Well...I bet the HogPen ain't got **** on the dudes always throwing frisbee beyond our leftfield wall! LOL

PigNaBlanket said:

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Wolfpack said:

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Welcome Arkansas fans! Nice to have you.

Let's cut through the crap: what are your genuine thoughts on Kopps usage?

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I've been a bit concerned about it, but there are some different factors in play with Kopps than your normal college pitcher.

1) He's 24 years old, he is physically more mature
2) He has had TJ surgery already
3) The pitches he throws are not high-stress pitches on the arm. While he does have a 90-93mph fastball, he doesn't throw it much.
4) He drinks a lot of beet juice (he has said has helped him recover)

During the 3rd regional game against Nebraska, you could see him actually getting strong the deeper into the game he went.

Watch DVH's post-game presser where he said the following:

"But obviously what a clutch performance by Kevin Kopps," Van Horn said. "I mean he just kept fighting for us. I felt like he got better as the game went on. Coach would talk to him pretty much every inning, down in the tunnel they would discuss it. We thought we'd let him go to the seventh. He wouldn't let us take him out. He had a quick inning. He comes back in the eighth and we were like, 'OK, we're going to take him out' and we would probably bring (Patrick) Wicklander in for the ninth. We scored runs and Kevin said, 'I'm going back out.' And what an incredible, incredible college pitcher."

Kopps threw 185 pitches during the Fayetteville Regional.

"It's pretty incredible," Van Horn said. "I did a little research on some of this stuff. I looked at Florida's reliever in '18 that had 37 appearances. I think Kevin has 31 now. Kevin has more innings, but I kind of compared him to that a little bit. The difference is that Kevin's 24 and that individual was 21. I talked with coach about it, just making sure we're doing the right thing. Kevin's like, 'You're doing the right thing. I'm fine. Give me the ball.' He's got a great arm action it's short, quick, a strike-throwing machine. I don't know. The kid's a warrior. He wouldn't let us take him out of the game. Yeah, I know that we have the final call there, but man, this is a team. They want Kevin on the mound and Kevin wants to be on the mound."

Kopps had no intentions of coming out of the game. He wanted to pitch the ninth inning and obviously he got his wish.

"They just asked me if I'm going to good, how I'm feeling?," Kopps said. "And I'd say, 'Yep, I do feel good.' I don't know. I just felt, good excited about the game. I was ready to finish it. They trust me and I was just ready to go.""

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Thank you for the information, great insight!

Which Wolfpack fans want to go and buy up all the beet juice in Arkansas this week?

wolfpack1437 said:

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gohogs14 said:

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EthanBarry said:

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wolfpack1437 said:

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EthanBarry said:

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Is Kopps available Friday? If so, probably only for a couple innings max. Wicklander probably goes Saturday, can State make them burn both in the same game? That would be ideal

---

I read on one of the Arkansas fan sites that they expect Wicklander to start Fri (finished by Kopps)

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That's interesting because I believe he's pitched on Saturday all year. Probably the right move though

---

He's actually been the Friday starter almost all year but pitched last Saturday because Arkansas didn't want to burn him against NJIT.

Lael Lockhart is probably the #2 starter now, he was starting on Sundays but we lost our #2 starter Peyton Pallette a few weeks ago to an injury. Game #3 will probably be either Jaxon Wiggins or Caleb Bolden but mostly a bullpen game since neither one typically goes longer than 4 innings.

Our formula most of the year has been Wicklander for 6-7 innings on Friday followed by Kopps for 3, then Saturday throw out all sorts of arms and let Kopps rest, and on Sunday have the starter go for 5-6 then give it to Kopps again to finish.

This has led to us winning a lot of Friday and Sunday games and taking 2/3 which is a big reason we haven't lost a series all year, but also we tend to lose the game that Kopps doesn't pitch in so we rarely swept anyone except for Florida and Mississippi State. Our bullpen outside of Kopps has moments when they're great and moments when they're terrible - just inconsistency from several guys makes it hard to trust them in postseason play.

---

How are most of your runs generated? Stringing together hits, HR'S, walks and HR's, walks and timely hits, manufacturing runs with steals, etc?

---

Home runs and walks. We rarely steal at all. It's sort of the typical MLB model today of striking out a lot but also focusing on elevating the ball as much as possible and OPS. We led the SEC in walks taken and homers. You'll see us go stretches in games where we don't score at all and strike out a lot (particularly against LHPs) but then suddenly explode for 6 runs in two innings after working the starter's count up and getting into the bullpen. We have an insane number of come from behind wins this year in the 7-9 innings.

I think one thing we struggled with against Nebraska was we got so used to the typical SEC power pitcher who mainly throws 95 MPH fastballs that we can turn around on and hit a mile, and a lot of their pitchers were great offspeed and location type guys that could paint the corners. Our batting average isn't anything to write home about and we get too home run happy at times but when we're "on" it can escalate quickly and put a lot of pressure on the opposing pitcher.

Wolfpack said:

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If you're on those Arkansas forums, have them do a little research about Raleigh. I've seen redneck/hillbilly/etc. thrown around all those forums. Raleigh is the best place to live in America (I'm biased, but I really am only speaking to researched surveys), it's a beautiful town with great infrastructure and a wonderful university. Have them come visit

"North Carolina might be more Redneck than Mississippi" -- nothing wrong with a little 'neck, but they have no idea what they're talking about

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I believe that any talk, from any fanbase, which stereotypes their opponent's fans is nothing but sophomoric. It reeks of having to tear others down to build yourself up. That goes for ANY fanbase doing it, including our own.

