BB: ASC: American Southwest Conference

TexasBB · May 08, 2010, 05:44:59 PM

UTT surprisingly won easy on a run rule shortened game and is now in the drivers seat. The grueling 10 inning game between TLU and MC last night cost MC more than I thought. They had no pitching today and could not generate any offense agaisnt the UTT pitchers. When they had the bases loaded with only one out in the bottom of the 4th I thought they were going to have a big inning. But they only got one run in and they were dead after that. Who ever wins tonights game will have depleted pitching for tomorrow so it will be real hard to win two against a UTT team that has more overall pitching depth and a rested closer.

dahlby · May 08, 2010, 07:32:07 PM

For those interested in Pool C bids, Chapman defeated Redlands in the first of two games this afternoon, pretty much eliminating Redland's Pool C hopes.

TexasBB · May 08, 2010, 08:03:20 PM

IMO whoever comes in second tomorrow in the ASC championship should get the Pool C bid. All 3 of the teams have won well over 30 games and 2 of the 3 were ranked in the top 25 and the third TLU should have been. When you are forced to play in a double ellimination tournament with 3 outstanding teams it means the second place team will have lost 2 games against opposing teams that have won more than 32 games this year - real tough competition. It also means they had to beat some real tough competition to get there. The 2nd place team will overall in the tournament finish no worse than 4-2 and if it is the looser bracket team could end up 5-2 overall if they win the first game tomorrow. Who ever looses tonight is out of Pool C consideration even if it is MC. You have to make to the finals to have a Pool C chance.

Ralph Turner · May 08, 2010, 08:28:35 PM

MC-TLU, going to the 9th tied at 6. They went 10 innings yesterday.

Ralph Turner · May 08, 2010, 08:49:32 PM

When current AD former head coach Bill Miller moved into the TLU AD job, I thought I heard talk that TLU would put lights on Katt-Isbel. Is that still on "one of the burners" at TLU, back burner or otherwise?

It is getting dark as we go to the 10th.

Called due to darkness. Restart at 11AM tomorrow.

MC 102 001 112 - 8
TLU 002 201 102 - 8

What a game!

DavidNichols · May 08, 2010, 08:59:11 PM

Anyone up for a new by-law in the rules for hosting a tournament? Let's put up some lights. What a great game that has to be postponed until tomorrow.

dahlby · May 08, 2010, 09:04:59 PM

What a terrible shame that the game had to be called. The winner will probably get a Pool C bid, if not the Pool A bid with a pair of wins in Sunday's finals. Is there not any criteria for hosting the conference tourney as it applies to the field. I hate to see a team lose an opportunity of going to the regionals
because of the game being delayed. The conference should review their criteria or at least start all the games earlier.

Ralph Turner · May 08, 2010, 09:10:36 PM

Quote from: dahlby on May 08, 2010, 09:04:59 PM
What a terrible shame that the game had to be called. The winner will probably get a Pool C bid, if not the Pool A bid with a pair of wins in Sunday's finals. Is there not any criteria for hosting the conference tourney as it applies to the field. I hate to see a team lose an opportunity of going to the regionals
because of the game being delayed. The conference should review their criteria or at least start all the games earlier.

The first game of today, the loser's match between HSU and TLU, began at 10am this morning, 10 hours earlier.

dahlby · May 08, 2010, 09:17:28 PM

Good point Ralph, but I would rather see an earlier start than to see a game delayed. It would be interesting to see what the coaches involved think. They would be the best judges.

Redlands defeated Chapman in the second game of the twin bill today. Chapman took two of three for the series to virtually eliminate Redlands from Pool C possibilities and more than likely giving CU the #1 seed.

Ralph Turner · May 08, 2010, 09:26:37 PM

Quote from: dahlby on May 08, 2010, 09:17:28 PM
Good point Ralph, but I would rather see an earlier start than to see a game delayed. It would be interesting to see what the coaches involved think. They would be the best judges.

If you were watching the videocast, you could tell that it was going to get scary.

Official sunset in San Antonio, 40 miles to the west, is listed at 8:16 pm.

dahlby · May 08, 2010, 09:35:41 PM

Ralph, I was over at the Chapman games so didn't catch the videocast. But, rest well assured that I in no way meant to imply that the game shouldn't have been stopped (of course the safety of our student athletes is the most important). I only meant that the conference needs to address (anticipate)situations such as these and react by making the changes needed. Even if that means not giving tourney's to fields without lights.

Ralph Turner · May 08, 2010, 10:03:41 PM

Quote from: dahlby on May 08, 2010, 09:35:41 PM
Ralph, I was over at the Chapman games so didn't catch the videocast. But, rest well assured that I in no way meant to imply that the game shouldn't have been stopped (of course the safety of our student athletes is the most important). I only meant that the conference needs to address (anticipate)situations such as these and react by making the changes needed. Even if that means not giving tourney's to fields without lights.

I understand.

About half of the fields in the ASC are lit.

TexasBB · May 08, 2010, 10:10:10 PM

It will make it almost impossible for the winner of the 11:00 game to be the champion. They would have to win in essence 3 games tomorrow. Although not out of the realm of possibility it is a real real long shot. MC and TLU concievably could play multiple inninings tomorrow the longer they go the deaper into what little pithcing they have left they will be forced to use.

I am not so sure that this tournament is helpful to the conference from a post season play perspective. Last year UTT came up through the loosers bracket and beat MC twice on the final day but paid a price. They had some of their best players hurt going into the West Regional and did not play up to their ability due to that. Arms are fragile and in these types of tournament a coach is faced with having to bring back one of your better pitchers on short rest to give the team a chance. You don't know how that effects him until you have to use him in the regional. The UTT pitchers last year in the regional did not pitch well and I got to believe that in part it was due to coming up through the loosers bracket in the ASC tournament. It was tough on the postion playres also as they lost a couple of those due to injuries that were aggraveted by the extended play.

We shall see but I don't think this will be good for TLU or MC in the long run.

Ralph Turner · May 08, 2010, 10:32:48 PM

Playoff baseball in D-III is by the doulbe-elimination tournament, so we are stuck with the beast.

If we were split into 2 conferences, we might have three teams in the playoffs!

Two conference champs and a Pool C.

TexasBB · May 08, 2010, 10:50:54 PM

I am in complete agreement with you there Ralph. Next year with the divisions both being 8 teams it would make sense to have two conferences for baseball. It would not make sense for football since far less teams participate in football. The question is can you have a different conference for football than you do for baseball. I don't know if that is possible. In Division one ND is indipendent in football and a member of the Big East in basketball and other sports but I don't know of any confernce that is one way for football and an other way for other sports. I don't think DIII would alow it.

Another comment about having to restart tomoroow. I am the father of a former pitcher and was a youth coach of pitchers in select ball and HS summer leages. A pitcher stiffens up over night especially if they throw more than one inning - two at the most. You almost cannot use them the morning of the next day. Keep in mind that a picher thows 25-30 pitches warming up before they entered the game then throw warm up pitches between innings on top of what they throw in the game. The arm tightens up over night. This is one of the bad things of not being able to finish the game tonight. The ASC should hold all the double elimination tournament games on fields with lights.