In honor of the Party Down reboot, the only thing I have to say about yesterday’s 6-0 beatdown of Uckla is, “Are we having fun yet?”

Rev. Holton Heat was DOMINANT for 5 & ²⁄₃ IP, and then Bryce “Big Richie” Cunningham was EQUALLY DOMINANT for the remainder of the game. Quite simply, there’s nothing batters can do when those guys are on their A game.

...and the numbers support that conclusion.

The Pitching Lines

#20 So. LHP Carter “Rev. Holton Heat” Holton (1-0; 1.93 ERA)

5 & ²⁄₃ IP 1 H 0 R 3 BB 7 K on 88 pitches (55 strikes)

#97 So. RHP Bryce “Big Richie” Cunningham (0-0; 0.00 ERA; 2 SV)

3 & 1⁄₃ IP 4 H 0 R 0 BB 4 K on 51 pitches (37 strikes)

Wow.

Beyond that, those numbers don’t even tell the full story. Holton was buckling knees so much, Uckla hitters were taking backdoor and frontdoor sliders that were center-center in the strike zone. Cunningham was pretty much doing it all with a world class heater.

On the offensive side of things, our boys were facing a dominant Friday Ace, themselves, but were at least putting runners in scoring position early. Sure, it was frustrating that in those spots, they couldn’t do anything, but they didn’t stop fighting. In the fourth inning, they broke open the floodgates.

The Ogre led off with a sweet-swinging liner to RF, then advanced to 2nd on a balk. Though Silent Cal and Vastine would go down swinging, we still had one more bites at the apple. Stone Cold RJ Austin singled Ogre to 3rd (any of our non-catchers would have scored on that play, but whatever), then Noland was HBP, and David Diaz issued the “Diaz de los muertos” to Uckla’s chances, with a 2 out 2 RBI single that would prove to be enough considering who was on the mound.

Following Diaz, Espy worked the count and walked to load ‘em up again, and Bradfield got the hell out of his own head and shot the 6 gap for a 2 out 2 RBI single of his own.*

Polk would single in Espinal (with the aid of a throwing error) to give us a 5 run cushion.

*Note: THIS is the Shockwave we want to see at the plate. Not Major League II’s Willie Mays Hayes who packed on some bulk and tried to be a power hitter. You’re the platonic ideal of Carl Crawford, Shockwave! Play like it!

On the Mound

Saturday @ 1:00pm SECN+

#33 Vanderbilt Jr. LHP Hunter “Mr. Manager” Owen (2-1; 4.05 ERA)

vs. #30 UCLA So. RHP Alonzo “Bigfoot” Treadwell (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

The Lineup

See you in the comments.