BB: SCAC: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[Lynx Tracker]

No offense taken Frank!  Just perpetuating the railroad jargon—derail, steam etc.

Lynx supporters, including myself, should have posted sooner about the DePauw game. Simply put, Rhodes' bats were below par on Saturday. We did not execute when we needed to, and hit into more double plays than I can remember seeing in a double-header. Your postings regarding Rhodes baseball are quite insightful and provide an objective perspective that give Lynx fans food for thought.

You are correct about the importance of name recognition. In the past, Rhodes players [and probably others] have been passed over in All-Conference selections, even though their individual numbers surpassed players in winning programs. Does anyone know how the ABCA points are awarded and what they represent?

Anyone who has not listened to Millsaps' ESPN radio broadcast via the internet is missing a real treat.  Their announcer does great play-by-play and color commentary reminiscent of a bygone era.

[Spence]

I was surprised to see Rhodes not be *slightly* higher. But their record is inflated by their schedule. Yes, they played Millsaps and Methodist. But they also have about 12 wins over teams that are highly unlikely to be a factor for anything (Sewanee, Oglethorpe, Drew, Eureka, Blackburn).

The split against DePauw really hurt.

I think the big test for Rhodes comes when they have to play a good team and Holt and Flanagan aren't available. That'll come in early April when they have 6 games in 7 days -- 2 each against LaGrange and Emory and one against Washington (Mo.).

I would presume that Flanagan and Holt will get Rhodes into the SCAC tournament. Does anyone know how the seedings would work for that? Does it go purely by record? Since you could end up with more teams from one division than another, you can't just say E1 vs. W2 or whatever.

[frank_ezelle]

I think Holt and Flanagan will get a start against LaGrange (on the 9th and 10th) and then they'll have plenty of rest for Emory (the 14th and 15th).  In between you have Rust and the startiing pitcher doesn't matter in that game and you will need a good performance by the #3 starter against Washington.  That will be a key week for Rhodes to improve their South Region ranking, especially the games against Emory.

One thing about the change on the SCAC Tournament is that it shifts the emphasis a little away from pitching depth to the quality of your top starters.  The crossover is 2 out of 3 and then you come back fresh for a 4-team tournament instead of a 6-team tournament as in the past. 

[Spence]

Yes I noticed that about the tournament formats...pretty much like Division I where two guys can get you a long way.

Do you know what the scenario is for how the tournament (the second round I guess, the 4 team deal) gets seeded?

[frank_ezelle]

I don't know how the format on the SCAC Tournament will go--I guess we'll get that info soon enough.

Millsaps beat Piedmont 4-1 last night at the neutral site of Birmingham Southern.  That drops Piedmont to 9-16 I think but they seem to be a pretty good team with a tough schedule:

3 losses to #1 in the South Emory including a 5-4 10-inning game.
2 losses to #3 in the South Millsaps including the 4-1 loss yesterday
2 losses to #4 in the South Methodist including a 3-2 loss
1 loss to #6 in the South Rhodes by a 4-2 score
1 loss to #8 in the South Christopher Newport by an 8-7 score
1 win over #8 in the South NC Wesleyan by an 5-4 score
1 win over Centre by a 5-0 score

Trinity won 6-2 last night on the road at Schreiner and there is an interesting contrast between Millsaps and Trinity leading up to the series this weekend.  Trinity is well rested having only played a DH with Doane on the 21st and the single game yesterday.  Millsaps is well tested having played the 4-game series at Southwestern from the 23rd thru the 25th, a game with Belhaven on the 27th, and the road game last night. 

[frank_ezelle]

A non-SCAC score of interest this week:  Huntingdon beat Emory 7-6 Tuesday.

Huntingdon moves to 16-8 with two of thoses losses coming against Rhodes and two others coming against Millsaps.  Huntingdon's other 4 losses were to NC Wesleyan, MS College, UW-Platteville and Ferrum. 

Emory came into the game ranked 4th in the nation in the latest Coaches' poll and #1 in the South and the loss drops their record to 19-4 with one of those losses being to Millsaps in a split 2-game series.

[Spence]

I don't know how the format on the SCAC Tournament will go--I guess we'll get that info soon enough.

