BB: NWC: Northwest Conference

[Westside]

I noticed that Mahlum has not pitched for PLU yet this season, hopefully for him/them this is not a serious injury issue.  If he is not on the hill, I think that gives a distinct advantage to Linfield next weekend.

From what I heard, he had some arm problems this summer and they haven't really healed. As far as I know, he is out for the foreseeable future/possibly the whole season.

On top of that Konopaski hasn't thrown since the first game of the year, and that includes multiple games that had a save opportunity. No idea if he is hurt or if they are just getting other arms looks... Still, their pitching staff has really stepped up without these two guys going.

[wildcat11]

PLU takes the series over Linfield.  'Cats had the lead today but couldn't extended it and PLU chipped away until they put nail into the 'Cats in the top of the 9th. Lots of baseball left but the 'Cats are going to have their work cut out this season.

Go 'Cats!

[NWBaseballFan10]

Tough weekend for the Cats Kudos to PLU for coming out and being competitive for all three games this weekend. As Wildcat mentioned, there is a lot of baseball still to be played and, as Westside has pointed out, PLU is a top contender in the NW.

Fox and Willamette both take care of business against two teams they should (and did) sweep. After one weekend of play, they take the top spots in the NWC followed by PLU.

[Whatagame]

Saw that Willamette, rightfully so, got a little ORV love in the latest D3 Top 25.  I don't remember them getting any ORV recognition last season while they were making some noise?

Although they are 10 - 0, I see some early red flags.  Ty Wyatt, easily the guy in their lineup who really strikes fear has not played yet this season, due to injury I assume?  That, and no Jepsen is a blow.

Additionally, although they swept L&C in a three game "non-conference - in-conference" series, the three games were very, very close.  Then, against an extremely young Whitman team, they needed two bottom of the 9th-inning rallies, mainly fed by walks from a young, frosh Whitman bullpen to send games into extras.

Against the three quality NWC conference starters that Willamette has faced so far this year (Strombom from L&C, and the two guys from Whitman) Willamette was held to 4 total runs (3 earned) and a .148 batting average over three games and 23 innings. 

I was surprised by PLU's offense against Linfield, they obviously seem to be more of a threat at the plate this year and some new faces are throwing the ball very well to help make up for the loss of Mahlum to injury.

[Jim Dixon]

Not sure what to make of Willamette at this point. They are 7-0 but they have played two of the worst teams in the West region.

I love early season long win streaks, especially by teams that have not gotten the national attention.  The first step in upgrading your team is to consistently beat the teams that you should beat and the Bear Cats are doing this so far.

[Westside]

That's a good point Jim. I just feel like these early season wins are going to take a toll on the SOS at the end of the season. And we all know how important that is. Their 10-0 record has come at the expense of teams that are a combined 2-25 right now... I know they are a solid squad (heck, they are in my top 25), I just wish they would've built off last years team and challenged themselves more.

Anyway, we are on to week 2 of NWC play:

Pacific vs. PLU: I think PLU wins all three game of this series. Pacific has been underwhelming and this is PLU's home opener. PLU looks to be building something pretty special right now. 5 of their starters are just sophomores, so they could be good for quite a while.
Linfield vs. Puget Sound: Linfield's offense sputtered a bit last weekend, but I see them sweeping this weekend. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they dropped two, but I think their pitching bounces back and the young offense should get better each weekend.
Whitworth vs. Whitman: Whitworth is starting to look like they will make some noise this year. I think they will take all three from Whitman. I really hope Scheibe is back to his old self, because he is a legitimate ace. His 14.73 K/9 is ridiculous at this point.
Willamette vs. George Fox: I am taking Fox to win two. This is another tossup, but they are so scrappy and I am never surprised when they win. If Willamette wins this series, they will get a big boost in my eyes.

I wanted to quickly acknowledge a handful of guys that are off to hot starts (yes, there are more I didn't mention):

Will Thompson (Whitman): In 2 starts; 15IP, 16K, two earned runs (1.20 ERA). Unfortunately he has no decisions on the year, as the offense just hasn't supported him.
Dan Scheibe (Whitworth): Scheibe is 2-0 to start the year while giving up just one run in 11 innings (0.82 ERA) The most impressive part is his 18 strikeouts to just two walks.
Chris Haddeland (Linfield): What's new. He has allowed just one earned run in his first 23.2 innings (0.38 ERA) He has 16 strikeouts to one walk, and he has allowed just one extra base hit.

