BB: ASC: American Southwest Conference

[dsc]

Baseball race is obviously tightening up...and we're in for an exciting finish and playoffs...

Go Cowboys!

[Ralph Turner]

UT-Dallas 5, at McMurry 3.

UT-Dallas' pitching committee did a better job than McMurry's committee.

[Ralph Turner]

The ASC's performance in the past NCAA tournaments include:

2005 TLU -West Region Finalist--losing to Chapman
2004 McMurry -- 0-2 in Central Region Playoffs
2003 Miss Coll -- lost in game 9 to eventual Regional Champion Emory
2002 Concordia Austin -- Wins West Regional, loses to Champion E. Connecticut State
2001 McMurry -- 0-2 in West Region
2000 Champion Texas Lutheran University Schreiner was a D-3 Provisional member.
1999 Sul Ross State in West Region (I have not found the URL for the West Region outcomes.)
1998 McMurry hosts West Region.   No URL available for results.

[Ralph Turner]

A veteran D3 observer sent me this email and is permitting me to post it anonymously.  The insights by this individual will help us D3 fans understand ASC and D3 more completely.

"The names have been changed to protect the innocent."

Schreiner won the tournament in 2000. 

I agree with your assessment that there are some teams beating up on each other. I think there are several good teams in the league but no great ones. I think that HSU has the best pitching, but doesn't hit as well. McMurry hits good but can't pitch. Concordia is solid, but I think McMurry takes at least two this weekend. Texas Lutheran is down and they have not hit as well as the past. 

UT-Tyler has the best athletes. UT-Dallas is solid.  I want to see them against some of the top line pitchers in the West.   Austin College is scrappy. LC has a solid pitching staff. 

I think it is what we have come to learn from ASC baseball is that everyone has lows. Our level of D3 Baseball is not near what the northern level of the country is. They are getting 4-5 kids a year that we would dream about getting once every five. There are not near as many teams playing baseball up there. 

When Montclair (NJ) State played in the Abilene Classic two or three years ago, they had Big 12 looking athletes at every position. I don't think there is a player in the league that I have seen this season that could even be a role DI player. We are getting the bottom rung of players in Texas, because so many schools play baseball. Just within 3-4 hours of Abilene you have probably 25 junior college baseball programs – Ranger, Cisco, Vernon, Howard, Clarendon, Weatherford, McLennan, Western Texas, Western Oklahoma, Temple, Midland, Odessa, plus all the ones in the Metroplex, Austin and Waco areas. Throw in ACU, Angelo, Tarleton, Lubbock Christian, Wayland Baptist, College of the SW, Texas Wesleyan, DBU, St. Mary's, St. Edward's, Incarnate Word, and then all of the DI's and the teams in the league and there are a lot of teams looking for players. That is not the case in the NE or even the Midwest. There are a lot of places that do not even play baseball. 

For an ASC team to go far you have to be solid defensively and have at least one stud pitcher. There are no stud pitchers in the league this year, but a lot of very solid ones.

In all fairness to some of the ASC teams, we have held our own nicely against the Red River AC NAIA teams.  They must be close to that bottom rung as well.

[Ralph Turner]

Concordia-Austin 7 McMurry 2.

DH tomorrow.

[Ralph Turner]

Schreiner splits with UMHB, 2-1 and 2-3.

[Ralph Turner]

McMurry comes back to sweep the DH at Concordia today, 3-1 and 3-2.

Albert Carrizales got his first start of the season in the first game and pitched 7 strong innings for the complete game..

Greg Erickson had a complete game 7-hitter in the night cap.

This drops CUA to 11-5, while McMurry is 12-6 in West Division play. 

[Ralph Turner]

HSU 14, HPU 4

HSU moves to 11-5, but has the tie-breaker over CUA.

HSU and HPU play the DH tomorrow.

[Ralph Turner]

TLU sweeps the DH over SRSU today 4-0 and 8-0.

TLU moves to 11-5.  The Bulldogs won the HSU series, and share first place today.  The Cowboys can sweep the HPU DH tomorrow and get sole possession of first place.

[Ralph Turner]

UT-D sweeps the Austin College series, 6-5, 4-1 and 13-8.  The Comets have one series remaining next weekend against last place LeTourneau.

UT-Dallas can clinch the title next weekend.  The conference tourney will be hosted by the West #1 seed.

[Ralph Turner]

Standings thru April 14th for the ASC-West:

HSU        11-5         Plays DH at HPU today
CUA        11-5
TLU         11-5
McM        12-6
HPU          9-7        Hosts HSU for DH today

[Ralph Turner]

HSU is batting in the top of the 5th.  An error contributed to a 4-run inning.  HSU leads 5-2  going to the bottom of the 5th.

Dalton Rucker on the mound for the Cowboys and will face the 3-4-5 men in the order.  Doug Wren was on the mound for the Jackets.  HPU has activity in the bull pen.

TSRN broadcast.

[dballa]

that game ended up being HSU 7-2...HPU had way too many errors once again..

2nd game of the DH HPU is winning 5-0 in the 1st...all 9 have batted and still batting.

[dballa]

After the 1st 6-0 HPU on top of HSU.

11 batted in the first for HPU, HSU had 2 or 3 errors.  About time someone other than HPU committed untimely errors

[Ralph Turner]

C'mon dballa, I am rooting for the Jackets!

If the Jackets can give the Cowboys another loss, then McMurry has a chance to share for the title!