BB: NWC: Northwest Conference

[wildcat11]

Linfield starts the season 4-0, giving up only two runs in the four games.

Linfield's 4 starters this weekend: 23 IP, 0 R, 24 K, 5 BB.

That's a pretty nice start to the season, I would say.

Really good start of the year for the 'Cats!

[WestisBest]

I watched 5 NWC teams play this weekend. Here are my opening weekend takes:

G.Fox - Offense is improved, but pitching was underwhelming, particularly relief pitching. The Bruins have a transfer shortstop from OSU who looks to be a prime addition to the team.
UPS - Pitching question marks coming into the season and this weekend did nothing to indicate this year will be different than last year.  Offense struggled and failed to come up with timely hits.
Linfield - Offense looks like it can be better than last year. Defense looks more solid that last year.
L&C - Still weak offensively.  Defensively there could be some challenges.
Pacific - Night and day difference between 2015 and 2016 teams.  Bigger, stronger and much better athletes than a year ago.

Surprises: Pacific's offense was impressive. A number of JC transfers are playing and they have significantly upgraded the Boxer hitting attack. Also, several players stepped up who played on the Pacific J.V. team last year.  Proof positive that getting that extra experience can pay dividends as a player progresses through his college career. Kloke, a JC transfer outfielder and Wright, a player who got JV time last year, really hit the ball well.

The Logger offense sputtered.They looked to be hitting their stride after putting 5 runs on the board against L&C, but went silent the rest of the way.  And the only dominant pitcher they faced was Neely from Linfield.  The the other pitchers were average, but UPS couldn't find its groove.

Not sure there is a connection, but the teams that looked the most impressive and who were offensively farther along were Linfield and Pacific - the only two teams that play or have regular access to a turf baseball field.  The others looked less than sharp at the plate, on the bases and in the field. Of course, it was only the first weekend of baseball, so things will undoubtedly change as the season progresses.

[Westside]

Linfield starts the season 4-0, giving up only two runs in the four games.

Linfield's 4 starters this weekend: 23 IP, 0 R, 24 K, 5 BB.

That's a pretty nice start to the season, I would say.

Really good start of the year for the 'Cats!

Agreed. You ever planning to do some more video of the baseball games? I still love to go back and watch your highlights from the 2010 (I think) games.

[wildcat11]

Maybe...just depends on my schedule and availability.  I did enjoy doing the baseball videos.

[Westside]

Should be another good weekend of baseball for the NWC. The teams in Texas and Arizona should have particularly challenging weekends.

George Fox faces #3 Emory, #11 Rhodes, Concordia (TX) and Pomona-Pitzer. All four of those teams could be regional teams, so this will be a great weekend to test themselves.

Pacific also plays Emory and Rhodes; plus two Texas teams.

Whitworth faces off against Emory and Concordia (TX) as well as two other Texas teams.

Linfield and PLU have double headers against Redlands and La Verne. Both of those teams should compete in the SCIAC this season.

Hoping the NWC represents well in the last weekend before conference games.

[(509)Rat]

Whitworth beat #3 Emory in the bottom of the 10th, 8-7. Pirates look like they will offer a little stiffer competition in the NWC than most thought.

[(509)Rat]

Whitworth beats UMHB 8-6

Pirates are 7-0 on the season. Off to a great start this year.

[(509)Rat]

And the TX sweep is complete. Whitworth beats Concordia (TX) 7-4. Now 8-0 on the season.

[Purple Heys]

And the TX sweep is complete. Whitworth beats Concordia (TX) 7-4. Now 8-0 on the season.

I said this...

"Whitworth is a pretty darn good team - maybe as good as we will see all year.  Their hitters were disciplined, hit deep into counts, and hit it hard through most of the lineup.  They hit remarkably well with 2 strikes..."

I think a few other folks found that out this past weekend.  I would not be surprised to see them break into the T25 soon. I expect they start receiving votes for sure.

[Westside]

NWC play opens up this weekend. Everyone is playing except for Whitworth.

Pacific vs. George Fox - Both teams have pitcher poorly and Pacific won their first head-to-head matchup. I am going with Fox winning the series simply because they are the home team...

Lewis & Clark vs. Puget Sound - Puget Sound should sweep. Their offense has sputtered this year but L&C still has a ways to go.

Linfield vs. Pacific Lutheran - Two weeks ago I would've said PLU here, but Linfield's new staff has looked good and PLU hasn't quite gelled like I thought they would after last year's deep run. I'll be at this series so I am hoping to get a better feel for these two teams.

Willamette vs. Whitman- Whitman went 0-3 against Lewis & Clark in non-league... so that should be telling. Willamette ought to run away with this even though their offense hasn't been great.

