BB: ASC: American Southwest Conference

[swbaseball3]

Will the new University be playing in the ASC next year?......My predictions for this weekend are going to be McM 2-1 against SR, I would love to see HSU take 2-1 from TLU but it is going to be a task since its a home series for TLU. UMHB needs to sweep HPU but I am going to say they take 2-1 from HPU because home series for HPU. Concordia 3-0 against SU, they need to take care of business and not underestimate Schreiner.

BTW, it appears that they will be but they will be ineligible for tournament play for a few years; like UTT and TLU several years before them.

As for this weekend, I think that TLU takes care of business and goes 2-1 over HSU.  I see SR as taking every game to the very last AB and winning 2-1 over McM.  Alpine....remember.  Concordia MUST take care of business.

If that's the case, going into the last weekend, here is the line:

1) TLU 12-6
2) HSU 12-6
3) McM 11-7
4) MHB 10-8
5) Concordia 10-8
6) SR 9-9
7) HPU 5-13
8) SU 3-15


Now, the crazy thing here is McM and HSU play The final series at Driggers. TLU goes to Concordia.  Tie breaker city if this weekend goes like I predict.

[Ralph Turner]

Will the new University be playing in the ASC next year?......My predictions for this weekend are going to be McM 2-1 against SR, I would love to see HSU take 2-1 from TLU but it is going to be a task since its a home series for TLU. UMHB needs to sweep HPU but I am going to say they take 2-1 from HPU because home series for HPU. Concordia 3-0 against SU, they need to take care of business and not underestimate Schreiner.

Probably in 2011-12. The schedules that I have seen for 2010-11 for the Summit League still show Centenary playing D-1.

The advantage to drop Centenary from their obligation would be the travel savings not to come to Shreveport.  Look where the Summit League teams are located!

My question is ... who will be the travel partners?

MissColl/LaColl
Centenary/ETBU
LeTU/UTT
UTD/UOzarks.

[swbaseball3]

Centenary will step into the league and be a freight train the first couple of years.  They are a .500 Division 1 team matching up with the likes of LSU, Arkansas, TAMU and other powerhouses.  To be expected, many of their players will stay and they will be tough to beat.  For those old-timers, that is what TLU was like when they went from NAIA to Division III late in the 90's/early '00.

As Ralph mentioned, there will certainly be a year or two before the come into the league OR, they will come into the league and be ineligible for any post season.  it's probably 2011 and they will be ineligible for a few years.

[Ralph Turner]

McMurry and Sully have moved their series up a day.

Single game on Thursday at 7 pm, and DH on Friday at 1pm, in Alpine.

[Ron Boerger]

Centenary will step into the league and be a freight train the first couple of years.  They are a .500 Division 1 team matching up with the likes of LSU, Arkansas, TAMU and other powerhouses.  To be expected, many of their players will stay and they will be tough to beat.  For those old-timers, that is what TLU was like when they went from NAIA to Division III late in the 90's/early '00.

As Ralph mentioned, there will certainly be a year or two before the come into the league OR, they will come into the league and be ineligible for any post season.  it's probably 2011 and they will be ineligible for a few years.

If you look at the prior example of a D1 team moving to D3 - Birmingham-Southern - their baseball team was rocked by departures as they moved.   They lost so many players that they didn't even field a team the first year after the transition was announced (2007).   Younger players will leave to play scholarship ball elsewhere, rising seniors might stick around since they're close to finishing a degree.

Regardless, it'll be interesting to watch. 

[swbaseball3]

Sul Ross is putting it on McMurry 14-5 in the 8th.  Smith has 2 HR's and Arrietta has 4 hits.  Total hits for SR is 22 at this point.

[swbaseball3]

Game over...SR 14 - McM 5.

[SandGnats]

Sul Ross making things really interesting with the win tonight. 

[Ralph Turner]

Game over...SR 14 - McM 5.

Pitching depth is hurting a young McMurry pitching staff.  SRSU got 8 runs in the bottom of the 8th to break open a 6-5 game.

McMurry got 5 good innings out of Sophomore Zach Hewitt before he must have hit a pitch limit.

I like the way that Coach Byington is building his staff.

I project Dakota Smith in the 7-inning game tomorrow and Chris Semchenko in the nightcap.

