BB: SCAC: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[tigerfan_2001]

Trinity wins again, making it 6 straight.  Looking at the stats, it was an ugly game.  Scored 20 runs and only had 3 hits from Felix, Jones, and Pappas.  TU travels to Jackson this weekend and that is always a great series.  Looking forward to watching that.  The voice of the Major's webcast is awesome and I watch him any chance I get.  I do not envy the pitchers in the next two games, for either team.

[infielddad]

According to the Trinity website, Kyle Felix has 1 strikeout in 86 AB's.
That is amazing. Evan Jones only has 6.  Guys in the middle of the line up who always put the ball in play are extremely nice to have.
Looks like TU will use Solomon and Klimesh to start the 2 games and they will surely have their hands full.
It really isn't the Millsaps power that makes me pay attention. It is the fact that they are so aggressive on the bases.  When they get a pitcher in the stretch, they  make the pitcher and catcher work extra hard.
Solomon is pretty proven.  This would be a big start for Klimesh if my guess about his starting is right.

[frank_ezelle]

Trinity wins again, making it 6 straight.  Looking at the stats, it was an ugly game.  Scored 20 runs and only had 3 hits from Felix, Jones, and Pappas.  TU travels to Jackson this weekend and that is always a great series.  Looking forward to watching that.  The voice of the Major's webcast is awesome and I watch him any chance I get.  I do not envy the pitchers in the next two games, for either team.

Both teams have been hitting the cover off the ball lately and there should be a hitting display going on this weekend.  HOWEVER, we all know but tend to forget that fielding will probably be the key to this series.  Those big innings seem to occur when you give a good hitting team 4 or 5 outs in an inning plus one or two extra base runners.  Millsaps with a .916 percentage (compared to .946 for Trinity) will have to play better in the field and they have been playing better of late.  I think that low number you see at the moment is a reflection of the poor weather and a lot of new players starting.

[frank_ezelle]

Trinity wins again, making it 6 straight.  Looking at the stats, it was an ugly game.  Scored 20 runs and only had 3 hits from Felix, Jones, and Pappas.  TU travels to Jackson this weekend and that is always a great series.  Looking forward to watching that.  The voice of the Major's webcast is awesome and I watch him any chance I get.  I do not envy the pitchers in the next two games, for either team.

Both teams have been hitting the cover off the ball lately and there should be a hitting display going on this weekend.  HOWEVER, we all know but tend to forget that fielding will probably be the key to this series.  Those big innings seem to occur when you give a good hitting team 4 or 5 outs in an inning plus one or two extra base runners.  Millsaps with a .916 percentage (compared to .946 for Trinity) will have to play better in the field and they have been playing better of late.  I think that low number you see at the moment is a reflection of the poor weather and a lot of new players starting.

I have a question that has to do with posting and not the quote above.  When I quote something like the above or write anything larger than the size of the message area that is displayed in the "Post Reply" form, the display screen gets all screwy.  Instead of seeing the line that I'm typing, the text displayed in the message box jumps back up to higher in the post.  I have to use the slide bar to get back down to read what I just typed.  This happens both on my home PC and at the office.

Does anyone else have this problem or do you have a suggestion of what setting I can change on my PC to fix this? 

[OshDude]

Trinity wins again, making it 6 straight.  Looking at the stats, it was an ugly game.  Scored 20 runs and only had 3 hits from Felix, Jones, and Pappas.  TU travels to Jackson this weekend and that is always a great series.  Looking forward to watching that.  The voice of the Major's webcast is awesome and I watch him any chance I get.  I do not envy the pitchers in the next two games, for either team.

Both teams have been hitting the cover off the ball lately and there should be a hitting display going on this weekend.  HOWEVER, we all know but tend to forget that fielding will probably be the key to this series.  Those big innings seem to occur when you give a good hitting team 4 or 5 outs in an inning plus one or two extra base runners.  Millsaps with a .916 percentage (compared to .946 for Trinity) will have to play better in the field and they have been playing better of late.  I think that low number you see at the moment is a reflection of the poor weather and a lot of new players starting.