Connor Savage (UPS): The leadoff man has a cool .500 batting average and he has scored 17 runs already. He has a ridiculous .560 OBP to go with two doubles, a triple, and a home run.
Eric Lawson (Linfield): Lawson has done it all. A .465 batting average, 16R, 15RBI, 11 extra base hits (he had just 7 all last season), and he leads the conference with six stolen bases.
Josh Davis (Whitworth): His three homeruns in just seven games puts him on pace for a monster year. It doesn't hurt that he is batting .429. Eight of his 12 hits have gone for extra bases (.964 slugging).

[wildcat11]

Linfield and UPS in the top of 13 now...tied at 6

[wildcat11]

'Cats pull it out and Willamette continues to impress

[NWBaseballFan10]

Today's Recap

Linfield survives in a 15 inning barn burner against UPS. Thanks to the 9th inning heroics of Jo Carroll, the Cats were able to extend the game into extras where the bullpen answered the call by going 8 innings, allowing 5 hits, 3 BB's and just 1 run. Tough loss for a pesky UPS squad. I like Linfield in a sweep tomorrow, but losing one would not be a major surprise, especially if we keep leaving so many runners stranded on base and in scoring position. Linfield's bullpen is in much better shape than UPS' so I give the Cats the advantage tomorrow.

Willamette made a big statement by sweeping Fox this afternoon thanks to a pair of brilliant pitching performances. Pitching has always been the Bearcats' Achilles heel, but performances like today will make them a major threat for the remainder of the regular season and into the NWC tournament. Fox's offense just doesn't have the firepower that it contained last season. My preseason projection of them finishing 2nd is faltering quickly.

Whitworth sweeps (and hammers) Whitman on the road today. Scheibe's numbers after today stands at 18 IP, 28 K's, and an ERA of 1.00. Not too shabby to say the least. Upending the Pirates in game 1 of the series is going to be a tough challenge for every NWC team this season. If the Pirates can squeeze into the postseason tournament, don't be surprised if they clip whoever they face in the first round as long as Scheibe continues sizzling.

PLU splits with Pacific (I'm not too surprised by this except I would have thought that Pacific takes the 1st game and not the 2nd). Pacific can be competitive and steal a game here and there, but I expect PLU to take the series tomorrow.

Lewis and Clark is swept by Simpson University (NAIA in CA). Yawn...

[Jack Parkman]

Nice "bounce-back" dat by a few schools.

1. Whitman takes game 3 after giving up 29 to Whitworth yesterday.  Not sure if it is better for Whitman's confidence or a shot to Whitworth's?

2. PLU is absolutely pasting Pacific after splitting yesterday.

3. UPS spanks Linfield after dropping a heartbreaker yesterday.

4.  George Fox in a battle with Willamette after getting swept yesterday.

[108 Stitches]

It certainly appears to be some tectonic shifts going on in the NWest this season. It will be interesting to watch over the next month to see what happens. 

[NWBaseballFan10]

Nice "bounce-back" dat by a few schools.

3. UPS spanks Linfield after dropping a heartbreaker yesterday.

4.  George Fox in a battle with Willamette after getting swept yesterday.

Willamette finally drops a game and Fox gets a much needed conference win in terms of playoff implications and just for the sake of their morale.

Linfield's morale took a big hit today by being completely dominated by UPS in the first game. Two weeks in a row that the #2 starter, and returning All-American, gets hit around. I really thought Thomassen would have a bounce-back performance today, but something must be in the water up there in Tacoma. Game 3 is knotted up at 4-4 in the 6th. Hopefully, the Cats can grind out this last game today and feel a sense of relief knowing they won't face either Tacoma school until the NWC tournament (this kind of play isn't going to get it done).

[wildcat11]

Ugh....still early but the nwc returns so far have not been good.

Go 'Cats!

[NWBaseballFan10]

Decided to do some digging...this is the first time since 2009 Linfield has "lost" back to back NWC series. I use quotations because they technically went 2-2 and 1-3 in those series back in 2009 (back when NWC teams played 32 game conference regular season schedules). Their last "true" back to back conference series' losses were in 2006 when they fell 1-2 against, coincidentally, PLU and UPS...

Appears there may be a changing of the guard in the West...Too soon to count them out, but the Cats have a lot of work to do for the remainder of the season.

[Whatagame]

Wow! Really log jammed in the NWC, and series sweeps thus far are precious commodities, no matter the match-up. Gotta love it, and huge kudos to Lewis and Clark, and in particular their pitching staff for battling for two competitive,low scoring games yesterday, then getting the win today vs. Linfield.