Sports

NCAA Coach Criticized For Starting Top 100 MLB Prospect 3 Days After 123-Pitch Outing

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A view of the pitcher's mound on a baseball diamond.

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College baseball fans are questioning a pitching decision made by the Southern Miss staff on Monday. The Golden Eagles are playing in the regional final with an opportunity to advance to the next round of the postseason.

With the season on the line, the coaching staff opted to start ace Tanner Hall on the mound. Some have been critical due to his having pitched on Friday.

Southern Miss has battled back through the loser’s bracket to find itself in the regional final. The Eagles defeated Penn on Sunday to force a decisive winner-take-all rematch on Monday.

The victor will move on to the super regionals while the loser’s season ends.

Starting pitcher Tanner Hall got the call on Friday, pitching spectacularly in what wound up being an extra inning loss. The righty threw nine innings of one-run ball in the no-decision.

Fast forward to Monday, and he’ll get the ball once again. The team announced that their ace would toe the rubber in the regional finale as he gives USM the best chance to win.

Hall has been the go-to guy on the mound for the Golden Eagles this season, going 12-3 with a 2.12 ERA. While it’s not unusual to see a pitcher throw on three days rest, some are questioning the Southern Miss staff for putting him back out.

This revolves around his throwing 123 pitches in that opening day start.

Here’s what the college baseball world was saying after seeing the pitching decision.

Kendall Rogers ofΒ D1 BaseballΒ said, “Well, this is an interesting decision after Hall started a few days ago. Guessing this is just to kind of get the ball rolling down at Auburn.”

Former college pitcher Stephen Schoch joked, “Bad day to be an ibuprofen in Auburn.”

There were others who didn’t see it as the smartest coaching move considering Hall is a top 100 MLB Draft prospect.

This fan asked, “Why ruin his career before it starts?”

Another person commented, “I can’t say I agree with this.”

There were others who sided with the team, though they didn’t outnumber the critics.

While Hall would get the start, he’d only throw for two innings, striking out a batter and holding Penn scoreless. At the time of this writing, the Golden Eagles lead the Quakers, 8-7, in the seventh inning.