right, let's fire up a thread for this week's super regional against Alabama. Hopefully everybody followed along last weekend's thread -- although I guess my reliance on Twitter as the main avenue of spreading info makes that the place to get info, at least from me.
Saturday start for the super regional. That's surprising to me; could've sworn the NCAA site rep told me Sunday evening that as long as Wake and Alabama won that night, they'd get a Fri-Sun series. But they're apparently working backwards from the CWS, and Wake Forest will be playing on the second day in Omaha, so those teams are the ones with series that could be played until Monday.
While it threw me for a loop, it's a best-case scenario for Wake's pitching staff. The concern with a Fri-Sun series would've been Rhett Lowder and Josh Hartle starting with one fewer day of rest than usual (Friday and Saturday), or having them remain on their normal rest with Seth Keener and/or Sean Sullivan getting the ball in Game 1 (both fantastic options, have you heard how deep Wake's pitching staff goes?).
Now I'm thinking this will be Wake's pitching plan:
Sat. - Lowder/Massey/Minacci
Sun. - Hartle/Sullivan -- Massey/Minacci in a pinch
Mon. - Keener/Roland/Massey/Minacci -- maybe Crum and/or Ariola for a left-on-left matchup.
Saturday's game is a noon start on ESPN; the other times and networks are TBD.
And to throw in my two cents: I think it sucks that Deacon Club members were the only people able to purchase tickets before they were sold out. I get that if you really want tickets, they're available on the secondary market. And I get that people who generously give to the school should be given some advantages, when applicable. If there was a way -- there isn't -- to figure out who was in the ballpark for the Saturday night/Sunday morning extravaganza against Maryland, those are the people who should've been given priority. That was the most-decisive home crowd/field advantage I've seen covering Wake Forest for about 6 years. Because of it, I thought there were two different strike zones to Wake's benefit. That's the type of advantage that should be sought.
But hey, seems like the Deacon Club is due for a membership boost.
Saturday start for the super regional. That's surprising to me; could've sworn the NCAA site rep told me Sunday evening that as long as Wake and Alabama won that night, they'd get a Fri-Sun series. But they're apparently working backwards from the CWS, and Wake Forest will be playing on the second day in Omaha, so those teams are the ones with series that could be played until Monday.
While it threw me for a loop, it's a best-case scenario for Wake's pitching staff. The concern with a Fri-Sun series would've been Rhett Lowder and Josh Hartle starting with one fewer day of rest than usual (Friday and Saturday), or having them remain on their normal rest with Seth Keener and/or Sean Sullivan getting the ball in Game 1 (both fantastic options, have you heard how deep Wake's pitching staff goes?).
Now I'm thinking this will be Wake's pitching plan:
Sat. - Lowder/Massey/Minacci
Sun. - Hartle/Sullivan -- Massey/Minacci in a pinch
Mon. - Keener/Roland/Massey/Minacci -- maybe Crum and/or Ariola for a left-on-left matchup.
Saturday's game is a noon start on ESPN; the other times and networks are TBD.
And to throw in my two cents: I think it sucks that Deacon Club members were the only people able to purchase tickets before they were sold out. I get that if you really want tickets, they're available on the secondary market. And I get that people who generously give to the school should be given some advantages, when applicable. If there was a way -- there isn't -- to figure out who was in the ballpark for the Saturday night/Sunday morning extravaganza against Maryland, those are the people who should've been given priority. That was the most-decisive home crowd/field advantage I've seen covering Wake Forest for about 6 years. Because of it, I thought there were two different strike zones to Wake's benefit. That's the type of advantage that should be sought.
But hey, seems like the Deacon Club is due for a membership boost.
