FSU 11, WSU 4, a final: The Shockers go down in order in the ninth. FSU celebrates at second base. The Seminoles play Stanford on Saturday. Read More
FSU 14, WSU 4, a final. One game for Omaha tomorrow. Anthony Capra must be more efficient with his pitching than he has been in many weeks. The Seminoles effectively ground away at Musgrave and Shafer, both of whom typically throw fewer pitches than Capra.
FSU will start senior right-hander Ryan Strauss (9-1, 4.58 ERA). He last pitched June 1 against Tulane in the regional and gave up seven hits and six runs in 5 2/3. Many in the Tallahassee media figured FSU would go with junior Geoff Parker (5-1, 3.69).
In my mind, this was WSU’s best chance to win it. The advantage tilts tremendously to FSU in a third game. It would be a mistake to count out the Shockers, however. They have earned the benefit of that doubt over the past 10 games. Capra is certainly capable of a standout performance. Ninety-five percent (conservatively) of the programs in the country would be thrilled to have a fourth-round draft pick going in the third game of a super. I don’t think the Shocker offense will be this quiet two games in a row.
FSU 14, WSU 4, after eight: Mitch Caster’s first home run is WSU’s lone bright spot. Most of the Shockers are in the dugout, waiting on an IV, and trying to recover for Sunday.
FSU 12, WSU 3, bottom of the sixth: The Seminoles add three more and it is a long, hot, disastrous day for the Shockers. Ryan Jones is out, cramping, and I would think WSU must be careful not to waste more energy on a nine-run deficit.
FSU 9, WSU 3, after five: No runners for the Shockers for the first time. Fairel is getting better and the Shockers are putting up less resistance. He is keeping hitters, especially lefties, off balance.
9, WSU 3, bottom of the fifth: Posey singles to drive in another run.
FSU 8, WSU 3, after four: Seminoles starter Matt Fairel is not overpowering but he is not making mistakes. The Shockers wasted singles by Jones and Gillaspie to start the third.
FSU 8, WSU 3, bottom of the third: WSU’s worst-case scenario is here. Shafer is out after throwing 85 pitches and allowing a career-high eight earned runs. You have to wonder if he left his best stuff in Stillwater, where he threw 133 pitches a week ago. Khol Nanney is in.
WSU 3, FSU 3, bottom of the second: Shafer gives up a home run to Tapley. He gets out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam by allowing only one run on a sac fly. So it could have been worse. However, Shafer is already past the 30-pitch mark. WSU needs him to get some clean innings soon, and it won’t be easy going through the lineup again.
WSU 3, FSU 1, after one: Shaky fielding hurts the Seminoles. Ryan Jones scores on a groundball hit at the second baseman that he dropped. It was scored a hit, generously. Josh Workman supplied the big hit by lofting a two-RBI single into short center.
WSU left fielder Kevin Hall bruised his hand sliding for a catch in the ninth Friday. He will not start today (Kenny Williams will) and is likely limited to pinch running. Six Shockers had IVs after Friday’s game. It is hot, cloudy and still today with almost no breeze.
Seminoles shortstop Tony Delmonico is out with a sprained ankle. Jason Stidham moves from second to short and Tommy Oravetz takes over at second.
Meaningless stat of the day (but a good omen for Shocker fans): WSU is 7-1 in games with a trip to Omaha on the line.
The winner of this super meets the Stanford-Fullerton winner a week from today in the CWS. Stanford won the opener 4-3 on Friday night.
WSU 10, FSU 7, a final.
WSU 10, FSU 7, two outs in the ninth. FSU has two on and Anthony Capra is out of the bullpen to close it.
WSU 10, FSU 5, bottom of the eighth: Workman drives Coleman with his third hit of the day. McKeever is back on, six outs away from WSU’s first super regional win.
WSU 9, FSU 5, after seven: McKeever retires the Seminoles in order. Gillaspie leads off for the Shockers, who probably would really, really like at least one more run to start to feel anywhere close to safe.
