BB: NESCAC: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[JustAFan]

Amherst (6-3NESCAC record) still has to play a 3 game series against Hamilton (2-7) next weekend. Even though it's a remote possibility, if Hamilton sweeps Amherst, Middlebury (7-5) would go into the playoffs from the West in place of the Lord Jeffs. Amherst won its series with Middlebury earlier this season, and consequently has to win one of the 3 games with Hamilton to qualify for the tournament.

[Bostonian]

If amherst gets swept by Hamilton, Thurston will probably have a stroke...

[eclinchy]

Wouldn't Amherst getting swept be the biggest choke in NESCAC sports history?  That just seems absolutely unthinkable to me.

NESCACs should be interesting this year... Tufts and Williams split their doubleheader earlier this year, and they look like the two favorites in the playoffs.  Should be some good games.

[JustAFan]

Eastern CT nipped Tufts this afternoon, 3-2, in a playoff caliber game.  With the game tied 2-2 with one out in the top of the ninth, ECSU's Trey Bongiovanni tripled and then, after one failed attempt went foul,  Eastern executed a suicide squeeze to score the game winning run. Tufts got its leadoff batter on in the bottom of the ninth and bunted him over to second but Eastern closer Jason LaVorgna struck out the next 2 Tufts batters for the save.  All in all a very good game between two of New England's best teams.

[JustAFan]

Williams showed up for today's game at Western New England with only 12 players.  A couple of other players joined the team mid-game. The short bench didn't matter as the Ephs pounded out 19 hits and en route to a 9-7 win over WNEC in 10 innings. Williams led 7-5 going into the ninth but WNEC rallied against Williams closer Sam Tuttle to tie the game.  Williams responded with 2 of their own in the top of 10th and Tuttle pitched a scoreless bottom of the inning to preserve the Ephs win.

[Bostonian]

If Tufts doesn't get McDavitt and/or Backstrom back for the playoffs, they'll have a very tough time scoring runs. They were already a so-so offensive team. Take out their top hitters, and they become alot weaker.

[JustAFan]

McDavitt's been out since the 23d. That'll give him almost 3 weeks to heal before the NESCAC playoffs begin. I don't know the nature of his injury but hopefully that'll be enough time for him to recover sufficiently to play. I didn't think Backstrom would be back at all this season--getting his bat back into the lineup would be a huge lift for Tufts. Casey's done an unbelievable job this year overcoming key player injuries and transfers, and several Tufts freshmen have made solid contributions both in the field and on the mound, but you're right, you can't count on that in the playoffs, and you need major contributions from your juniors and seniors to have success.

[eclinchy]

I would imagine that Tufts starts the playoffs with McDavitt back but not Backstrom.  I've been told that McDavitt's injury was just a feeling of tightness in his calf... I think they're just resting him now to avoid risking him for the playoffs.  I don't think his injury is serious.  Backstrom on the other hand... he broke his hand, right?  I don't see him coming back from that in a matter of weeks.

[Old Spartan]

Dominating...great to see Kiely back healthy again.


Looks like it'll be Tufts and Bowdoin in the East and Amherst and Williams in the West. I wonder if Trinity will get an NCAA at large bid even if they miss the NESCAC playoffs.

Will it be May 13 at midnight when we learn what the NCAA picture is?  Is there a way to figure out what the bids might be from the current poll?

OS

[Ralph Turner]

Dominating...great to see Kiely back healthy again.


Looks like it'll be Tufts and Bowdoin in the East and Amherst and Williams in the West. I wonder if Trinity will get an NCAA at large bid even if they miss the NESCAC playoffs.

Will it be May 13 at midnight when we learn what the NCAA picture is?  Is there a way to figure out what the bids might be from the current poll?

OS

OS, I took a look at the Pool B and C candidates on the "Pool C board, National Topics."

[Pat Coleman]

There will be one more poll before Selection Sunday.

The handbook says to expect bids more like 2 a.m.

[grady]

So who will win NESCAC's this weekend? It's being hosted by Williams and starts Friday.
Amherst v. Tufts
Williams v. Bowdoin

[JOUL]

I think Williams and Amherst win first round games, then Williams taking down Amherst.

In the Losers Bracket, Ill take Tufts running the table getting into a matchup with Williams in the championship, where Williams is left with more pitching and takes the title.

[Bostonian]

Some interesting matchups...
Bowdoin and Williams are probably the deepest offensive teams, but I give the edge to Williams because the Morgan-Kenny-Pinto middle is so scary and also because their pitching is a little stronger.
I'm not sure if Amherst will throw Edgar or Kehoe. Donahue is done for the year due to an injury. Telian will look to shake off a rusty start vs. Babson. Amherst likes to run, but running against Telian is next to impossible because of how good his pick off move. Tufts is definitely a team that has trouble against good pitching, so if Amherst is throwing strikes and playing mistake-free baseball, they could definitely get by Tufts.

Out of all the teams, Tufts has the most pitching depth. After Telian, Rice, and Protano, Lopez, Goldberg, Gibbs, and Casey have all thrown the ball well lately. The key to Tufts is offense. They will need to get some sort of production out of the bottom of the lineup. An interesting note is that Kyle Backstrom's hand has healed, but unbelieveably, he pulled a hammy during the alumni game on Saturday and could not play Sunday vs. Babson.

I think Williams has to be considered the favorite. None of their pitchers have A+ stuff, but they keep the ball down, they throw strikes, and they play fundamental defensive baseball. Offensively, they are very strong 1-9. If their bullpen and pitching depth holds up, I think they win it, but I definitely don't think there is a clear cut favorite for this tourney.

[JustAFan]

The top 2 seeds have advanced to the NESCAC finals. Williams remained unbeaten with a 6-3 win over Amherst this morning while Tufts eliminated Bowdoin 11-6  in the second morning game. Tufts then avenged Friday's 8-7 loss to Amherst with a 9-4 win over the Lord Jeffs this afternoon in an elimination game. Willams and Tufts play tomorrow at 10:00 am in Williamstown. Watch out for Bowdoin next year--they used 2 freshmen in their opening round game 1-0 loss to Williams and brought back one of them today. They're a young team on the rise.