Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter need a combination moniker, so I’m going to call them Thunder and Lightning. The dynamic duo were lights out yesterday at Hawkins Field, as we swept the Wright State Raiders, 14-1 in game 1, and 1-0 in game 2.
In game 1, Kumar pitched 4 innings, gave up 1 hit, 0 runs with 3 walks and 8 K’s. Kumar was hitting 94-95, he has developed a cut fastball, the cutter, in the low 90’s, which looks scary good, his slider was typically un-hittable, and his off-speed stuff worked well also. Sam Hloboki came in and pitched 2 innings of 1 hit, no run ball with a walk and 2 K’s. Sam is going to be an incredible asset for us this season, either out of the bullpen or as a starter. Chris McElvain pitched the final 3 frames giving up 3 hits, 1 run with a walk and 5 ring ups. Kumar threw 67 pitches with 39 for strikes against 26 balls. His stuff looked strong.
The hitting was spectacular in game 1 as we scored 14 runs on 14 hits. Isaiah Thomas, our great junior, was 3 for 5 with a deep shot to left for a solo homer, a triple, and 3 Ribeyes. Jayson Gonzalez had a really good day at the plate. Our senior third baseman cranked one out to deep central field in game one and was 3 for 3 in game 2. We have a really electric freshman center fielder in Enrique Bradfield. Enrique from American Heritage High School in Hialeh, FL. can really motor. If there are such things as house calls in baseball, maybe for stealing bases and scoring runs, Enrique is a house call waiting to happen. He was 2 for 3 in game 1 and stole a base. His first at bat of his college career, Enrique hit a sharp grounder to short and missed beating it out by an eyelash. He’s fast, he’s quick, he’s dynamic. We’re really going to like Enrique. Designated hitter Parker Noland had an exceptional day at the plate as well in game 1, going 3 for 3 with an RBI double and 2 runs scored. Parker, a sophomore, has a heckuva bat.
The only miscues were 2 errors in game 1. Overall, it was an exceptional start.
In game 2, Jack was beyond spectacular. Hitting 96-98 consistently, even hitting a hundge in the 2nd, Jack went 5, gave up only 1 hit with 0 walks and 8 K’s. He threw a terrific curve ball, everything was working for our sophomore stud. Jack threw 69 pitches with 46 for strikes against 23 balls, a perfect 2:1 ratio. Thomas Shultz, Nick Maldonado, Luke Murphy and Ethan Smith finished it off to close out the 1-0 victory.
Gonzales , who’s struggled with injuries but looks to have put it all together with his unlimited talent and his boxing workouts during last summer that helped him shed 20 pounds, was 3 for 3 in game 2 as stated earlier. Awesome sophomore shortstop Carter Young was 2 for 4 in game 2. When I talked to Corbs, I said Carter reminds me a lot of Connor Kaiser the way he is a slick fielder, but his bat is more potent than Connor’s was. Carter is a superb player.
No errors in game 2.
Corbs liked what he saw out of both Rocker and Leiter. He said Leiter “looked pretty good.” You know he was stellar when Corbs says, “pretty good.”
So superb performance by the team. Wednesday we’ll face Western Kentucky at 4:30 PM CT on SEC Network+. The Hilltoppers are 1-2 after taking 1 of the 3 games against North Dakota State over the weekend. They hit .302 as a team. Their designated hitter, Richard Constantine, is hitting .429 with 6 hits in 14 plate appearances. Opponents are batting .297 against WKU pitching.
Unclear who’ll be on the mound for us. Maybe Ethan Smith, although Corbs may want to save him for the weekend against Georgia State, a team that took 2 of 4 from No.23 West Virginia in Atlanta this past weekend. The Panthers look like a formidable opponent after WKU. We play Georgia State Friday at 4:30 PM CT, Saturday at 1 PM CT and a doubleheader Sunday starting at 1 PM CT. All 4 games will be broadcast by SEC Network+>
So a big week still ahead of us. We are now No.3 in the country per the D-1 Baseball rankings. Ole Miss is now No.1 in the country after defeating then No.3 Texas Tech, then No.9 Texas and then No.10 TCU at the State Farm College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, TX this past weekend. Arkansas is No.2 after sweeping all 3 of those teams as well. Mississippi State went 2-1 in the Showdown with their only loss coming to TCU. State is now No.5 in the country. The SEC went a combined 8-1 against the Big 12 in that tournament. Pretty strong statement for this once again highly formidable conference. Louisville is No.4. Florida, after going 1-2 over the weekend versus Miami, is No.7. Miami is No. 6. LSU is No.11, South Carolina is 17, Tennessee is 18, and Auburn is 21. Every team in the conference is talented.
A lot of good stuff coming up for our baseball team. Need to take care of business tomorrow at home at 4:30 PM CT on SEC Network+. Can’t let up. Need to stay sharp. Pitching will be interesting. If I find out anything, I’ll let you know.
Will have continuing coverage on VU Sports Confidential.