I have a question that has to do with posting and not the quote above.  When I quote something like the above or write anything larger than the size of the message area that is displayed in the "Post Reply" form, the display screen gets all screwy.  Instead of seeing the line that I'm typing, the text displayed in the message box jumps back up to higher in the post.  I have to use the slide bar to get back down to read what I just typed.  This happens both on my home PC and at the office.

Does anyone else have this problem or do you have a suggestion of what setting I can change on my PC to fix this?  

Same for me. It's been that way for some time. I sent something to PC, but I have not heard anything from him (probably busy with basketball).

[frank_ezelle]

OshDude--It has been doing this with my post for quite a while.  I'd say at least a couple of months.  While it's a bit of a pain, sometimes I write up my post as a word document and then cut and paste it into the message box.  That's a lot easier than trying to type without being able to see the text.

In baseball news, Millsaps scored a run in the bottom of the 7th to go up 12-2 and win the first game of the series via the 10-run rule.  I haven't seen a box score yet but the big damage at the plate came from 2nd baseman Trey Roundtree Rountree with a 3-run homer early and shortstop Drew Leonard with a grand slam late in the game.  Aaron Williams had a great start for Millsaps to get the victory and freshman Carson Goldsmith did a good job on the mound finishing up the game.

ADDITION:  I corrected the spelling on Trey's last name above, and here's a link to the Millsaps story which contains a link to the box score:

http://www.gomajors.com/news/2010/3/13/BB_0313100505.aspx

[etg]

(El Tea Gray--re: Trinity vs. Millsaps, Sunday 3/14/10)


Trinity Tigers           10
Millsaps Majors          7      Final

                                                       

[frank_ezelle]

It was a good game and more like what most of us expected out of this series.  There didn't seem to be much difference between the two teams today and Millsaps actually had the tieing run at the plate in the bottom of the 9th.  Millsaps might have given up a run or two more with errors or lack of making a play in the field, but then again an errant pickoff play by Trinity in the later innings helped Millsaps score 2 runs.  All in all it was a balanced game that just went the way of the Tigers.

No box score has been posted yet.  I'll try to post that later but I'm trying to get some softball photos completed this evening so don't count on me getting back to the D3 boards today.

[frank_ezelle]

This week's D3baseball Top 25 should provide plenty of interest for SCAC fans.  Millsaps stays in the receiving votes category with 28 points, but that's only good enough to be considered 4th in the SCAC.  Birmingham Southern with their 13-1 record is ranked 16th and Trinity received 37 points while Rhodes picked up 34.  

There was a post earlier in the year by a non-SCAC person but a major contributor in all sports on all boards, and he predicted an at-large berth for Millsaps because they had a weak schedule this year.  I'm looking at this recent top-25 and I'm thinking about Millsaps having 3 games against MS College (#12), 5 games with Trinity (#30), 2 games with Rhodes (#32), and 2 games with Huntingdon (#35).  

That's 12 games against tough teams, then you add in the 2 games with Illinois Wesleyan this week and the games at the SCAC Tournament which will all be tough.  Plus, there's really nothing weak about Hendrix, Austin, Piedmont, and LaGrange, especially since Millsaps has 9 away games against those teams.   All in all, this is a difficult schedule and Millsaps will need to step it up on the road to keep alive the chances for an at-large bid.  (I left out the 3 against Belhaven since they are NAIA and those games don't matter regarding an at-large bid.)

Link to Top 25:  http://www.d3baseball.com/top25/2010/week-3

[frank_ezelle]

Millsaps took a 8-7 victory over Illinois Wesleyan Tuesday evening in another cold weather game--it now seems like a tradition that the Titans will bring cold weather with them when they hit Jackson on their spring break tour.  The two teams play this evening starting at 5 and the temps will be in the 40's by games end.

Shelby Robertson had a solid start for Millsaps yesterday and Boomer Hudson pitched well in relief.  Jules Roussel and Jake Mills both were 3 for 3 on the evening.  It will be interesting to see who pitches this evening since Millsaps has a big 3-game series with Hendrix this weekend.  My guess is that a lot of guys who have been working hard will get the chance to show what they've got this evening.  Maybe one or two will impress the coaches and gain a few more looks over the second half of the season.

