Some key things took place this weekend. Obviously winning the series is crucial, but longer term, we saw the bullpen carry the team from Friday in the third inning through Sunday. That has not happened in several years in an ACC series. The staff has started to grow in confidence with a couple of the newer arms. The same players confidence is also starting to grow and is more comfortable in tighter situations now. Think we have expanded our weekend arms comfort to 8 or 9 arms now......That will really help us down the stretch. Each offers a slightly different "look" and skillset.

We were close to having our third starter this weekend. The staff waited until Wednesday night's session to see if that was going to happen. Just wanting to make sure we are as healthy as possible for the stretch run. It looks like we "should" have our full compliment of starters this weekend (barring a setback). Having that rotation along with a growing bullpen is pretty much all we can ask for moving forward.

Think we may see a little shoring up of the middle infield now. Think we have been waiting for a key ingredient to return. Speaking of that, look for a possible Tuesday return. That bat alone will really bolster our offense (may take a couple of games to get timing down). That bat will really provide some real protection in the lineup as well, plus really help our offensive balance with stronger right handed hitting to compliment our left handed power/strength. This will really change how teams will pitch to us.

Coming down the back half of the season, don't get caught up in the records of opponents. Yes, on paper, it "looks" as if we have a favorable schedule (and in theory we may), but each remaining weekend will be a real grind. Everyone we play left is really good. We have to continue to get better in a few areas and shore up a few things that opponents really are going to try to exploit. Hope we can continue program growth and close the back half with some real momentum.