QBs

Daryll Clark returns as a 5th-year senior with an additional year of prep school under his belt, so he’s been out of high school for 6 years. Dude’s experienced. His two primary backups, however, have both departed. Paul Cianciolo graduated (presumably to pursue his minor league baseball career) and Pat Devlin transferred after it was clear he would not be the Nittany Lions’ starter, even with Clark banged up late last season. In steps erstwhile Michigan commit Kevin Newsome, an early-enrolled true freshman to back up Clark.

Analysis

Clark is coming off an all-Big Ten year, and though he had a couple rough patches after being concussed in the Ohio State game, he is a heck of a QB, with a ton of experience. It’s the depth that kills PSU this year. Though Newsome enrolled early, the returns on his performances in spring practice were not so good. At this point, he can run much better than he can throw. If Clark were to go down, the Nittany Lion offense could become one-dimensional fairly quickly.

RBs

Evan Royster and Stephfon Green, junior and senior respectively, both return for Penn State. They were among the top rushers in a league that was full of them. Behind them, seemingly all the important backups return, though with the only experienced fullback departing in Dan Lawlor, there is a question about who will play the position (or if they’ll use one extensively at all).

Analysis

Both Royster and Green had exceptional years last year. Royster is the workhorse back, who gets the lion’s share of the carries, and Green is a change-of-pace speedy guy. He’s more apt to get the ball in space and make something happen for the offense. With nearly the entire OL gone, there is a question about how productive these two can continue to be.

Receivers

On top of Michael Robinson (and of course the suffocating defense), the three freshman wide receivers, Butler, Norwood, and Williams, were the stars of the surprise 2005 Orange Bowl team. They all depart, leaving Notably White junior Graham Zug as the leading returner, and likely the top WR in 2009. Joining him on the flank will be Brett Brackett. The tight end position is aespecially strong, with seniors Mickey Shuler and Andrew Quarless.

Analysis

Though the Nittany Lions surely have capable players stepping in, it’s going to be hard to replace the top 3 targets from last year, especially with the number of cretive ways the staff got the ball into Williams’s hands. If Quarless can stay out of trouble, I forsee a more TE-focused passing game in 2009, since there are two very capable players at the position, and both seniors. With the running game the likely focus of the offense, somebody like Zug or even Derek Moye will have to stretch the field and keep defenses honest. If Clark has enough time to find them downfield, their could still be some big plays in the passing game.

Offensive Line

From Penn State’s fairly awesome offensive line last year, three players were named all-Big Ten. Unfortunately, those three players are all gone. Stefen Wisniewski returns at a guard spot (though he’ll make the move to center), and right tackle Dennis Landolt is back for his senior year. The other three spots are up for grabs, with Lou Eliades penciled in at one of the guard spots. Redshirt sophomores Johhny Troutman and JB Walton will likely man the remaining tackle and guard spots, respectively.

Analysis

Losing three OL starters definitely hurts, especially when the three were named all-conference their senior year. Penn State has some serious re-working to do, with Wisniewski the only clear star on the line, though Landolt isn’t too far behind him, as a potential three-year starter. The other spots are all potential weaknesses, with youth and inexperience ruling the day.

Offensive Analysis

Losing the majority of the offensive line is going to hurt the run game, and also give Clark less time to pass it. With those considerations, Stephfon Green may take a few more carries away from Evan Royster this year, as Penn State may try to get the ball space to avoid the weak OL. With fewer playmakers on the edges (and with less time to throw it), the downfield passing game is likely to suffer somewhat. however, the tights ends could provide a nice security blanket for Clark, and Penn State will have to pick its chances to take shots downfield.

Penn State Defense

Defensive Line

Defensive ends Aaron Maybin and Maurice Evans both declared early for the NFL draft, leaving the Nittany Lions seriously hurting at DE. However, they are stacked at DT, With Jared Odrick and Abe Koroma returning as starters. Junior Ollie Ogbu provides some depth of very high quality. At ends, the holes will likely be filled by Eric Latimore, who is just a sophomore, and his classmate Jack Crawford.