I just spent a week in the Spruce Pine area of NC, it is a beautiful area. I saw no more or less "red necks" than I would see in NW Arkansas. On a whole, NC is a more prosperous state, I don't think there is any doubt about that. Eastern Arkansas in the Mississippi Delta area has extreme poverty levels.

NW Arkansas (I live in Fayetteville) is a very different place from the rest of the state. Much higher education levels and the 3 big companies headquartered here (WalMart, Tyson Foods, and JB Hunt) have brought in huge numbers of highly educated and well-paid people. It's much like the Triangle area of NC.

gohogs14 said:

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wolfpack1437 said:

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gohogs14 said:

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EthanBarry said:

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wolfpack1437 said:

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EthanBarry said:

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Is Kopps available Friday? If so, probably only for a couple innings max. Wicklander probably goes Saturday, can State make them burn both in the same game? That would be ideal

---

I read on one of the Arkansas fan sites that they expect Wicklander to start Fri (finished by Kopps)

---

That's interesting because I believe he's pitched on Saturday all year. Probably the right move though

---

He's actually been the Friday starter almost all year but pitched last Saturday because Arkansas didn't want to burn him against NJIT.

Lael Lockhart is probably the #2 starter now, he was starting on Sundays but we lost our #2 starter Peyton Pallette a few weeks ago to an injury. Game #3 will probably be either Jaxon Wiggins or Caleb Bolden but mostly a bullpen game since neither one typically goes longer than 4 innings.

Our formula most of the year has been Wicklander for 6-7 innings on Friday followed by Kopps for 3, then Saturday throw out all sorts of arms and let Kopps rest, and on Sunday have the starter go for 5-6 then give it to Kopps again to finish.

This has led to us winning a lot of Friday and Sunday games and taking 2/3 which is a big reason we haven't lost a series all year, but also we tend to lose the game that Kopps doesn't pitch in so we rarely swept anyone except for Florida and Mississippi State. Our bullpen outside of Kopps has moments when they're great and moments when they're terrible - just inconsistency from several guys makes it hard to trust them in postseason play.

---

How are most of your runs generated? Stringing together hits, HR'S, walks and HR's, walks and timely hits, manufacturing runs with steals, etc?

---

Home runs and walks. We rarely steal at all. It's sort of the typical MLB model today of striking out a lot but also focusing on elevating the ball as much as possible and OPS. We led the SEC in walks taken and homers. You'll see us go stretches in games where we don't score at all and strike out a lot (particularly against LHPs) but then suddenly explode for 6 runs in two innings after working the starter's count up and getting into the bullpen. We have an insane number of come from behind wins this year in the 7-9 innings.

I think one thing we struggled with against Nebraska was we got so used to the typical SEC power pitcher who mainly throws 95 MPH fastballs that we can turn around on and hit a mile, and a lot of their pitchers were great offspeed and location type guys that could paint the corners. Our batting average isn't anything to write home about and we get too home run happy at times but when we're "on" it can escalate quickly and put a lot of pressure on the opposing pitcher.

---

Great info, thanks! As for the Pack, we have scored a bunch of runs via the HR but we also will walk, steal, and drop bunts. It's odd but we probably bunt more than your average high scoring O but many of those bunts are for hits and not sacs. Speed is definitely one of our strengths. Pack has stolen home twice in the last month and are typically aggressive on the bases (especially if you have a catcher that struggles with accuracy or arm strength trying to throw out runners)

PigNaBlanket said:

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Wolfpack said:

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If you're on those Arkansas forums, have them do a little research about Raleigh. I've seen redneck/hillbilly/etc. thrown around all those forums. Raleigh is the best place to live in America (I'm biased, but I really am only speaking to researched surveys), it's a beautiful town with great infrastructure and a wonderful university. Have them come visit

"North Carolina might be more Redneck than Mississippi" -- nothing wrong with a little 'neck, but they have no idea what they're talking about

---

I believe that any talk, from any fanbase, which stereotypes their opponent's fans is nothing but sophomoric. It reeks of having to tear others down to build yourself up. That goes for ANY fanbase doing it, including our own.

I just spent a week in the Spruce Pine area of NC, it is a beautiful area. I saw no more or less "red necks" than I would see in NW Arkansas. On a whole, NC is a more prosperous state, I don't think there is any doubt about that. Eastern Arkansas in the Mississippi Delta area has extreme poverty levels.

NW Arkansas (I live in Fayetteville) is a very different place from the rest of the state. Much higher education levels and the 3 big companies headquartered here (WalMart, Tyson Foods, and JB Hunt) have brought in huge numbers of highly educated and well-paid people. It's much like the Triangle area of NC.

---

Fair enough. Best of luck tomorrow, but I hope we win!!!

We all a bunch of blue collar rednecks around hereno harm intendedI honestly feel like between Arkansas fans and State fans, it could be a hell of a party with some D*Amnnn good food.

FWIW, I love banjo music

pack4life11 said:

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We all a bunch of blue collar rednecks around hereno harm intendedI honestly feel like between Arkansas fans and State fans, it could be a hell of a party with some D*Amnnn good food.

FWIW, I love banjo music

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Agreed, we are more similar than dissimilar.

