Don't know about how the other CU dads might see it, but my son played at Chapman for both Laverty and Coach T, and one difference between the 2 was accountability. Laverty knows how to coach and took Redlands to the Western Regionals one year with an overachieving team. But with T, you needed to consistently perform in order to play. If you messed up, missed a sign, had a mediocre effort, walked too many guys in a game, kept making the same mistakes, you might sit for awhile or the rest of your time there. Don't get me wrong, T knew how to give strokes out for good effect and was mostly calm (especially to the older players) but every now and then, he was known to put out some biting sarcasm (or explode with a brief but effective rant) that kept a guy and maybe the team on their toes. Laverty is a good man. He's done a good job of handling his pitchers especially the ones coming back from injury. People like him but good or bad, there's no consequences about failing or losing. 

On those last few nationally ranked panther teams (which I saw), there were a number of guys who were above-average focused and mentally tough. Gamers expecting to win.  Everybody wants to win but there's just a few guys on a given team that have that hard nosed attitude about winning. T's approach maybe encouraged those kind of guys to rise up, be recognized and make good things consistently happen. I can name a half dozen guys like that who led the 2011 team, rode herd on the others and kept the team together, chemistry-wise, on and off the field (especially that last World Series team in 2011).

Just an observation from an old poster on this board-there's no right answer: Fact is --- Chapman is having a good year. The lineup is as good on paper as any lineup put out there in past years. The pitching has lacked some consistency it seems but it's a young staff with some good arms and who knows, they could get hot over these last few games. Hope so.

News on 3 Chapman players (Class of 2014): OF Connor Battaglia has signed with Florence Freedom of the Frontier League (last I heard); and  RHP Travis McGee and RHP Kevin Osaki both signed with the Gary Southshore Railcats of the American Association.

I read that Brian Rauh (Chapman) was promoted last weekend by the Washington Nats from high A to AA Harrisburg.

Chapman beats Kean 7-6. Always a nice thing to read especially when its a come from behind thriller I missed the game but its particularly fun to beat them in front of their usually chippy fan base. I was happy to see Laverty is not holding back his aces for just the conferences games. Perhaps due to last years poor record against non-conference teams which was a factor in CU not getting a playoff bid despite a 28-12 D-3 record. I hope Kean wins every game after this and its SOS is a top 10 by years end. CU will need it because of the records of the SCIAC's 3 bottom teams, a problem the others hoping for a "C" at large bid  will have too.

Chapman split 2 yesterday to run their SCIAC record to 2-4.  Too early to panic: Laverty gave his returning guys and prime recruits the first chance to fill the spots vacated by graduation, defections and retirements but some have faltered. So he's had to give the other new guys (especially the pitchers)  "on the field" auditions right now. RHP Connor Williams hadn't pitched much his first 2 years as a spot starter/long relief guy but he salvaged the CLU series with a solid 6 IP effort. By mid March, I suspect Laverty will have figured out the 6-7 pitchers that he'll need to rely on and the lineup that he will mostly use the rest of the way. Once that happens, my guess is that the core will develop and be competitive. For the most part, its a young team in rebuilding mode.

They brought in 1 of their bigger recruiting classes this time and I'm inclined to think that the pitching will develop. The CU pitching coach recruits the pitchers. He was a minor leaguer himself back in the 80's, and over the years, he has developed a method re mechanics that consistently develops a pitcher (rotation of the hips, etc).  The best 2 examples would be Brian Rauh and Travis McGee (both arrived at Chapman for the 2010 season). I saw Rauh pitch in HS and when I saw him pitch again a year later at CU, he was throwing about 10mph faster and his rainbow curve had morphed into a tight, late breaking slider. Both he and McGee are pitching in the pros now (Rauh at high A for Washington).

PostScript on Coach T: for those who remember D-3's Coach of the Decade (who took CU to the CWS 8 times in 11 years), I had dinner last Christmas with someone who worked at CU's administration. Chancellor Doti  viewed T as an anachronism - a dinosaur - who's coaching methods were outdated and unacceptable. They hated  T's old school "tough" guy or bully approach (depending on your perspective).  Laverty is a nice guy. I hope he does well but I was sorry to see T go. My son did well by him both on and off the field. The last I heard is that T remains in Hawaii working at a non-baseball job.

Someone asked earlier about Chapman's Riddle (whatever happened...). He dropped out of school. No injury was mentioned. Its funny. With graduation, there were going to be about 5 holes to fill among the core but they had the pieces to fill in. Trouble is some of the pieces are now  gone:

Richards (who pitched briefly last season after TJ surgery, hurt his shoulder this time and decided to hang them up), clean up hitter Gandy (he wanted to catch but he wasn't going to get a chance at Chapman plus he wasn't happy last season when he sat on the bench in the first month).

Some rambling thoughts: They are pretty high on the pitcher transfer who started game 1. Game 2 starter Smith, a junior, is solid. They've been kinda waiting on him to grow into the spot. Back up closer  Vietze hurt his elbow at the end of last season and haven't heard much on how that is going). They have a new first baseman (Love who's off to a great start) but let me go on a limb and predict the next  big Slugging star in the SCIAC. His name is Forest Wiederman. He saw limited playing behind Gandy and Saetzer last year as a frosh but he's the new DH and keep your eye on him.

