UVA College World Series Preview
Friday, June 12 2009 by Tiki
On Saturday at 7pm ET, the Hoos will open play against LSU in their first ever College World Series game. LSU comes in as perhaps the top team in the nation, having won 10 games in a row, and on top of the polls. The Hoos are also riding high, having won 9 of 10, and are ranked in the top in most polls.
At this point, I am not sure who will be starting for either team. I would guess that freshman Danny Hultzen would start for the Hoos, as he has been our Friday starter for much of the year. LSU’s lineup is heavily weighted towards the left side, which is another reason to go with Hultzen, the lone lefty among Virginia’s starters.
However, it would not surprise anybody too much if Andrew Carraway started instead, as he is a senior, and is less likely to be phased by the circumstances. That said, Hultzen pitched very well in both the regional and the super regional, and never showed any butterflies.
For LSU, their top starters are senior RHP Louis Coleman, and sophomore Anthony Ranaudo. Coleman had a 13-2 record and a 2.76 ERA on the year, while Ranaudo was 10-3 with a 2.95. My understanding is that Ranaudo would be the likely starter for the Tigers.
At the plate, the top Tiger threats are juniors Blake Dean, Jarred Mitchell and Leon Landry, along with sophomore Ryan Schimpf. The quartet combined for 44 HRs and 208 RBI. All 4 are left-handed hitters which, as I mentioned, leads me to believe that Hultzen would be the best option as a starting pitcher. Incidentally, Mitchell is a WR on the LSU football team, and was a first round draft pick in this week’s MLB draft, by the Chicago White Sox.
Regardless of who starts for LSU, Coleman or Ranaudo, it is going to come down to the Hoos pitching staff being able to shut down the LSU offense. On the season, the Hoos scored more runs and had a higher batting average. However, LSU has much better power numbers, which mostly come from the players mentioned above. If Hultzen and the UVA bullpen can shut down the LSU lineup, the Hoos have a good shot at coming out on top in a low scoring game. However, considering the experience of the LSU team, and the fact that the Hoos have only scored about 4 runs per game in the NCAA tournament, it seems unlikely that the Hoos will win a slugfest.
If the Hoos come out on top, they will play their second game on Monday evening at 7 ET. That game would be against the winner of Cal St-Fullerton and Arkansas. The Titans and Razorbacks play on Saturday at 2 ET.
If the Tigers manage to take down the Hoos, the second game will be Monday afternoon at 2 ET. That game will be against the loser of Cal St-Fullerton and Arkansas.