Analysis

Evans’s early departure (and subsequent non-drafted status) leaves two questions: does Penn State not get hurt as badly by losing someone early if he wasn’t even good enough to be drafted? OR Was he that much better than the backups that he saw himself as an NFL player? Like most things, it’s probably somewhere in between. Jack Crawford, despite getting very little playing time last year (behind Maybin, Evans, and Josh Gaines who can blame him?), is expected to be the next superstar pass rusher for PSU. In the middle, the Nittany Lions have quality starters, as well as a good third optino in the form of Ollie Ogbu.

Linebackers

Only Tyrell Sales departs from the traditionally-stacked Penn State linebacking corps, and junior Navorro Bowman and senior Josh Hull will be the returning starters. Something tells me the Nittany Lions aren’t sweating that third LB spot, however, as Sean Lee returns from an ACL injury that caused him to miss all of 2008. All of the depth players also return for Penn State.

Analysis

The starters should be rockin’ as usual, since Lee was an All-Big Ten performer (some publications named him an All-American) as a junior, and Bowman took home some honors of his own last year. Even if somebody goes down, there are enough experienced players to fill in adequately, if not become stars themselves.

Defensive Backs

At long last, we come to a serious, serious weakness with the PSU defense. The entire starting backfield departs, along with a depth player. Safeties Anthony Scirotto and Mark Rubin are gone, likely to be replaced by sophomore Drew Astorino and junior Cedric Jeffries. Corners Tony Davis and Lydell Sargent will be replaced by AJ Wallace and Knowledge Timmons. The Nittany Lions also took a huge DB class in 2009, so don’t be surprised to see some freshmen on the field.

Analysis

Wallace and Timmons actually seemed to be on paths to stardom, playing key backup roles on a Nittany Lions defense in 2006 that seemed to have them poised to be multi-year starters. However, that never came to fruition, but it does mean they are plenty experienced coming into their senior years. At safety, Anthony Scirotto (when he wasn’t busy rounding up a posse, obvs) developed into a playmaker in the backfield, and Mark Rubin was good enough to be picked up by an NFL team. Replacing them will be something of a task, though Astorino has impressed in backup duty before.

Defensive Analysis

This will be a down-ish year for the Nittany Lions defense, especially in terms of pass defense. They lose the biggest pieces of their pass rush, along with all four defensive backs. QBs should have slightly more time to find receivers who should be slightly more open this year. At this point in the year, Michigan’s QB situation should be hammered out enough that the coaches will let whoever it is (likely Tate) throw the ball downfield a little bit. The inside rush doesn’t look to be quite as viable an offensive strategy – but then it didn’t look too good last year either, and Brandon Minor ran for 117 yards on 5.1 per carry.

Special Teams

Penn State’s all-time leading scorer departs in Kevin Kelly, and he had developed into a pretty darn good kicker by the time he graduated. Junior Colin Wagner got a couple chances to kick last year, and he’ll probably take over full-time in ‘09. Jeremy Boone returns for his senior year to punt in 2009.

Analysis

Boone showed off a pretty good leg last year, and though he’ll be getting more work this year, it probably means that he’ll be booming more, instead of trying to sit them down inside the 25. Losing Kelly hurts, as he was a 4-year starter, but at least Wagner hasn’t missed a field goal for Penn State yet, right?

Overall Analysis

Both offense and defense should take a step back (I think even bigger than a lot of experts think). The Nittany Lions have certainly emerged from the dark ages though, and will be near the top of the conference again this year, even if it’s only because the conference seems to be somewhat down. They should tear through lesser competition (read: entire non-conference schedule), and play it about even with the teams at the top of the Big Ten.

