Seems like CNU and SU are fated to play at the end of every season.  Fun game to watch last night (SU/Sal).  Gutsy showing by the Sal starter.  SU's closer went 6-7 innings.  All the games at this regional have been affected by gale force winds blowing in from CF.  Hope the Captains bats continue to heat up after the long layoff.  They have been getting stronger each game. 

Go Captains!

Looks like I was right about two Mid-Atlantic teams coming to the South Regional, but wrong about which two.  Messiah and Rowan are good adds to this group and will make for a really competitive tournament.  Messiah doesn't have an impressive won-loss record, but a close look at their schedule shows a win against Salisbury (6-3) and an extra-inning loss to Shenandoah (8-9).  Sounds like a team that can hang with the others in this Regional.   

Let's hope for great weather at beautiful Captains Park on Wednesday. 

Go Captains!

I've got to think there won't be more than one pool C bid in the South Regional. The givens are:
1) CNU
2) Salisburty
3) Shenandoah (pool C)
4) Lynchburg
The remaining 2 bids are likely to be Pool A's from conferences nearby.  My guesses would be:
Haverford (who just knocked off Johns Hopkins - Hopkins would have been a lock for this regional if they had won)
Misericordia (should they beat DeSales)
I think it is more likely that the NCAA will send a couple Mid-Atlantic Pool A's to Newport News than make  Birmingham Southern travel almost 800 miles.  The other bubble teams in the South seem unlikely to be ranked high enough or have a SoS high enough to get them in. 
Just my thinking - anxious to hear what others think.

I almost hesitate to say this and mean no disrespect to Moose, but after watching all the coverage of Bryce Harper this week, I have to say he is the spitting image of Moose.  Anyone else notice the resemblence?

Scratch that last question - just found the SoS on the D3.com site.

Boysof summer: 

I think your guesses are pretty good.  The assumptions are the real issue.  If Lynchburg or Salisbury do not win their tourneys it will get real interesting real fast.  You'd have to put both of them into the lead for the Pool C bids and that could leave ranked teams like Peidmont and Shenandoah on the outside looking in.  It is possible that it becomes a three team race with Lynchburg/Peidmont/Shenandoah for that last Pool C bid, but Lynchburg only has 8 losses versus double digits for the other 2.

Where are you finding the SoS rankings?  My old link to the NCAA rankings appears not be updated.

DBat - Could not agree with you more about G'boro.  You could see glimmers of improvement from them last year, but this year they seem to be putting it all together.  They played CNU tough at CNU this year and they are much improved.  The Lefty starter did a masterful job of keeping the batters off balance.  Seems like he never left one over the plate.  And the comment about them not quitting is spot on - they used to fold up the tent when they got behind - not this year.

I also want to say that Ferrum has shown similar improvement.  Watching them this weekend was fun even though they took one from my Captains.  They too never quit.  Not a big fan of that field though - it has to be one of the best pitchers parks in the country with the entire field sloping down from CF to home and acres of foul territory.

Don't know what to say about MU.  They beat CNU one game at home which I'm told was a masterful pitching perfomance, but got spanked in the second game.  They do seem to be racking up losses faster than I can remember and the record in the conference is appalling.  The loss of some really good starters can do that. 

Haven't seen Averett play, but they were where G'Boro and Ferrum are this year last year.  Surpisingly good and tough to play at home.  Their record doesn't surprise me at this point. 

Shenandoah is Shenandoah.  They still schedule soft games early, but manage to beat tough teams as well.  They also benefit from playing most of the better conference teams at home this year. 

Wesleyan continues to struggle but with a couple wins in conference seems like they are doing better than last year.  What was up that first game at Averett?  Looked like both teams missed an extra point.

The tournament is shaping up to be the most competitive in several years.  Any one of these teams is capable of winning their first game and after that I'd still put my money on the depth of CNU, experience of Shenandoah, and then the energy of G'Boro and Ferrum.

As the login name implies, I am from NoVA and would have been quite happy to see CNU playing CAC teams over the past 4 years versus that drive down to Fayetteville.  Still, I wouldn't have traded the experience for anything.  That being said, I think this is a great move for CNU and the conference.  The Captains will be playing MW (they are only 2 VA D3 Public Schools), they will be playing schools of comparable size, and (the part I would have like the most), they will be making shorter road trips.  I suppose the schedule will be more exposed to the weather than it is now - does it ever warm up at Frostburg? But the prospect of more games with Salisbury is very enticing.  I can see Salisbury taking the place of Shenandoah as CNU's arch rival.  Given the noise that the Gulls fans produce (I think they schedule the lacrosse practice to end just in time for them to come harass CNU) and the turnout when they play at CNU, this could be a very good rivalry.  Don't see much of a downside to the move from my perspective.

