BB: LL: Liberty League

djm222ball · March 06, 2011, 10:37:35 PM

Rochester off to a good start....couple of nice wins!

baseballislife · March 12, 2011, 05:33:21 PM

Incredibly close games down in Florida for Rochester. Seven out of their nine games have come down to the last AB with the winning runs for one of the teams in scoring position. Two of them went extra innings. The first three of them went UR's way, but the last four have not. At 4-5, they finish with a tough Emory team on Sunday night. I have never seen so many close games in a row. The parity in the UAA is very apparent.

These trips are great for seeing what teams have in their "deck of cards", and with so many close games, I think it will help them later in the season.

The rest of the Liberty League (except Union) arrived in Florida this weekend for games over the next week.

DefenseWins · March 15, 2011, 02:03:06 PM

I know it's early and he has only had one start. But my early pick for Pitcher of the year is the Laracuente (spelling???) kid from Skidmore. Was an anchor for that staff last year when they won the LL. Nasty stuff from what I saw in UR during the tournament.

baseballislife · March 15, 2011, 07:50:30 PM

Big early match-up next weekend when Skidmore travels to UR for opening LL weekend. I'm sure UR will be looking to exact some revenge from last year. Lots of new faces on both teams. Hopefully the weather will cooperate!

BaseB13 · March 16, 2011, 11:43:09 AM

Quote from: DefenseWins on March 15, 2011, 02:03:06 PM
I know it's early and he has only had one start. But my early pick for Pitcher of the year is the Laracuente (spelling???) kid from Skidmore. Was an anchor for that staff last year when they won the LL. Nasty stuff from what I saw in UR during the tournament.

He's a solid arm. Their other top guy Brucato is a player too. He received no run support last year but was real solid. They have two very good arms that will keep them in any game. Key will be finding some young guys to step up in the infield.

UR lost some close ones in UAA's and I see St. Lawrence lost their first few also...

djm222ball · March 16, 2011, 12:12:26 PM

I agree, both of those Skidmore pitchers a great! They will be tough all season long with those 2 in the front of the rotation

BBFan62 · March 16, 2011, 01:50:08 PM

Quote from: BaseB13 on March 16, 2011, 11:43:09 AM
Quote from: DefenseWins on March 15, 2011, 02:03:06 PM
I know it's early and he has only had one start. But my early pick for Pitcher of the year is the Laracuente (spelling???) kid from Skidmore. Was an anchor for that staff last year when they won the LL. Nasty stuff from what I saw in UR during the tournament.

He's a solid arm. Their other top guy Brucato is a player too. He received no run support last year but was real solid. They have two very good arms that will keep them in any game. Key will be finding some young guys to step up in the infield.

UR lost some close ones in UAA's and I see St. Lawrence lost their first few also...

Well, the fun does begin early as UR opens against Skidmore and follows with Clarkson. As we saw in Florida, UR has some growing pains and also some injuries to contend with.
Even though UR has some questions, they did show they will be competitive. Now, if Ma nature cooperates, we'll be okay!
All the LL teams lost key players and will need to have the new players (Freshmen and transfers) contribute. The veterans will also need to elevate their game.

reddragon00 · March 16, 2011, 05:24:55 PM

Weather Looks good.....so far! RPI looks really solid but got smoked by Brockport. See how they rebound against Cortland. UR struggled in UAA play and it looks like the "jackets maybe in for a rebuilding year. Why so many Freshman playing? Wonder if the older players aren't that good. Heard that they lost some players for the year already!!!!! Interested to see the start up of the season in the SUNYAC and LL!

Ron Ron · March 16, 2011, 06:27:03 PM

Skidmore got stomped by Kenyon today. I said it before the season and I'll say it again today: If I were skidmore, I'd be worried about their pitching depth. Brucato and Laracuente are dominant 1-2, but after them, it's a few freshmen and sophs that haven't pitched much (or at all). They needed a position player to finish the game today, that sends me a warning sign. Obviously it's early, but could be Brucato, Laracuente, pray for rain...

