Quote from: Ralph Turner on April 23, 2009, 07:12:20 PM
Final  TU 11 Rhodes 3

How many games will the East win in the tourney?

One?

Two?

More than two?

---

The West leads the East 20-8 on the first day of action since going to the 6-team format in 1999.

Centre up 4-1 in the 7th. Their pitcher is sitting at 89-90 mph on the gun. Williams for Millsaps is 84-88.

Quote from: BigPoppa on April 09, 2009, 08:43:20 PM

Quote from: Jack Parkman on April 09, 2009, 07:51:15 PM
Chapman is down 9-1 in the 6th against Redlands.  No Kitchens for Chapman.

I know everyone jumps on me when I say this every week, but Chapman is in serious trouble right now. Even if Kitchens returns, he can't pitch every game of a regional.

Chapman has lost 4 in a row.  Will the Committee take into account how they finish.....strong finish or limp to the line?

This is probably the most open tournament that I can remember in a while in the SCAC.  Millsaps, while being the #1 team in the country, doesn't scare me so to speak.  Owen and Hawkins scare me, and the rest are just role players that know exactly what to do to make them successful.  I would go as far as to say that this is the least talented Millsaps team in a long while.  That isnt meant as an insult by any means, because they play like champions and find ways to win games, which is all that matters.  For some reason, I just dont have them winning the tournament. 

I hope I dont come across as biased, but depending on which TU team shows up, could win it all or lose their first 2 games and be back in Texas before Saturday.  Talent-wise, I think TU  matches up well against anyone.  Whether they can play with the desire and energy needed is an entirely different questions.  Personally, I am hoping they decide to play a little and make a run in the tournament.

Hendrix is the big question mark.  They play the game hard and dont every quit.  I wonder how they will react to being in this position.  This is new territory for the guys on this team. 

As far as the east teams, I know Rhodes will pitch well, play good defense, and run wild on the bases.  Depaw and Centre, I dont know much about. 

Here is to a great weekend of SCAC baseball.

Quote from: frank_ezelle on April 18, 2009, 11:03:01 PM
There's one spot remaining and Hendrix has the upper hand.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like:

East #1 -- DePauw*
East #2 -- Rhodes
East #3 -- Centre

West #1 -- Millsaps
West #2 -- Trinity -OR- Hendrix if they beat Southwestern 2 times on Sunday**
West #3 -- Southwestern if they win 2 on Sunday -OR- Hendrix if they win 1 on Sunday -OR- Trinity if Hendrix wins 2 on Sunday.

*While DePauw and Rhodes could still tie at 9-6, I believe DePauw has the head-to-head tiebreaker.
**Two wins by Hendrix would move them to the same 11-9 record held by Trinity and Hendrix won the head-to-head.  Southwestern is currently 8-10 and they can only overtake Hendrix.

Hendrix wins the first game today, so they are in.  If they sweep, they are the 2 seed.  If SU wins, they are the 3 seed.

Quote from: Jack Parkman on April 15, 2009, 03:28:07 PM

Quote from: tiger_fan2000 on April 15, 2009, 02:57:44 PM
Frank....that MC/TU series was moved up to a single game on Friday night and then DH on Saturday.  This was done to allow TU players to get home Sunday and be able to work on school before they had to leave again for the conf. tournament. 

Question about the conference tournament---I have seen pictures of the field from the milsaps web page, but I heard it was all field turf.  I can find any pictures with field turf, but is that true?  Is there any dirt on the field at all?

Tiger_Fan-   Check out these great pics by Frank.  All field turf!

Wow--even the pitchers mound in field turf......going to be interesting.

Frank....that MC/TU series was moved up to a single game on Friday night and then DH on Saturday.  This was done to allow TU players to get home Sunday and be able to work on school before they had to leave again for the conf. tournament. 

Question about the conference tournament---I have seen pictures of the field from the milsaps web page, but I heard it was all field turf.  I can find any pictures with field turf, but is that true?  Is there any dirt on the field at all?

Quote from: Lou_Brown on April 12, 2009, 06:55:12 PM
Two things:

1. Don't count out the East folks....don't do it. There is some damn good baseball being played in the SCAC East.

2. I don't think Bronson pitches the 1st game of the tournament for Trinity. More on that next week.

On your #2.....why wait until next week.  I watched him pitch on Friday and he looked fine to me.  Is he hurt?

Quote from: frank_ezelle on April 12, 2009, 06:12:03 PM
You are correct about Trinity being able to win the SCAC West Regular season championship with a sweep at Millsaps.  Well, technically I think the teams would be co-champions but Trinity would get the #1 seed.

That could be seen as motivation for Millsaps or motivation for Trinity, but let's face it, both teams will already be 100% focused on these games.  With no disrespect intended for the teams in the East, I'd be willing to say that these three games coming up will be tougher for both Millsaps and Trinity than the first three games that they'll play in the SCAC Tournament.  It should be great fun and I hope the Millsaps faithful will turn out for all three games.

