by fastpitchforever » Wed Oct 02, 2013 7:51 pm
My guess is Texas will be fine with Kern leading the pitching, but not as dominating as it was (51-10) with Luna on the mound. There are 3 more pitchers to choose from for relief this year, plus 2 more pitchers coming in the 2014 class (add in the 3 catchers and you can field an entire team!). They will challenge for the Big 12 title with Baylor this year, but doubt they can get too far in Regionals without Luna or experience. If Fox had stayed, they would have had a better chance to advance while Kern and the rest learn more about the college game in their new roles.
I think A&M will struggle to match the 2013 results of 42-18, and they still need relief for Fox although Davenport and Marks may help to a degree. More experience is needed here as well for the relief. They might make it past Regionals, but don't think they can go any deeper.
Both teams need a dominate pitcher to show up, that's what will make the difference. Its pretty tough to sit here today and figure out if that's going to happen for these two teams.