2/23/2011 11:43:56 AM
The midweek schedule often is filled with eye-popping results, but that's not the case this week as most teams expected to take home victories on Tuesday did so in impressive fashion.
Here are some thoughts on Tuesday's action:
* Is there anything more impressive right now than UCLA and Florida's pitching staffs? I don't think so. We'll get to the Gators in a minute, but let's start with the Bruins. UCLA recorded another impressive win on Tuesday, cruising past Pepperdine 9-0. UCLA sent solid sophomore prospect Scott Griggs to the mound, and he didn't disappoint. He struck out five and allowed just two hits in four innings. Ryan Deeter, Zack Weiss and Chase Brewer also threw well for the Bruins. I absolutely like what this UCLA pitching staff is doing right now against decent competition. The biggest thing about Tuesday is the offense finally came through with Chris Giovinazzo and Pat Valaika having productive showings. Overall, UCLA has allowed one run in four games.
* Florida's pitching staff has been equally impressive with UCLA's crop of arms. The Gators continued their dominant ways on Tuesday as starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani struck out three and allowed just three hits in four shutout innings. It was the first time he took the mound since a poor outing against Kentucky last April. Tommy Toledo and Austin Maddox (who usually is a position player) each threw an inning and truck out two batters in the 13-2 victory over a solid Florida Atlantic team. Preston Tucker led the Gators with four hits on the day.
* TCU freshman right-handed pitcher Andrew Mitchell couldn't have had a better collegiate debut as a starting pitcher. Mitchell struck out four batters and allowed just two hits in 6 2/3 shutout innings as the Frogs defeated in-state rival Baylor 2-0. Stefan Crichton also threw well for the Frogs, striking out two batters in 2 1/3 innings of work. Really impressed with the way the Frogs played in this game, and it's going to be very interesting to see how they fair against Cal State Fullerton this weekend.
* Bad weekend for the Lone Star State stalwarts Texas and Rice. The Longhorns had iffy pitching and untimely hitting on the way to an 8-7 loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi while Rice's offense waited until the last couple innings to wake up against Lamar. The pitching staff, though, never woke up in a 12-7 loss to the Cardinals. Rice's woes must not continue as it hits the road Wednesday to take on top junior prospect Carson Smith and a very solid Texas State club. This could be a rough week for the Owls.
* Stanford got bad news on Tuesday as it announced left-handed pitcher Brett Mooneyham would miss the season after having surgery on his finger. But perhaps the Cardinal don't need him. They got a solid start from Jordan Pries against rival California, as Pries struck out four and allowed just a hit in four shutout innings. Scott Snodgress, who impressed in relief against Rice last weekend, also was solid, striking out three and allowing just a hit in two shutout innings. Stanford recorded a 3-2 win over the Golden Bears.
* A few teams that could find themselves on the bubble at the end of the season recorded some nice victories on Tuesday. Georgia Southern defeated Georgia Tech 6-5 at home, Dallas Baptist defeated Oklahoma State 7-3, USC defeated UC Riverside 6-3, Southeastern Louisiana crushed Tulane 13-1, UCF defeated Bethune-Cookman 13-0, Wichita State beat Oral Roberts 7-2 and Loyola Marymount defeated Long Beach State 5-1.