Prior to Hooverville, the Diamond Dores looked like a team that was too complacent and too injured to make much noise in the postseason—and had a slight chance to not get a bid to the NCAA Tournament. In Hooverville, however, Corbs put a chicken in every pot, we got Ethan McElvain and Jayden Davis back, RJ Austin was finally allowed to play his natural middle infield position, Alan Espinal got his bat back, and Braden Holcomb finally unleashed the power of apples and became the middle of the lineup power bat we all hoped he would be when he came to campus.

Beyond that, we now have a solid three man rotation in Cunningham, Thompson, and Futrell. If Carter Holton is healthy, that’s just gravy. We can win this Regional. Win today, get to the winner’s bracket, and seeding no longer matters.

Speaking of chickens to put in pots, first up are...

The Coastal Cackalacky Chaucer Roosters

‘24 Record: 34-23 (16-14 Sun Belt).

Player to Watch: After a season of watching SEC teams routinely play gorilla ball, it’s weird to look down a roster and see a team with 82 homers on the season and no player with more than 16. #22 Super Senior OF Graham [“Young Goodman”] Brown (.365/.465/.631 with 18 2B, 12 HR, 60 RBI) is probably the team’s best all-around hitter. They’re very much a team that will try to string together five hits in a row rather than wait around for a three-run homer, though.

Anchor of Gold Tiger Beat Hottest Pitcher: Hell, this one is almost by default, since the team’s Friday night starter Riley [“Finkle is”] Eikhoff (5-1, 5.30 ERA, .311 batting average against) is the only pitcher who’s made more than 10 starts this season. Coastal only has one pitcher on the staff with an ERA under 4.

*Note: The “Player to Watch and Hottest Pitcher” were pasted directly from Tom’s preview. The nicknames provided were added in by me.

Tom is correct to point out that The Chaucer Roosters have a slightly low donger total in this, the year of the return to Gorilla Ball. I’ll just add the slight caveat that their 80 is still 10 more than our 70. #Math. Regardless, what might be more important to note is that while we have hit 70 HR, we have allowed 74. The Chaucer Roosters have a more lopsided number, as they have hit 82 HR, but allowed 97.

Still, going into the tournament, they appear to have the stronger offense—even if they’re more of an OBP than Gorilla Ball offense—and we have the stronger pitching and defense. We’ll see what their offense can do against our pitching, of course.

For a statistical comparisons of all four teams, see below:

On the Mound

Friday @ 11:00am CT on ESPN2

Vanderbilt #22 So. LHP JD “Terror Lake” Thompson (5-1; 2.98 ERA; 12.85 K/9)

vs. Chaucer Roosters #26 RS Jr. RHP Riley “Finkle is” Eikhoff (5-1; 5.30 ERA; 6.85 K/9)

The surname Eikhoff (alternate spellings Eickhoff, Eckhoff, Ekhoff, Eghoff, etc.) is Middle Low German for a person who lives at the edge of a farm marked by oaks. Riley is the Contemporary American name of a teenaged girl. JD Thompson, on the other hand, loosely translates to “Juris Doctor, son of Thom.” Advantage Terror Lake.

Beyond that, Eikhoff is likely the best pitcher on a weak Coastal Cackclacky pitching staff. He’s a strike thrower who’s not going to blow it by you, so the boys should attack early in the count. Tom was right to note “Finkle is” Eikhoff’s absurd .311 batting average against, as he turns the average batter he faces into the 3rd best hitter in the Diamond Dores lineup. We’ll want early offense here, too, as The Chaucer Roosters are pretty shitty in the bullpen. Seriously, their top reliever only has 2 saves.

There are likely many who question going with Thompson over Cunningham, but I actually like the move, as Thompson has been our most consistent starter, and he does not get rattled, no matter the circumstances.

The Lineup

See you in the comments.