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Ohio Baseball Topic
Topic: Official Game 1 NCAA Tourney Thread: Illinois
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Ted Thompson
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Posted: 5/25/2015 6:07 PM
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Date: May 29th, 2015

Time: 8 PM

Site: Illinois Field in Champaign, IL

Opponent: Illinois   (47-8-1, 21-1 Big 10)

Video: ESPN3

Radio: Free at OhioBobcats.com

2015 NCAA Baseball Championship Bracket

Ohio NCAA Championship Central   

Double-elimination format. Wright St. and Notre Dame are also in Champaign Regional.

Ted Thompson
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Posted: 5/25/2015 6:11 PM
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davepi2
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Posted: 5/25/2015 10:27 PM
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The college lacrosse world was rocked today, the college baseball world will be rocked this weekend.
OhioCatFan
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Posted: 5/25/2015 11:38 PM
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This is really exciting news. I was out of town for a few days, and I come home to find out my OHIO Bobcats are in the NCAA tournament. I won't be able to attend any of these first round games, but I assume that they will be on ESPN. I'll be rooting from my living room!
Jeff McKinney
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Posted: 5/26/2015 2:02 AM
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Sound coming from those who mercilessly ripped and savaged the Bobcats and Coach Smith last season: {crickets}
Last Edited: 5/26/2015 2:03:28 AM by Jeff McKinney
Andrew Ruck
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Posted: 5/26/2015 9:20 AM
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I am really anxious to see who coach will hand the ball to on Friday. The options are interesting:

Jake Rudnicki - The ace going into the season, but struggled mightily until recently.
Connor Sitz - Decent all year but not overpowering and struggles with control, probably wouldn't even be considered until he THREW A NO HITTER IN THE TOURNEY.
Jake Miller - Was atrocious last season, pitched his way into the regular rotation and ended up the most effective starter on the staff. But pitched Sunday and was the only pitcher to start 2 games in the tourney.

If it is me, I am going with Sitz on Friday, Miller on Saturday, Rudnicki on Sunday. Hopefully Connor has turned a corner with his no hitter because he is going to have to be lights out to survive against the Illini.
UpSan Bobcat
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Posted: 5/26/2015 11:53 AM
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I posted this in another thread before this one was started:

Glancing at Illinois' stats, they have seven guys who hit .293 or better and three guys with 8 or more home runs. David Kerian hit .366 with 14 home runs. Pitching, they have a rotation of guys with ERAs of 1.30, 2.17, 2.19 and 3.32 and a main reliever with an ERA of 0.64 in 56 1/3 innings. I see why they are No. 6 nationally.
Catdude
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Posted: 5/26/2015 1:47 PM
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JUST SAW THIS ON A WEBSITE,,, AND YOU WONDER WHY BOBCATS HAVE A HARD TIME SUPPORTING THE BUCKEYES?


Louisville Regional

Bradley vs. Michigan, 1 p.m., ESPN3

Louisville vs. Morehead St, 5 p.m., ESPN3

Champaign Regional

Notre Dame vs. Wright State, Noon, ESPN3

Illinois vs. Ohio State, 7 p.m., ESPN3
BillyTheCat
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Posted: 5/26/2015 1:51 PM
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Jeff McKinney wrote:expand_more
Sound coming from those who mercilessly ripped and savaged the Bobcats and Coach Smith last season: {crickets}
Worse season in the HISTORY of OHIO Athletics, that is kid glove material? Great turn around, and great season. But why should he get a pass on the worse season in the modern history?
Alan Swank
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Posted: 5/26/2015 2:17 PM
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Catdude wrote:expand_more
JUST SAW THIS ON A WEBSITE,,, AND YOU WONDER WHY BOBCATS HAVE A HARD TIME SUPPORTING THE BUCKEYES?


