Baylor Bears vs. Tulane Green Wave
Soph. LHP Cory VanAllen vs. Jr. LHP J.R. Crowell
General Impression
Once again, the bigger conference (Texas/Big12) disposes pretty easily of Conference USA's powerhouse Tulane. Tulane has managed 3 runs in this tournament, despite their stellar hitting stats. They'll have another tough assignment today as they face Team USA Invitee and next year's Baylor ace Cory VanAllen. Van Allen will need to keep Tulane in check, because Baylor has been struggling to hit the ball themselves.
Baylor's Starting Pitcher
Soph. LHP Cory Van Allen has had a solid year with a 2 bad starts that have been stat-wreckers for him. He has been steady for the most part and consistent and has shown flashes of dominance. He will be Baylor's ace next year, and he's one of the most talented left handers in the country. While there was some question as to who is the #3 starter on Tulane, there is no doubt that Van Allen gets the ball in this game. He's been there #3 all year and he could be the #2 and even ace on most teams in the country. 8-4, 3.86 ERA, opponents bat .286 against him and he's given up 11 gopher balls. My guess is he gives up 3-4 runs in his outing.
Tulane's Starting Pitcher
Tulane starts junior LH J.R.Crowell. In a pitching staff that consists of Micah Owings and Brian Bogusevic, there is a good dropoff with Crowell. Crowell's record is deceiving and he is very hittable. He's 10-1 on the year because he gets good run support, but opponents are batting .265 off of him, and he posts an ERA of 5.00 on the year. He's 2-1 with a 7.63 ERA in Conference USA play, in which he only threw 16 IP. He didnt get the call to start in regionals because of inconsistency in Conf USA tournament, he got smacked around for 6 ER and 7 hits in 4 IP by UAB. He didnt pitch in regionals because of it, and his last start was the deciding game 3 in supers against Rice in which he gave up 6 hits and 3 runs in 6 IP.
Baylor's Advantage
Baylor has a solid guy on the mound with huge upside. 3rd rounder out of high school. This guy has the potential to shut down Tulane's lineup. Will he is another question. If he struggles Baylor has the bullpen advantage. They have 3 guys they can run out there, while Tulane really has 1, maybe 2. Baylor has the momentum advantage, beating Oregon State in extras, and looking forward to today's game against Tulane. Word from the CWS is a few of Tulanes players were so disappointed by losing to Texas, they were crying after the game - others are very disappointed. Not the confidence you want in a team that is going against Big12 runner up Baylor.
Tulane's Advantage
Hitting. Hitting. Hitting. Tulane has been shut down, scoring 0 runs against Texas and 3 late runs against Oregon State. Their bats have gone cold, and they face a tough lefty today. But Baylor is terrible at the plate, and they struggle to put up runs.
Bottom Line
Another game where the odds may dictate the play. I don't have that much of a problem going with 2 huge underdogs and getting the split on a day I feel the dogs will go 1-1. Tulane is overvalued on the line. Baylor has the better pitcher on the mound, but Tulane has the better offense. Baylor has the momentum edge, but they are lucky to be here right now and they were outplayed by a poor Oregon State team. Tulane is disappointed to be in the loser's bracket. Baylor has the bullpen edge which is huge in the loser's bracket. But even after all of that is said, these loser's bracket games can be slugfests, and I think you're about to see plenty of runs scored in this one. This game comes down to the Baylor bats, and I think they find some ways to jump out ahead of Tulane on their inconsistent 3rd starter.
My Line
Tulane -140
Current Line
Tulane -176
My Play
NO PLAY
Action Junkies Play
(1.5 units) Baylor +161
I AM NOT PLAYING THIS GAME. Too tough to call. If you must have action, and you played the day game underdog, play Baylor and get the split. You obviously have to keep the units the same exact units as the Arizona State play, if you trailed on that one, or you defeat the purpose of the play. If you go 1-1, you have a profit. 2-0 is a bonus. You also may want to wait on the results of this ASU game. If ASU wins, just call it a day. If they lose, maybe you can try to get the split if you want action.
