BB: SCAC: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[Ron Boerger]

Jim Shelton has stepped down at Southwestern.

http://www.d3baseball.com/notables/2012/05/southwestern-coach-steps-down

[mr_b]

Bruce Maxwell of Birmingham-Southern was chosen in the second round (62nd overall) by the Oakland A's.  I wonder if this is the earliest a D3 player has ever been selected.

[BigPoppa]

Bruce Maxwell of Birmingham-Southern was chosen in the second round (62nd overall) by the Oakland A's.  I wonder if this is the earliest a D3 player has ever been selected.

No. Jarrod Washburn was taken with the first pick of the second round by the Angels in 1995. Not sure if there were any first rounders.

[mr_b]

Bruce Maxwell of Birmingham-Southern was chosen in the second round (62nd overall) by the Oakland A's.  I wonder if this is the earliest a D3 player has ever been selected.

No. Jarrod Washburn was taken with the first pick of the second round by the Angels in 1995. Not sure if there were any first rounders.

Thanks for following up on that.  I didn't know Washburn was taken that high.  Maxwell had a monster season.

[BigPoppa]

Bruce Maxwell of Birmingham-Southern was chosen in the second round (62nd overall) by the Oakland A's.  I wonder if this is the earliest a D3 player has ever been selected.

No. Jarrod Washburn was taken with the first pick of the second round by the Angels in 1995. Not sure if there were any first rounders.

Thanks for following up on that.  I didn't know Washburn was taken that high.  Maxwell had a monster season.

We (Carthage) had the pleasure of facing Washburn (Oshkosh) at draft time in 1995 at the opening game of the world series... not a fun day for us. Couple that with the three other all-Americans that '95 team had and it was a long day for us.

[mr_b]

Bruce Maxwell of Birmingham-Southern was chosen in the second round (62nd overall) by the Oakland A's.  I wonder if this is the earliest a D3 player has ever been selected.

No. Jarrod Washburn was taken with the first pick of the second round by the Angels in 1995. Not sure if there were any first rounders.

The D3 write-up notes that Billy Wagner was taken in the first round, 12th overall.

[Ron Boerger]

The SAA guys all hope Maxwell signs 

[scaccommish]

I'm going to brag on my assistants who hustled, tracked down and interviewed both Bruce Maxwell of Birmingham-Southern and Ben Klimesh of Trinity within hours of their selections today in the 2012 MLB Draft. Links to stories and interviews below:

(Maxwell) http://www.scacsports.com/sports/bsb/2011-12/releases/maxwell_drafted
(Klimesh) http://www.scacsports.com/sports/bsb/2011-12/releases/klimesh_drafted

I know we were the first people to interview Maxwell; I'm pretty sure we were the first with Klimesh as well. Great day for the SCAC today!

[108 Stitches]

Great stuff commish.

[Ron Boerger]

Another interview with Ben Klimesh (although the writer, for unknown reasons, placed him in the NCAC rather than the SCAC):  http://chicago.sbnation.com/chicago-cubs/2012/6/7/3070617/2012-mlb-draft-ben-klimesh-reds-15th-round-interview

[Ralph Turner]

Another interview with Ben Klimesh (although the writer, for unknown reasons, placed him in the NCAC rather than the SCAC):  http://chicago.sbnation.com/chicago-cubs/2012/6/7/3070617/2012-mlb-draft-ben-klimesh-reds-15th-round-interview

Ehh, the animus by the guys on the north side of Chicago may be such that they do not even want to mention something with the letters "S-o-u-t-h"-ern Collegiate Athletic Conference.   

[Ron Boerger]

Quick take on Klimesh from minorleaguebaseball.com's team-by-team Central Division draft review:

Sleeper: Ben Klimesh (RHP, Trinity University, 15th round) blew past Division III competition with slightly above average stuff and is a good value in this spot.

Remember that "slightly above average" is relative to a lot of guys that got scholarships to play ball. 

[108 Stitches]

I have been watching summer ball for a couple of weeks now, and granted some of the guys are still playing in the CWS, but after seeing Ben pitch and a 2nd & 7th  rounder last week, I would not say that Ben has "slightly above average stuff". I also saw a few minor league games (AAA) this year and would say that Ben has "above average stuff." His FB and slider are both above average, but he will need to work on a third pitch to compete effectively at the next level. Scannell has said that this year he would have been a number 1 or 2 in virtually any program in the country regardless of level. His work ethic and mental toughness are both "plus" which seperate many players at the next level. Will be interesting to see how he progresses.

[Ron Boerger]

Ben Klimesh has been sent by the Reds to the Billings Mustangs of the Pioneer Rookie League.    He's made at least two appearances so far, allowing one hit and picking up a save in 1.2 innings total.   Stats:  http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=621238

A tip of the hat to Ricky Nelson who dug this info up.

Edit:  Entered with one out and two on in the seventh, pitched another 1 1/3rd last night, giving up one hit, one walk, and recorded his first strikeout.   Credited with a hold.

[Ron Boerger]

Update on "Bennett" Klimesh:  0-0, 5 APP, 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4K, .222 OBA, 1.80 ERA.  1 save, 1 hold.

Billings apparently has 20 pitchers (no kidding) and it looks like they are trying Ben out primarily in middle relief so far.   I have a relative up that way that I could normally call but he's out hiking the Appalachian Trail right now.