BB: SCAC: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[frank_ezelle]

I'm not ready to jump on the OU wagon with the most recent ones to post, but it would be a mistake for anyone to overlook OU.  As I pointed out in a post a few days back about BSC, OU's starting pitching did a good job against a powerhouse BSC team for 2 out of the 3 games.  I suspect that every team has a #1 starter who has the potential to shut down any team in the tournament.  However, it seems more likely to me that Trinity's starter has more potential to shutdown OU than the OU starter will have of shutting down Trinity.  I think the tigers score big late if not early and cruise through this game.

On the Millsaps vs. Rhodes game, naturally I'm picking Millsaps.  As I've said before, Aaron Williams is as good as any starting pitcher in the SCAC and he has been pitching well of late.  He did get in one solid inning against MC, but that's all he has pitched in 12 days.  Will that help or hurt?  I think it will help, especially if he needs to come back and pitch on Sunday.  Millsaps hasn't hit the ball very well during the last two games, facing really good pitchers from Belhaven and MC, but they have a dangerous lineup and I hope that everyone will be seeing the ball well all weekend.

With DePauw and Austin, I'll pick DePauw for one main reason.  The Tigers are 10-11 away from home this year and Austin is 4-11 on the road. 

One last note:  It looks like a beautiful day in Memphis today but there may be rain on the weekend.  The possibility of rain adding an extra day to the tournament might be a factor in helping any team that lacks a little depth in pitching.

[frank_ezelle]

WoW--Trinity goes with seldom used Joshua Fink to start the game.  He has 1 start, 9 games totalling 13.1 innings, and a 6.75 era.  Obviously not worried about needing their best to beat OU, but usually a Thursday starter can come back and pitch on Sunday so I'm not so sure if you gain a lot with this gamble.

[frank_ezelle]

Fink ended up getting 2 outs but issued 2 walks, hit a batter, and gave up a double.  So far OU only has 1 run, but the bases are loaded and Michael Hunt has come in to pitch.

This question of not starting your ace has come up before on the board.  I've wavered on it and maybe it depends on the situation, but all in all I think it's too risky for several reasons:

---You are telling your team that the opponent is one that can be beaten with less than your best.  Sometimes that leads to some overconfidence.

---You give the other team something to rally around, this idea that you can beat them with a seldom used starter.

--If it doesn't work, then all of a sudden you are playing an important game from behind. 

OU only gets 2 in the inning but the third out came with the bases loaded.  Trinity was just a gapper away from being down 5-0.

[frank_ezelle]

OU starts Mark Hoban, their pitcher with the most innings and starts but he only has a 3-4 record and 7.13 era.  Hoban did have a couple of good outings this year, in particular a nice win against DePauw on March 28.

Evan Jones just hit a double to make it a 2-1 game.  Is there much question that Jones is going to be the offensive player of the year this season.  If that's the case, it would end a 5 year streak by Millsaps players:  Garner Wetzel in 2005 and 2006--Hunter Owen in 2007 and 2008--Will Hawkins in 2009.

[Leadoff Man]

Looking like a barn-burner so far, Trinity's up 4-3 in the bottom of the 2nd.  Jackson just tripled.

In regards to Jones being the offensive player of the year, wouldn't Bruce Maxwell from BSC deserve some consideration too?  All his numbers are right there with Evan but his BA is 50 points less...

[frank_ezelle]

Regarding Evans, it's hard to ignore a .480 batting average along with all of the power.  But also, if I were a coach voting, I would factor in Evans previous great seasons as a tiebreaker of sorts if I thought there was a tie.  While Evans numbers this year are surprisingly good, they are that big a leap over numbers that he has put up in the past.

On the 1st game today, Trinity is pounding the ball and has 7 runs after 3 innings.  The problem is that OU has 5 and Trinity is now on their 3rd pitcher in the top of the 4th.  Trinity should be cruising with their 7 runs, but now they look like they are in for a long day, especially if OU can find someone in the bullpen who can slow down the TU assault just a little.

[infielddad]

I think we are finding out why Evan should be the SCAC player of the year.
In the bottom of the 7th, he came up with 2 outs and a runner on 2nd, with Trinity leading 10-7.  First base open.
Even on LiveStats it seemed pretty clear cut...give him 4 and take 1st.
Nope, pitched to Evan and he is now 4-5 after singling to drive in Trinity's 11th run.  Score in the bottom of the 7th is 11-7 with 29 hits already between the 2 teams.

[Leadoff Man]

11-7 Trinity is the final.

All 9 in the Trinity lineup had at least a hit.  Trinity also stole 7 bases.  You have to question the pitching decisions though, starting Fink and then burning through 3 other arms.

OU had their fair share of hits too and with 3 errors on each side there were alot of baserunners in the game.

[alldone]

Trinity is playing to win the tournament.. Remember UTTyler in 08.. The at large bid scenario is very very unlikely.
To maximize chances for tournament success, they had to out slug their opponent today.
These arms are still left... top four inning eaters... and the best of the staff..


Michael Panozzo.....  3.46   6-2    12   7   1   0/0    1  52.0 
Ben Klimesh.........  4.55   6-0    10   9   2   1/0    0  59.1 
Noah Solomon........  5.62   4-2    10   8   0   0/0    0  40.0 
--------------
Ryan Lucero.........  3.37   4-1    14   2   0   0/0    0  34.2


solomon on friday
klimesh on saturday

[jekelish]

How many of you folks are in town for the tournament this weekend? This is my first time to USA Stadium, and it's a nice setup. I had no idea the field was so big...there's a LOT of room in the outfield. The Trinity/Oglethorpe game showed that 1) you need speedy outfielders here, and 2) there will be many, many doubles and triples and not many homers, IMO.

[Ron Boerger]

Trinity rolled the dice with their game 1 pitching choices ... good thing the bats were still working.    

No stats anywhere but Millsaps crushes Rhodes 13-5.

DPU is up 3-1 on Austin in the sixth.  

[JimiBall]

After the Trinity game this afternoon, I thought I heard Coach Scannell say that Panozzo wont be available this weekend.  Anyone know why?

[Ralph Turner]

Final DPU 3-2 over AC

[frank_ezelle]

Tomorrow is set:

Rhodes and OU play at noon in an elimination game.

Austin plays Trinity  at 3:30 in the winner's bracket game that is half and half in that Austin could be eliminated, Trinity with a loss would only go to the loser's bracket.

Millsaps and DePauw play at 7:30 or how ever late it is for the first pitch.  It would seem like DePauw would go with Elliott Ross who is 8-1 with an 2.58 era, but Ross only has 5 starts on the year.

[jekelish]

Heck of a game between AC and DU tonight. Aside from that first inning, Tyler Steed just about completely shut DePauw down the rest of the night. Can't say enough about how well he pitched tonight (and he had some spectacular defensively plays behind him, most notably by Phillip Gonzales and Sean Muder in the outfield).

On the flipside, the Tigers pitchers were pretty damn good tonight as well, obviously. Would have liked to see a little different turnout, but c'est la vie.