Link to Millsaps story on the 8-7 victory:  http://www.gomajors.com/news/2010/3/16/BB_0316103312.aspx

[frank_ezelle]

Millsaps takes another 1-run victory over Illinois Wesleyan this evening, scoring 3 in the bottom of the 9th to come out on top 11-10.  Millsaps went with a pitch by committee, going with guys who haven't thrown much or at all this year and in general they did fairly well.  It was good to get work for those guys and getting the win at the end was certainly a nice bonus.

The win puts Millsaps at 14-5 heading into the 3-game series at Hendrix this weekend.  That's going to be a big series for both teams and hopefully the rain will hold off until the end of the weekend.

[ILVBB]

The first half of the season is over. After seeing all SCAC west teams these are some general observations going into the second half.

Millsaps: In my book they are the team to beat. They play well as a TEAM, they run very well, the pitching is solid and they are coached very well. They are a good (not great) hitting team; what they do well is run the bases and make their opponent play solid defense. The one thing that you can see in them is both a tradition and a belief that the are the best and should be competing with and against the best. The one thing that I have yet to factor in is how well they will do in the 3 game series' the second half.

Trinity: They are the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of SCAC baseball. At times they look unbeatable and then the next inning; poof, it is a different team. As a team, they can hit. Good pitching may slow them down, but as a whole they will get their hits. Their defense and pitching can be unpredictable. You can expect to get at least 2 good starts out of their 3 starters; the question is how will the bullpen hold up. They have lots of good arms; they need to figure out the right combination and the number of innings they can go. Coming back from the first game loss against Millsaps shows that they are capable of playing with the best; now if they can only figure out how to beat Hendrix, they may compete for the championship.

Austin: They are scrappy and play tough 9 inning baseball. After a tough start against Trinity they have played everyone tough. In reading box scores; they are getting more out of their pitching and stringing together hits nicely. They have the best shortstop in the west in White and Coach I has them playing as a team. I would expect an improvement from this team the second half of the schedule.

Hendrix: After beating Trinity; they have had a tough time stringing together wins. The program continues to make progress and they are clearly deeper than in prior years. They appear to lack the spark that Daniel Ward gave them last year. The kids play with great joy and are clearly proud of what they accomplished last year. However, they don't have the pitching or the bats that will carry them as far as last year. The do have the pride and "magic" in their hearts that may make a difference the second half.

Southwestern: From what I saw; they need help. Hopefully their injured pitchers with experience make it back into the lineup soon. Until then, they will need to get career performances out of pitchers with little experience. Their hitting is like their pitching; thin and lacking much experience. It was good to see them take two from Hendrix; I couldn't tell if they won the games or Hendrix lost them; either way it shows improvement which should help make the second half of the season more competitive.

[frank_ezelle]

Now that was an outstanding post--thank you for that contribution.  I think you hit the nail on the head regarding Millsaps at the moment.  It is my hope that the hitting will pick up some in the second half of the season with 5 of the 9 hitters being new to the starting lineup this season. 

However, it's worth pointing out that the team is now hitting .327 with a .480 slugging percentage, and last year's teams finished the year at .305 and .484 respectively.  Where I really believe the team will improve over the second half is in fielding and pitching.  With Hawkins now over at 3rd, the only two spots with returning starters are centerfield with Aliff and catcher with Berry.  At times, the defense has been shaky. 

As for the pitching, it's just a matter of some guys getting a few more innings and games to get acclimated.  It seems like the talent is there, but we'll find out a lot more in these 3-game series and at the SCAC Tournament.  Several of these newcomers will have to contribute significantly if Millsaps expects to win the SCAC AQ.

[frank_ezelle]

Here's a schedule change that caught me by surprise--Millsaps and Hendrix moved their series up a day and are playing a DH today.  Millsaps is doing a webcast but it looks like the feed is being provided by Hendrix.  Go to the Millsaps home page and you'll see a link for the webcast in the section for scores and events. 

Millsaps home page:  http://www.gomajors.com/

(Tyler Berry just hit a 2-run homer as Millsaps has scored 4 in the top of the 3rd for a 4-0 lead.)

[frank_ezelle]

Millsaps leading 5-1 after 5 innings.  This is the 7-inning first game of the DH.