Thanks for the preview/prediction TurtleHead...

Is it too early to start talking about All Conference predictions?  I think Jandron will get POY but it will be interesting to see if they give him the Hitter of the Year or Pitcher of the Year nod, as he probably deserves both.

I'm curious to see how the rest of the selections fall into place...

I think it's safe to say Jandron has this year's POY locked up.  He's 1st nationally in BA and has been a catalyst on the mound for St. Norberts.

From experience, I would say that St. Norbert is the team to beat.  I don't know much about the South half, but Grinnell is obviously solid to have the record they do.  In the end, I predict (as I usually do) that the championship will come down to the #1 and #2 from the North - with the advantage going to St. Norberts.

When comparing the 2 ballclubs, I would say Ripon is less experienced.  However, it only takes 1 pitcher to step up and shut a team down to change everything.  Anybody from the South half disagree?

I'm taking St. Norberts over Ripon in the championship for the automatic bid...

Agreed that Beloit didn't live up to their own pre-season expectations, but let's not kid ourselves and say they don't belong in the conference tournament as one of the top 4 teams in the MWC.

It will be interesting to see how Beloit bounces back next season with some big holes to fill on the infield and in the starting rotation.  Regardless, I think the Bucs would be the first to say they didn't play as consistantly as they'd hope...

Anybody from the South half think Grinnell could give Norberts or Ripon a run for their money in the conference tournament?

I had a feeling this game was going to be protested and it would work out this way.  Word is they will start at 12 PM on Sunday to account for the extra 2 innings.  Also heard that Winske will be ejected for the finish of the game, which means he can't be with the team during warm ups or anything.

Definitely interesting how it all worked out - I think both teams have claims to why it should work out in their favor.  Either way, Beloit will need to get it done on Sunday.  Wish I could have been there to see the circus act that was the finish of that double header...

With 20 innings to play in 1 day, advantage should be to either whoever has a stronger bullpen OR whoevers starters give them the most.  TurtleHead - post results for the rest of us as they become available.

Agree w/ya 100% Big Poppa...obviously I'm Beloit biased, but the South half of the conference has never impressed me as deserving more than 1 bid - atleast not in the past handful of years.

Wow - that's a lot of really good info to consider JustBill.  Thanks for the update.

I think weather is a HUGE concern when trying to break up the North/South structure, but there's ways around it.  Beloit cancelled both their doubleheaders with Lawrence this past weekend before any team boarded a bus to avoid that.  I think if they tried hard enough, they could make things work.

That being said, I'm sure anybody in the South would be opposed to an idea that decreases their chances of qualifying and winning the tournament.  Not taking anything away from their teams or talent, but when 2 of 4 make it from the South, you'd think the coaches down there would be opposed to any types of changes that could hurt their chances.

I also agree with TurtleHead on taking out the North and South and having everyone play everyone in the MWC.  If I were planning/arguing for that, I'd position it as a DH vs everybody to equal the same 16 conference games they'd usually play.  If you're worried about too much travel, just do every other year for home games so, for example, If Grinnell traveled to Ripon in 2010, Ripon would go to Grinnell in 2011.  Ultimately, while the distances for travel are longer, you're still only getting 4 trips a year for each team.

I just think that gives us the best idea of who the "best" in the conference is.  In any given year, there could be 3 of the top 4 teams in one half and 1 team misses out.  Factor in only 4 teams in the South and it almost just makes more sense to do it this way.

Any thoughts?  Cornhusker?  Knox got hot 2 years ago, but I'd rather send the team that earned it throughout a year, not a team that went .500 in conference and got hot.

Beloit takes 2 from Lawrence tonight...

13-3 in game 1.  11-1 in game 2.

Current Standings in the North
tie 1) Beloit (8-4)
tie 1) St. Norbert (4-2)
     3) Ripon (4-4)
     4) Carroll (4-6)
     5) Lawrence (2-6)

No man crush - TurtleHead - cmon now!  Just interesting stuff I like to look at...

After a pretty calm Spring, the weather sure has made things "fun" the last 2 weeks.  This time of year always kills me when it comes to finals.  At the D1 level you got kids that almost never go to classes and it's okay, but at the D3 level you run into teachers that refuse to allow kids to miss...

It's gotta be tough on everyone to work out these schedules and give the team the best chance to win.  Beloit vs. Lawrence - round 2 tonight at Pohlman Field in Beloit.  Having an accessible minor league field definitely has its advantages...will post as results become available.

Big win for the Carroll program - let's see if they can get another one from Norberts.  Hopefully they can take 1 or 2 from Ripon as well.

It should be interesting to see how this last week or so pans out...advantage lies in whatever team has the most arms.  Beloit got 2 complete games last night, which should help out going into 6 more games over the next 6 days.

Hillsheim allows another 6 unearned runs...just about half his runs are unearned at this point in the season.

Early report shows Beloit takes 2 from Lawrence - both DeGeorge and Norman throw complete games (the 4th and 5th in Beloit history)

St. Norbert splits with Carroll - losing the first before winning the 2nd 14-0

After a season of very good weather, the rain postponed a lot of action this past weekend.  Besides the schedule mentioned above, Beloit will have 8 games in 6 days.  Should be interesting to see how their arms hold up after that.

Factor in finals for all teams and it should be a busy last week or 2...

Good point TurtleHead.  Making that jump is tough.  Kinda makes me question the toughness factor though...somebody boots a ball behind ya and you allow the floodgates to open.

Jandron's gotta be close to a lock at this point for Utility All American. Anybody out there close with the Norbert program know if scouts spend a lot of time in DePere?  I remember when they used to show up to see Frost

Whatever guys - think what you'd like.

Next question...what do you think Jandron's chances are for 1st team all american?  Any draft potential?  The numbers are pretty impressive - right up there where Frost's were.

What's the deal with Hillesheim?  2 years ago he's lights out and the last 2 years he struggles.  Curious thing is how many unearned runs he seems to give up.  Is he the unluckiest guy in the conference or is this questionable scoring to keep ERAs down?