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Watching the regionals is a ton of fun. I am watching the Uconn vs Wake game (wondering if Ekerholm is too - * just realized he is GT!! HA!) and the kid at-bat is from the town over (Korey Morton). There were talking about his speed (blazing fast) and his Dad (1st round pick by RedSox, LHP), and then ESPN breaks in for HR in the Hofstra game by a kid from another town over.  Love it.     I am still pulling for TN, UConn (home state), and Columbia (up 6-2).

Last edited by Gunner Mack Jr.
@PitchingFan posted:

You think they beat Walters State?  WS is tough and still has pitching that has not thrown I am told.

Central Arizona ended up winning it. Not to take anything away from the other teams but I felt like us and them were the two best teams.  NJCAA needs to fix the bracket.  No reason for us to match up twice in 3 games.  Plus the bracket is a mess to begin with.

@RJM posted:

Were they playing lacrosse in Stillwater? It’s what the scores indicate.

I've seen some of the most impressive HR's of my life this weekend.  Two line drives that were never more than 20 feet or so in the air.  One over the top of the batters eye that is a good 50-60 feet in the air to dead center.  McLean hit the longest HR I've ever seen and Wallace matched him later.  There is no way the baseball in this region and probably all over the country isn't juiced up for the tournament.   

@d-mac posted:

I've seen some of the most impressive HR's of my life this weekend.  Two line drives that were never more than 20 feet or so in the air.  One over the top of the batters eye that is a good 50-60 feet in the air to dead center.  McLean hit the longest HR I've ever seen and Wallace matched him later.  There is no way the baseball in this region and probably all over the country isn't juiced up for the tournament.   

UCLA coach John Savage said the number of homers are due to the number of 23 and 24yo men in college baseball. He said it’s due to extended Covid eligibility and the shortened draft. He said there’s a lot of “man” power in college baseball this year.

Last edited by RJM

The Regionals have been more entertaining this year than ever. Eleven of them are having the “if necessary” game 7 today. That’s unheard of. I was at the College Station Regional and a number of games were insane but none more than the 5 hour long final last night. Arkansas vs OSU is must see TV this evening. But so is Texas State vs Stanford late tonight. Post season college baseball is fun!

Time for wood bats. Tv and MLB will pay the cost. John Savage is one of 1st Goodwill Series players. He is correct on the maturity.

many years ago, At MSU, we played with and against Korea War vets. GI bill. = full ride.
Bob

Were parents complaining there were 22yo and 23yo freshmen? 😁

Last edited by RJM

I want to give a shout out to a kid named Ian Cooke. Freshman who started for UConn last night in elim game.  Gave up lead off HR, settled down and pitched into 5th. UConn D was horrendous in 5th! He left with 2ER and they won.  Son played with him. Cooke is real deal and performed in a big spot. Also very interesting for UConn was batters 1 thru 5 last night were all transfers.  

Regionals were great, I really think this is the best week of the year for college baseball.

A few things that really surprised me

1. How good college hitters are once you get this deep. I knew they were good but my god. Mistakes don't get missed and there are some teams that made some really good pitching staffs look really bad. Watching a kid throw 97/98 and get absolutely tattooed is wild when 88 was fast in a HS a few years ago.

2. How bad the umpires were in some of the regionals. Cannot miss calls at this level and on this stage. Also replay needs to go away if we can't get the call right after watching it for 5 minutes.

@PABaseball posted:

Regionals were great, I really think this is the best week of the year for college baseball.

A few things that really surprised me

1. How good college hitters are once you get this deep. I knew they were good but my god. Mistakes don't get missed and there are some teams that made some really good pitching staffs look really bad. Watching a kid throw 97/98 and get absolutely tattooed is wild when 88 was fast in a HS a few years ago.

2. How bad the umpires were in some of the regionals. Cannot miss calls at this level and on this stage. Also replay needs to go away if we can't get the call right after watching it for 5 minutes.

Quality of umpiring has declined at all levels. The demand is high, number of umps is low, number of good umps is very much lower. Plus umpiring is very very much the good old boys network, these guys take care of their own and having the best ones in the biggest games is not always a priority.

Horrible look for Tennessee hitter.  You will NEVER convince me that that is acceptable behavior. NEVER!  If you are that good, act like you belong there and not like a jackass!

