BB: NWC: Northwest Conference

[D O.C.]

Applaud.

[d-train]

Congrats Linfield!

[ECSUalum]

Congratulations to Scott Brosius and the Linfield College Wildcats on their first National Championship!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wildcat11]

What a ride.  Congrats to the 'Cats on their 1st NCAA National Title and program's 3rd overall National Title (2 NAIA).

Just bursting with pride in being a Wildcat.

[D O.C.]

Pretty good for a football school. 

[Ron Boerger]

Congratulations Linfield ... and my what you bring back next year!

[108 Stitches]

Congrats to Linfield. Well done!

[badgerwarhawk]

Congrats Linfield

[NWBaseballFan10]

Just going to echo everybody's comments on here and say Congrats Linfield. Job well done on an incredible season! All I can say is it's scary that they are only losing 4 seniors this year and none of which are pitchers. If this team keeps up the hard work there is a pretty good chance we will be seeing them again in Appleton next year for a shot at defending the title.

Kudos Linfield (Tipping my cap to ya)

[voice]

Linfield entered the postseason as the odds-on favorite to win the title.  They waded thru an extremely tough Austin, Texas regional and never took their foot off the accelerator up in Appleton.  Living up to the hype is very difficult.  They did it with style and class.  Way to go Wildcats!!!

[wildcat11]

Looks like a Puget Sound baseball player made a cameo in this California news report about a Little League Coach suing one of his own players.  1:13 mark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDOIHBBwfWs

[NWBaseballFan10]

Opening week is almost here so I think it is time to start heating things up on here after a long and quiet winter!

Conference predictions/outlook:

1. Linfield (42-8) - The defending National Champs are a no-brainer for the preseason top pick, but defending their title will be far from easy. Linfield returns their entire pitching staff that boasted a season ERA of 2.64. Offensively, the biggest change to the team is the loss of All-American Tim Wilson who hit over .400 in all 3 of his seasons at Linfield. The bulk of their lineup returns however which includes All-West performers Nick Fisher and Jake Wylie. The Cats start their season in Arizona and have a 3-game set with Pomona-Pitzer that highlight their non-conference schedule. 2014 has the makings of being another special season for the Wildcat faithful as they pursuit a return trip to Appleton.

2. George Fox (26-12) - I have said it multiple times on here, Fox was good enough to be in attendance at the West Regional last season. Getting swept by Linfield in their last conference series surely didn't help their argument however. Fox should give Linfield some stable competition thanks to returning All-West Catcher Josh Rapacz and two other solid middle of the lineup hitters in Derek Dixon and Danny Clifford. The pitching staff should be anchored by Tom Zarosinski and Taylor Dunn (former #2 starter who missed last season with an arm injury). They also boast a strong recruiting class mixed with juco players and some standout freshman. Fox's 2014 schedule opens up in Arizona and includes a 3-game set with Occidental and a single game verse Pomona. Hopefully it works out this year that both Fox and Linfield will be representing the NWC in the West Regional.

3. Pacific Lutheran (22-18) - Coach Loomis has to feel good about some of the key pieces that he brings back from last year's club. The Lutes were young last year offensively and it definitely showed by their record (and considering the talent they have in their pitching staff). Offensively, they return 1st Team NWC performers Drew Oord and Curtis Wildung as well as Dominick Courcy who missed the last half of the season with an injury. I believe Trevor Lubking is one of the most talented lefties in the country with a FB that sits mid 80's and I saw it top out at least at 89 last year. He will be the anchor of the staff, but should receive some help from top reliever AJ Konopaski and juniors Collin Nilson and Chris Bishop who both are coming off poor sophomore campaigns. PLU will be in Arizona (will also play Linfield down there -- will we see Lubking vs. Haddeland Round 1??) and also have a trip to California that features Claremont, Pomona, and Cal Lutheran.