I wish you guys the best of luck, lets all hope for a good, injury-free series. It should be a great one.

Go Hogs!

PS: I'm a big fan of bluegrass, went to Ashville 2 years ago to a big bluegrass festival they have there. Good stuff!

Arkansas fan here with a strange addiction to reading other teams boards. Just wanted to say I enjoyed reading the insight on your board, and that for the most part has been one of the more respectful boards. If you see Arkansas fans saying they don't expect this weekend to be a challenge, they don't really know what they are talking about. A lot are blinded by SEC bias. It's a great conference, but they tend to discount other teams. I have a lot of respect for your team, and it's high-powered offense. Do you guy have any solid lefties? They have really given us fits this year.

A previous poster did a great job describing our offense, big focus on on base percentage and home runs. If any of your pitching is prone to walks it will be exploited.

Everyone looks at our pitching as a weakness, but I would argue it hasn't really been it's just hard to compare with the offense. Maybe not the jaw dropping ERAs you would expect on a #1 team, but there are several big league arms. Loosing our day 2 starter threw a bit of a kink into the attack plan, but they have adjusted nicely. Wicklander is a solid Friday night guy, Tennessee is really the only team that has touched him all year. Lockheart has had some outings where he was leaving the curveball up and got hit hard, but would start on damn near every team in the country. Monke in relief is damn near un-hittable if he is throwing strikes. Costeiu is the guy you will see in middle relief in a sticky situation, won't go more than two innings but is the most clutch guy we have outside of Kopps. Bolden has been a starter at times, had a few bad outings but overall solid guy. Connor Noland's ERA is ugly but he was a Friday night starter on a CWS team as a freshman, went through injury and appears to be hitting his stride now.

I will just strongly say that those calling Kopps usage abuse should really look more into the situation. DVH is a hall of fame caliber coach, and has a long track record of protecting guys arms. Often he pitches guys way less than fans would like. The strength and conditioning programs along with player development facilities are top notch. Just dropped 30 mil on a new pitching lab, weight room and locker room. Hobbs is incredibly data driven as a coach and also takes care of his pitchers. Kopps has a biomedical engineering degree and is working towards his masters, he actually might be the quy most qualified to evaluate his own usage and he refuses to be taken out. Last weekend he was used more than ever before, he has only been used as necessary and that has left him with lots of beet juice left in the tank. If you are really concerned about his health, we appreciate it but I can assure you nobody cares more about his health than Arkansas. If you are hoping he will be worn out, well I can't really blame you because after he is in the ball game that is about your only hope. Every team we have played has wished for the same.

He is 24 and will likely get his shot in the majors, but regardless with his degree he's going to get paid. He has a great story, he has worked his ass off for this. I'm gonna try to link an interview for anybody interested.

Looking forward to a fun series, any fans that come to Fayetteville I hope you enjoy your time!

Kevin Kopps interview: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7tVVP0lOaXs2N88wrILc39

SpicyHog said:

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Arkansas fan here with a strange addiction to reading other teams boards. Just wanted to say I enjoyed reading the insight on your board, and that for the most part has been one of the more respectful boards. If you see Arkansas fans saying they don't expect this weekend to be a challenge, they don't really know what they are talking about. A lot are blinded by SEC bias. It's a great conference, but they tend to discount other teams. I have a lot of respect for your team, and it's high-powered offense. Do you guy have any solid lefties? They have really given us fits this year.

A previous poster did a great job describing our offense, big focus on on base percentage and home runs. If any of your pitching is prone to walks it will be exploited.

Everyone looks at our pitching as a weakness, but I would argue it hasn't really been it's just hard to compare with the offense. Maybe not the jaw dropping ERAs you would expect on a #1 team, but there are several big league arms. Loosing our day 2 starter threw a bit of a kink into the attack plan, but they have adjusted nicely. Wicklander is a solid Friday night guy, Tennessee is really the only team that has touched him all year. Lockheart has had some outings where he was leaving the curveball up and got hit hard, but would start on damn near every team in the country. Monke in relief is damn near un-hittable if he is throwing strikes. Costeiu is the guy you will see in middle relief in a sticky situation, won't go more than two innings but is the most clutch guy we have outside of Kopps. Bolden has been a starter at times, had a few bad outings but overall solid guy. Connor Noland's ERA is ugly but he was a Friday night starter on a CWS team as a freshman, went through injury and appears to be hitting his stride now.

I will just strongly say that those calling Kopps usage abuse should really look more into the situation. DVH is a hall of fame caliber coach, and has a long track record of protecting guys arms. Often he pitches guys way less than fans would like. The strength and conditioning programs along with player development facilities are top notch. Just dropped 30 mil on a new pitching lab, weight room and locker room. Hobbs is incredibly data driven as a coach and also takes care of his pitchers. Kopps has a biomedical engineering degree and is working towards his masters, he actually might be the quy most qualified to evaluate his own usage and he refuses to be taken out. Last weekend he was used more than ever before, he has only been used as necessary and that has left him with lots of beet juice left in the tank. If you are really concerned about his health, we appreciate it but I can assure you nobody cares more about his health than Arkansas. If you are hoping he will be worn out, well I can't really blame you because after he is in the ball game that is about your only hope. Every team we have played has wished for the same.

He is 24 and will likely get his shot in the majors, but regardless with his degree he's going to get paid. He has a great story, he has worked his ass off for this. I'm gonna try to link an interview for anybody interested.