Agreed. His love of the game and Cal Lu are self evident (although not sure about the comment re Chapman fans who's congeniality toward rival teams remains a monument to civility). My picks for tomorrow are Linfield, Cal Lu  and Trinity. Anything can happen but I'm not convinced that a team with 18 losses can succeed in this particular regional. 

Quote from: Jack Parkman on May 12, 2014, 01:27:33 AM

Quote from: Westside4 on May 12, 2014, 01:25:23 AM
Wow... this is embarrassing. Shocked.

On one hand it's great to see the NCAA willing to spend money to fly teams but how in the world do they not take a team that was #4 in the last regional rankings and is 10 minutes away from a regional site?

Man, I feel bad for the GF team and Chapman too.  I can understand Chapman not making it but it's tough as I thought they could do well.  I guess I am shocked as well.

Can't say that I am happy about it but if this is the new approach from now on, I'm fine with it. What they should do is that if they are not going to honor regional boundaries as much as they did in the past, then they should eliminate the regional rankings and publish a national ranking during the last 3 weeks so that teams have a better idea of who's in and who's not relative to the entire country. It would give us a better idea of who we were competing against for playoff spots. Regional rankings gave one too many teams the false impression that they were in (ie. George Fox at #4) or had a shot however slim (Chapman at #6). Congrats to all of the selected teams, and hope the West teams outlast the rest of the nation.

Quote from: Teddy_Ballgame on May 09, 2014, 06:41:05 PM

Quote from: Jack Parkman on May 09, 2014, 04:51:08 PM
PASADENA, CA - The SCIAC is proud to announce the 2014 SCIAC Baseball All-Conference Awards.

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR:  Simon Rosenbaum, So. - Pomona-Pitzer

PITCHER OF THE YEAR:  Travis McGee, Sr. – Chapman

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR:  Tanner Nishioka, Fr. - Pomona-Pitzer

Big ups to the Sophomore Simon Rosenbaum! And Freshman Tanner Nishioka! And everyone else too, I guess 
Here's a link to the PP Baseball write up: http://pomona.prestosports.com/sports/bsb/2013-14/releases/201405086qy7h9

Of note- Rosenbaum is leading the nation (with only a few tournaments being wrapped up) in OBP and Doubles. His .474 BA and .822 Slugging are both ranked 4th nationally.

Of course, tip of the hat to Barzilli who is comfortably leading the country with 17 home runs. I think if he and Whittier hadn't stumbled a little bit at the end the POY award might have been his. Nevertheless, pretty incredible season. Didn't think we'd see another 17 home run season after the bats changed in 2011.

As mentioned Rosenbaum is only a Sophomore. Scary thought. Not to mention that next year he should hopefully be all recovered from his Tommy John and ready to step back into the rotation. Even if he sees an understandable drop in offensive productivity, he has the potential for national awards.
Nishioka is one of the more athletic players you'll see in DIII. It's going to be fun to watch his career continue as well.

Overall a pretty balanced all-conference team by class. The SCIAC will be losing some pretty special seniors like Petersen, Roth, Barzilli, DellaValle, Shiewe, etc. But there were plenty of underclassmen represented too, and next year is going to be really interesting seeing how teams evolve as young players step up to fill the shoes of the graduating seniors. CLU in particular is losing a ton, but they still have a great foundation and always find great players to fill the gaps. 

By the way- glaring omission is Kevin Osaki. Had another phenomenal year coming back from surgery. After reading that article below, would have been nice to see him represented too and not just McGee (who had a ridiculous year, well-deserved Pitcher of the Year). Does anybody know if they plan on using their extra year of eligibility? Maybe delay graduation or take some grad school classes next year? As a fan of good baseball, I hope they stay. As a fan of PP, get them the hell out of here!

Teddy, Nice sum up the SCIAC's year and spotlight on different  players. My own thoughts about unfortunate omissions would include Whittier's Garcia and Oxy's Kling. They shackled CU's bats in the 4 games that we watched. They both moved the ball around like I imagined Whitey Ford once did as to make things uncomfortable for a hitter. By the way, those were some very gracious comments re McGee and Osaki. There were a few bumps (lol the Game at Pomona for one!) along the way but overall the season turned out as they hoped.  As to your question, Both are 5th year seniors and have played their 4 years, so they now move on.

Quote from: 108 Stitches on May 09, 2014, 10:39:27 AM
Games for Today:

Friday, May 9
Game 9: Sul Ross State vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor, 10:00 a.m.    Loser Bracket

Game 10: Texas-Dallas vs. Howard Payne, 1:00 p.m.             Loser Bracket

Game 11: Concordia Texas vs. LeTourneau, 4:00 p.m.           Winner Bracket

Game 12: Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 9, 7:00 p.m.

Who are the probable starters in Game 11?

Suddenly, I have become a big fan of the Tornados. They are up 2-1 at the end of 6.  I think Jack's analysis is dead on. For Chapman to stay ranked in the West and hopefully lock in their selection chances, Concordia needs to win the ASC.

