Eastern Kentucky - Opening Weekend

FredJacket

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It is right around the corner... in just over a week, college baseball is back in action at Russ Chandler. I'm fired up for a great season!! This opening series is the start a 50 game slate for the Yellow Jackets and one of only two non-conference weekend series all year. The 2nd won't come until finals week (Apr30-May2).

D1 baseball has EKU predicted to finish 3rd (of 11) in the Ohio Valley Conference behind Jacksonville State and Belmont. They have Jacksonville State as the only OVC team to make the field of 64... but note that EKU is capable of getting there. They also are projecting the EKU SS/3B (Daniel Harris IV) to be conference Player of the Year.

Ga Tech is better than this team (on paper). Need to win all 3 of these games... one at a time. :)


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Eastern Kentucky has a chance to contend this season thanks to the solid talent level on the roster. There’s a lot of youth since the 44 players on the roster, 22 of them will be listed as freshmen. Fortunately, they have Daniel Harris IV who led the OVC in batting a year ago at an astounding .460 clip. Harris (.460/.541/.680), a junior infielder, raised his average almost two hundred points from 2019 to 2020. Athletic with good actions and above-average arm, Harris can play shortstop but will begin the year at third base and hit three-hole.

He will be joined in the infield by sophomore shortstop Logan Thomason (.362/.422/.517). An above average college defender at shortstop (.960+ fielder for two years), Thomason is athletic with a chance to be solid offensively while being steady with good actions and an accurate arm. Senior catcher Chance Bodine (.125/.440/.125) is a physical catcher with a good arm. Sophomore first baseman Charlie Ludwick (.250/.371/.354) is a middle of the order OVC bat with average power and a solid stroke. True freshman second baseman Santiago Peralta is an above-average defender at second base.

Junior DH Caleb Upshaw has power and good feel to hit. He should bat in the middle of the order and be an impact stick in the OVC. True freshman left fielder Max Williams is a good runner (6.5-6.6) and was very good offensively this fall. He has a leadoff profile with gap power and should steal some bases. Sophomore center fielder Cam Pidley (juco transfer) is a good runner (6.5-6.6) and solid defender in center with a slightly below-average arm but accurate. Second-year freshman right fielder Kendal Ewell has an elite power tool (probably 60-65 grade) but must prove can hit in games. A solid athlete with a solid arm, Ewell has lots of projection and if he meets it, will be an impact player in OVC.

Junior RHP Louis Davenport (2-0, 4.20) leads the staff. He will bring his fastball at 90-94 MPH with an 82-84 slider and feel for his change. Junior RHP Darren Williams is a former closer who has moved to the rotation. He features an 89-92 MPH fastball with three different secondary pitches (CB, CH, SL). Junior LHP Jake Lewis (2-1, 7.71) really came on in the fall. He has been 84-86 MPH for most of his career and was consistently 87-89 MPH during the fall.

Sophomore RHP Julian Jackson (2-0, 4.22) is out until early March. He is a 6-foot-8 righty with elite stuff before the injury (up to 95 MPH with hard BB). He has a chance to be a good prospect if he returns from injury. Sophomore LHP Will Brian missed last season with an injury. He has a 90-93 MPH fastball with a high spin rate on a 78-80 curveball. His heavy fastball plays up and has feel for his change as well. Sophomore LHP John Farley (0-0, 4.50) brings deception from a low 3/4 arm angle and could be a spot starter as well as a reliever. Lefties Jake Lewis and John Farley showed a big improvement and add depth.



Ohio Valley Conf Preview from D1:
 

GTNavyNuke

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Weather. On a waterlogged 40+F field feels like freezing (low 30s). Uugghh. Should do a double header on Saturday?

1613306747716.png
 

MWBATL

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Weather. On a waterlogged 40+F field feels like freezing (low 30s). Uugghh. Should do a double header on Saturday?

View attachment 9882
(1) they NEVER get it right this far out.....
(2) but if they do, I hope they postpone the opener to Saturday and make it a DH!
 

GTNavyNuke

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(1) they NEVER get it right this far out.....
(2) but if they do, I hope they postpone the opener to Saturday and make it a DH!

Any organization with a 60's name like that must be good.

They really are the best I've found and more accurate than AccuWeather where I live. Alexa is a joke for forecasts. Even the Weather Underground wind speed and direction is pretty accurate which is real important up here for coastal flooding projections.

Just watch and see for your area which is most often right.
 

gt13

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According to Russell Johnson on Twitter, Hurter/Archer/Crawford is the starting pitching lineup for this weekend. Bartnicki/Maxwell being looked at for closer spot but Bartnicki looks to have the edge.

Wilhite will be starting 2B and they’re not really looking at him pitching right now which is interesting. He looked really good on the mound last season.

Parada and Holland are competing for C. Holland has made a lot of progress especially at the plate.
 

FredJacket

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According to Russell Johnson on Twitter, Hurter/Archer/Crawford is the starting pitching lineup for this weekend. Bartnicki/Maxwell being looked at for closer spot but Bartnicki looks to have the edge.

Wilhite will be starting 2B and they’re not really looking at him pitching right now which is interesting. He looked really good on the mound last season.

Parada and Holland are competing for C. Holland has made a lot of progress especially at the plate.
As a worrier... this just makes me wonder who's hurt. Roedig?
 

78pike

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Surprised to see that Crawford is getting the nod on the weekend. I figured Roedig would be a lock for one of those spots. Gotta wonder if there's an injury involved there not to take anything away from Crawford. If he earned the spot based on performance then we must be really deep with starters this year. Regarding the catcher spot, I'm happy to hear Holland has improved at the plate. He had a tough time hitting last year. But I still think Parada gets the nod as he has first round talent. I can see Holland being a late inning replacement because of his defense along with the occasional doubleheader start.
 

THWG

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Surprised to see that Crawford is getting the nod on the weekend. I figured Roedig would be a lock for one of those spots. Gotta wonder if there's an injury involved there not to take anything away from Crawford. If he earned the spot based on performance then we must be really deep with starters this year. Regarding the catcher spot, I'm happy to hear Holland has improved at the plate. He had a tough time hitting last year. But I still think Parada gets the nod as he has first round talent. I can see Holland being a late inning replacement because of his defense along with the occasional doubleheader start.
I think we'll see a rotation between Holland and Parada, but I also believe that Parada will DH when he isn't catching and Reid will slide into the outfield.
 

gt13

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I think we'll see a rotation between Holland and Parada, but I also believe that Parada will DH when he isn't catching and Reid will slide into the outfield.

Is Parada a big bat? It is hard to not be excited about the amount of young power we have in this lineup - Compton, Reid, and Holland all showed a lot of pop last year and I've heard good things about DeLeo and Parada as well. Best part is they're all "freshmen" this year again even if they played last year.
 

FredJacket

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Are they hurt, or do our coaches just want to see what others can do vs Eastern Kentucky? I'm a worrier as well Fred, so I share the same concerns. Just hoping for the best!
According to that Rivals article I posted later... the word on Roetig is he had surgery in off-season & they are bringing him along slowly. He's throwing but not ready to "start" yet. I'm less concerned.

& @GT Bravo reminded me, he (Roedig) did not play in Fall WS. It all makes sense.
 

THWG

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Is Parada a big bat? It is hard to not be excited about the amount of young power we have in this lineup - Compton, Reid, and Holland all showed a lot of pop last year and I've heard good things about DeLeo and Parada as well. Best part is they're all "freshmen" this year again even if they played last year.
Yes, Parada is a big bat. Holland is the better catcher, but Parada is the better hitter. It sounds as though Holland has really come along with bat in the offseason.
 
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