You will not hear me defend him.  There is a backstory but won't broadcast it here or say what he did was an adequate response.  There is too much junk and trash talking going on in college nowadays.  I know someone will say it always has but that is on the umpires.  I also heard an umpire tell a kid to shut the F up this weekend which should get him suspended for the year.  No.  It was not one of our players.  We were not even playing.

@PABaseball posted:

Regionals were great, I really think this is the best week of the year for college baseball.

A few things that really surprised me

1. How good college hitters are once you get this deep. I knew they were good but my god. Mistakes don't get missed and there are some teams that made some really good pitching staffs look really bad. Watching a kid throw 97/98 and get absolutely tattooed is wild when 88 was fast in a HS a few years ago.

2. How bad the umpires were in some of the regionals. Cannot miss calls at this level and on this stage. Also replay needs to go away if we can't get the call right after watching it for 5 minutes.

Unfortunely there is no trackman used to measure the accuracy of the calls during NCAA regional play.

Did anyone see the call at first in the UConn-Maryland game? Is there a point where an umpire is following the letter of the law to the point where he is injecting himself into the outcome?

The Maryland batter topped a ball down the first base line. The fielder (pitcher) had zero chance of throwing him out. The throw went wide of first. The first baseman got trucked by the runner from standing over the base.

On a play the defense had zero chance of getting the hitter out he was called out for being one step out of the runner’s box hardly anyone runs in. In addition to getting the second out the tying run who scored was put back on third. One batter later rally over. Runner stranded on third.

https://districtondeck.com/202...he-trea-turner-rule/

Last edited by RJM
@RJM posted:

Did anyone see the call at first in the UConn-Maryland game? Is there a point where an umpire is following the letter of the law to the point where he is injecting himself into the outcome?

This is a bit of what I was referring to. I followed that regional very closely as there are a lot of local kids and former teammates playing in it. That region was so poorly officiated start to finish I couldn't believe I was watching post season D1 baseball. It was not limited to the College Park regional either.

But that call was so bad the announcers could not even find a way to defend it. For the home plate umpire to make that call (when he should have been watching the runner from third come home) after it was initially ruled safe is nothing short of bizarre. And then for them to look at it and determine it was the right call is even wilder. Beyond that - the rule is absolutely atrocious sending the scoring runner back to third when there was never even an option for a play at home. Disgusting. Between that and Michigan I was really let down. There is no point of replay if everybody can agree what the right call is except for the crew on the field.

Last edited by PABaseball
@PitchingFan posted:

You will not hear me defend him.  There is a backstory but won't broadcast it here or say what he did was an adequate response.  There is too much junk and trash talking going on in college nowadays.  I know someone will say it always has but that is on the umpires.  I also heard an umpire tell a kid to shut the F up this weekend which should get him suspended for the year.  No.  It was not one of our players.  We were not even playing.

I am glad to hear you are not defending him.  If I have to guess, the backstory consists of some swearing, some disrespect, some trash talk and some other issues between both dugouts, but the "antics" and behavior that UT has been doing as of late, they had to expect teams to have some backlash towards them.  This was just another example of UT unacceptable behavior and he should have been suspended for it and I am sure the coach did nothing.    I may be in the minority here, but as a mom, I would be absolutely mortified if that was my kid acting that way.  We raised our son to show humility because the saying in our house goes, "just when you think you are the best, there is always someone better" so be humble, play the right way and know that there is always someone watching.  There is a tiny minority of young men that get to play at the next level, be grateful and appreciative to be where you are.  JMHO

@PABaseball posted:

This is a bit of what I was referring to. I followed that regional very closely as there are a lot of local kids and former teammates playing in it. That region was so poorly officiated start to finish I couldn't believe I was watching post season D1 baseball. It was not limited to the College Park regional either.

But that call was so bad the announcers could not even find a way to defend it. For the home plate umpire to make that call (when he should have been watching the runner from third come home) after it was initially ruled safe is nothing short of bizarre. And then for them to look at it and determine it was the right call is even wilder. Beyond that - the rule is absolutely atrocious sending the scoring runner back to third when there was never even an option for a play at home. Disgusting. Between that and Michigan I was really let down. There is no point of replay if everybody can agree what the right call is except for the crew on the field.

I watched from the 7th inning on of all the close games. From just watching three innings it appeared the home plate umpire was a bit of a hot head. It seemed he wanted to be part of the action.

Last edited by RJM
@PABaseball posted:

This is a bit of what I was referring to. I followed that regional very closely as there are a lot of local kids and former teammates playing in it. That region was so poorly officiated start to finish I couldn't believe I was watching post season D1 baseball. It was not limited to the College Park regional either.

