FWST: UCLA ace baffles TCU, leaving Frogs one loss from elimination

[TopFrog]

[SIZE=12pt]FWST: UCLA ace baffles TCU, leaving Frogs one loss from elimination[/SIZE]

By STEFAN STEVENSON
sstevenson@star-telegram.com

OMAHA, Neb. -- All season long TCU has seen for itself how effective a dominating pitcher can be against even the most powerful offense. Its own left-handed ace, Matt Purke, has done it on several occasions, including Saturday against Florida State in the opening round of the College World Series.

Monday night at Rosenblatt Stadium, it was UCLA's Gerrit Cole's turn to shine in front of 23,345 in attendance. And for six innings, he did. ...

 

[TopFrog]

A guy who can shut down our offense like Cole did most of the night, you just have to tip your cap to him ...

 

[HFrog1999]

He pitched a hell of a game. I consider it a compliment that UCLA saved him for the Horned Frogs. Our guys didn't quit last night and played a good game.

 

[tcuball3]

There are major league teams that would have struggled to beat Cole last night, Fla State is not nearly the team that UCLA is in terms of pitching talent so I hope we can get on them early again. It would be great to play with a nice lead so Maxwell can relax and do his thing

 

[SnoSki]

QUOTE(tcuball3 @ Jun 22 2010, 09:40 AM) [snapback]585719[/snapback]
There are major league teams that would have struggled to beat Cole last night, Fla State is not nearly the team that UCLA is in terms of pitching talent so I hope we can get on them early again. It would be great to play with a nice lead so Maxwell can relax and do his thing

I was reading their forum last night, and they couldnt agree on who to start...either Gilmartin again or one of the bullpen guys.

 

[weklfrog]

QUOTE(SnoSkiDrew @ Jun 22 2010, 07:46 AM) [snapback]585725[/snapback]
I was reading their forum last night, and they couldnt agree on who to start...either Gilmartin again or one of the bullpen guys.

I vote for Gilmartin. He was in the running for Frogs MVP for Saturday's game.

 

[Mike Brooks]

He made 97 mph look effortless and his off speed stuff was wicked as well. Saying that, we had some opportunities including Weik's near miss 2 run Home run. We will get him next time or at least have fun trying.

 

[TopFrog]

QUOTE(HFrog1999 @ Jun 22 2010, 08:00 AM) [snapback]585656[/snapback]
Our guys didn't quit last night and played a good game.


Some early chances to get to him, things didn't go our way. Joe YK's near miss on that smash down the line would have been huge and maybe a game changer.

 

[dahozzman]

QUOTE(tcuball3 @ Jun 22 2010, 09:40 AM) [snapback]585719[/snapback]
There are major league teams that would have struggled to beat Cole last night, Fla State is not nearly the team that UCLA is in terms of pitching talent so I hope we can get on them early again. It would be great to play with a nice lead so Maxwell can relax and do his thing


Lots of teams have won this thing playing through the loser's bracket, including ourselves. So every reason to look at this with a glass is half full view.

We just barely beat Cole in the first game of the Supers and then primarily because our pitcher threw one of the games of his life. The good news is you probably won't see Cole again in all cases. And the pitcher I'd expect you face after you get by FSU, Klein, isn't as concerning. As I recall, we lit him up for 7 runs last weekend.

I have every expectation that y'all have a whole lot more ball to play.

 

[monkeyfishfrog]

The good news is our squad got to go up and see Cole at least 3 times each at the plate. It's tough when you've never seen a guy before, his stuff can get you off guard. But our guys started getting to him a bit at the end and I do think they will have an idea what he's got if we do face him again. That alone should be a bit of an advantage for us. We've seen their best already and will be ready for it. They have not seen our best and won't be ready for it.

That said:

The key is to beat FSU Wednesday. GO FROGS!

 

[Frogs1983]

QUOTE(weklfrog @ Jun 22 2010, 09:49 AM) [snapback]585730[/snapback]
I vote for Gilmartin. He was in the running for Frogs MVP for Saturday's game.

LOL. Just remember our guy(Maxwell) had a bad outing last time also. As we are counting on him to pitch to his normal form,I'm sure FSU is also thinking the same thing about Gilmartin.That's the great thing about baseball. One day you're a goat,the next day(or 2) you can be a hero!

 

[Frogs1983]

QUOTE(monkeyfishfrog @ Jun 22 2010, 10:10 AM) [snapback]585751[/snapback]
The good news is our squad got to go up and see Cole at least 3 times each at the plate. It's tough when you've never seen a guy before, his stuff can get you off guard. But our guys started getting to him a bit at the end and I do think they will have an idea what he's got if we do face him again. That alone should be a bit of an advantage for us. We've seen their best already and will be ready for it. They have not seen our best and won't be ready for it.

That said:

The key is to beat FSU Wednesday. GO FROGS!

Good news is he threw so many pitches last night I doubt we'll have to see him if we make to Friday and Saturday.I was kind of surprised the Coach let him go into the 8th with as many pitches he had thrown and other games down the road to play.

 

[TopFrog]

Congrats to Gerrish, too, for settling everything down and giving us a chance to get back in it. Solid relief outing.

 

[jake102]

Cole will be ready for Saturday. Make no doubt about it.

 

[windfarm]

I know Cole threw a lot of pitches, but if we made it to Saturday, I'd have to think that we'd see him again.

 

[ectofrog]

QUOTE(windfarm @ Jun 22 2010, 10:54 AM) [snapback]585796[/snapback]
I know Cole threw a lot of pitches, but if we made it to Saturday, I'd have to think that we'd see him again.


Yeah, four days rest will be enough for a guy like that. I said last night that we were gonna have to beat this guy to make the final. I still believe that, though I think if we make it that far that we'll have a better chance to beat him the second time around.

 

[Virginia Frog]

QUOTE(Jake102 @ Jun 22 2010, 11:53 AM) [snapback]585792[/snapback]
Cole will be ready for Saturday. Make no doubt about it.

Cole was teetering there in the later innings and TCU did in effect "knock him out." It was just too late in the game for a comeback.

If we see him again (HOPEFULLY!), I don't think he will be as insurmountable as on Monday nite. The TCU batters have a "read" on him and that could make a big difference in our hitting damage to them.

(JUST "IF", That 2nd inning homer-foul ball had a litte right rotation and dropped in "fair." It'd been 2-1 Lizards over Bears --- we HATE bears, right- or just Texan Bears! --- and Cole may have deconstructed earlier. The boy's a talent alright, but I think TCU can "get" to him given another shot at him.

(I hate this re-match vs. FlaSt on Wed nite---we didn't do too well 'gainst the opponent in the last big "payback" game we were in: BoiseSt vs. TCU at the Fiesta. Maybe I'm worried about nothing, I hope so!)

Go Frog strikers!