Millsaps beat Piedmont 4-1 last night at the neutral site of Birmingham Southern.  That drops Piedmont to 9-16 I think but they seem to be a pretty good team with a tough schedule:

3 losses to #1 in the South Emory including a 5-4 10-inning game.
2 losses to #3 in the South Millsaps including the 4-1 loss yesterday
2 losses to #4 in the South Methodist including a 3-2 loss
1 loss to #6 in the South Rhodes by a 4-2 score
1 loss to #8 in the South Christopher Newport by an 8-7 score
1 win over #8 in the South NC Wesleyan by an 5-4 score
1 win over Centre by a 5-0 score

Trinity won 6-2 last night on the road at Schreiner and there is an interesting contrast between Millsaps and Trinity leading up to the series this weekend.  Trinity is well rested having only played a DH with Doane on the 21st and the single game yesterday.  Millsaps is well tested having played the 4-game series at Southwestern from the 23rd thru the 25th, a game with Belhaven on the 27th, and the road game last night. 

Add two losses to the defending champions to that list of games for Piedmont. They've played a ridiculous schedule...if they were just a *little* better they might be 15-10 and against that schedule might be in contention for a Pool B berth. I expected that wouldn't be an easy game for Millsaps.

Having seen Piedmont in person I can attest that they're not a bad club. Dimitroff looked good against Marietta (granted our first weekend) even though he's had a few rough outings.

Don't know much about Huntingdon except that they were pretty decent last year and look to be again this year. But Emory is really their first quality win. It wasn't a cheapie; Glushon started and went 7 for Emory (3 unearned runs). Splitting Ferrum isn't the worst thing in the world, but this year doesn't really qualify as an eye-opener.

Emory's lived by the 1 run ballgame this year...do that enough and eventually you're going to die by it.

[FlightofthePetrel]

Oglthorpe looses again to NAIA Reinhardt 8-2.   The loss extends their loosing streak to 22 games after winning their first 4.

[frank_ezelle]

Is there more than meets the eye in the OU situation or is it simply a combination of young players, a tough schedule and some bad breaks?

The first four wins were against LaGrange, Maryville(2) and Piedmont so that's promising.  They had a 5-game stretch in the middle where they lost to Emory 6-2 and then the 4 losses to Rhodes by a total of 7 runs so that indicates some fairly good play.  Some of their results sound far better than a team that is on a 0-22 stretch.

[FlightofthePetrel]

From a fans perspetive I think it is the combination of a young team being totally drained from so many bad breaks. 

To put icing on the cake I was informed their starting 2nd baseman Evan Baker quit the team recently, unfortunately that means yet another freshman will be plugging a whole in the infield.  That makes all 4 infielders and 2 outfielders Freshman starters.  Hopefully all these guys will stick it out all 4 years because I know it will pay off... Oglethorpe has had a hard time retaining players in the past.

[Gimme]

Depauw wins conf tourney and makes first NCAA DIII CWS appearance....any takers?

[frank_ezelle]

I say you are wrong about DePauw winning the SCAC Tournament since this is a bet of DePauw vs. the rest of the field.  I don't see how any team in the SCAC can be considered a better than even chance to win the tournament which is why putting yourself in position to get an at-large berth is so important.  It was important enough to Millsaps that they drove to Birmingham Wednesday to play a makeup game that helps improve their regional ranking.

Millsaps certainly has to be considered as strong a favorite as any SCAC team to win the SCAC Tournament but I'm sure the folks from Rhodes, Trinity, Centre, DePauw, Austin and others might beg to differ.  The bottom line is that any team capable of getting in the top 4 of their division is capable of getting great hitting and great pitching one weekend and winning a 2 out of 3 crossover matchup.  Any team that advances to the conference tournament is playing well enough to win a 4-team tournament. 

The conference tournament will be won by the team that peaks at the right time and I must say that Coach Page at Millsaps has a reputation of getting his teams to peak at the right time.

[Lynx Fan]

Friday night result: Rhodes 7 Centre 3.

Holt went 8 complete with one earned. Threw right around 100 pitches.

[Bob_Lotts]

Game 1 goes to OU in the Battle of the young SCAC... Oglethorpe 4 Hendrix 3

Wild game....

[Gus Sinski]

Game 1 goes to OU in the Battle of the young SCAC... Oglethorpe 4 Hendrix 3

Wild game....

What's that word I'm loking for? Oh yeah...@$#%!

Not a good game in the field for the Warriors...no excuses for this one. But congrats to the Petrels for finally getting the 500-pound primate off their backs. There's a light at the end of the tunnel if you just keep working.