BB: NESCAC: New England Small College Athletic Conference

Rick Vaughn · April 02, 2009, 10:46:01 AM

Amazingly, I actually could see all those happening. For Tufts to take one from Trin, Casey should think about throwing O'Donnell in the 7 and avoid matching him up with Bayer. That's their best chance to swipe a game from the Bants.

After this weekend playoff positioning should be a lot easier to sort out.

KSCfan · April 02, 2009, 12:08:15 PM

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090401

Bill Simmons from ESPN throws out a NESCAC in his mailbag part 2. Its talking about academics vs sports at Holy Cross. About a quarter of the way down the page

Rick Vaughn · April 06, 2009, 09:10:30 PM

Trin sweeps, Ham/Herst split, Wes/Midd split, Bates 2 games to 1 over Colby. Still a lot up in the air...The pitching around the league is down this year. Trinity leads the league with a 4.00 team ERA, but after that the rest of the league is over 5.

Rick Vaughn · April 07, 2009, 08:41:16 PM

Williams with a win over DI Fordham today...This along with Bowdoin's win over USM go down as the best wins by NESCAC teams this year. Win #11 in a row for the red hot Ephs.

frank uible · April 08, 2009, 04:07:52 AM

Last year Williams' two shortcomings were spotty fielding and lack of hitting power. So far this year the fielding seems to be better, but the lack of power hitting continues.

Rick Vaughn · April 10, 2009, 09:07:50 AM

Williams has fielded much better recently, but they are still statistically the worst fielding team in the NESCAC. The lack of power has not hurt them too bad because Barrale has them running much more (34/39) compared to the team that won the league two years ago. While they may lack that big bat that can change the game with one swing, they will be much more likely to manufacture runs using their speed.

Predictions for the weekend:

Trin sweeps Bates (locks down #1 in the East)
Bowdoin takes 2 of 3 from Colby
Wes takes 2 of 3 from Hammy
Williams sweeps Amherst (just a DH this weekend)

The final game of this series will be on ESPNU in early May.

http://williams.prestosports.com/sports/bsb/2008-09/news/0407_150th_anniversary_of_1st_college_baseball_game_--_Williams_vs._Amherst_to_air_on_ESPNU_from_Pittsfield-s_Wahconah_Park

frank uible · April 10, 2009, 10:56:05 AM

Tuesday Williams produced no errors under the pressure of playing against D1 and for the season may be able to win sufficiently playing "small" ball if its fielding continues to hold up. I will be interested to see it play tomorrow for my first time this year.

Rick Vaughn · April 11, 2009, 07:18:04 PM

Williams got killed by both it's poor defense (4 E's in game 1) and it's lack of power hitting (one extra base hit over both games) in it's losses to Amherst today. The standings in the West are a mess.

frank uible · April 11, 2009, 08:28:45 PM

They have become a mess only if one is a Williams fan, otherwise they are an interesting 4 team scramble.

Rick Vaughn · April 11, 2009, 09:24:14 PM

A mess, as in it is impossible to predict who will get the playoff spots. I'm also an underdog loving sports fan and would love to see perennial doormat Hamilton make a run.

NESCAC FAN · April 12, 2009, 06:42:14 AM

Hamilton could make thigns interesting. Foster is one of the most talented pitchers in the league and they've got some guys that can hit. If they can find a few more effective arms, they could definitely slip into the playoffs.

The East gets settled next weekend. Whoever wins Bowdoin-Tufts series gets 2 seed.

Rick Vaughn · April 12, 2009, 08:33:51 PM

Wes takes two from Ham...In the driver's seat for the top seed in the West. Now it's Williams, Ham, and the Herst for the final spot. The league appears to be a one-horse race again. Trinity is feasting on the bottom of the East.

NESCAC FAN · April 12, 2009, 08:44:25 PM

This seems to be a very weak year in the NESCAC. Trinity lost 3 of their top 4 arms from last year, yet they are still cruising over NESCAC teams.

Rick Vaughn · April 13, 2009, 09:55:00 AM

The NESCAC is down this year. Teams are very inconsistent. Examples: Bowdoin beats So Maine and St. Joes, but loses to Thomas. Williams beats DI Fordham, then gets overmatched by what was thought to be a struggling Amherst squad.

Mid Year Update:

PlayOY East - Killeen (Tr), PlayOY West - Dominguez SS/P (Wes)
PitchOY East - Bayer (Tr), PitchOY West - Foster (Ham)
CoachOY East - Decker (Tr), CoachOY West - Woodworth (Wes)
FrOY East - Janiga (Tr), FrOY West - Heller (Amh)

C - Killeen (Tr), 1B - Graham (Tr), 2B - Piancentini (Tr), SS - Dominguez (Wes), 3B - McKillop (Midd), OF - Choate (Ham), Mathews (Will), Heller (Amh), P - Bayer (Tr), Foster (Ham), Driscoll (Bowd), Mones (Wes)

JustAFan · April 13, 2009, 12:34:55 PM

Good mid-season list. Hard to keep Trinity's James Wood off the outfield list. Also, for freshman POY I think you meant James Ramsey from Trinity rather than Janiga, who's a sophomore.