Looking forward to a fun series, any fans that come to Fayetteville I hope you enjoy your time!

---

My biggest fear with this team is that they rely too much on Kopps. Sometimes it feels like the whole team is just waiting for him to come in and save them. I have told my wife for about 2 months now that once we get into the post season, we're one bad Kopps outing from elimination.

We'll see how it shakes out but he hasn't given us a reason to doubt him all year, and that's damn hard to do in baseball.

The Road to Omaha continues for No. 12 NC State baseball (33-17) this weekend as it travels to No. 1 Arkansas (49-11) for a three-game Super Regional Series at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark.

The teams will play Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPNU and ESPN2, respectively, and Sunday's 'if necessary' game is slated for 6 p.m. ET on one of those two channels. There will additionally be a live audio stream on WKNC 88.1 and the TuneIn App.

Friday will be the first-ever meeting between the Wolfpack and Razorbacks.

STARTING PITCHERS
Friday TBA (NCSU) vs. TBA (ARK)
Saturday TBA (NCSU) vs. TBA (ARK)
Sunday TBA (NCSU) vs. TBA (ARK)

SCOUTING ARKANSAS
The Razorbacks earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and have topped the national polls for the majority of the season.

Arkansas won the Southeastern Conference regular-season and conference tournament championships, as head coach Dave Van Horn was tabbed SEC Coach of the Year and Kevin Kopps earned Pitcher of the Year honors.

Kopps, who was recently named a Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist, leads the team with 31 appearances and owns a .68 ERA with 12 wins and 11 saves in a team-leading 79.2 innings. Patrick Wicklander, Peyton Pallette, Lael Lockhart and Caleb Bolden have all tallied double-digit starts on the mound, while its staff is averaging 10.46 strikeouts per game.

Offensively, the Razorbacks are led by First Team All-SEC selections Robert Moore, who owns a team-high 14 homers, and Matt Goodheart, who paces the squad with 64 hits. Additionally, Brady Slavens leads the team with a .290 batting average while Charlie Welch has provided strong numbers off the bench, batting .375 with 21 hits and 18 RBIs.

As a team, Arkansas is averaging 7.58 runs per game, which ranks first in the SEC and 15th nationally, while its 102 home runs lead the SEC and rank second in the NCAA.

PigNaBlanket said:

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SpicyHog said:

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Arkansas fan here with a strange addiction to reading other teams boards. Just wanted to say I enjoyed reading the insight on your board, and that for the most part has been one of the more respectful boards. If you see Arkansas fans saying they don't expect this weekend to be a challenge, they don't really know what they are talking about. A lot are blinded by SEC bias. It's a great conference, but they tend to discount other teams. I have a lot of respect for your team, and it's high-powered offense. Do you guy have any solid lefties? They have really given us fits this year.

A previous poster did a great job describing our offense, big focus on on base percentage and home runs. If any of your pitching is prone to walks it will be exploited.

Everyone looks at our pitching as a weakness, but I would argue it hasn't really been it's just hard to compare with the offense. Maybe not the jaw dropping ERAs you would expect on a #1 team, but there are several big league arms. Loosing our day 2 starter threw a bit of a kink into the attack plan, but they have adjusted nicely. Wicklander is a solid Friday night guy, Tennessee is really the only team that has touched him all year. Lockheart has had some outings where he was leaving the curveball up and got hit hard, but would start on damn near every team in the country. Monke in relief is damn near un-hittable if he is throwing strikes. Costeiu is the guy you will see in middle relief in a sticky situation, won't go more than two innings but is the most clutch guy we have outside of Kopps. Bolden has been a starter at times, had a few bad outings but overall solid guy. Connor Noland's ERA is ugly but he was a Friday night starter on a CWS team as a freshman, went through injury and appears to be hitting his stride now.

I will just strongly say that those calling Kopps usage abuse should really look more into the situation. DVH is a hall of fame caliber coach, and has a long track record of protecting guys arms. Often he pitches guys way less than fans would like. The strength and conditioning programs along with player development facilities are top notch. Just dropped 30 mil on a new pitching lab, weight room and locker room. Hobbs is incredibly data driven as a coach and also takes care of his pitchers. Kopps has a biomedical engineering degree and is working towards his masters, he actually might be the quy most qualified to evaluate his own usage and he refuses to be taken out. Last weekend he was used more than ever before, he has only been used as necessary and that has left him with lots of beet juice left in the tank. If you are really concerned about his health, we appreciate it but I can assure you nobody cares more about his health than Arkansas. If you are hoping he will be worn out, well I can't really blame you because after he is in the ball game that is about your only hope. Every team we have played has wished for the same.

He is 24 and will likely get his shot in the majors, but regardless with his degree he's going to get paid. He has a great story, he has worked his ass off for this. I'm gonna try to link an interview for anybody interested.

Looking forward to a fun series, any fans that come to Fayetteville I hope you enjoy your time!

---

My biggest fear with this team is that they rely too much on Kopps. Sometimes it feels like the whole team is just waiting for him to come in and save them. I have told my wife for about 2 months now that once we get into the post season, we're one bad Kopps outing from elimination.