The final score was 10-4 and I’ll recap it in full tomorrow.  The 6th place standings as of this moment are:

Purdue plays again tomorrow against Michigan State. I’m not sure what’s up with the Saturday through Monday series, but its there at least.  We really need Michigan State to win tomorrow.  We REALLY need Illinois to win their series @Purdue next weekend.  AND we really, really need to take care of Northwestern next weekend in Evanston.  I’m not too concerned about Penn State.  They have to sweep Minnesota and sacrifice a goat to some sort of pagan Nittany god that Purdue loses at least 3 games and Michigan only takes 2 in the series against Northwestern.  That would put them tied with us for 6th, but they hold the tie breaker.  I don’t think that’s likely, but it is still a potential situation.

Our “magic tournament number” is currently 5.  That’s any combination of Michigan wins or Purdue losses.

And because this is one of those few situations where this is applicable:  Go Sparty! Beat Purdue!

Brandon Sinnery got the start in the game and he made the most of it. He lasted 6 innings giving up only 4 hits while striking out 2 (yes, that’s 0 walks). I’ll take that start any midweek.

Sinnery was also aided by some early run support. Michigan scored 5 runs in the first inning. Nick Urban had a RBI single, followed by a 2 RBI single by Chris Berset and a 2 RBI double by Alan Oaks. That kind of support offensively makes pitching much easier. I will note that Urban left the game in this inning. It was right after stealing second base. I missed the broadcast call, but I would imagine its either a leg or hand injury. If anyone has any news, drop a comment.

Matt Miller, Kolby Wood, and Tyler Burgoon combined to finish the game.  Burgoon sounded to be pitching well.  He struck out the first hitters of the 9th on 6 pitches.

After the 1st inning, the offense went into hibernation.  We did get picked off twice, but one sounded to be a clear balk.  The pitcher from WMU stepped toward the plate then submarined the throw to first.  The step toward the plate is a balk.  It didn’t get called and Berset was left confused and out to dry.  Coach Maloney gave the umpire a piece of his mind, but it didn’t change anything.

So that’s all well and good, but it does nothing for us making it to the BTT.

BigTen Tournament Bid

As you can see, Michigan is just half a game back of the now coveted 6-spot, the final team to make the BigTen Tournament.  Our “magic number” is technically 7.  We need a combination of 7 Michigan wins or Purdue losses in order to lock up the tournament bid.  The problem is we only have 6 games left.  The other problem is we play Minnesota this weekend.  Minnesota is a very good team, and we’ll get to that preview in the next few days.

The good news is we finish with Northwestern in Evanston, a team that just isn’t good.  The other good news is Purdue has a very tough schedule down the stretch, facing off with Michigan State in East Lansing where they are as good as anyone else in the conference, and then, they face Illinois who will be looking to clinch a top seed in the tournament.  I don’t see Purdue winning more than 2 games in that stretch, so Michigan has a chance to make up ground.

Going into this weekend’s games, I think Michigan takes the 6th spot with a 4-3 record down the stretch while Purdue goes 3-3, missing the post season by half a game.

Rooting interests this weekend:

• Michigan over Minnesota.  Obviously.  We need this series.
• Michigan State over Purdue.  Yet again, obviously.  I don’t think they sweep, but they need to take at least two of three.
• Iowa not to get swept in Iowa City vs Penn State.  Penn State has an outside shot at taking the 6th spot, but would take some major upsets.
• Good Weather.  We’re already behind in the loss column.  We can’t afford to not win.  While losing may be worse, not playing could be just as bad down the stretch.  There is already rain in the forecast for this Saturday (game 2 vs Minnesota) and next Thursday (game 1 @NU).

Minnesota comes to town Friday at 6:35pm.  More on them soon.

Western Michigan
2008 Record: 9-4 (6-2 MAC)
Key losses: S Louis Delmas, LB Austin Pritchard, WR Jamarko Simmons
Key returning players: QB Tim Hiller, RB Brandon West
Projection: Same. Sure, teams lose players to the NFL every year, but it’s not fair to the Broncos (nor would it be to basically any MAC team) to assume they’ll be able to replace a second-round pick in the secondary. However, the offense should really continue trucking behind the QB play of Tim Hiller. The Broncos should be about the same as they were last year, though they’ll rely even more heavily on a high-flying offense to make up for a much weaker defense.

