[Spiny_Norman]

Since the men\'s hoops season is drawing to a close, thought it is time to look at other sports that employ round objects.

Stanford baseball is on break for dead week and finals.  They have opened the season with a 6-5 record, but 9 of those 11 games were played on the road vs. #2 Vanderbilt, #5 Texas and #18 Rice.

Stanford is generally regarded as having a young but talented team.  Mark Appel (P) and Kenny Diekroger (SS) are evaluated as two of the top Sophs in the country.  Stanford also starts three Frosh in the field from the top recruiting class in the country last year.  There are high expectations.

From what I can tell, some of the young players are still adjusting to college pitching.  Hitting, especially with runners in scoring position, has been a weak spot.  Lots of strike outs too.  While Stanford has batted against some of the best pitchers in the country, that will be true in conference play too.  I hope we see improvement at the plate.  But pitching and defense have been solid which is a good foundation to build on.

For a more detailed report on the recent Stanford-Texas series, scroll down to Strike Two: Lingering Lonestar State Impressions in this article:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/college/?p=4176

[Spiny_Norman]

Since the men\'s hoops season is drawing to a close, thought it is time to look at other sports that employ round objects.

Stanford baseball is on break for dead week and finals.  They have opened the season with a 6-5 record, but 9 of those 11 games were played on the road vs. #2 Vanderbilt, #5 Texas and #18 Rice.

Stanford is generally regarded as having a young but talented team.  Mark Appel (P) and Kenny Diekroger (SS) are evaluated as two of the top Sophs in the country.  Stanford also starts three Frosh in the field from the top recruiting class in the country last year.  There are high expectations.

From what I can tell, some of the young players are still adjusting to college pitching.  Hitting, especially with runners in scoring position, has been a weak spot.  Lots of strike outs too.  While Stanford has batted against some of the best pitchers in the country, that will be true in conference play too.  I hope we see improvement at the plate.  But pitching and defense have been solid which is a good foundation to build on.

For a more detailed report on the recent Stanford-Texas series, scroll down to Strike Two: Lingering Lonestar State Impressions in this article:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/college/?p=4176