---

I appreciate your honesty. To be frank, if it was NC State, I would be super nervous if the team's success rested with one guy....whether that guy was a pitcher or a particular bat in the lineup. Humans are imperfect beings and chasing near perfection is extremely difficult....especially in a game like baseball where a guy can literally just guess right and change the outcome of a game.
Thanks to all the hog fans who have showed up here. Looking forward to an exciting series. I can't wait for 6:00 ET tomorrow

SpicyHog said:

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We'll see how it shakes out but he hasn't given us a reason to doubt him all year, and that's damn hard to do in baseball.

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It's funny, bc Pack fans would be panicking in the same situation. Guess that's the difference between the fan bases-- y'all have the confidence of recent successes and we have the nervousness that comes with our teams falling apart in the biggest moments

pack4life11 said:

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gohogs14 said:

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EthanBarry said:

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wolfpack1437 said:

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EthanBarry said:

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Is Kopps available Friday? If so, probably only for a couple innings max. Wicklander probably goes Saturday, can State make them burn both in the same game? That would be ideal

---

I read on one of the Arkansas fan sites that they expect Wicklander to start Fri (finished by Kopps)

---

That's interesting because I believe he's pitched on Saturday all year. Probably the right move though

---

He's actually been the Friday starter almost all year but pitched last Saturday because Arkansas didn't want to burn him against NJIT.

Lael Lockhart is probably the #2 starter now, he was starting on Sundays but we lost our #2 starter Peyton Pallette a few weeks ago to an injury. Game #3 will probably be either Jaxon Wiggins or Caleb Bolden but mostly a bullpen game since neither one typically goes longer than 4 innings.

Our formula most of the year has been Wicklander for 6-7 innings on Friday followed by Kopps for 3, then Saturday throw out all sorts of arms and let Kopps rest, and on Sunday have the starter go for 5-6 then give it to Kopps again to finish.

This has led to us winning a lot of Friday and Sunday games and taking 2/3 which is a big reason we haven't lost a series all year, but also we tend to lose the game that Kopps doesn't pitch in so we rarely swept anyone except for Florida and Mississippi State. Our bullpen outside of Kopps has moments when they're great and moments when they're terrible - just inconsistency from several guys makes it hard to trust them in postseason play.

---

Do you play banjo music? Lol jkwelcome to the boards. Good to have someone give an overview from the opposing team.

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No issues. His longest outing of the year was the Regional Final. He throws a lot of ground ball pitches, very hard to get a barrel on one of his pitches (obvious when looking at his SO Rate and ERA).

Kopps isn't a 22 year old Junior. Homes is like 24 and a serious gym junkie. He may very well be in the best condition of anyone on the team. I trust Kopps to know what is best for himself. He's already had arm trouble resulting in TJ surgery, so he knows how that feels and more importantly, how to avoid it. Coach Van Horn wouldn't jeopardize Kopps' health to win, but he also trusts his player to be honest with him. Coach wanted to take him out for the 9th inning on Monday, but Kopps told Coach he wasn't coming out.

As for how we score most of our runs, yes, the team hits quite a few HRs. Just assume everyone in the lineup is a power hitter. We draw lots of walks, probably because we hit so many round trippers. Same with strikeouts, but maybe not as many. It is what it is.

I have family scattered all over the Carolinas, really have nothing against NC State (more my type of University over Duke or UNC, can I say more blue-collar?).

Those that head to Baum -Walker this weekend enjoy it. That stadium and the whole game environment is maybe the best in the country. I'm assuming your Left Fielder is more grown up than Nebraska's. He unfortunately took the ribbing from the Hog Pen too personal and flipped them off, of course that only made them jaw at him harder, then him or his family called the police on them.... lol. They will holler at him a bit, but I'm sure it can't be much worse than playing Duke or UNC for him.

Unfortunately I'm over in Europe building live-fire facilities for the Army and can't attend.

"Great info, thanks! As for the Pack, we have scored a bunch of runs via the HR but we also will walk, steal, and drop bunts. It's odd but we probably bunt more than your average high scoring O but many of those bunts are for hits and not sacs. Speed is definitely one of our strengths. Pack has stolen home twice in the last month and are typically aggressive on the bases (especially if you have a catcher that struggles with accuracy or arm strength trying to throw out runners)"

Our catcher, Casey Opitz, is the heart and soul of our team. He has a cannon for an arm and has thrown out a ton of players this year. (I looked but couldn't find the stats). In our regional, he threw out two Vandy guys at 3rd.

An interesting fact about Opitz, he calls 99% of our pitches, one of the only college catchers to be given that responsibility. During the game, you will see him coaching the pitchers up. He is my favorite player on the team.

wolfpack1437 said:

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SpicyHog said:

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We'll see how it shakes out but he hasn't given us a reason to doubt him all year, and that's damn hard to do in baseball.

---

It's funny, bc Pack fans would be panicking in the same situation. Guess that's the difference between the fan bases-- y'all have the confidence of recent successes and we have the nervousness that comes with our teams falling apart in the biggest moments

---

I panicked earlier in the season, but maybe I'm just desensitized to it now.

Kopps is a beast and we do find ways to win.

Weird season for sure.