Cory Davis was not used tonight.

[Ralph Turner]

Here are the schedules for the rest of the season.

#1 Hardin-Simmons	11-4	17-14	at TLU, at McM	Controls destiny
#2T Texas Lutheran	10-5	24-9	HSU, at CTX	Pre-season Favorite. Won series over McMurry
#3 McMurry	10-6	18-15	at SRSU*, HSU	Losses are to UMHB (2), TLU (2), CTX(1)  SRSU (1)
#4 Mary Hardin-Baylor	8-7	16-16	at HPU, SRSU	Favorable schedule. Can you imagine a four way tie for 1st?
#5 Sul Ross State	8-8	15-14	McM*, at UMHB	Has hard schedule ahead
#6 Concordia	7-8	14-19	SU, TLU	Lost series to UMHB

#7 Howard Payne	4-11	15-17	UMHB, at SU	*
#8 Schreiner	3-12	5-27	at CTX, HPU	Has key win over UMHB, HSU and TLU

* 04/15 -- Final SRSU 14, McM 5

[TexasBB]

"If you look at the prior example of a D1 team moving to D3 - Birmingham-Southern - their baseball team was rocked by departures as they moved.   They lost so many players that they didn't even field a team the first year after the transition was announced (2007).   Younger players will leave to play scholarship ball elsewhere, rising seniors might stick around since they're close to finishing a degree."

The above makes all the sense in the world. Loss of scholarships will cause most of the existing players to bolt to other programs. The team will likely have huge problems with recruiting as well. I would not expect them to be very competitive right away. New recruits will be looking at a program that will not being able to compete in the conference tournament for at least 2 years and possibly longer. Thus there will not be much of an incentive for good players to stay or good JUCO players to transfer in. They will have to build primarily with freshman and those JUCO transfers that don't care about post season play.

Texas BB

[Ralph Turner]

"If you look at the prior example of a D1 team moving to D3 - Birmingham-Southern - their baseball team was rocked by departures as they moved.   They lost so many players that they didn't even field a team the first year after the transition was announced (2007).   Younger players will leave to play scholarship ball elsewhere, rising seniors might stick around since they're close to finishing a degree."

The above makes all the sense in the world. Loss of scholarships will cause most of the existing players to bolt to other programs. The team will likely have huge problems with recruiting as well. I would not expect them to be very competitive right away. New recruits will be looking at a program that will not being able to compete in the conference tournament for at least 2 years and possibly longer. Thus there will not be much of an incentive for good players to stay or good JUCO players to transfer in. They will have to build primarily with freshman and those JUCO transfers that don't care about post season play.

Texas BB

The "holdover" benefit is the D1 facilities, if they are maintained correctly, as is the case at BSC.

[swbaseball3]

SR just got 7 runs in the 4th on two 3-run homers and lead 7-5.  It's another world out there in Alpine, I guarantee it.  SR is ultra confident and they swing the heck out of the bats.  McM had two guys on 2nd/3rd and I gets picked at second.

If SR pulls this off and the TLU/HSU series is canceled (which I hear is an option), it's McM vs. HSU, TLU vs. Concordia for the marbles.  What the heck is going to be the tie breaker if HSU/TLU don't play.

BTW, I would think there is NO WAY they would just bypass the series but rumor has it, that could very well happen.

[swbaseball3]

SR takes game 2 by the score of 9-6.  Dakota Smith with the loss.

[Ralph Turner]

SR just got 7 runs in the 4th on two 3-run homers and lead 7-5.  It's another world out there in Alpine, I guarantee it.  SR is ultra confident and they swing the heck out of the bats.  McM had two guys on 2nd/3rd and I gets picked at second.
If SR pulls this off and the TLU/HSU series is canceled (which I hear is an option), it's McM vs. HSU, TLU vs. Concordia for the marbles.  What the heck is going to be the tie breaker if HSU/TLU don't play.

BTW, I would think there is NO WAY they would just bypass the series but rumor has it, that could very well happen.

I hate it when a team runs itself out of the inning.  Yeah, there are times when you can try to make something happen, but runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out and meat of the order coming up?  NO!


Final McM 19 SRSU 5 in the 2nd game.