Notre Dame
2008 Record: 7-6 (0-1 Syracuse)
Key losses: WR David Grimes, S David Bruton
Key returning players: QB Jimmy Clausen, RB Armando Allen, WR Golden Tate
Projection: Up. Based on roster composition alone, the Irish should be pretty rockin’ this year. One impoortant caveat: you could say that about the last two years as well, and they were somewhere between terrible and mediocre over each of the previous two seasons. Is Charlie Weis just one big, fat FAIL, or will he start to get the talent he has assembled to perform? There’s no excuse (lol book title/disingenuous motto) for the Irish to not beat up on most of their schedule this year.

Eastern Michigan
2008 Record: 3-9 (2-6 MAC)
Key losses: RB Terrence Blevins, WR Tyler Jones, LB Daniel Holtzclaw, S Jacob Wyatt
Key returning players: QB Andy Schmitt, WR Jacory Stone, LB Andre Hatchett
Projection: Up. The Eagles return some key pieces, though they also lose some important ones, the upgrade at the head coaching position appears to be a substantial one. Eastern was terrible last year, save the upset of Central Michigan in their final game of the year, and even anything approaching competency would be a leap in the right direction.

Indiana
2008 Record: 3-9 (1-7 Big Ten)
Key losses: RB Marcus Thigpen
Key returning players: QB Ben Chappell, QB/WR/? Kellen Lewis, WR/CB Ray Fisher
Projection: Same. You can tell the Indiana coaching staff is really grasping at straws in an effort to not get fired at the end of this year. They’re moving key players around (2nd-leading receiver Ray Fisher to corner, best offensive weapon Kellen Lewis all over the field, etc.), and completely revamping their schemes (reports say they’ve almost exclusively worked out of the pistol this spring). If it doesn’t work, Bill Lynch and co. are probably going to get the axe.

Michigan State
2008 Record: 9-4 (6-2 Big Ten)
Key losses: QB Brian Hoyer, RB Javon Ringer, S Otis Wiley
Key returning players: LB Greg Jones, WR Mark Dell
Projection: Down. The Spartans were beneficiaries of a bad Big Ten and some good luck last year. They were more like a 7-6 team than the 9-4 that they actually went. Take away 3 of their 4 most important players (the fourth is Jones), and they should be worse. Take away that luck, and they’re just a team. Adam Rittenberg will still predict that they win the National Championship.

Iowa
2008 Record: 9-4 (5-3 Big Ten)
Key losses: RB Shonn Greene, DTs Mitch King and Matt Kroul,
Key returning players: WR Andy Brodell, LBs Pat Angerer and Jeremiha Hunter, QB Ricky Stanzi
Projection: Same. The Hawkeyes lose arguably their three most important players in Greene (no, Rittenberg, you can’t just baselessly say “I think Jewel Hampton will be at least as good as they guy who won the Doak Walker Award”) and the defensive tackles. However, they upgrade slightly at almost every other position, and assuming they can stay healthier than they have in the past couple years, they should be about as good as they were in ‘08. Of course last year, they were something of an anti-MSU, and lost a couple games they shouldn’t have. The Hawkeyes will be about the same quality of team, but the record may improve.

Delaware State
2008 Record: 5-6 (5-3 MEAC)
Key losses: QB Vashon Winton, RBs Chris Strother and Kareem Jones, LB Kevin Conner
Key returning players: DB Avery Grant, WR Laronne Moore
Projection: Down, down down. For a team that wasn’t even good to begin with, losing 3 of your top 5 tacklers, your 4-year starter at QB, and your top 3 running backs can be little other than a recipe for disaster. Delaware State is a true 1-AA cupcake, and will be even worse this year than they were in 2008.