[NWBaseballFan10]

Weekend Predictions:

Fox over Pacific (2-1) - Despite a loss in the first weekend against the Boxers, I think Fox will rebound this week in conference play. I like Fox's starting pitchers more and the Boxers had a rough time scoring runs last weekend in AZ (aside from their final game).

UPS over L&C (3-0) - I'm impressed the Pios have swept (3-0) Whitman thus far, but at the same time that's not saying too much. UPS has played some stronger competition in the first couple weeks so I give them the advantage in this one.

Willamette over Whitman (2-1) - The 1-3 trip in So Cal last weekend for the Bearcats worries me. As Westside said, they should run away with this series, but it is difficult to sweep teams in conference play. I think the Missionaries steal one at some point.

Linfield over PLU (2-1) - It's a bit of a shame that these two frontrunners meet up so early in the season, but it also makes for some exciting baseball in February. I think Linfield's ace (Neely) rebounds from a rough start in AZ and I like the Wildcat pitching staff more overall right now (at least until Mahlum is back for the Lutes).

Side note - Kudos to Whitworth on an impressive start to the season! I was worried about their pitching staff heading into the spring, but their offense has carried the load thus far and they've found a way to win some close ball games (especially against some quality competition).

[WestisBest]

Took the week off and really didn't pay much attention to last weekend's games, but I'm ready to get back into it this weekend. A couple of thoughts.

While I still think PLU will be alright, it looks like the transition from Loomis to Soete has not been seamless. Nothing against Soete, but sometimes even an internal coaching hire creates enough change to impact the outcome on the field.  The PLU-Linfield series should be terrific.  I don't think either team will sweep, which suggests a 2-1 series win merely gives the winner an early leg-up in conference. Both teams will be in it to the end.

I said it two weeks ago and I'll say it again, I was very impressed with Pacific's offense.  Don't know what happened down in Texas, but the Boxer team I watched could really swing the bat.  And Fox's pitchers were very middling from what I saw.  This series could tip either direction, but I do not believe there will be a sweep.

UPS is still uneven on offense, but the Pios present an opportunity for the Loggers to find their groove.  UPS pitched better last week against a good NAIA opponent.  And L&C lacks athleticism and pitching.  While I agree with NWBaseballFan that it's difficult to sweep in conference play, this series presents a better than average chance for a sweep by the Loggers.

Still not sold on Willamette, but Whitman hasn't done anything yet to make me believe it's taken a step forward with its young team.  Being at home could really help Whitman. But that may only mean one win.

So, with all of that said, I like Linfield to take 2 from PLU; Pacific to take 2 from Fox, UPS to sweep L&C; and Willamette to go 2-1 vs. Whitman.

[Westside]

Well the opening weekend went exactly as expected in the NWC. 

Lewis & Clark takes the series over UPS...
Whitman takes the series over Willamette...
George Fox thumped Pacific...

Just like we all thought. 

The Linfield and PLU series wasn't too surprising, as I thought it could be a coin flip and it pretty much was. Clutch hitting seemed to be the difference. Linfield got guys on base but rarely drove them in, while PLU always seemed to come up with a big hit. I still think these are the two best teams in the conference.

[NWBaseballFan10]

Leading into this weekend I really believed that the teams in the NWC were organized into 3 noticeable tiers. PLU and Linfield in Tier 1. Fox, Whitworth, Pacific, UPS, and Willamette in Tier 2. L&C and Whitman in Tier 3.

After the first weekend of conference action, I'm inclined to think it's a two-tier league with PLU and Linfield still ahead of the pack, but everybody else is piled together in a total cluster.

[WestisBest]

Yep, just like we predicted!

And while I had initially foreseen three tiers, I'm taking a full step back to square one and going to say, I'll wait another weekend or two before rubbing that crystal ball again.

Watched some of the UPS-L&C series this weekend.  Something of a head scratcher from the offensive perspective.  It was L&C who consistently came up with the clutch hits with runners in scoring position and not UPS. The Pioneers had a pretty decent offensive approach throughout their lineup and it paid off. Tip of  the hat to L&C.

UPS on the other hand was inconsistent again offensively.  It couldn't string hits together and it didn't generate big innings. Also, the Logger pitching appears to be average, giving up too many 2-strike and 2-out hits. Or maybe those were the result of a better Pioneer hitting approach? Either way, Lewis & Clark won the little battles and the result was a 2-1 series win.

As I mentioned, I'm not about to try and predict things yet. But, what I will say is right now it's not PLU or Linfield who should scare the rest of the league, it's Whitworth.  They are a team very few have seen in person, they had a bye this week and play Whitman next weekend.  The Pirates won't be on this side of the Cascades until March and by then they could be sitting 11-0.