BB: SCAC: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[FlightofthePetrel]

I appologize for getting off subject but the board won't let me send private messages.

Frank,   Any idea how the Millsaps Men's Tennis did the other day against Mississippi College?

[frank_ezelle]

Regarding the tennis, MC and Millsaps were rained out and will make up the match on Tuesday the 24th.

On the Rhodes vs Rust score, this subject about lopsided scores comes up often each year and in almost every case the winning team is doing all they can to keep the score down once the game is basically won.  Not surprised about Flanagan going 1 for 1--he is ranked high in several hitting categories at his old high school.

Millsaps beat LA College 20-4 last night.  I don't know much about LA College but the score is a little bit of a surprise since they are a respectable 20-13 on the season, including a 16-5 record at home and a 7-5 record in the ASC East.  Tait Hendrix had another good outing and he has really cut down on his walks of late.  It's a big plus for Millsaps to have him pitching well at this time of the year.  For the game, Millsaps pitcher struck out 13 including 3 by Brent Buffa in his one inning of relief.

[FlightofthePetrel]

Frank, I appreciate the information... I sometimes wonder if Millsaps athletics would survive without you.

[frank_ezelle]

Frank, I appreciate the information... I sometimes wonder if Millsaps athletics would survive without you.

I appreciate that compliment but I also must keep in mind the quote from former French leader Charles de Gaulle:  "The graveyards are full of indispensable men."

Overall, the Millsaps sports programs would do just fine if I never did another thing.  What I've tried to do with the posts here and the photos that I take is to bring some much deserved recognition to the players and to provide them with something that they will have in the future to help keep alive their memories of this important time in their life.  I'm not exactly sure why I do this except that I think it needs to be done and no one else has stepped forward to do it.

[Baseball_fan]

I saw where the individual national rankings came out.  It looks like Flanagan is leading the nation in wins with Devin Drag. (both 10-0)  Select company indeed.  It also looks like Holt is right behind them tied for 4th behind 7-8 other people with 8 wins.  Flanagan also is number 2 in the country in strikeouts, not far behind the number 1 man.  I am a little disappointed that Flanagan got the no-decision against LaGrange, as that would have made him the sole national leader, and it is always good to see SCAC players getting national recognition.

Hunter Owen also is tied to lead the nation in RBI's per game, so congrats to him as well.

What are people's All-SCAC selections at this point, I know Flanagan was named the SCAC pitcher of the year last year, what are the odds he repeats?  He seems to be the frontrunner at this point to do just that.  There isnt any pitcher from Sewanee that can be named All-SCAC in my mind, but there are a few hitters who hit very well and should get some looks.

What is the potential that anyone from the SCAC gets drafted this year?  I know Owen has put up some great numbers, but have not seem him play all that much, and I know Flanagan again has put up great numbers and being such a huge lefty surely cant hurt him.  Vera is also certainly having a great year.  What does everyone think?

[frank_ezelle]

Millsaps vs. Hendrix series has been pushed back to Saturday DH followed by a Sunday DH.  I don't know if that favors either team.

Interesting that Hunter Owens is tied for the national lead in RBI's per game, the category that Garner Wetzel led in last year.  Based on the numbers, you could argue that Hunter is having a 1st team All-American season since he is right on track with the numbers Garner put up last year as a 1st team All-American:

Garner in 2006:  BA .400, Slugging .724, 14 doubles, 2 triples, 14 HRs, on base % .510, RBI's 91, Stolen bases 18 of 19.

Hunter in 2007 (with projected number if he keeps the same pace for 50 games, the number Millsaps played last year):  BA .407, Slugging .787, 16 doubles (23 projected), 1 triple, 10 HRs (14 projected), on base % .497, RBI's 58 (83 projected), stolen bases 15 of 17 (21 of 24 projected).

It certainly isn't an exact comparison since it is different competition, etc, but obviously Hunter Owen has done all that could be expected of him in taking over for Garner Wetzel.  Since he was out most of last year with an injury he didn't have much name recognition going into the season and I hope that doesn't hurt his chances when voting is done for various awards at the end of the season.

[infielddad]

Baseball_fan,
I honestly think stats in college, especially at the DIII level, have nothing to do with the draft.  Scouts are looking at whether that player has skills that can improve and  also trying to project how the skills in a DIII game project in professional baseball.  In a sense, stats and playing at the DIII level can be a drawback, not a positive, when it comes to the draft.
With that said, the fact that Nick Vera had a wonderful summer in the Coastal Plain wood bat league, is big and strong, can run, has a good arm and has shown he can hit DI level pitching with a wood bat, should help him a lot in the eyes of scouts. The fact he has improved so much in 4 years of college ball could also be of help.  I don't know how much scout activity Nick has generated this year in San Antonio but he plays in an area where there are more scouts than nearly anywhere in the US. Based on what I know of Nick and the draft, I would be guessing he will get selected by someone later in the draft.
Just based on his size and being a lefty, I expect Flanagan will be picked.  I have never seen him pitch or play.  Again, he won't be picked based on anything he has done this year.  His stats mean nothing.  It is his size, velocity and being a lefty that give him a huge advantage with professional scouts.

[frank_ezelle]

I agree 100% with what infielddad says--no question they draft on potential and not on the number.  Of course, those with major league potential usually have pretty good numbers (while those with pretty good number rarely have major league potential).