Penn State
2008 Record: 11-2 (7-1 Big Ten)
Key losses: WRs Derrick Williams, Deon Butler, and Jordan Norwood, 3 offensive linemen
Key returning players: QB Daryll Clark, RBs Evan Royster and Stephfon Green, LB Sean Lee
Projection: Down. The Spread HD worked in 2008 because Clark was on-point all year, and the Lions had the skill position talent on the outside to force defenses to spread the whole field. With Clark tailing off in the last few games (albeit due to injury, perhaps), and the OL and wideouts gone, PSU won’t be the offensive force that they were last year. Defensively, the return of Sean Lee should help in the middle. However, the top 3 defensive ends left, and #4 is out for the season with a torn ACL.

Illinois
2008 Record: 5-7 (3-5 Big Ten)
Key losses: LB Brit Miller, CB Vontae Davis, WR Will Judson
Key returning players: QB Juice Williams, WR Arrelious Benn, LB Martez Wilson
Projection: Same. Like Iowa, the record might improve, but the team will be about as good in 2009. The offense should really click with a senior Juice Williams and junior Arrelious Benn, though you could have said the same last year (and the Illini were awesome at times, just horrifically inconsistent). The defense should take major steps back with its best two players, LB Brit Miller and Vontae Davis, gone and the third best player, LB Martez Wilson, doing things like getting stabbed in a bar during the offseason.

Purdue
2008 Record: 4-8 (2-6 Big Ten)
Key losses: QBs Curtis Painter and Justin Siller, RB Kory Sheets, WRs Greg Orton and Desmond Tardy, LB Anthony Heygood, S Torri Williams
Key returning players: S Joe Holland, QB Joey Elliott
Projection: Down. Purdue sucked last year, and nearly all of their best players are leaving town because their eligibility has expired (everyone but Siller) or because they cheat on exams (Siller). Couple all that with a transition to a new offensive scheme and a plan to rely on several true freshmen despite their lack of guru approval, and Danny Hope’s first year in West Lafayette may be a difficult one. There could be a coaching upgrade as Wilford Brimley had been mailing it in the past couple years, but there is basically no talent for the Boilers to work with.

Wisconsin
2008 Record: 7-6 (3-5 Big Ten)
Key losses: RB PJ Hill, TEs Garrett Graham and Travis Beckum, LB DeAndre Levy, LB Jonathan Casillas
Key returning players: QB Dustin Sherer, WRs David Gilreath and Nick Toon, LB Jaevery McFadden
Projection: Up. The Badgers were a team that lost plenty of games they shouldn’t have, and the important question for tham is whether that was bad luck or the horrifically bad coaching ability of Bret Bielema. The early appearances are a bit of both, so the Badgers should be a bit better, but not by leaps and bounds. Hill wasn’t even Wisconsin’s best RB for much of the year, and Sherer was the better QB, despite Allan Evridge starting the year under center. Simply getting the right pieces the ball more often should help. I think Bielema has a definite ceiling, especially with players he has recruited and coached for four year.

Ohio State
2008 Record: 10-3 (7-1 Big Ten)
Key losses: RB Beanie Wells, LBs James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman, CB Malcolm Jenkins, WRs Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline
Key returning players: QB Terrelle Pryor, RB Dan Herron, CB Chimdi Chekwa
Projection: Down. The Buckeyes really should have been awesome last year, and might have been if Terrelle Pryor had started the whole year, and not been a true freshman. Alas, this was the case, and OSU’s last best chance at a national title for the next couple years leaves town with Beanie Wells and James Laurinaitis. Regardless, the Buckeyes are never going to fall completely off the map as long as Jim Tressel is the coach, so there’s a definite floor for their team. either way, they’ll take a significant step back in 2009.

Game 1

W – Ignas (3-0) L – Matt Miller (0-1) Sv – None

Chris Fetter got the shaft in this game. He pitched 8 innings, on 7 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walks, and 11 strikeouts; he didn’t get the win, much less a decision. In his longest start (pitch count 136(!)) in well over a year, he posted 4 different 3 up-3 down innings highlighted by a three strikeout inning in the fourth.

