I would say at the point in the game where Teel was put in, it was the right choice. Teel is easily a plus defender in the outfield over Stephan. Could always still pinch hit Stephan if it came to that. But putting Teel in LF there was the right move. Plus get him a little more experience in a high-pressure game.
1 Like
According to BOC Teel is our best defensive OFer, apparently even better than Whalen. You saw a glimpse of that when he made a diving catch against someone (might’ve been VT I can’t remember).
I do love Tony though, it’s a testament to how deep our offense has been this year that’s he’s been pushed out of the lineup. He’s a REALLY good college baseball player.
2 Likes
Maybe a hot take? Whalen is a good defensive outfielder because of speed and he’s tough as nails. His angles leave a decent bit to be desired.
1 Like
Whalen has been great for us all season, but yes that is shown on his film. Still a very good CF’er. He had been almost an automatic hit most of the season, picked a really terrible time to go MIA at the plate (his walk-off error-inducing FC against Miss St aside).
2 Likes
@UVApride7 mentioned it earlier, but trying to lift so many balls today was bizarre. The ball hit anywhere near CF was a death trap. Games like this one bug me so much. Just a couple better coaching moves, a couple more quality pitches, or putting bat on ball (not even for a hit) wins you this game.
1 Like
Whalen has been the beneficiary of good BABIP luck this year, and is hitting a bit of a regression to the mean. Love him as a player but despite his average being close to .400 at one point he never really ‘felt’ like a .400 hitter if that makes sense.
Brian O’Connor’s old employer (Barry O’s Tavern) has been doing Omahoos t-shirts every time we make it to the CWS since way back…
2 Likes
No clue who’s going to win this game, but one thing is definitely true: Our vaunted bats better show the f up on Sunday afternoon.
Both of these teams have crushed very good pitching tonight.
4 Likes
I think the wind died down a lot. Supposedly a strong headwind against the batter during the day today, clearly died down a bit based off all teams’ scoring.
Lots of line drives in the gaps though, including the game winner. Neither team this afternoon did much of that. Infield grounders and fly balls into the wind.
Florida State getting screwed on that call has me worried they’ll be amped up for our game. Really would prefer not not go out in 2 games back to back years 
When do the high school commits have to decide to be in the draft or come to uva?
If a player gets drafted they have until July 25th to sign with the organization that drafted them. So that’s the cutoff date, though nowadays if a guy gets drafted out of HS it means they’re probably planning on going pro. You’ll see a handful of prospects get taken on a flyer in the late rounds and end up in college but it’s not a ton.
2 Likes
ACC pretty good at not closing out games so far
3 Likes
https://x.com/uvabaseball/status/1802389266086887896?s=46&t=WJO4FuELyYld9cQ4Y92CZw
New lineup today as we look for a spark offensively. Interesting to me that Whalen is out, although he has faded of late. Really pulling for Stephan to do well today.
3 Likes
It’s surprising, Whalen’s been in a massive slump recently but he’s got a near .500 average against lefties and you’re sacrificing defense in the OF by benching him. Stephan hasn’t logged many at bats against LHP’s over the past couple months. We’ll see how it works out.
2 Likes
Obviously Oak is a top 3 coach and I’m just a guy writing on the internet, but it’s interesting to me that Whalen is the one potentially in a late pinch hit situation and not Diddy.
2 Likes
Main difference is Didawick is getting on base a little more so far in the postseason and has the major power advantage. If anything I think you see Whalen come on as a defensive substitution if we have a lead.
2 Likes
0-0 after 1. JW looking sharp.
Jay looks much more in control today than he did Saturday. Not that he was bad, but in comparison to the MSU game the week before he was flat and just battled to keep KSU down. Not throwing as hard today as against MSU.
1 Like