Louisville Regional

Bradley vs. Michigan, 1 p.m., ESPN3

Louisville vs. Morehead St, 5 p.m., ESPN3

Champaign Regional

Notre Dame vs. Wright State, Noon, ESPN3

Illinois vs. Ohio State, 7 p.m., ESPN3
At the top of today's Dispatch sports section:

Ohio U. heads to NCAA baseball regional
doubledribble
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Posted: 5/26/2015 3:14 PM
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Illinois is a powerful team as the stats posted earlier show. I believe that they lost to Kent and to Ball State if I am not mistaken, so they are not super human ! If we play as well as we did last week we will be competitive this weekend . Go Bobcats !
Casper71
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Posted: 5/26/2015 3:18 PM
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Smith gets a pass for year 1 and probably #2 for the same reason Phillips does/will...they are establishing their programs. Now, after 10-11 years...I don't think anyone gets a pass!
bobcat28
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Posted: 5/26/2015 4:37 PM
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Excited about this game.

My guess is Miller will get the start on Friday, Sitz on Saturday. Logan in long relief when needed.
Donuts
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Posted: 5/26/2015 4:49 PM
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All things even, I'd throw Sitz only because he seems to be the craftiest of the starters. Great hitting teams can sometimes struggle with a little change of pace. Smith will probably just throw the same order as the MAC tournament though.
Andrew Ruck
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Posted: 5/26/2015 5:09 PM
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Donuts wrote:expand_more
Smith will probably just throw the same order as the MAC tournament though.
I disagree, because the MAC tourney was 4 games. Miller pitched Sunday, so going Friday means just 4 days rest (after his last start was on 3 days rest).

We are playing 2 no matter what, so why not Miller in game #2 to give him more time. If it was loser goes home, I agree he would roll with Miller.
UpSan Bobcat
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Posted: 5/26/2015 8:43 PM
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There's a max of five games in four days, and you have to win at least three (in three days), so I guess it doesn't matter which order you pitch them. Unless there's rainouts, you probably can't throw the same guy twice.
Last Edited: 5/26/2015 8:43:36 PM by UpSan Bobcat
UpSan Bobcat
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Posted: 5/26/2015 8:47 PM
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doubledribble wrote:expand_more
Illinois is a powerful team as the stats posted earlier show. I believe that they lost to Kent and to Ball State if I am not mistaken, so they are not super human ! If we play as well as we did last week we will be competitive this weekend . Go Bobcats !
Interestingly, they went 2-2 vs. the MAC and 21-1 vs. the Big Ten. They won 27 in a row before losing two of their last three in the Big Ten Tournament.
Jeff McKinney
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Posted: 5/26/2015 10:01 PM
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BillyTheCat wrote:expand_more
Sound coming from those who mercilessly ripped and savaged the Bobcats and Coach Smith last season: {crickets}
Worse season in the HISTORY of OHIO Athletics, that is kid glove material? Great turn around, and great season. But why should he get a pass on the worse season in the modern history?
My point was not that last years debacle didn't deserve criticism at the time. My point was that the staunchest critics had not really been heard from so far to tip their hats toward the Bobcats and coaches for one of the greatest turnarounds in MAC history.
Danny's Knee
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Posted: 5/26/2015 11:05 PM
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UpSan Bobcat wrote:expand_more
Illinois is a powerful team as the stats posted earlier show. I believe that they lost to Kent and to Ball State if I am not mistaken, so they are not super human ! If we play as well as we did last week we will be competitive this weekend . Go Bobcats !
Interestingly, they went 2-2 vs. the MAC and 21-1 vs. the Big Ten. They won 27 in a row before losing two of their last three in the Big Ten Tournament.
this could mean they have a couple of stud pitchers and were focused on their conference weekends .. weekday non conference games may have been meaningless and allowing younger less prominent folks to get some work ....

BANG !! .... oh baby what a BIG TIME game coming up !!

