2023 college baseball/softball thread

In 2006 Jonah Nickerson of Oregon State threw 100 pitches and went 6.2 innings on three days rest against UNC in Game 3. This was after going 7.2 innings against Rice on two days rest to get OSU into the finals.

So it can be done, just not recommended. Skenes is projected to go much higher in the draft than Nickerson (7th round).

 

Saw a couple of things where Skenes is projected No. 1 in the draft.

 

1 or 2, depending on whether his teammate goes No. 1.

 

I'm obviously biased in tonight's matchup, but if LSU pitches Skenes at all, it's tantamount to abuse. See Wood, Kerry; Prior, Mark; Strasburg, Steven and many others. The CWS is important, but not more important that his livelihood. And yes, if he was a Gator, I would say the exact same thing.

 

I could see an inning of relief in a high leverage spot, maybe two if pitch count stays low. Anything more and I agree with Matt.

 

I know we bitch about the NBA and NHL unnecessarily dragging each of their playoff their series over three weekends, but something's amiss if the CWS schedule is so packed that a team can't have its healthy ace available to start one of three finals games.

 

Wasn't Ben McDonald ridden pretty hard in his last year? I think it was the first time I read about college coaches abusing pitchers.

 

Agree - but if a starter goes twice in to get to the final - well, you get what you get. Still no problem with a two day break between the opening round and the final. More jello shots! Heck, do an ersatz "all-star game weekend" with a game featuring the best of the also-rans and a home run derby.

 

They used to have a home run derby during the CWS, but it appears it went away because of COVID in 2020 and never came back.

 

So was Todd Van Poppel.

 

If LSU had beaten Wake Forest in the first two matchups, they would have had Skenes. But they had to use him to get out of the loser's bracket.

And a lot of good it did Florida to have their aces rested. Two of their worst outings of the year the last two nights.

I don't think it would be as big of a deal if we weren't talking an MLB-ready pitcher for LSU. Those are very few and very far between at this stage of the CWS.