We had a catcher the last few years that called all the pitches (Patrick Bailey a 1st rounder) but our catcher this year doesn't. It's his first full year behind the plate bc of sitting behind Bailey.
I think you will see us attempt to run a lot early in games. Probably some sac bunts and squeezes as well. My guess is the Pack will make an attempt to put pressure on early in hopes of inducing an early call to Kopps out of the pen or jumping out to a lead. It wouldn't surprise me to see us give away a few outs to try and get a run or 2 across

wolfpack1437 said:

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gohogs14 said:

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wolfpack1437 said:

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gohogs14 said:

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EthanBarry said:

---

wolfpack1437 said:

---

EthanBarry said:

---

Is Kopps available Friday? If so, probably only for a couple innings max. Wicklander probably goes Saturday, can State make them burn both in the same game? That would be ideal

---

I read on one of the Arkansas fan sites that they expect Wicklander to start Fri (finished by Kopps)

---

That's interesting because I believe he's pitched on Saturday all year. Probably the right move though

---

He's actually been the Friday starter almost all year but pitched last Saturday because Arkansas didn't want to burn him against NJIT.

Lael Lockhart is probably the #2 starter now, he was starting on Sundays but we lost our #2 starter Peyton Pallette a few weeks ago to an injury. Game #3 will probably be either Jaxon Wiggins or Caleb Bolden but mostly a bullpen game since neither one typically goes longer than 4 innings.

Our formula most of the year has been Wicklander for 6-7 innings on Friday followed by Kopps for 3, then Saturday throw out all sorts of arms and let Kopps rest, and on Sunday have the starter go for 5-6 then give it to Kopps again to finish.

This has led to us winning a lot of Friday and Sunday games and taking 2/3 which is a big reason we haven't lost a series all year, but also we tend to lose the game that Kopps doesn't pitch in so we rarely swept anyone except for Florida and Mississippi State. Our bullpen outside of Kopps has moments when they're great and moments when they're terrible - just inconsistency from several guys makes it hard to trust them in postseason play.

---

How are most of your runs generated? Stringing together hits, HR'S, walks and HR's, walks and timely hits, manufacturing runs with steals, etc?

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Home runs and walks. We rarely steal at all. It's sort of the typical MLB model today of striking out a lot but also focusing on elevating the ball as much as possible and OPS. We led the SEC in walks taken and homers. You'll see us go stretches in games where we don't score at all and strike out a lot (particularly against LHPs) but then suddenly explode for 6 runs in two innings after working the starter's count up and getting into the bullpen. We have an insane number of come from behind wins this year in the 7-9 innings.

I think one thing we struggled with against Nebraska was we got so used to the typical SEC power pitcher who mainly throws 95 MPH fastballs that we can turn around on and hit a mile, and a lot of their pitchers were great offspeed and location type guys that could paint the corners. Our batting average isn't anything to write home about and we get too home run happy at times but when we're "on" it can escalate quickly and put a lot of pressure on the opposing pitcher.

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Great info, thanks! As for the Pack, we have scored a bunch of runs via the HR but we also will walk, steal, and drop bunts. It's odd but we probably bunt more than your average high scoring O but many of those bunts are for hits and not sacs. Speed is definitely one of our strengths. Pack has stolen home twice in the last month and are typically aggressive on the bases (especially if you have a catcher that struggles with accuracy or arm strength trying to throw out runners)

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Our first baseman just returned Sunday from an ankle injury that kept him out of the SEC tournament and still has a bit of a limp so it will be interesting to see if you guys try to bunt his way a lot. We haven't faced many teams that rely on small ball this year.

We have a very good defensive catcher in Casey Opitz so that matchup should be super fun to watch.

Looking like we are going to need two different game threads.

gohogs14 said:

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wolfpack1437 said:

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gohogs14 said:

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wolfpack1437 said:

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gohogs14 said:

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EthanBarry said:

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wolfpack1437 said:

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EthanBarry said:

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Is Kopps available Friday? If so, probably only for a couple innings max. Wicklander probably goes Saturday, can State make them burn both in the same game? That would be ideal

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I read on one of the Arkansas fan sites that they expect Wicklander to start Fri (finished by Kopps)

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That's interesting because I believe he's pitched on Saturday all year. Probably the right move though

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He's actually been the Friday starter almost all year but pitched last Saturday because Arkansas didn't want to burn him against NJIT.

Lael Lockhart is probably the #2 starter now, he was starting on Sundays but we lost our #2 starter Peyton Pallette a few weeks ago to an injury. Game #3 will probably be either Jaxon Wiggins or Caleb Bolden but mostly a bullpen game since neither one typically goes longer than 4 innings.

Our formula most of the year has been Wicklander for 6-7 innings on Friday followed by Kopps for 3, then Saturday throw out all sorts of arms and let Kopps rest, and on Sunday have the starter go for 5-6 then give it to Kopps again to finish.

This has led to us winning a lot of Friday and Sunday games and taking 2/3 which is a big reason we haven't lost a series all year, but also we tend to lose the game that Kopps doesn't pitch in so we rarely swept anyone except for Florida and Mississippi State. Our bullpen outside of Kopps has moments when they're great and moments when they're terrible - just inconsistency from several guys makes it hard to trust them in postseason play.

---

How are most of your runs generated? Stringing together hits, HR'S, walks and HR's, walks and timely hits, manufacturing runs with steals, etc?

---

Home runs and walks. We rarely steal at all. It's sort of the typical MLB model today of striking out a lot but also focusing on elevating the ball as much as possible and OPS. We led the SEC in walks taken and homers. You'll see us go stretches in games where we don't score at all and strike out a lot (particularly against LHPs) but then suddenly explode for 6 runs in two innings after working the starter's count up and getting into the bullpen. We have an insane number of come from behind wins this year in the 7-9 innings.