But that call was so bad the announcers could not even find a way to defend it. For the home plate umpire to make that call (when he should have been watching the runner from third come home) after it was initially ruled safe is nothing short of bizarre. And then for them to look at it and determine it was the right call is even wilder. Beyond that - the rule is absolutely atrocious sending the scoring runner back to third when there was never even an option for a play at home. Disgusting. Between that and Michigan I was really let down. There is no point of replay if everybody can agree what the right call is except for the crew on the field.

This call may have been questioned but it was correct. It is not new or obscure and it gets called fairly frequently. There is a reason those chalk lines are on the field.

Nobody knows whether the batter/runner's path to 1st (100% in fair territory) somehow affected the defense (slowing or altering the pitchers play on the ball, etc.) but the bottom line is this:

1. Batter/runner was 100% out of the running lane (and yes, it is the plate umpire's job to observe and make the call)

2. A play was being made on that batter/runner and his running lane violation COULD have altered the play.

Announcers really have no clue regarding rules most of the time (the same can be said for many coaches). These particular announcers were focused (as were the fans) on the collision on first which HAD NO BEARING on the running lane violation call.

And for those that think it's a terrible rule (many comments I've seen on social media) then I ask: why do we have rules in the first place if we are not going to enforce them?

And for those who may have never coached or umpired but may have played the game  I ask this: when you were a player did you ever run to first in fair territory after bunting hoping you'd get plunked by the ball being thrown by either the pitcher, 3rd baseman, or catcher? I know I did!

And can you recall any coach ever explaining to you what the running lane was? I can't!

But ignorance of the rules is not excusable, especially for a coach. Thankfully we do have umpires and officials in our sports.

@ABSORBER posted:

This call may have been questioned but it was correct. It is not new or obscure and it gets called fairly frequently. There is a reason those chalk lines are on the field.

Nobody knows whether the batter/runner's path to 1st (100% in fair territory) somehow affected the defense (slowing or altering the pitchers play on the ball, etc.) but the bottom line is this:

1. Batter/runner was 100% out of the running lane (and yes, it is the plate umpire's job to observe and make the call)

2. A play was being made on that batter/runner and his running lane violation COULD have altered the play.

Announcers really have no clue regarding rules most of the time (the same can be said for many coaches). These particular announcers were focused (as were the fans) on the collision on first which HAD NO BEARING on the running lane violation call.

And for those that think it's a terrible rule (many comments I've seen on social media) then I ask: why do we have rules in the first place if we are not going to enforce them?

And for those who may have never coached or umpired but may have played the game  I ask this: when you were a player did you ever run to first in fair territory after bunting hoping you'd get plunked by the ball being thrown by either the pitcher, 3rd baseman, or catcher? I know I did!

And can you recall any coach ever explaining to you what the running lane was? I can't!

But ignorance of the rules is not excusable, especially for a coach. Thankfully we do have umpires and officials in our sports.

I was an impartial observer. I knew why the play was called the way it was as soon as I saw the replay. From a technical standpoint it’s the right call. But, UConn had zero chance of getting the hitter at first or preventing the run. It’s when the common sense of “let them play” and don’t inject officiating into altering the outcome game comes into play.

@RJM posted:

I was an impartial observer. I knew why the play was called the way it was as soon as I saw the replay. From a technical standpoint it’s the right call. But, UConn had zero chance of getting the hitter at first or preventing the run. It’s when the common sense of “let them play” and don’t inject officiating into altering the outcome game comes into play.

Quote from the coach:

"Maryland coach Rob Vaughn said the way the rule was enforced was right, whether he liked it or not."

Lots of things could have worked differently; nobody really knows. Would he have been safe regardless? Perhaps, probably. But the play could have been altered by Alleyne's path. I've seen many players flip the ball from their glove to the fielder covering the bag in one motion. This pitcher? Probably not. But perhaps had Alleyne been in the running lane he'd (pitcher) have made a better throw. We just don't know. But you can't argue he didn't have a shot at throwing him out with a better throw. Was his throw affected by the running lane violation. I'd say it's entirely possible...

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Also...

If you watch the video you will see Alleyne running in foul territory before crossing into fair (in effect closer to the ball as it is rolling). I would say he was anticipating a play would be made and it would be beneficial to "screen" the fielder making the play from the fielder receiving the ball.

This is a classic and natural behavior and for anyone who has played the game--we've all done it! Classic running lane violation!

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