Wichita State - Fullerton: Game Three

By Jeffrey Lutz - May 13, 2007

I'm back for the third and final day at Eck Stadium. The Shockers are trying to salvage a game in this series after getting carved up by Fullerton's pitching the previous two days. Like yesterday, the pitching matchup appears to favor WSU.

The Shockers send Anthony Capra to the hill. He's 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA, but is making just his fifth start of the season after 14 mostly dominant relief appearnaces. Capra doesn't have a wide array of pitches, and his overpowering fastball makes him highly effective out of the bullpen. As a starter, he can't rely as heavily on his fastball. It's still his best pitch and he uses it to get outs, but if it gets to the point where Fullerton hitters can sit on the hard stuff, Capra could be in trouble. That means Capra will have to mix in off-spped pitches and throw them for strikes, which isn't his specialty but something he's highly capable of doing.

Like WSU, Fullerton sends a pitcher to the mound who predominantly pitches in relief. Michael Morrison starts for the Titans, and his numbers pale in comparison to Capra's. He's thrown just 31 innings and walked more batters (22) than he's struck out (21). He's making his fifth start, compared to seven relief appearances, and he has a 5.81 ERA with a .287 batting average against. I'll give the edge again to the Shockers, but I did that yesterday and they didn't come through. Still, a 5-4 WSU is the forecast.

I really like the WSU pregame music. I mentioned the Gwen Stefani effort "The Sweet Escape" yesterday, and today I'll let you know about "Dust on the Bottle." It's a country tune sung by either Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw, John Michael Montgomery, Sawyer Brown, David Lee Murphy, Aaron Tippin, Mark Chesnut, Alan Jackson, or Joe Nichols. I love using Limewire to download music, but they sure have no idea who sings songs. It's kind of funny, really. But I'll say "Dust on the Bottle" is by David Lee Murphy.

On a final note before the game, I'd like to wish everyone a happy Mother's Day. Especially to my own mother, who is the only person I have confirmed to be reading this blog. So happy Mother's Day, mom. Enjoy the afternoon and have a relaxing day. And don't forget to check the blog. That goes for the rest of you, college baseball fans.