GO BOBCATS !!
UpSan Bobcat
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Posted: 5/26/2015 11:37 PM
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Danny's Knee wrote:expand_more
Illinois is a powerful team as the stats posted earlier show. I believe that they lost to Kent and to Ball State if I am not mistaken, so they are not super human ! If we play as well as we did last week we will be competitive this weekend . Go Bobcats !
Interestingly, they went 2-2 vs. the MAC and 21-1 vs. the Big Ten. They won 27 in a row before losing two of their last three in the Big Ten Tournament.
this could mean they have a couple of stud pitchers and were focused on their conference weekends .. weekday non conference games may have been meaningless and allowing younger less prominent folks to get some work ....

BANG !! .... oh baby what a BIG TIME game coming up !!

GO BOBCATS !!
They were actually way before conference play, Feb. 28 and March 1 in back-to-back games. It was two of Illinois' top four guys pitching. The problem was offense. They lost to Ball State 2-1 (a day after beating them 1-0) and 4-3 to Kent State.

One other score that stood out to me was that they beat Rutgers 28-13. No issues with offense that day.
BillyTheCat
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Posted: 5/27/2015 11:26 AM
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Jeff McKinney wrote:expand_more
Sound coming from those who mercilessly ripped and savaged the Bobcats and Coach Smith last season: {crickets}
Worse season in the HISTORY of OHIO Athletics, that is kid glove material? Great turn around, and great season. But why should he get a pass on the worse season in the modern history?
My point was not that last years debacle didn't deserve criticism at the time. My point was that the staunchest critics had not really been heard from so far to tip their hats toward the Bobcats and coaches for one of the greatest turnarounds in MAC history.
Gotcha, however, let it be noted, I've had positive post on the threads this year.
BillyTheCat
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Posted: 5/27/2015 11:27 AM
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UpSan Bobcat wrote:expand_more
Illinois is a powerful team as the stats posted earlier show. I believe that they lost to Kent and to Ball State if I am not mistaken, so they are not super human ! If we play as well as we did last week we will be competitive this weekend . Go Bobcats !
Interestingly, they went 2-2 vs. the MAC and 21-1 vs. the Big Ten. They won 27 in a row before losing two of their last three in the Big Ten Tournament.
Mid-week games are always a tough judge. But Big Ten Baseball is not usually heads and tails above the rest.
bobcat28
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Posted: 5/27/2015 12:25 PM
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BillyTheCat wrote:expand_more
Illinois is a powerful team as the stats posted earlier show. I believe that they lost to Kent and to Ball State if I am not mistaken, so they are not super human ! If we play as well as we did last week we will be competitive this weekend . Go Bobcats !
Interestingly, they went 2-2 vs. the MAC and 21-1 vs. the Big Ten. They won 27 in a row before losing two of their last three in the Big Ten Tournament.
Mid-week games are always a tough judge. But Big Ten Baseball is not usually heads and tails above the rest.
The only notable difference between Big 10 and MAC baseball is pitching depth.
Jeff McKinney
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Posted: 5/27/2015 1:30 PM
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BillyTheCat wrote:expand_more
Sound coming from those who mercilessly ripped and savaged the Bobcats and Coach Smith last season: {crickets}
Worse season in the HISTORY of OHIO Athletics, that is kid glove material? Great turn around, and great season. But why should he get a pass on the worse season in the modern history?
My point was not that last years debacle didn't deserve criticism at the time. My point was that the staunchest critics had not really been heard from so far to tip their hats toward the Bobcats and coaches for one of the greatest turnarounds in MAC history.
Gotcha, however, let it be noted, I've had positive post on the threads this year.

I know, I've seen them.
Donuts
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Posted: 5/27/2015 10:44 PM
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bobcat28 wrote:expand_more
The only notable difference between Big 10 and MAC baseball is pitching depth.
I wouldn't even say that most years. This has been an outstanding season for the Big 10, but most years, I'd stack the MAC against the Big Ten and like my chances. In the 1998-2014 years (now known as the lost/transition years), Ohio would still hold their own against the MAC teams they played.
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