Quote from: SoCalSoxFan on May 08, 2014, 11:16:23 AM

Quote from: Whatagame on May 07, 2014, 11:27:00 PM
[
Chapman can't host a regional because there is no snack bar at Hart Park.  Weak!

But there are always fiesta's and party's going on in the Park.  Somebody is always cooking carne asada...
I've been tempted to ask to buy some because it smells so good.

Plus, the ice cream/snack guys who push their carts selling to all the kids and parents at the Park... that should count!

Hart Park has its limited charms of which the ice cream guy may be the highlight. But if Chapman ever hosted again, then I would suggest: Get a permit, round up a half dozen gourmet food trucks and put them up in the grass area behind the stands. Other than avoiding a few foul balls, the city gets some income, the trucks do well and the fans get fed a pretty broad menu of odd delights. And to make it even more festive/profitable, I'd invite every little league and pony league in the area, have a clinic, autograph sessions, HR Derby's, get Mickey, Donald and Goofy to throw out the first pitch and let the kiddies run out with the fielders to start the game.

Just out of curiosity: what does a 6 team double elimination Bracket look like? Never paid attention before and when I googled it, it didn't seem to fit my vague recall from Chapman's past experience.

Great observation and very true. I watched CU up close for close to 5 years. Also being a Pool B was also a huge advantage. BUT they still had to win several times at away fields in the Regionals(Abilene, TX and McMinnville, OR) to get to Appleton more than once.

I think they are a long shot getting a Pool C. If they do I believe they will be overmatched in Oregon.
[/quote]

You're right about that -- that they eventually had to win on a foreign field several times to get to Appleton. I think there was also a point where the regionals were played at Hart Park for a few years during the early or mid 2000's during their run. As for their chances in Oregon if they make it, they've got a pitcher's chance. Call it foolish or stubborn swag but at least 2 of them think they can win and yes, can harken back to ancient days when they started against Linfield and CU won. The last time 1 of them pitched against Linfield, the latter was ranked no 19 and CU was a below .500 team. So naturally, CU won and 12 Linfield batters went down on strikes. I just hope they can get in.

Quote from: 108 Stitches on May 04, 2014, 10:36:47 PM
Trinity did Chapman a big favor by winning the SCAC today. TLU will not get a bid so depending on what happens in the ASC I would think that they are in, but really not sure. If they get in my guess is as the 5/6th seed and could face the beast Linfield.

Quote from: Jack Parkman on May 04, 2014, 10:09:55 PM
Nice to see Cal Lu sweep through the SCIAC tourney again. Chapman scored 4 runs in 2 games against Cal Lu and their pitching was not too spectacular. Cal Lu's on the other hand bent at times but never broke. It will be interesting to see if Chapman still gets a shot at a trip to Oregon.

Some random observations: First, congrats to CLU and good luck in the Regionals. As they rolled through the conference tournament without much suspense, they were clearly the class of the SCIAC and a tip of the "Colorado cap" on their back to back titles. Second, if Chapman ever had a chance of winning the tourney, it probably could only have happened if they had home field advantage (and even then, I don't know about this year). I think back to the Redlands game when they lost on a 3-run walk off HR and a couple other games that they lost and how easy they could have made up that 1 game deficit and gone into the tourney as the #1 seed. Everyone knows that home field advantage generally helps but in Chapman's case, the advantage is more acute. Hart Park is one of the few pitcher's parks in the conference. Big spacious field with a strong breeze/wind that alternately blows in from left center, center and right from about mid afternoon.  If you have a son who pitches in HS looking to find a good place to pitch, CU is your place.  Every year (with a couple exceptions) going back to at least 2003, CU's team ERA is always nationally ranked and in the low or sub 3's. Certainly, they have recruited some great arms with some going pro but the park effects have no doubt helped.  Hart Park also has a high mound that is different from most of the other fields. Check out the top 4-5 pitchers for CU this year, and their ERA's at home are in the 1's or 2's and their road ERA's are over 4.  Probably the same unusual or extreme "home-away splits" that you would see if you looked up Dodger Stadium back in the 60's and the great Dodger pitching staffs back then that always seem to lead the league in ERA (of course, having Koufax and Drysdale helped). This year, CU struggled with mixed success in trying to get used to the mounds of other teams (landing spots, slope, adjusting their release points during the games and in some cases the shorter band box fences a la Pomona Pitzer's RF) and its shows in the greater number of walks, HBP's and HR's allowed.  Would CU have won the tourney with home field advantage, I won't go that far as every pitcher coming in receives that same benefit but CU's pitchers have the advantage of pitching many times there so there might have been a slight edge to it. Third, and just something that I noticed during the tourney, Whittier's Barzilli had a fantastic season. Definitely on the short list for Conference POY. He was legitimately someone to be feared when he approached the plate but over 5 games during the last month all won by CU, CU held him to 2-17, .117 BA, 7 K's, no RBI's and no HR's.  He was a dangerous mystery that CU pitching coach Edwards apparently solved.