4. Willamette (20-20) - As far as I'm concerned I see the 4-8 teams in the NWC as interchangeable. I think history will continue for these teams where they will exchange some blows throughout the year and will occasionally knock off one of the teams on the top. I like Willamette here just because offensively they always find a way to get it done and they return Tosh Semlacher (.304 avg, 7 HR's) and Hunter Gallant (.365 avg). Coach Swick (a former pitcher at Cal) has had trouble recruiting top arms, but the pitching staff does return Peter Hoffman who had a solid 2013 campaign. Willamette opens up down in Claremont which highlights their non-conference schedule.

5. Whitworth (14-25-1) - I was really surprised by Whitworth's 2013 campaign following a trip to Appleton. The pitching staff was abysmal aside from Scheibe and the lineup wasn't nearly as deep as the year before. Tyler Pfeffer and Gerhard Muelheims will need to anchor their lineup again in 2014, but they are going to need a lot more help from the bottom of the order. Scheibe should have another solid year on the mound, but they will need more from Blumenthal and Scourcey if they want to contend for the title. Cory Mack (former pitcher at Seattle Univ.) will be a great addition to the pitching staff along with position player Matt Miller (transfer from OIT). Whitworth will be taking a couple trips down to California to go against Whittier (3), Pomona (3), Cal Lu (1), and Oxy (1). We will find out in February if the Pirates are back to their 2012 form.

6. Whitman (16-22) - I really like the potential of this 2014 Missionary club and guarantee some of the top dogs in the conference are going to get more than they can handle against this team. They only lost 3 seniors from last year's squad and only one of which saw significant playing time on the mound. Offensively they return Young, Cohen, Moyes, and Buckham to anchor the middle of that lineup. On the mound, Spencer Hobson is turning into one of the premier pitchers in the West Region and Brett Lambert should be a formidable #2 starter if he can stay healthy. The Missionaries open in Arizona before a trip to Texas that features Hendrix, UTD, Schriener, and Hardin-Simmons.

7. Puget Sound (17-23) - The Loggers had a pretty young squad in 2013, but they lose some key pieces of the puzzle in senior pitchers Matt Robinson and Nathan Aguiar. Lucas Stone is an all-league utility player who should be the Loggers leading hitter and ace. Connor Savage and Jeff Walton will also be critical pieces in the lineup. UPS will join Whitman in Texas in the 2nd week of the season.

8. Pacific (17-23) - Pacific loses their ace Rob Dittrick and top hitters Michael Arakaki and Trux French which will all be big shoes to fill. I believe I read  somewhere last year that Matt Delegato (1st team starting pitcher) had an extra year of eligibility that he considered using this year? I'm not sure how accurate that was, but if it's true then he will give the Boxers a much needed impact starter. Walker Olis returns after a strong freshman campaign and he should be the Boxers top hitter in 14'.

9. Lewis and Clark (9-31) - I envision it being another rough year for the Pioneers who are capable of stealing a few games here and there from some of these teams, but it probably won't be enough to get them out of the cellar.

[wildcat11]

NWBF10,

+1.  Great thoughts and breakdown.  Love the baseball this conference plays.

[108 Stitches]

I agree about as thorough a summary as you can get. Nice job NWBaseball.

[Ralph Turner]

+1!  NWB.  Welcome to the boards for the 2014 season.  Keep those comments coming. We readers from outside the NWC like to hear multiple opinions.  Thx.

My first prediction off the record...

The NWC gets a Pool C bid this year unless the team(s) shoot(s) themselves in the foot, big time!

Off the record, I thought that TLU deserved to get the Pool C bid. They won the regular season title of the 7-team ASC West. They lost to UTT in the ASC "play-in" tourney.

[For years, I lamented how the ASC had enough teams (14 or 15) to qualify for 2 Pool A bids in most sports, but the NCAA changed the rule in the early 2000's to prevent the ASC from doing what the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC, MAC Freedom and MAC Commonwealth Conferences) had done.  As a result, they would have conference tourney that would occasionally eliminate a very good team by inflicting 2 more losses.]