I say throw MacLeod Friday.

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

The best way to win the regional is to go 2-0. The best way to do that is throw MacLeod and Bednar games 1 and 2.

 

[Drebin]

The best way to win the regional is to go 2-0. The best way to do that is throw MacLeod and Bednar games 1 and 2.

Mac hasn't been very consistent so I don't know that the debate over who to throw really matters. It's at least arguable that Harding is the right choice regardless.

 

[ZombieKissinger]

But it also depends on how good the first team you play is. It's not 2-0 at all cost. For example, if your 2 seed was Arkansas, 3 seed was Vanderbilt, and 4 seed was a 4-year-old t-ball team, you'd obviously not pitch your best starter against the t-ball team. You could even assign estimated chances of winning to various scenarios based on predicted pitching matchups and multiply it out to gauge your best pitching strategy for the regional.

Scenario 1:
Game 1 - MacLeod vs 4 year olds - 100%
Game 2 - Bednar vs Arkansas - 40%
Game 3 - Harding vs Vanderbilt 20%
-- 8% chance to win first three

Scenario 2:
Game 1 - Harding vs 4 year olds - 100%
Game 2 - MacLeod vs Arkansas - 40%
Game 3 - Bednar vs Vanderbilt - 40%
--16% chance to win the first 3

Extreme example, but "going 2-0 is the best chance to win the regional therefore pitch your best 2 people first" is faulty logic if there's significant disparity in how good the teams
are.

Edit: Not saying to not throw MacLeod Friday for our situation -- don't know much about Samford -- but if it was Southern, I'd throw Harding 100%

 

[Go Budaw]

Mac and Bednar should be 1-2 I think...in some order. We can probably match arms with any of the other 3 teams in the regional even if we somehow wind up in the losers bracket. I mean who would you rather have, Harding / Fristoe / Brandon Smith, or the #3 starter for VCU or Campbell?