BaseB13 · March 17, 2011, 01:31:27 PM

Quote from: Ron Ron on March 16, 2011, 06:27:03 PM
Skidmore got stomped by Kenyon today. I said it before the season and I'll say it again today: If I were skidmore, I'd be worried about their pitching depth. Brucato and Laracuente are dominant 1-2, but after them, it's a few freshmen and sophs that haven't pitched much (or at all). They needed a position player to finish the game today, that sends me a warning sign. Obviously it's early, but could be Brucato, Laracuente, pray for rain...

Probably just saving legit arms for the rest of the week. No need to waste an arm when you're getting beat pretty good on a spring trip.

BBFan62 · March 17, 2011, 02:09:17 PM

Quote from: BaseB13 on March 17, 2011, 01:31:27 PM
Quote from: Ron Ron on March 16, 2011, 06:27:03 PM
Skidmore got stomped by Kenyon today. I said it before the season and I'll say it again today: If I were skidmore, I'd be worried about their pitching depth. Brucato and Laracuente are dominant 1-2, but after them, it's a few freshmen and sophs that haven't pitched much (or at all). They needed a position player to finish the game today, that sends me a warning sign. Obviously it's early, but could be Brucato, Laracuente, pray for rain...

Probably just saving legit arms for the rest of the week. No need to waste an arm when you're getting beat pretty good on a spring trip.

I think giving your pitchers a few innings throughout the trip serves them well. Why save arms? Florida means nothing other than padding the wins, depending upon the caliber of the competition. What counts is the LL season and playoffs. Win the tournament and, regardless of your record, you're in. So, the first goal is to be one of the 4 teams.

In regards to RedDragons comments........Yep UR lost a freshman and a key player for the year. We had another injury, but that player should be able to comeback, although, if he does, he may miss a start or two. We won't know for sure for about a week or so.

Ron Ron · March 17, 2011, 03:41:51 PM

what happened to Kowal from Rochester? Wasn't he only a frosh last year?

spectator123 · March 17, 2011, 05:38:33 PM

Quote from: Ron Ron on March 17, 2011, 03:41:51 PM
what happened to Kowal from Rochester? Wasn't he only a frosh last year?

Kowal did not come back to school in the fall.

BBFan62 · March 17, 2011, 08:28:41 PM

Quote from: Ron Ron on March 17, 2011, 03:41:51 PM
what happened to Kowal from Rochester? Wasn't he only a frosh last year?

Rochester lost Kowal due to academic reasons and Guski to graduation. The rest were cut, due to a strong class of incoming arms..............7 guys over 90........oh wait, too much Irish beer and wishful thinking. back to the drawing board.

scscoach · March 20, 2011, 09:56:05 PM

Quote from: Ron Ron on March 16, 2011, 06:27:03 PM
Skidmore got stomped by Kenyon today. I said it before the season and I'll say it again today: If I were skidmore, I'd be worried about their pitching depth. Brucato and Laracuente are dominant 1-2, but after them, it's a few freshmen and sophs that haven't pitched much (or at all). They needed a position player to finish the game today, that sends me a warning sign. Obviously it's early, but could be Brucato, Laracuente, pray for rain...

Skidmore went 7-1 on the Florida trip. As for the rotation, Brucato and Laracuente are solid at the top. It looks like the #3 and #4 guys are Keysor and Rudman. Keysor was the setup man last year and posted a 2.10 ERA while averaging more than a strike out per inning. Rudman was the closer and posted a 0.68 ERA with 7 saves while being named to the LL 1st team as a relif pitcher. Both are off to good starts. Keysor left after 7 with a 4-2 lead in his first start but did not get the win. In his second start (on 3 days rest) he took a 2 hitter into the 7th before running out of gas, but still got the win. Rudman got one start in Florida and got the win while only allowing one unearned run and 3 hits in a 7-inning game. Skidmore used position players to finish up the 15-2 loss to save arms for the upcoming 4 games they had scheduled in the next two days. It looks like Martins will be the setup guy and Stafutti the closer. I'm optomistic about the staff but I'm also a Skidmore fan. Time will tell, but no one is praying for rain yet.