For those who are interested, there's a good interview with Coach Page in the Millsaps school newspaper:  http://www.millsaps.edu/p&w/04-12-07_page_9.pdf

[Spence]

Baseball_fan,
I honestly think stats in college, especially at the DIII level, have nothing to do with the draft.  Scouts are looking at whether that player has skills that can improve and  also trying to project how the skills in a DIII game project in professional baseball.  In a sense, stats and playing at the DIII level can be a drawback, not a positive, when it comes to the draft.
With that said, the fact that Nick Vera had a wonderful summer in the Coastal Plain wood bat league, is big and strong, can run, has a good arm and has shown he can hit DI level pitching with a wood bat, should help him a lot in the eyes of scouts. The fact he has improved so much in 4 years of college ball could also be of help.  I don't know how much scout activity Nick has generated this year in San Antonio but he plays in an area where there are more scouts than nearly anywhere in the US. Based on what I know of Nick and the draft, I would be guessing he will get selected by someone later in the draft.
Just based on his size and being a lefty, I expect Flanagan will be picked.  I have never seen him pitch or play.  Again, he won't be picked based on anything he has done this year.  His stats mean nothing.  It is his size, velocity and being a lefty that give him a huge advantage with professional scouts.

A friend of mine that's seen Flanagan said he doesn't throw as hard as one might expect, but he figures he'll still get his shot, being an enormous left-handed pitcher.

[infielddad]

Somehow, from reading this site, I developed the impression he was 86-88 mph. If that is correct, and just looking at his bb/innings pitched, and being a junior, I wouldn't be surprised if he did not get selected in the first 10 rounds.
If his velocity is below that on a consistent basis, I agree he will still be picked based on those other factors.
What likely would then be the issue is where he is picked.  Being a junior, this is his only "leverage" year.  If he were selected after the 12th round or so, a club may not pay him enough bonus to include the MLB scholarship plan, if he is a 83/84 type guy, unless they believe that a change in mechanics or further maturity will change that.  Another thing to watch will be his innings. He is already over 70.  If Rhodes makes it to the SCAC tournament and possibly beyond, past use would indicate he could  be pitching upwards of 12-14 innings in 3 day time frames.  If that happens, some teams will pay  attention to that in drafting and in bonus money.

[Spence]

From earlier in the week, just saw this...Rhodes 40, Rust 7. Rhodes missed the PAT.

http://www.rhodes.edu/athletics/baseball/2007_results/4-11-07_Rust.htm

32 players played for Rhodes. It was 33-5 after 3 innings. This seems like it could have eclipsed Bridgewater State and Newbury if not for Rhodes dressing and playing everyone.

[D3baseballdad]

Oglethorpe played a doubleheader against Depauw today. The Tigers took the first game 10 to 6. Solid hitting for the Tigers helped them defeat the Petrels in the first game of the day.

The second game was carried on Depauw's student radio station and those of us here in Atlanta are thankful it was. It was very exciting to hear the game broadcast live.

Oglethorpe got a solid outting from Sophmore Sean Tuttle who looked more like the pitcher he was last year. Combine that with Oglethorpe pounding out 15 hits and they took the second game 8 to 3.

The magic number for the Petrel's now drops to 1. They need one more win or they need Sewanee to drop tonights game to Centre.

Thanks again to Depauw for the live broadcast and way to go OU!!!!

[DPU3619]

DPU/OU postponed today.  It's ugly here in Greencastle.  About 40 and rainy.  Will probably snow some before the day is over. 

They'll play two nine inning games tomorrow.  11am first pitch.

Quick correction: I don't think WGRE is going to start their coverage until after the broadcast of the Gobin Church service is over.  Probably a quarter to noon or so.

[Doc Nelson]

Coach Jeff Cleanthes's Rhodes College Lynx beat tenth-ranked Washington University 8-3 this afternoon.  The Lynx will play two against highly-ranked Emory University on Sunday afternoon, with Andrew Holt and Robert Flanagan on the mound.

Chris Catalonotto shut down the Bears through six-plus innings today, and fielded his position brilliantly.  So did shortstop John Robert Bizzell, left fielder Richard Hurd, catcher Matt Beesley, and others.  Rhodes won the game on offense by playing superb small ball--indeed, during the first five innings they spun gold into straw by building a 3-0 lead with only one hit.

One quality of the Rhodes team that doesn't show up in the stats but is obvious to anyone who has seen the Lynx play this year: the constant and enthusiastic vocal support that the team on the field gets from the team in the dugout.  Juniors Matt Jack and Jeff Mueller, both of whom are significant contributors in their own right whenever they step into the lineup, consistently provide their teammates with energetic, articulate, and altogether positive support, as well as getting the rest of the dugout up and going whenever the opportunity arises.   Leadership comes in many forms--these two (and others) are leaders every time they put on their cleats.

[frank_ezelle]

Millsaps won two from Hendrix (6-1 and 13-0, complete games from Travis Bogue and Brent Buffa).  Southwestern looks like they are about to take the 1st game of DH against Trinity.  If that happens, the standing in the West will be:

Millsaps at 10-4 (2 games remaining with Hendrix)
Southwestern at 9-5 (2 games remaining with Trinity)
Austin at 9-6 (a potential makeup game with Trinity)
Trinity at 5-8 (with the above games remaining)
Hendrix at 2-12

If the Trinity bats don't wake up this afternoon or tomorrow I guess that's the way the West will end up.  In the East it looks fairly certain that it will be Rhodes, DePauw, Centre, Oglethorpe and Sewanee from top to bottom.