WSU 9, FSU 5, after six: Musgrave is out after 120 pitches. McKeever comes in with two runners and two outs to face Posey. He retires him on a nubber that Tyler Hill chases down and throws to McKeever covering.
WSU 9, FSU 3, bottom of the sixth: A four-run inning where the Shockers chew through three pitchers. Gillaspie’s three-run homer was the big hit. So far, Seminoles pitching is extremely unimpressive for the No. 4 National seed. Musgrave is back out for the sixth.
WSU 5, FSU 3, after five: Musgrave gets out of another tight spot with only a little damage. He stranded two runners.
WSU 5, FSU 2, bottom of five: Josh Workman doubles in Dusty Coleman, who walked. Weber gets Workman with a cue shot off the end of his bat that spun away from the shortstop and was, for some reason, called an error. Khol Nanney was warming up when Musgrave got into trouble in the previous inning.
Time for a Shocker football story that Eagle business editor Tom Shine swears is true. He covered a Shocker football game here in the early 1980s. After warmups and before kickoff, a Shocker player, in full uniform, stood in line at a stand to buy a Seminoles hat. His coaches were looking for him in the locker room.
WSU 3, FSU 2, After four: A Buster Posey homer cuts the lead to one run. The Seminoles leave the bases loaded.
WSU 3, FSU 1, bottom of the fourth: Tyler Weber’s home run to left gives the Shockers their first super-regional lead. Ever. In three games. Andy Dirks follows that with a double to score Kenny Williams from first. FSU pitcher Elih Villanueva hit two batters and both scored.
FSU 1, WSU 0, after two: FSU’s Dennis Guinn homers to right. Musgrave is cruising except for that. He will face the order a second time soon.
0-0 after one. An eventful inning, nonetheless. WSU stranded two runners. FSU SS Tony Delmonico needed three stitches to close a cut on his left shin. He collided with Ryan Jones trying to turn a double play and had to be carried off. He limped back to his position several minutes later. We will see how mobile he is.
WSU starting pitcher Rob Musgrave went today in the 14th round to San Diego. If there is one guy I would think is totally unaffected by the draft, it is Musgrave. He may not even know until after the game.
Kenny Williams is back in the lineup and batting ninth. This is basically the lineup that performed well during WSU’s 19-game win streak earlier in this season. With Josh Workman healthy, Clint McKeever improving and Kevin Hall/Kenny Williams in left, the lineup is again on a hot streak during this nine-game win streak. One word of caution: Because of missing OSU’s Andrew Oliver, WSU has faced only two staff aces during that streak, and one was Bradley’s. Might mean something. Might mean nothing.
Other draft updates: Andy Dirks went in the eighth round to Detroit. WSU recruits Jordan Cooper (17th round) and Brian Flynn (18th) went to Boston. There is little danger of either signing.
The first day of the draft went well for WSU. Any Shocker recruit picked from now on (we are in the eighth round as I’m writing) will probably lean toward college, unless they were never really serious about it to begin with. Players like Jordan Cooper and Brian Flynn can reasonably see themselves in WSU junior Aaron Shafer. Shafer made it known he would be a tough sign, went in the 16th round as a high schooler and improved to a second-rounder after three seasons.
As Shafer wisely said Thursday night, the draft isn’t where he plans on making his money. But it’s nice, and it sets you up as a more important part of a franchise’s future when they invest more in you. Shafer’s final point is that he is better prepared to succeed as a pro now than he was three years ago.
Bonus money starts to slip quickly once you get into the fifth rounds and down. Last season, most fifth-round bonuses were in the $130-$150,000 range (with some notable exceptions). Moving up to the third round puts a player in the $$250-$350,000 range.