I think one thing we struggled with against Nebraska was we got so used to the typical SEC power pitcher who mainly throws 95 MPH fastballs that we can turn around on and hit a mile, and a lot of their pitchers were great offspeed and location type guys that could paint the corners. Our batting average isn't anything to write home about and we get too home run happy at times but when we're "on" it can escalate quickly and put a lot of pressure on the opposing pitcher.

---

Great info, thanks! As for the Pack, we have scored a bunch of runs via the HR but we also will walk, steal, and drop bunts. It's odd but we probably bunt more than your average high scoring O but many of those bunts are for hits and not sacs. Speed is definitely one of our strengths. Pack has stolen home twice in the last month and are typically aggressive on the bases (especially if you have a catcher that struggles with accuracy or arm strength trying to throw out runners)

---

Our first baseman just returned Sunday from an ankle injury that kept him out of the SEC tournament and still has a bit of a limp so it will be interesting to see if you guys try to bunt his way a lot. We haven't faced many teams that rely on small ball this year.

We have a very good defensive catcher in Casey Opitz so that matchup should be super fun to watch.

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An aggressive run game vs a good catcher is fun to watch.
I noticed your first baseman pull up a little lame running to first against Nebraska on Monday and wondered if it was a new injury or a lingering one.

wolfpack1437 said:

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gohogs14 said:

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wolfpack1437 said:

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gohogs14 said:

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wolfpack1437 said:

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gohogs14 said:

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EthanBarry said:

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wolfpack1437 said:

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EthanBarry said:

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Is Kopps available Friday? If so, probably only for a couple innings max. Wicklander probably goes Saturday, can State make them burn both in the same game? That would be ideal

---

I read on one of the Arkansas fan sites that they expect Wicklander to start Fri (finished by Kopps)

---

That's interesting because I believe he's pitched on Saturday all year. Probably the right move though

---

He's actually been the Friday starter almost all year but pitched last Saturday because Arkansas didn't want to burn him against NJIT.

Lael Lockhart is probably the #2 starter now, he was starting on Sundays but we lost our #2 starter Peyton Pallette a few weeks ago to an injury. Game #3 will probably be either Jaxon Wiggins or Caleb Bolden but mostly a bullpen game since neither one typically goes longer than 4 innings.

Our formula most of the year has been Wicklander for 6-7 innings on Friday followed by Kopps for 3, then Saturday throw out all sorts of arms and let Kopps rest, and on Sunday have the starter go for 5-6 then give it to Kopps again to finish.

This has led to us winning a lot of Friday and Sunday games and taking 2/3 which is a big reason we haven't lost a series all year, but also we tend to lose the game that Kopps doesn't pitch in so we rarely swept anyone except for Florida and Mississippi State. Our bullpen outside of Kopps has moments when they're great and moments when they're terrible - just inconsistency from several guys makes it hard to trust them in postseason play.

---

How are most of your runs generated? Stringing together hits, HR'S, walks and HR's, walks and timely hits, manufacturing runs with steals, etc?

---

Home runs and walks. We rarely steal at all. It's sort of the typical MLB model today of striking out a lot but also focusing on elevating the ball as much as possible and OPS. We led the SEC in walks taken and homers. You'll see us go stretches in games where we don't score at all and strike out a lot (particularly against LHPs) but then suddenly explode for 6 runs in two innings after working the starter's count up and getting into the bullpen. We have an insane number of come from behind wins this year in the 7-9 innings.

I think one thing we struggled with against Nebraska was we got so used to the typical SEC power pitcher who mainly throws 95 MPH fastballs that we can turn around on and hit a mile, and a lot of their pitchers were great offspeed and location type guys that could paint the corners. Our batting average isn't anything to write home about and we get too home run happy at times but when we're "on" it can escalate quickly and put a lot of pressure on the opposing pitcher.

---

Great info, thanks! As for the Pack, we have scored a bunch of runs via the HR but we also will walk, steal, and drop bunts. It's odd but we probably bunt more than your average high scoring O but many of those bunts are for hits and not sacs. Speed is definitely one of our strengths. Pack has stolen home twice in the last month and are typically aggressive on the bases (especially if you have a catcher that struggles with accuracy or arm strength trying to throw out runners)

---

Our first baseman just returned Sunday from an ankle injury that kept him out of the SEC tournament and still has a bit of a limp so it will be interesting to see if you guys try to bunt his way a lot. We haven't faced many teams that rely on small ball this year.

We have a very good defensive catcher in Casey Opitz so that matchup should be super fun to watch.

---

An aggressive run game vs a good catcher is fun to watch.
I noticed your first baseman pull up a little lame running to first against Nebraska on Monday and wondered if it was a new injury or a lingering one.

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Early in the SEC tourney he was running to 1st on a base hit, he stepped on the bag and rolled his ankle off to the side...Kid hit the ground in as much pain as I've ever seen from a baseball player. On the replay I thought it was broken but it just turned out to be a sprain.

He's one of our best hitters, leads the team in RBI's. I think they rushed him back a little early for the regional where he didn't get a hit. I think he was 0-7. You could tell that late in the 3rd game against Nebraska that it was still bothering him.

Tongue in cheek, is Kopps gonna graduate with an MD with his residency completed?

Wolfpack said:

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Tongue in cheek, is Kopps gonna graduate with an MD with his residency completed?

