BB: NWC: Northwest Conference

[108 Stitches]

Congrats, kid can hit.

[wildcat11]

As stated a number of times..the 'Cats season will come down to how well they swing it. Looking forward to another great year in the NWC.

[NWBaseballFan10]

Clayton Truex formerly of Linfield will continue his Baseball career in the Mount Rainier Professional Baseball League. He will be playing for the Oregon City Mud Turtles

http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/player.html?playerid=743594&seasonid=29081

http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/team_roster.html?teamid=85812&seasonid=29081

Congrats to Clayton. His signing now makes it 3 Wildcats from last year's squad playing professional ball (Lindell and Fisher are both playing overseas in Australia). It won't be an easy task to replace these 3, along with Wylie, as each were a part of that "Murderer's Row" middle of the order that the Cats presented last year. Over 50% of the RBI's last season were collected by this group so it appears that this year's squad will really need to rely on good execution and small ball if they plan on making another deep playoff run.

[Westside]

The more I check out teams, the more I think Puget Sound could make some noise this year. On paper, they could be solid. They lost 9  games by 2 runs or less last year, and were a couple unfortunate breaks from finishing better. I mean, they finished ahead of Willamette and swept them head to head last year.

Looking at their roster, they return pretty much everyone besides Stone (who was legit). They return Savage and Backes who both had great years last year, and are as good as any hitters in the conference. They also return 2 of their 3 starters. If they can find a third guy, they could make some noise.

If they can survive their first 8 games (Cal Lu, Pomona, and Linfield face them in non-league); I think they have a chance to finish top 4 again and possibly top 3.

My way too early top 5:
1. Linfield
2. PLU
3. Willamette
4. Puget Sound
5. George Fox

It is still hard to say since so many teams haven't updated their roster pages yet. Fox has a few guys that were seniors with junior eligibility, so I have no idea if they are back or not.

[108 Stitches]

Wow, so what happened to Whitworth, who two oops three years ago went to the CWS and seemed like they were on a path to challenge Linfield?

I suspect GF will be better than you forecast, but I really don't know. Don't they have a number of returning pitchers?

[Westside]

Fox is hard to peg, especially without knowing their updated roster. They lost their #1 and top reliever, but they return their #2 and #3 pitchers. So they don't lose much there. Zarosinski, the Oregon State transfer, is as good as any D3 pitcher in the nation. I just worry about their offense.

They could need to replace 7 starters from last year. But three of them were seniors with junior eligibility... so no clue if they come back. I just think it will hurt losing Rapacz, Dixon, and Clifford. Those three have been the middle of their order for three straight seasons. It is asking a lot.

I have a ton of faith in their coaching staff though, and I wouldn't be surprised if they finish anywhere in the top 5. Also, no idea if they brought in any transfers.

Whitworth is a different animal...

It is hard to get solid information on the eastern Washington teams since they are quite secluded. I know they don't lose much and they return all their pitching. I think their season could rely on Scheibe being back to his dominant form. He was one of the biggest reasons Whitworth won the West Regional his freshman year (2-0, 13.1 scoreless in the regional). Overall, I think they are trending up in the NWC. Their new field/facilities should help with recruiting . And they still have a few players that played important roles on their CWS team.

I think Whitworth got a bit unlucky with their schedule and they just couldn't quite recover, last year. Granted, Scheibe and Pfeffer (their two best players) were hurt. They started the conference 2-1 before losing to PLU 3-1 and 1-0. The next week they took on Linfield and lost 4-2, 2-1, and 3-2. All of a sudden they were 3-6 and that's tough to come back from.

Overall, I think we will see improvement from most of the teams in NWC. Linfield, Fox, and Whitman are the only teams that I think lost more than they gained since last  year.

[NWBaseballFan10]

In response to Fox's 2015 roster, it appears that Zeller and Blankenship are gone so that means Fox will be without their top 5 hitters from last year's squad (simply based off of average). Zarosinski will need to carry the load and hopefully Taylor Dunn is able to regain his old form after spending the last couple seasons suffering and recovering from Tommy John. I think Fox is going to need to rely heavily on their pitching staff if they expect to contend in the NWC. They also have a pair of freshmen arms that could be serviceable this spring. I'm not sure if there are any transfers in the mix either.

The link below will take you to the 2015 roster:
http://athletics.georgefox.edu/sports/bsb/2014-15/roster

[Whatagame]

Overall, I think we will see improvement from most of the teams in NWC. Linfield, Fox, and Whitman are the only teams that I think lost more than they gained since last  year.

Yes, I would say it is hard to say any team in the NWC lost more depth than Whitman.  11 graduating seniors - and two 3-2 Engineering grads.  They only return their starting C, 3B and one starting pitcher.  Additionally, SS O. Braff, who would have to have been on anyone's short list as a pre-season Conference POY candidate transferred to a California D1, where I suspect he'll be a starting MIF this season...It will be interesting to see how the recent upswing in the program has impacted the quality of recruiting, as they have a lot of new Frosh, and need to re-load. 

[108 Stitches]

Not that it matters, but he will not be able to play at a D1 as he will have to have a year in residence. You can go D1-D3 without a sit out year but have to sit out going D3-D1. Sounds like they lost a lot.

[Bishopleftiesdad]

There are situations that you can go d3-d1 with out a sit out, but I do not know if he qualifies.

[Whatagame]

Not that it matters, but he will not be able to play at a D1 as he will have to have a year in residence. You can go D1-D3 without a sit out year but have to sit out going D3-D1. Sounds like they lost a lot.

He's listed on the active 2015 roster, shown as a Junior (he transferred from Whitman after his Soph season) - so I'm assuming he's playing without a sit-out year.  He can really play, was the starting 2B in the California Collegiate League All Star game this past summer.  Really good kid also, although a tough loss for the team, the Whitman family only wishes him the best of success.

[D O.C.]

2015 D3baseball.com Top 25, preseason

Records from 2014, Previous rankings from final 2014 D3baseball.com Top 25
#    School (1st votes)    Rec    Pts    Prev.
1    UW-Whitewater (22)    44-7    620    1
2    St. Thomas (3)    39-9    564    3
3    Emory    38-13    556    2
4    Linfield    37-9    527    6
5    Cortland State    36-10    501    5
6    Salisbury    37-9    446    7
7    Southern Maine    37-15    391    4
8    Webster    37-7    375    9
9    Concordia-Chicago    39-7    350    10
10    Cal Lutheran    36-10    345    14

http://www.d3baseball.com/top25/2015/2015-week-0

[wildcat11]

I'm sure teams are not complaining about the weather they've been catching this past week.  Only a few more days now...

[Westside]

Anyone know the deal with Willamette's Matt Jepsen? He isn't listed on their roster this year and was just a freshman last year.

That is a huge loss to the Bearcats. Their pitching was already below average, and I believe he was their best pitcher last year (lead the team in ERA and wins). I know he is from the SoCal area, and he had a great summer down there... I wouldn't be surprised if he transferred. I just can't find any info on him.

Oh yea, and the season starts tomorrow. So ready. 

[NWBaseballFan10]

What a beautiful day for baseball!

Score Update:
Linfield 6-0 over UTD
Fox 2-1 over CTX
PLU 5-4 over La Verne in bottom of 5
CLU 7-0 over Whitworth in top 6
Pomona-Pitzer 3-2 over UPS in top 6
WU 5-1 over Claremont in top 4