Post by UICJohn on May 26, 2018 12:59:20 GMT -6
The Flames made it to the Championship round against Wright State just as it should be. The two are easily the two best teams and the gap between them and the third best is quite large. The problem is that the gap between UIC and Wright State is also quite large.
UIC only faced two teams in the tournament and went 2-2. They beat UWM both matchups by a combined score of 16-2 (6-0 and 10-2 respectively). However, the top seed, Wright State, outscored is 21-10 (10-1 and 11-9 respectively).
And in my opinion the second game wasn’t even that close. This team never had it. They frequently couldn’t score. Their pitching was taxed. Alex Padilla, an All American last year with an ERA of 0.45, had an ERA of 5.01 this year.
Wright State is far and away a superior program. We won last year, it’s true, and had a hell of a team. However, they also had injuries which aided our path. They have serious, big time recruits and they were even ranked part of last year. We don’t recruit the likes of the players they do.
So what do we do? The Chancellor stated baseball as a marquee UIC program. Do we make a change? For the facilities we have and the money we put in the program, we need more. But was the season as much of a failure as I’m thinking? Perhaps not. We can spin it as ‘So close! Next year!’ but reality is Wright State should be huge favorites again. And can we really move on from a Coach that has done so much for the program (and our most famous athletic alum loves?).
Frustrating end to a pretty frustrating season.
UIC only faced two teams in the tournament and went 2-2. They beat UWM both matchups by a combined score of 16-2 (6-0 and 10-2 respectively). However, the top seed, Wright State, outscored is 21-10 (10-1 and 11-9 respectively).
And in my opinion the second game wasn’t even that close. This team never had it. They frequently couldn’t score. Their pitching was taxed. Alex Padilla, an All American last year with an ERA of 0.45, had an ERA of 5.01 this year.
Wright State is far and away a superior program. We won last year, it’s true, and had a hell of a team. However, they also had injuries which aided our path. They have serious, big time recruits and they were even ranked part of last year. We don’t recruit the likes of the players they do.
So what do we do? The Chancellor stated baseball as a marquee UIC program. Do we make a change? For the facilities we have and the money we put in the program, we need more. But was the season as much of a failure as I’m thinking? Perhaps not. We can spin it as ‘So close! Next year!’ but reality is Wright State should be huge favorites again. And can we really move on from a Coach that has done so much for the program (and our most famous athletic alum loves?).
Frustrating end to a pretty frustrating season.
