is going to be different this year. Today was an example of needing some roles to change a little on the mound. Great getting Gerard back for sure. It was a good week getting Biddison back and our three starters back. We were pretty sure getting Gerard back last weekend, and Biddison had been ready for a while, but wasn't cleared by medical staff until this past Monday. Gerard looked a little rusty, but he battled through and got some reps in that was critical. He will continue to be our most trusted starter and not worried about him getting back to full strength. Connelly relinquished the closer role today, and really came in to do what he is built to do, and give us long, middle relief. Not saying he won't close some more, as I think we will make that call based on situation. This is the second Sunday game Firoved has been asked to close it out, so again, as mentioned earlier this week, staff is really growing in confidence in him, and some others. He presents a different look for sure. We have got to have situations like today and last Sunday, where we have to pitch out of jams. We were much better suited to win today if we had to go extras, as we still had Heard and Siverling. We can't develop into a contending team if others don't experience situations like today.

Give Wake credit, they were sitting on off speed stuff from our lefty's and frankly, we missed on a couple of spots that turned into trouble, which is not normal for our guys, but that happens. On a side note, Wake has some pros in their lineup and they should be better record wise. They took the series in Tally and probably was turning the corner. They ran into a hot club this weekend. But they have some dudes in their lineup, and some real power on the mound. As mentioned the other day, don't get caught up in the records of these teams. Our offense is completely different now, and our defense is starting to shore up as well......

Finally, on the schedule timing......the bidding process for NCAA regional hosting is already starting. Not positive on the official submission date deadline. Will check into that, but the process has opened. This is important this year for several reasons. It puts a premium on the next three weeks, and that means we have three ACC series left before that deadline (the notification timeline is the week of May 10). So, we have GT (home), NCSU (away), and UVA (home) before that May 10 timeline, plus a sneaky big Liberty game this Tuesday on the road (that won't be critical and won't hurt but could help for sure if we win). We have Duke and ND home after that......So, essentially, or at least from a hosting standpoint, resume's are due pretty early this year. So, we could learn whether we host or not with several games left, plus the ACC tournament. This is all being done for Covid and testing issues. While each game is big from here on out, these next three weekend series will really set the tone for postseason. Each weekend will be tough as well. This isn't to get carried away, but just pointing out that hosting for everyone will come down to the next three weeks, and maybe we can find a way to get in that picture........