Maybe we need a coach that berates his players in the dugout on National TV, that will get us to the 'show'!!!

Vt is in at 2.79 with one of your starters in at 3.13. Hitting ebs and flows, pitching keeps you in the game and holds on when you have a lead.

We don't have a Canaday, Frahm, Pickens. etc. We also don't have an elite hitter(s). We have very nice solid hitters. But as much as the offense was very good, top in the country, it is also vulnerable to elite pitching...... Even the top OKC teams can score 4-5 runs against other elite pitchers.... Can we?

for special situations last night? Heck, they were moving players around like chess pieces. Infield -> Outfield; Outfield -> Infield; left -> right; right -> left; bench -> field; field -> bench. All of it even mid inning sometimes. I kind of see us as a really good travel team with great 1st line players but the coaches are all parents of the 1st line players. The kids on the bench don't get a lot of playing time until those front line players move on. I know our SOS has left a lot to be desired recently which means we have to win. A lot. That means we have to play those front line players. A Lot. BUT, it kills us at the end of the year. They are worn down, all their tendencies are now on tape and the bench players haven't gotten a lot run in live game situations. When was the last time we saw Pete pull a player mid inning for a bonehead play? Think any of the 4 coaches from yesterday would hesitate to do that?

pitching. When I say pitching I mean we need mazz's stuff with more locational consistency and a demeanor change, a healthy Bree, and our new Sophmore Avery with a change or something off speed. When I say hitting, I mean the ability to extend at bats vs best pitching and then hitting a mistake squarely for production. Some of our hitters are close, but many need to take the next step - can they? Not sure...you dont see elite elite pitching every day to get better on...

You said it better than I did We’re not far off on talent. Some of it is consistency, some is mental toughness at the highest level. We had some clutch moments in season with walkoffs and some clutch moments vs Akron. Now we need to battle through bs some of the elite talent and mentally toughest players in the game Easier said than done

VT has its moments of lights out performances but then has times that it seems like nothing is clicking. I think our staff has very talented pitchers but not sure what a coach can do keep them more consistent. The second thing I see is that the teams in the world series are hitting on all cylinders at the end of the year and for whatever reason VT does not. They look a step behind what they were earlier in the season. My guess is by the end they have traveled so much because of the lack of home games (No ones fault except Blacksburg's weather) that they are tired, plus things like final exams etc. do not help. Coach may need to try some different stuff to remedy this.

Statistically our offense can compete with these teams for sure. Just need our pitching to continue taking steps forward.

We had pitching that had proven to be good enough (see uva & Duke games) to get us to Supers if they were a) healthy and b) clutch enough to hit their spots at the right times in the right games Our offense actually let us down in the last 5 games aside from one magic inning vs a team we had no business trailing 6-1 We have great hitters but so far they’ve not proven to be able to rise to the biggest of occasions (key moment vs FSU, runners on vs LSU) in postseason like we saw from UCLA, Texas, Bama, TT who time and again extended or won games with huge moment hits or HR late ** Edited by hokiepro at 6/2/2026, 7:00:33 AM

Just think what Tincher & Rochard or Lemley, for that matter, would be like with our current hitters.