BB: SCAC: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[infielddad]

Depauw now leads 9-5 heading into Millsaps last AB in the top of the 9th.
They have really done a great job with the bats, totaling 16 hits.
Austin has scored one and it is now 14-8 with 2 outs in the bottom 6.

[infielddad]

Chris Walden from Trinity just homered and they are now up 17-9 in the top of 7.
Depauw up 9-5 in the bottom of the 9th(sorry for my mistake on the last post. Will Hawkins has a lead off single.

[infielddad]

I don't know how he does this but Coach Scannell going to freshman Michael Bentz looks like a genius move.  Bentz throws 2.2 all season.
Today, he has gone 3.2 giving up just 3 hits and 2 runs.
TU up 17-9 after 7.
That team is a hitting and run scoring machine, but may need to keep pounding for another couple of innings today.

[infielddad]

Trinity and Austin College just got delayed by lightning.
TU is up 17-9 in the bottom 8. Austin has runners at 1st and 2nd and no outs and TU just brought in Andrew Lawson to pitch.  Boy did they get some valuable and good innings from Michael Bentz!!!
What a surprise, Millsaps is battling in the 9th and has scored one.  It is 9-6 with 2 outs and 2 on base.

[infielddad]

Millsaps has the based loaded, 2 outs, their 9 hitter at the plate down 9-6.
Just a little tension.

[infielddad]

Pinch hitter grounds out and DePauw wins 9-6.
Ron, hope I did okay and gave you enough detail.
Enjoy the Spurs game!

[Ron Boerger]

U were great, infielddad.  Thanx!!

[frank_ezelle]

The day basically went as expected by myself and probably most of you: 

---Rhodes had beaten OU three times this season and they did it again.  Only one of the four games between these teams was a blowout, and maybe OU wins two out of four or three out of four if all the games had been played in Georgia, but they weren't.  Rhodes will be looking to avenge the opening round loss to Millsaps in the next round.

---My early prediction that Trinity would score more in the second game than in the first wasn't going out on a limb very far since Trinity averages 11-12 runs per game.  What they did today is what they will need to do with DePauw in the next game--score lots of runs early.  Trinity has saved their ace for tomorrow's game and that will be a big advantage if the game is played tomorrow.  The advantage lessens some if the next games are on Sunday because the Thursday pitchers will be available for work on Sunday and that helps DePauw more than it helps Trinity.

---With Millsaps and DePauw, Millsaps just didn't get enough runs early.  Not much more to add to that.  Millsaps isn't out of this thing, especially if the tournament gets extended by a day.  It's just a matter of winning a doubleheader on back to back days.  Not easy, but not impossible.

[infielddad]

Frank,
Your posts and insights on each game and team situation are terrific.
Thanks for keeping everyone updated and providing lots of information to consider.
Weather does not look good at all for baseball tomorrow.

[frank_ezelle]

infielddad--thanks for the compliment.  There may or may not be baseball in Memphis today but there will be plenty of baseball on my computer in Jackson.  I looked last night and there are still over 2,000 baseball photos to go through before I can start burning the DVDs for the Millsaps team.  The majority will be deleted, but all of the rest will get edited in some way or another.  That mind numbing job goes easier while listening to DP call a SCAC game--but for the sake of the Majors pitching staff I'm sort of hoping for a rainout today.  I can understand that all of you paying hotel bills in Memphis might feel differently.

I must say that the Trinity Tigers are looking good.  I believe yesterday was their 11th straight win--nothing like getting hot at the most critical point of the season!!!  While the Millsaps lineup has shown tremendous firepower at times, the Trinity lineup seems more consistent at producing big scores game after game.  That's going to make them tough to beat. 

The championship path for Millsaps is fairly clear, just not fairly easy.  My guess is that Wes Perkins starts against Rhodes and Wes did a good job in his last start against Southwestern (SCAC Pitcher of the week).  If they beat Rhodes, then maybe the path actually isn't so clear, especially if Saturday is rained out.  I know this is risky and something that some idiot fan out there would second guess (oh wait, I'm the second guessing idiot fan), but my gut feeling is to go with a pitch by committee for the second game on the third day.  That gives the Majors a more rested Aaron Williams and Shelby Robertson on championship day.

It's that fine line of decision making between trying to win one particular game while also giving a team the best chance of winning the championship.  We saw that on full display on day one with the Trinity pitching decision.  Naturally any pitching decision would have to wait until you knew the opponent and had a good idea of who they are planning to pitch, but I think the best way to win three is with Aaron and Shelby in the last two games.  Of course, right now it's all about beating Rhodes.

[infielddad]

Updated weather forecast looks much better beginning about 3pm.
If that is right, it would seem some baseball will be played today.
Checking pitching it looks like it will be Ben Klimesh and the Trinity hitters going against DePauw led by the SCAC pitcher of the year, Elliott Ross.
An ERA under 3 against  a team scoring over 11 runs per game.
Could be a terrific game.

[frank_ezelle]

Supposing they can start about 3, them my guess is that they would get in the Trinity vs DePauw game, then the Millsaps vs Rhodes game today.

Then tomorrow then would go with the game scheduled for Saturday night with the winner playing the undefeated team.  If a second championship game is needed then it could be played on Monday.  That's not ideal and maybe the powers that be will opt for the third game scheduled for today being played even if it starts at 10 pm. 

Lots of ifs and lots of difficult decisions that are bound to make someone unhappy.  Rain mixed with baseball tournaments has a way of complicating things.

[Ron Boerger]

Looking at the radar it looks like there's one last line of storms that could clear the area in about an hour.   Hopefully the field will drain pretty rapidly once they do.

[historymajor]

Sat Apr. 24  vs. DePauw @ Millington, Tenn.  SCAC Tournament  6-0  mid 6 two pickoffs by Klimesh
Jones' 13th hr and rbi single, Robusto 2 rbi triple
 Preview Live stats Video  

[Ron Boerger]

Interesting strategy by DPU going with Mike Peterson (1-7, 6.75) today rather than Elliott Ross.  He's just left with one out in the top of the sixth after allowing six earned runs plus a runner on third.   

Joseph Wojda enters and retires the side.