He did get into trouble in the 5th inning, but had the game still in hand. He gave up two runs on a couple hits, but with two outs, Timmy Kalczynski let a ball get by him to allow the unearned run to score from third. In the 6th, again with two outs, John Lorenz made a throwing error to allow a second unearned run to score. That’d be all the runs scored against Fetter, but it was enough to tie the game.

The Michigan offense started the game fairly well. After loading the bases to lead off the first, Mike Dufek grounded out to the second basemen allowing a run to score. The second baseman flipped to second to force LaMarre out, but the short stop’s throw to first went wild, allowing Fellows to score as well. Michigan had the early 2-0 advantage.

The bottom of the order went quietly in the 2nd, but the top of the lineup went back to work in the third. After Cislo lead off with a single, he would steal second base and set up a Ryan LaMarre RBI double.

Cislo also lead off the 5th by working a 7 pitch walk. Fellows followed with a hit by the pitch. With Cislo in scoring position once again, Ryan LaMarre singled to center to drive the run in.

The score would stay tied at 4 until the top of the 10th inning. Deese singled off Miller to start the inning and would steal second. We intentionally walked Steranka to set up a potential inning ending double play. That didn’t happen. A pair of singles later saw the Nittany Lions go up 6-4, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish

Notable Stars

• Chris Fetter – 8 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 11 K
• Kevin Cislo – 3/3 3R, BB, SB, 2B, SACB
• Ryan LaMarre – 2/3 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2B

Notable Goats

• John Lorenz – Error lead to a run
• Nick Urban – Called out on batter’s interference
• Jake McLouth – 0/3 2 K, 3 LOB

Other Notes

• Notes

Game 2

W – Eric Katzman (5-2) L – Kelley (4-4) Sv – Dufek (3)

So at least the score worked out in our favor this time. Yet again, we saw a great pitching performance nearly squandered, this time by Eric Katzman. Katzman has hit a hot streak again, and I’m hoping it continues this way for the next few weeks. In this game he went 7.1 innings, allowing 7 hits and 5 runs (2 earned), on 3 walks and 5 strikeouts. Katzman, like Fetter in game one, also threw well over his usual number of pitches, finishing with an even 120 on the day. He, again like Fetter, also had 4 different 3 up/3 down innings. If he could pitch like this every week, he’d be up for BigTen pitcher of the year with Fetter.

The one blemish on the night came in the 7th inning when Penn State scored 5 runs. Katzman allowed a double and single to open the inning, but got two quick outs via fly ball and strikeout. Things were looking good until the next batter singled up the middle to give up two runs (only earned runs of the inning). On the play, LaMarre committed a throwing error. The error lead to a run on the very next play, a single. The next batter would ground the ball to John Lorenz; unfortunately, that didn’t end the inning either. Two runners would score on the wild throw by Lorenz, plating 3 unearned runs in the frame. Michigan was down 5-2. Ball sack.

The good news is Michigan didn’t give up. In the bottom half of the 7th, Kalczynski, who would both lead off and end the inning, started things off with a solo home run. A pitching change for Penn State turned out poorly as the next batter, Toth, would be hit by the pitch followed by a Cislo walk. Fellows then sacrificed the runners over, leaving LaMarre (who also homered the inning before) with an easy two RBIs by way of the single. Dufek then cleared the bases with a home run of his own. That’s a five run inning of Michigan’s own.

LaMarre wasn’t done. The next inning, after a lead off single by Toth, he would blast his second home run of the day. Michigan then had the 9-5 lead they wouldn’t give up.

Notable Stars

• Eric Katzman – 7.1 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, W
• Ryan LaMarre – 4/5 5 RBI, 3 R, 2 HR, 2B
• Alan Oaks – 3/3 R, RBI, HR, 2 2B
• Mike Dufek – 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 K, 0 R; 1/5 2 RBI, R, HR

Notable Goats

• Ryan LaMarre – Throwing error for a run, also didn’t end the inning leading to the following:
• John Lorenz – Throwing error for 2 runs
• Tim Kalcyznski – catcher’s interference for a free base
• Coley Crank – 0/4 K as DH