32 Runs?  Really??  The real question is why SU had ANY starters playing in that game.  Games like that are the reason conference stats and ONLY conference stats should apply to conference recognition.  While the folks voting on regional and national recognition won't know that a starter went 5-5 with 7 RBI's against a pathetic foe, the conference coaches should. 

I know it's all baseball, but I really hate to see coaches let games like this happen.  1) Don't schedule games like this to begin with, and 2) Play the JV or subs. 

Another option for CNU may be the William & Mary field.  It has lights and is only a 15 min drive from CNU.  If the CNU organizers had access to that facility, it could make for a great regional.   War Memorial is a nostalgic place, but as others have mentioned it is dated and in a part of town without much appeal.  The W&M field is in Williamsburg which is a great vacation spot with lots to do.  Hotels and restaurants between the two fields are superb.

http://www.tribeathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=25100&ATCLID=205060947

I've heard CNU was considering a bid.  They do not have lights but are talking about installing them.  Doubt they can get that done by May though (the field is close to a residential neighborhood and the installation of lights would likely involve some considerable outreach effort).  The War Memorial Stadium is right down the road (in Hampton less than 10 miles away) and is still being used by the Apprentice School and the summer leagues.  War Memorial has lights and when coupled with the CNU stadium would make a great 8-team venue.  As for local infrastructure, Newport News has plenty of restaurants, hotels, and every other kind of store/park/museum you can imagine.  I'd like to see CNU get the regional. 

http://www.ballparkreviews.com/hampton/hampton.htm#

http://www.cnusports.com/sports/2010/2/18/BB_0218103833.aspx?

CNU starts the season with a #4 ranking by Collegiate Baseball.   They follow Marietta and Chapman (last year's finalists) and Kean (perennial power).  The rest of the USA South is conspicuously absent from the top 30.  Soon-to-be USA South member, Peidmont checks in at #24.  No sneaking up on anyone this year for the Captains - that ranking and the slight to the rest of the conference will ensure that everyone will be gunning for them.  Hope they come out of the chute hot.

It seems like most the esteemed posters on this board are pretty consistent with their 1-3 picks, which I think are pretty safe picks.  The real variability comes in with Averett and Greensboro.  Sure would be nice to get an update from one their fans so we could hear more about their falls and where their fans are projecting them.   How about it AU and GU? - give us something to react to. 

Thanks for the updates Narch and LTHS - I got a good chuckle over the Such base stealing comment.  I'm sure he'd say "if the ball goes over the fence, what's the sense in running?"  The SU contingent sure has gone dark on this board.  Maybe they are already chatting up the ODAC board?    I'd sure like to hear about that team or any of the other USA South teams.  It would even be fun to hear from the soon-to-be USA South teams.  They are just one year away from them being able to post "hope springs eternal" comments on this board like the rest of us. 

I feel compelled to pile on here about the D1 vs D3 thing.  A lot of factors go into a college decision.  In my estimation, most of the recruited players at top echelon D3 teams could easily play at the lower echelon of D1.  Most were recruited by those same lower echelon D1 schools but chose a top echelon D3 school.  Some of the factors that go into such a decision are: 1) cost - it gets pretty expensive for a kid to go out-of-state to play D1 when he's only picking up 25% in scholarship money.  Shaving 25% off of $40-45k at an out-of-state school is still more expensive than 18K - 25k in-state and many D3 schools will chip in acedemic scholarship money.   And that mandatory 25% just started - in the past it could have been just an offer of book money.  2) Distance - If you are only getting recruited by East Central State Oklahoma, or Binghamton University, NY and you live in Virginia, you must really want to play D1 badly.  Do players get drafted out of those schools? - yes, but odds are still against you there.  3) Playing time - most recruited D3 players start or play as freshman - most D1 do not.  If a kid already has a pretty good idea that professional ball is not a likely destination, why would he want to waste 1-2 years on the bench?  Balancing college ball and school is hard enough - I have a great admiration for the kid that sticks it out with limited playing time.  4) Lastly, the aforementioned education value - There are some great academic D1 schools, but there are a lot more that are marginal educational experiences.  Not to pick on East Central (it was my father's undergraduate college) but how can they, (and MOST of the lower echelon of D1 baseball) compare to the vast majority of D3 schools which are typically excellent private and public schools?

To me there is are several reasons why a low D1 - high D3 player would choose to attend a D3 school.  Having watched many of them competing with all levels of D1 players in summer ball, I'm convinced that inability to play at that level is not one of them.