2023 college baseball/softball thread

In fairness my lush brethren made the board a day or two later than the others.

 

Yeah but today is the first day of the contest.

What it really shows is why the ACC is a dead conference walking.

 

But not upon the ball.

 

This is gonna be a latter-day Georgia Tech 222, Cumberland 0.

 

An update, in which the teetotaling Pentecostals are a-comin’:

 

Of course UVA fans can't be bothered with jello shots. So pretentious.

 

A paywalled article in Baseball America says that bat tampering to make them livelier is rampant in college baseball, and in part explains why home runs are up. I am hardly shocked to hear of cheating in baseball, but did not know it was that common - is that something that is widely known in college baseball circles? And have administrators contemplated that they might get sued if they don't crack down on known cheating and a pitcher gets drilled in the head by a line drive off a juiced bat?

 

I was talking to a high school coach the other day, and he said he thinks the bats have changed at all levels. He played high school and juco ball around 2010-12, right when the BBCOR bats were introduced, and he compared it to swinging a pool noodle. Now, he said he's seen exit velocities and home runs go back up.
I've also noticed it at the high school level the past season or two. Just a lot more home runs being hit by almost every team than there were after a long lull, and you figure they're using mostly the same bats as the college guys.

 

Praise the Lord and pass the Jello shots.

There were some rumors of ASU doctoring its bats this season. Not sure how it happens.

The Pac-12 tournament was a complete slugfest. Maybe it was the warm, dry air in Scottsdale, but everyone scored a ton of runs.

 

If they do Chardonnay and Brie, Stanford will surge to the top.

 

Pitching finally fell apart for Mouthy Bob this inning. Now down to their last three outs after entering the bottom of the eighth tied.

 

And then Eagles get a 3-run homer from the No. 9 hitter to take the lead - although not walk it off as the pxp initially claimed. Oof.