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C'mon man, you ruined it with the "tongue in cheek" and smiley. Some ball busting is good for the discussion

wolfpack1437 said:

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Wolfpack said:

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Tongue in cheek, is Kopps gonna graduate with an MD with his residency completed?

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C'mon man, you ruined it with the "tongue in cheek" and smiley. Some ball busting is good for the discussion

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I got you man, I'll stop being a little *****. Go State

Making your way to Arkansas for @NCStateBaseball?

We'll be at @sassysbbqgrille tomorrow for a pregame social! pic.twitter.com/sMLWbMXhNn

— Wolfpack Club (@wolfpackclub) June 10, 2021

NCAA will host media availability with Elliott Avent and Terrell Tatum in about 10 minutes

Don't call it a comeback!@KendallRogers points out that @NCStateBaseball has been rolling the second half of the season & looked very strong in this past weekend's Regionals.

See the full D1Baseball #RoadToOmaha Show, presented by @sluggernation!

🔗 https://t.co/vVkYqy3s7J pic.twitter.com/Ge3mb89doW

— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) June 10, 2021

📍Baum-Walker Stadium pic.twitter.com/SLjhhrI1Iz

— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) June 10, 2021

Wolfer79 said:

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NCAA will host media availability with Elliott Avent and Terrell Tatum in about 10 minutes

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Daniel or Andrew, are either of y'all going to have this for us?

wolfpack1437 said:

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Wolfer79 said:

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NCAA will host media availability with Elliott Avent and Terrell Tatum in about 10 minutes

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Daniel or Andrew, are either of y'all going to have this for us?

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https://insidepacksports.com/s/7467/its-one-of-the-greatest-feelings-that-ive-ever-been-a-part-of-avent-tatum-on-supers/3/replies/535751#535751

Kriegschwein said:

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pack4life11 said:

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gohogs14 said:

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EthanBarry said:

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wolfpack1437 said:

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EthanBarry said:

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Is Kopps available Friday? If so, probably only for a couple innings max. Wicklander probably goes Saturday, can State make them burn both in the same game? That would be ideal

---

I read on one of the Arkansas fan sites that they expect Wicklander to start Fri (finished by Kopps)

---

That's interesting because I believe he's pitched on Saturday all year. Probably the right move though

---

He's actually been the Friday starter almost all year but pitched last Saturday because Arkansas didn't want to burn him against NJIT.

Lael Lockhart is probably the #2 starter now, he was starting on Sundays but we lost our #2 starter Peyton Pallette a few weeks ago to an injury. Game #3 will probably be either Jaxon Wiggins or Caleb Bolden but mostly a bullpen game since neither one typically goes longer than 4 innings.

Our formula most of the year has been Wicklander for 6-7 innings on Friday followed by Kopps for 3, then Saturday throw out all sorts of arms and let Kopps rest, and on Sunday have the starter go for 5-6 then give it to Kopps again to finish.

This has led to us winning a lot of Friday and Sunday games and taking 2/3 which is a big reason we haven't lost a series all year, but also we tend to lose the game that Kopps doesn't pitch in so we rarely swept anyone except for Florida and Mississippi State. Our bullpen outside of Kopps has moments when they're great and moments when they're terrible - just inconsistency from several guys makes it hard to trust them in postseason play.

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Do you play banjo music? Lol jkwelcome to the boards. Good to have someone give an overview from the opposing team.

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No issues. His longest outing of the year was the Regional Final. He throws a lot of ground ball pitches, very hard to get a barrel on one of his pitches (obvious when looking at his SO Rate and ERA).

Kopps isn't a 22 year old Junior. Homes is like 24 and a serious gym junkie. He may very well be in the best condition of anyone on the team. I trust Kopps to know what is best for himself. He's already had arm trouble resulting in TJ surgery, so he knows how that feels and more importantly, how to avoid it. Coach Van Horn wouldn't jeopardize Kopps' health to win, but he also trusts his player to be honest with him. Coach wanted to take him out for the 9th inning on Monday, but Kopps told Coach he wasn't coming out.

As for how we score most of our runs, yes, the team hits quite a few HRs. Just assume everyone in the lineup is a power hitter. We draw lots of walks, probably because we hit so many round trippers. Same with strikeouts, but maybe not as many. It is what it is.

I have family scattered all over the Carolinas, really have nothing against NC State (more my type of University over Duke or UNC, can I say more blue-collar?).

Those that head to Baum -Walker this weekend enjoy it. That stadium and the whole game environment is maybe the best in the country. I'm assuming your Left Fielder is more grown up than Nebraska's. He unfortunately took the ribbing from the Hog Pen too personal and flipped them off, of course that only made them jaw at him harder, then him or his family called the police on them.... lol. They will holler at him a bit, but I'm sure it can't be much worse than playing Duke or UNC for him.

Unfortunately I'm over in Europe building live-fire facilities for the Army and can't attend.

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Appreciate all the respectful and friendly posts from the hog guys, you all have had a hell of a season. Hope we step up and make it a fun super.

That said, there is no way that anyone not wearing Arkansas tinted glasses can call the pitchign of Kopps last weekend anything other than abusive or dangerous on his arm. Work out a ton or not. Drinking a lot of beet juice or not. Come on now. That's why it doesn't happen at any level where the dudes are getting paid. It's just not healthy.

GL in the series, hope the Wolfpack win it 2-1 on Sunday with a HR in the 9th. Go Pack!