It looks like there is a clear top 5 in the CCIW - Augustana, IWU, Wheaton, North Central, and Carthage. I have a very hard time seeing Elmhurst, Millikin, or North Park contending this year.

What are you basing this off of? 7 of the 8 teams are .500 or above.

Wheaton does have the horses on the mound - Kaufman, Moran, Schmitz - these are all experienced pitchers who have been all-conference in the past.

They appear to have a good offense this year as well, but that may still be an open question.

Quote from: BigPoppa on April 01, 2016, 01:47:23 PM
It is beginning to feel like I am all alone on this board. Does ANY one have a feeling the CCIW?

I do not have a good feel for the league as a whole. However, North Central has to be the clear favorite. Their team E.R.A. is 1.55 right now. I had a chance to see their ace Bryan Polowy last year and he is not a normal D3 talent.

I also like Wheaton College to be in the mix. They came on very strong at the end of last season before a post season flameout, and they will feature a strong pitching staff.

NCC needed a third pitcher.

They were loaded. Very good lineup.

Polowy should be a shoo-in for CCIW pitcher of the year.

Very disappointing performance for Wheaton who came in as the hottest team in the conference. They will not graduate anyone from their pitching staff and should come back stronger in 2016.

I see North Central as the favorite. I like their home field advantage, their lineup, and their 1-2 pitching combo (Krusen-Polowy). The interesting thing about NCC is that the kid they start #2 is probably the best pitcher in the league.

Carthage could throw everything off by beating Krusen in game 1.

I like Wheaton's chances against IWU. Their likely starter, Peter Moran, shut down IWU last week. But I am less optimistic about their chances to beat Polowy in game 2.

Even in a four-team field it is hard to win without taking the first two games.

NCC and Wheaton are coming in as clear favorites. NCC won the league and has a great 1-2 punch on the mound. Wheaton has won 9 of 10 in conference to close the season.

From what I can tell the top four teams are essentially set in stone, although seeding is yet to be determined.

NCC 14-4
IWU 12-6
Carthage 11-7
Wheaton 11-7

I suppose Carthage could get swept by NCC and Augie could sweep Millikin and tie Carthage at 11-10. Wheaton could also get swept by IWU and then we'd have a three way tie at 11-10. I don't know what the three-way tiebreaker would be in that case.

It doesn't look like the schedules have been loaded into the CCIW site yet, although the least interesting preseason poll imaginable has been released.

http://cciw.org/news/2015/2/11/BB_0211150259.aspx

Carbon copy of last year's standings.

Wheaton is scheduled to play Rhodes College a week from Friday on Feb. 20th.

A little prediction for how this tourney will roll out.

NCC upsets Augustana behind Krusen.

North Park outslugs IWU.

Augustana's superior pitching eliminates IWU on Friday.

In the winner's bracket, North Park defeats NCC behind Silverthorne.

NCC will have used the best part of their staff and will fall to Augie.

North Park defeats Augustana to win the conference.

Basically, I like NPU's lineup to more than anyone other team and I think this condensed format is advantageous to the team that is strongest 1-9.

Quote from: Gregory Sager on May 03, 2014, 07:47:35 PM
Carthage completes the sweep in Kenosha with a 7-3 victory over North Central.

Next weekend's first round matchups in Moline are set:

North Park vs. Illinois Wesleyan
North Central vs. Augustana

I like North Park to win the tournament but I will like them a lot more if Soldano is healthy.

Surprises (to me) this wk. end:

Carthage didn't pick up one win.

Elmhurst didn't pick up one win and doesn't appear to have any pitching (4o runs in today's doubleheader!)

Top 5 teams (in no particular order) appear to be IWU, NPU, Augie, Wheaton, and North Central. I believe there is a real gap from there.

I've heard that Soldano's velo is significantly down post injury. Is anyone able to confirm or deny that?

Quote from: nescac1 on March 07, 2014, 09:59:20 PM
Congrats to the Ephs on surviving and advancing.  Michael Mayer played like the first-team all-American he is: 25-15-4 plus 5 blocks, 11-16 from the field.  Wow.  He was utterly unstoppable.  If teams are playing him one-on-one, he should touch the ball almost every possession in the half-court sets.

As for the rest of the team, it was not the Ephs' best day, but better to learn from an easy win than from a loss.  Williams will need to shoot, rebound, defend, and handle the ball a lot better collectively if they hope to beat better teams deeper in the tourney.  But, a win's a win!

Miersma-Mayer will be a fun matchup of 6'9" center in rd. 2