Late heroics get the Beavs win # 6
Feb 23, 2018 18:39:37 GMT -8
BeaverG20 and wilkyisdashiznit like this
Post by chinmusic on Feb 23, 2018 18:39:37 GMT -8
A cloudy, overcast day at 57 degrees with a few sprinkles made the Beavers feel right at home. Beaver fans in their rain gear, scouts with ski parkas (I saw a stocking cap and gloves). Two weeks ago it was in the low 80's. No matter, it isn't distracting our baseball team.
A few observations from today.
The Beavers started Sam Tweedt and he threw 4 complete. Sam allowed 5 ER on 5 hits and 3 walks. He mixed his pitches well throwing his breaking ball at 79, a changeup at 75-76 and sat on an 86-88 mph fastball, with some at 89. He kept the ball down and threw quite a few strikes low and on the corners he didn’t get. I think that hurt him to some degree. The low strike was a grey area for home plate Ump Jeffrey Henrichs.
Kevin Abel came on in the top of the 5th and gave up a run. A double followed an error by Gretler and a sac fly scored the run. Abel struck out 2 hitters in the inning. In the next two innings he gave up a single and 2 walks but struck out 6 batters, 3 looking at the 3rd strike. He gave up a single in the 8th but struck out 2 more hitters, giving him 10 K’s in 4 innings. Abel was parked on 91-92 with his heater but dropped down a touch in the 7th and 8th. He showed a nasty curve ball at 75-76 mph and a baffling change up at several speeds. He also changes his arm angle and speed with his fastball. As his command improves a bit and he finds what he can use effectively on college hitters, I think we will see him pitching on Saturdays or Sundays as the season progresses. Obviously, this kid is really good.
Mulholland looked sharp today. Threw strikes, got ahead and located high 80’s fastball. Slammed the door in the 9th.
Kwan busted a deep triple in the R-CF alley to plate 2 runs in the 8th and made a great catch (again) in the outfield. The guy flags down everything hit deep and in the alleys.
Taylor, Rutschman and Madrigal all had 2 hits for the Beavers. If you haven’t seen Adley yet this season, you won’t recognize him at the plate. He’s attacking everything in the zone and smashing the ball to all corners of the yard. He’s hitting number 5 behind Larnach and has added a real punch to the Beaver batting order. A huge surprise this spring, today he hit a long sac fly to the CF wall. BTW, if he has a sore shoulder, I haven’t seen any hint of it in the 3 games he’s caught.
You can talk every game about something magnificent Madrigal does. I’m not sure there is a pitcher in the country below AA Pro ball that can consistently get this guy out. A plus glove and baserunner but it’s the bat that will kill you. We have seen greatness with Ellsbury and Conforto, but Nick is right there with them. Today I saw something I never expect to see again. He made a base running error. The Ohio State 3B was in on the grass with the bases loaded when Taylor hit a ground ball right at him. Rather than return to 3B or wait for a throw over to 1B, Nick broke with the crack of the bat and was gunned down at the plate.
A word on Feltner: The OhSt starter might be the best opposing pitcher the Beavs see in a while. Outstanding location – every pitch was at the bottom of the strike zone. A filthy curve ball that snapped off at 79-80 mph, an 84-85 mph slider and a fastball in the 93-96 mph band. He fanned Trevor in the 2nd with 3 fastballs on the knees working both corners. He also struck out Gretler on 3 fastballs that were 96, 95 and 96 mph. . . . .all low and in and low and away. OSU managed to nick him for two, 2 run innings with some smart pitch selection and masterful hitting.
I’ll go out on limb here - early round draft selection!
A few observations from today.
The Beavers started Sam Tweedt and he threw 4 complete. Sam allowed 5 ER on 5 hits and 3 walks. He mixed his pitches well throwing his breaking ball at 79, a changeup at 75-76 and sat on an 86-88 mph fastball, with some at 89. He kept the ball down and threw quite a few strikes low and on the corners he didn’t get. I think that hurt him to some degree. The low strike was a grey area for home plate Ump Jeffrey Henrichs.
Kevin Abel came on in the top of the 5th and gave up a run. A double followed an error by Gretler and a sac fly scored the run. Abel struck out 2 hitters in the inning. In the next two innings he gave up a single and 2 walks but struck out 6 batters, 3 looking at the 3rd strike. He gave up a single in the 8th but struck out 2 more hitters, giving him 10 K’s in 4 innings. Abel was parked on 91-92 with his heater but dropped down a touch in the 7th and 8th. He showed a nasty curve ball at 75-76 mph and a baffling change up at several speeds. He also changes his arm angle and speed with his fastball. As his command improves a bit and he finds what he can use effectively on college hitters, I think we will see him pitching on Saturdays or Sundays as the season progresses. Obviously, this kid is really good.
Mulholland looked sharp today. Threw strikes, got ahead and located high 80’s fastball. Slammed the door in the 9th.
Kwan busted a deep triple in the R-CF alley to plate 2 runs in the 8th and made a great catch (again) in the outfield. The guy flags down everything hit deep and in the alleys.
Taylor, Rutschman and Madrigal all had 2 hits for the Beavers. If you haven’t seen Adley yet this season, you won’t recognize him at the plate. He’s attacking everything in the zone and smashing the ball to all corners of the yard. He’s hitting number 5 behind Larnach and has added a real punch to the Beaver batting order. A huge surprise this spring, today he hit a long sac fly to the CF wall. BTW, if he has a sore shoulder, I haven’t seen any hint of it in the 3 games he’s caught.
You can talk every game about something magnificent Madrigal does. I’m not sure there is a pitcher in the country below AA Pro ball that can consistently get this guy out. A plus glove and baserunner but it’s the bat that will kill you. We have seen greatness with Ellsbury and Conforto, but Nick is right there with them. Today I saw something I never expect to see again. He made a base running error. The Ohio State 3B was in on the grass with the bases loaded when Taylor hit a ground ball right at him. Rather than return to 3B or wait for a throw over to 1B, Nick broke with the crack of the bat and was gunned down at the plate.
A word on Feltner: The OhSt starter might be the best opposing pitcher the Beavs see in a while. Outstanding location – every pitch was at the bottom of the strike zone. A filthy curve ball that snapped off at 79-80 mph, an 84-85 mph slider and a fastball in the 93-96 mph band. He fanned Trevor in the 2nd with 3 fastballs on the knees working both corners. He also struck out Gretler on 3 fastballs that were 96, 95 and 96 mph. . . . .all low and in and low and away. OSU managed to nick him for two, 2 run innings with some smart pitch selection and masterful hitting.
I’ll go out on limb here - early round draft selection!