WSU shortstop Dusty Coleman is in the same boat as a draft-eligible sophomore. He will go sometime today, but it seems unlikely it will be worth his time. Next spring, after what I will predict is a good summer in the Cape and a great spring with WSU, Coleman’s draft-day will go quickly.
Florida State coach Mike Martin dropped some news during his session with the media. Catcher Buster Posey told him the Tampa Bay Rays told him they will pick shortstop Tim Beckham first in today’s draft. Beckham is a high school from Griffin, Ga.
“There were a lot of hopes in our camp (Posey) would be chosen No. 1,” Martin said.
Nobody is going to pick Wichita State to win this weekend, and that’s not a surprise or a slap at the Shockers. Florida State is the No. 4 national seed, ranked No. 2 by Baseball America, and finished second in the ACC, which looks like the nation’s best conference. Four ACC teams are alive (three as host), which is one more than the Pac 10 and two more than the SEC and Big West.
Writing a script for a WSU win must involve winning the first game. Florida State is 8-5 against left-handed starters and WSU has senior Rob Musgrave going. Here’s one of those stats that may be silly or may be significant. The Shockers appear to play better defense behind Musgrave than they do for No. 2 starter Aaron Shafer. WSU has committed 15 errors in Musgrave’s 15 starts and 20 in Shafer’s 15 starts. More important, WSU has committed two more seven times in games Shafer starts. Only twice in Musgrave’s starts has he had to work around multiple goofs.
Perhaps it’s because Musgrave is a flyball pitcher. Shafer gets a lot of ground balls when hitters roll over his curveball, putting more stress on the defense. The Shockers can’t give FSU extra outs. Being a flyball pitcher against FSU seems dangerous, but Musgrave is experienced enough to keep the ball down.
FSU catcher Buster Posey will be a big story all weekend, beginning with today’s draft.
Lot of nerves today. The Shockers are playing out their dreams of being on the road to Omaha, while their dreams of the big leagues may also take shape today. It can be a stressful day for them, whether or not they admit it. Last season, I remember pitcher Travis Banwart admitting the draft got in his head and contributed to struggles in the preceding weeks. Outfielder Matt Brown expressed similar sentiments.
The Shockers will be on the field at 1:45 p.m. today for practice at Dick Howser Stadium. The draft starts at 1 p.m. (in Wichita). The first order of suspense is third baseman Conor Gillaspie. If he goes in the first round, he will be WSU’s third position player to do so and the first since Russ Morman went in the supplemental first round in 1983. Joe Carter is the only other Shocker to go that early. The last position player to go in the first five rounds was Koyie Hill (fourth) in 2000.
MLB.com’s first-round guess does not include Gillaspie. Baseball America puts him near the end of the first round.
On the recruit side, it appears the biggest worry for fans and coaches involve pitcher Charlie Howell and pitcher Brian Flynn. Don’t forget about Jordan Cooper, who is Baseball America’s highest-ranked pitcher among Shocker recruits. Every round that slips by without their names called is a relief. With these high-end guys, anything after the fifth round probably means college. Anything after the 10th will be a waste of a pick.
The hottest thing in the Shocker dugout during Tuesday’s practice was a five-gallon jug of ice, towels and a dash of ammonia spirits. WSU uses ice towels during hot weather to cool off and freshen up during games. Trainer Dan Cahill massages the towel around the neck and face and the players say it is a real help on hot days. The Shockers got the treatment regularly during the MVC Tournament and in Stillwater. Read More
A final piece of info: WSU leaves Stillwater at 11 a.m. Monday. That should put them back at Eck Stadium around 1 p.m.
WSU 11, OSU 7, a final: Bury the ghosts of Brady Toops and Lamont Matthews. Clinton McKeever came through for WSU.
The Shockers are going to a super regional for the second straight season and it could not get any better for them than winning at OSU. The Shockers regain the bragging rights over the Cowboys they lost in 1999 at a regional at Eck Stadium. Matthews powered the Cowboys to two wins on the final day. Read More