Best of luck.
Soph. LHP Cory VanAllen vs. Jr. LHP J.R. Crowell
General Impression
Once again, the bigger conference (Texas/Big12) disposes pretty easily of Conference USA's powerhouse Tulane. Tulane has managed 3 runs in this tournament, despite their stellar hitting stats. They'll have another tough assignment today as they face Team USA Invitee and next year's Baylor ace Cory VanAllen. Van Allen will need to keep Tulane in check, because Baylor has been struggling to hit the ball themselves.
Baylor's Starting Pitcher
Soph. LHP Cory Van Allen has had a solid year with a 2 bad starts that have been stat-wreckers for him. He has been steady for the most part and consistent and has shown flashes of dominance. He will be Baylor's ace next year, and he's one of the most talented left handers in the country. While there was some question as to who is the #3 starter on Tulane, there is no doubt that Van Allen gets the ball in this game. He's been there #3 all year and he could be the #2 and even ace on most teams in the country. 8-4, 3.86 ERA, opponents bat .286 against him and he's given up 11 gopher balls. My guess is he gives up 3-4 runs in his outing.
Tulane's Starting Pitcher
Tulane starts junior LH J.R.Crowell. In a pitching staff that consists of Micah Owings and Brian Bogusevic, there is a good dropoff with Crowell. Crowell's record is deceiving and he is very hittable. He's 10-1 on the year because he gets good run support, but opponents are batting .265 off of him, and he posts an ERA of 5.00 on the year. He's 2-1 with a 7.63 ERA in Conference USA play, in which he only threw 16 IP. He didnt get the call to start in regionals because of inconsistency in Conf USA tournament, he got smacked around for 6 ER and 7 hits in 4 IP by UAB. He didnt pitch in regionals because of it, and his last start was the deciding game 3 in supers against Rice in which he gave up 6 hits and 3 runs in 6 IP.
Baylor's Advantage
Baylor has a solid guy on the mound with huge upside. 3rd rounder out of high school. This guy has the potential to shut down Tulane's lineup. Will he is another question. If he struggles Baylor has the bullpen advantage. They have 3 guys they can run out there, while Tulane really has 1, maybe 2. Baylor has the momentum advantage, beating Oregon State in extras, and looking forward to today's game against Tulane. Word from the CWS is a few of Tulanes players were so disappointed by losing to Texas, they were crying after the game - others are very disappointed. Not the confidence you want in a team that is going against Big12 runner up Baylor.
Tulane's Advantage
Hitting. Hitting. Hitting. Tulane has been shut down, scoring 0 runs against Texas and 3 late runs against Oregon State. Their bats have gone cold, and they face a tough lefty today. But Baylor is terrible at the plate, and they struggle to put up runs.
Bottom Line
Another game where the odds may dictate the play. I don't have that much of a problem going with 2 huge underdogs and getting the split on a day I feel the dogs will go 1-1. Tulane is overvalued on the line. Baylor has the better pitcher on the mound, but Tulane has the better offense. Baylor has the momentum edge, but they are lucky to be here right now and they were outplayed by a poor Oregon State team. Tulane is disappointed to be in the loser's bracket. Baylor has the bullpen edge which is huge in the loser's bracket. But even after all of that is said, these loser's bracket games can be slugfests, and I think you're about to see plenty of runs scored in this one. This game comes down to the Baylor bats, and I think they find some ways to jump out ahead of Tulane on their inconsistent 3rd starter.
My Line
Tulane -140
Current Line
Tulane -176
My Play
NO PLAY
Action Junkies Play
(1.5 units) Baylor +161
I AM NOT PLAYING THIS GAME. Too tough to call. If you must have action, and you played the day game underdog, play Baylor and get the split. You obviously have to keep the units the same exact units as the Arizona State play, if you trailed on that one, or you defeat the purpose of the play. If you go 1-1, you have a profit. 2-0 is a bonus. You also may want to wait on the results of this ASU game. If ASU wins, just call it a day. If they lose, maybe you can try to get the split if you want action.
Best of luck.