D1Baseball had their first morning chat of the season. There was no mention of IU in today's chat, but there was one item on a B1G team and that was Nebraska which is included in this thread. There was also an item on Cincinnati that is on our schedule late in the season, so I went ahead and included that since there wasn't hardly any B1G items today. There was also an item about moving the season back a month due to cold weather and I included that in this thread. There was also one item on the Surprise tournament we were in that centered around Oregon St., so I included that, since again, there was not much on the B1G in this chat.
Jay: Anything takeaways for the Huskers’ opening weekend? Tough to swallow 2-2 when 3-1 was right there.
Kendall Rogers: Jay — yeah, you always want to try to go 3-1, but honestly, 2-2 against that slate on the road is not bad. GCU is a true road game, though, and a good club as well. Gabe Swansen and Will Walsh were obviously big-time bright spots given Swansen’s nine RBIs in four games + Walsh’s outstanding start. I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say I’m looking forward to that NU game against LSU in a couple of weeks. That’ll be fascinating.
Joshua: Why did you select Cincinnati for the top 25 over the other teams that had strong weekends (Michigan, Louisville, Ole Miss, etc.)?
Kendall Rogers: Joshua — I love this question. Thanks for asking. I think for us it’s the fact Cincinnati went on the road to the No. 11 team in the country, won two of three, was a hit away from SWEEPING the series, and destroyed Duke in the series finale, 19-5. That’s just such an impactful weekend for the Bearcats, who obviously were a proven commodity at the end of last season as well. Kerrington Cross had some massive ABs throughout the series. Louisville, Southern Miss, Ole Miss, Stanford are all programs, for instance, right there in the thick of the T25 race.
Eric Simmons: Should the start of the College Baseball Season be pushed back a month because of the cold weather? I think they should
Kendall Rogers: ES — Ultimately, the season will not move back until the SEC or ACC shows a willingness, or has a movement to do so. I do wonder with ESPN owning both the ACC and SEC Networks if there’s a push to do that at some point. Right now, you don’t really see college baseball on either network much until the very end of hoops season. If you moved the season back a month, you’d essentially have an entire month of inventory you didn’t have before. It’s a compelling argument beyond the most obvious arguments in favor of it.
Matt: I know OSU always takes care of business in Surprise, but both Xavier and Indiana have quality clubs. What stood out to you most about the Beavs and what are you most looking forward to with the Round Rock Classic matchups?
Kendall Rogers: Matt — The thing I loved to see with the Beavs this past weekend is that all of their stars were ready to rock and roll Opening weekend. Aiva Arquette hit a mammoth home run and hit well over .500, and Trent Caraway was fantastic as well. if I’m being honest, I’m ultra excited to see fab freshman Dax Whitney this weekend. I was told he was up to 97-98 mph with his FB in Surprise over the weekend, and he obviously had a great start with eight strikeouts in a shutout performance. I expect the Beavs to play well this weekend — the weather certainly won’t affect those PNW boys.
Jay: Anything takeaways for the Huskers’ opening weekend? Tough to swallow 2-2 when 3-1 was right there.
Kendall Rogers: Jay — yeah, you always want to try to go 3-1, but honestly, 2-2 against that slate on the road is not bad. GCU is a true road game, though, and a good club as well. Gabe Swansen and Will Walsh were obviously big-time bright spots given Swansen’s nine RBIs in four games + Walsh’s outstanding start. I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say I’m looking forward to that NU game against LSU in a couple of weeks. That’ll be fascinating.
Joshua: Why did you select Cincinnati for the top 25 over the other teams that had strong weekends (Michigan, Louisville, Ole Miss, etc.)?
Kendall Rogers: Joshua — I love this question. Thanks for asking. I think for us it’s the fact Cincinnati went on the road to the No. 11 team in the country, won two of three, was a hit away from SWEEPING the series, and destroyed Duke in the series finale, 19-5. That’s just such an impactful weekend for the Bearcats, who obviously were a proven commodity at the end of last season as well. Kerrington Cross had some massive ABs throughout the series. Louisville, Southern Miss, Ole Miss, Stanford are all programs, for instance, right there in the thick of the T25 race.
Eric Simmons: Should the start of the College Baseball Season be pushed back a month because of the cold weather? I think they should
Kendall Rogers: ES — Ultimately, the season will not move back until the SEC or ACC shows a willingness, or has a movement to do so. I do wonder with ESPN owning both the ACC and SEC Networks if there’s a push to do that at some point. Right now, you don’t really see college baseball on either network much until the very end of hoops season. If you moved the season back a month, you’d essentially have an entire month of inventory you didn’t have before. It’s a compelling argument beyond the most obvious arguments in favor of it.
Matt: I know OSU always takes care of business in Surprise, but both Xavier and Indiana have quality clubs. What stood out to you most about the Beavs and what are you most looking forward to with the Round Rock Classic matchups?
Kendall Rogers: Matt — The thing I loved to see with the Beavs this past weekend is that all of their stars were ready to rock and roll Opening weekend. Aiva Arquette hit a mammoth home run and hit well over .500, and Trent Caraway was fantastic as well. if I’m being honest, I’m ultra excited to see fab freshman Dax Whitney this weekend. I was told he was up to 97-98 mph with his FB in Surprise over the weekend, and he obviously had a great start with eight strikeouts in a shutout performance. I expect the Beavs to play well this weekend — the weather certainly won’t affect those PNW boys.