Other Notes

• notes

Game 3

W – Cianciolo (2-0) L -Travis Smith (4-3) Sv – None

I made it back home to catch the last few innings of this game. I almost wish I hadn’t. Michigan threw 6 pitchers in this game. Only two, Vangheluwe and ALAN OAKS, had what I would consider to be success (not that they didn’t give up any runs, but that they didn’t give up more runs than innings pitched). The emphasis on Alan Oaks isn’t really that emphatic, he has two appearances in 2007. Those two appearances were opposite ends of the spectrum. The first was a third of an inning against EMU where he hit a couple batters and walked one to give up a run on no hits. His second came against Vandy in the regional where he pitched a scoreless/hitless 1.2 innings with a walk and a strikeout (against that year’s manbearfreak of college baseball Pedro Alvarez).

The only other good came off the bats of LaMarre, Dufek, and Crank who each homered, and Alan Oaks who went 2/5 with a double.

The rest of the game was just bad. Crank (one run) and Kalcyznski each had an error at catcher. Toth had one for good measure too (2 runs). Crank also had a passed ball for an unearned run. Kalczynski also gave up a free base to a catcher’s interference call. Twice in as many games? Timmy Kal, back of the plate, man.

Notable Stars

• Alan Oaks – 2/5 2B; 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, K, HBP

Notable Goats

• Toth, Crank, Kalczynski – reasons listed in that last paragraph of the recap
• Mike Wilson – .2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB (there were more runs, but not his fault)
• Matt Gerbe – 0.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BF
• Kevin Cislo – 0/4 3 LOB

Other Notes

• Notes

Wrap Up

We’re tied (4-way) for fifth, and only 1 game behind the first place team. That is lucky as hell after the way we’ve played the last two weekends. My expectations for the team are falling pretty fast. With the massive amount of inconsistency, added with the sloppy play all weekend on defense, I’m not sure we get higher than a 4 seed in the BTT now. But as Eric Sorenson states, it can be done:

Hmmm, with the rest of the Big 10 playing some wicked-good baseball, maybe this signifies a paradigm shift at the top. Minnesota, fresh off a series win over No. 24 Ohio State, and Illinois, who lost two of three vs. Indiana, now take the reins of the top of the conference standings. There IS a way back for the Maize and Blue though. The Wolverines host both the Illini and the Gophers starting next week with UI.

The good news is the power part of the offense seems to be clicking right now. The bad news is the manufacturing of runs is still way low. We did see a slight increase in sacrifice bunts over the last two weeks, and they did lead to some runs. That said though, Michigan still stranded 28 runners in the series. We’ve got to start getting those runs in. We hit into 4 double plays this weekend, 3 in the Game 1 loss. We struck out 27 times as well, including 12 times in the Game 1 loss and 10 in the Game 3 loss.

Tim Kalcyznski was quoted in the Daily as thus:

“This could be a turning point,” Kalczynski said. “It could go one of two ways. It could go uphill really fast or downhill really fast. It’s just a matter of how mentally tough we are and how we respond.”

Next weekend is our chance to redeem ourselves and perhaps jump ahead in the standings. Michigan hosts the top team in the BigTen standings in Illinois. The Illini sit atop alone (two teams are tied for second at 3-2) with a 4-2 record. The Illini swept Michigan State in week 1 of Big10 play, but dropped 2 games this weekend at Indiana. The Illini feature some great pitching, so it may be tough pickings for runs again this weekend.

As for the midweek, the Akron game has already been canceled due to the snow storm (ha! It’s 75 degrees where I’m at today, and that’s after a cold front). The Wednesday game versus Central Michigan is still set for 6:05pm.

I will note that I missed some Penn State hitters against Michigan pitchers, but I’m headed out for the weekend and don’t have time to get it done.  Games start at noon tomorrow (Saturday).

And a last note, quag77 left a comment stating Burgoon will be out a while.  Let’s just leave it as I am FULLY confident in their information.  That hurts the team, but I feel sorry for Tyler, he’s been doing so well.

Full Chart after the jump