It is going to be a great two weekends of baseball.  Looking at the bracket for the SCAC tournament.....Looks like it would be better for TU to the be the #3 seed.  The winner of W1/E3 plays the winner of the W2/E2 in the 2nd round.  Because of the wonderful 6 team tournament, the winner of the W3/E1 gets to play the loser of the W1/E3.  Not that I am assuming TU would beat the E1 seed, I am confident enough in the Evan Bronson that I have seen the last 3 weeks to say that I will take him against anyone else's #1 in the SCAC. 

It is going to be fun......

Quote from: frank_ezelle on April 11, 2009, 08:04:51 PM
Trinity certainly came up big this weekend with a sweep that puts them into the SCAC Tournament.  Millsaps is a lock at #1, Trinity is a lock to be in the tournament at either #2 or #3, and the winner of the Southwestern at Hendrix series will be the third representative.  As important as the Trinity at Millsaps series might be to both of those teams, the key series in the West will be the one in Conway.

The East is still a mess with one series rained out and the leader of the division ineligible to go to the SCAC Tournament.  My gut feeling is that the three teams from the West will be stronger as a group than the three teams from the East, but it seems like the gap is closing a little.  That's especially true regarding whoever ends up being the #3 seed in the East.  That's going to be a good team and no pushover for the #1 in the West.

Frank....while it appears Millsaps to be a lock, I think a sweep next weekend by the Tigers puts TU and MC at identical records, with TU winning the series, I think TU would be the #1 seed.  That is a highly unlikely scenario, but so did a sweep of the pirates.

TU wins a great game, 1-0 in 10 innings.  Tiger Pitchers Mike Hunter and Mike Panozzo combine to only give up 1 hit in the 10 innings.  With the win, TU secures a birth in the tournament.  What a series this was and what a series next weekend will be.

With the Hendrix loss, I believe that if Trinity wins today they will secure a birth into the tournament.  With a win today, worst case Trinity could fall to would be 10-10.

HC is 7-9 right now, lets say they win today to go to 8-9.
SU with a loss today, would be 8-9. 

Those two match up next weekend in a 3 game series and no matter what happens, TU will be in the tournament. 

I hope we get the same type of determination today that we saw in the Tigers yesterday.  That was fun baseball to watch.

Last years 4 game format might have worked.  I am not really sure why they went away from that.  Why does the SCAC championship happen when it does?  Why can't the tournament be pushed back a weekend or two?  That would definitely help the winner be more game ready for the Regionals.  That would also help the east teams get in more games with the weather.  Finals at Trinity begin May 5.  Why not have the SCAC tournament the weekend before that?  That would give teams one more weekend of play, might help more with the weather.  That might make too much sense and be too logical for the SCAC.

Quote from: frank_ezelle on April 09, 2009, 02:40:05 AM
The SCAC East is still very wide open when it come to tournament slots.  BSC has a comfortable lead a 7-2, but they can't go to the tournament.  That leaves Rhodes and DePauw at 5-4, Centre at 3-3, OU at 2-4, and Sewanee at 2-7.  And crazy me, I didn't realize until this week that the East only plays 15 games in the form of 3-game series against each of the other teams instead of any home-away setup.

Here are the remaining games for each team:

Rhodes:  3 at BSC, 3 hosting Sewanee (BSC could put them in a world of hurt)
DePauw:  3 hosting Centre, 3 hosting OU (seems like the easiest remaining schedule)
Centre:  3 at DePauw, 3 hosting BSC (seems like the hardest)
OU:  3 at Sewanee, 3 at DePauw (finishing out with 6 road games)
Sewanee:  3 hosting OU, 3 at Rhodes (not an impossible task to get to the tournament)

You sharp eyed readers may notice that this still leaves OU and Centre with just 12 games.  Their series was cancelled earlier in the year and there's no time to make it up.  It seems like that's going to become a big factor in the race for a tournament spot and I don't know exactly how that will be handled.

Only in the SCAC could we have two halves of a conference that dont play the same format.  WOW.  I understand the reasoning, but still.

Frank--
How is Tait's back.  I know it was bothering him when they played TU and then saw he hasnt been hitting much lately.  Finally, I read he came out against SU on Sunday because of it.  I hope he can get healthy down the stretch because he is a lot of fun to watch.

Are there any Hendrix fans on the board?  I know they got some rain this week, but how much?  I think they are currently getting some, but it is supposed to move out late tonight and be windy.  How does the field drain? 

this is a crucial series this weekend as whomever wins 2 games will have the tie breaker.  Both Hendrix and Trinity have key games in the future, but this series could go a long way in determining who makes the Tournament.  Two wins by Trinity and that gives them some breathing room.  A sweep would be great, but winning 2 would be awesome as it would separate the two teams by 4 in the loss column.