BB: SCAC: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[infielddad]

Frank,
there is one very practical but very difficult issue for the SCAC teams when they get to a regional and try to advance to Appleton..
The SCAC's end in April.  Most times, the SCAC teams playing in the regional have at least 3 weeks without a game, sometimes 4 weeks.
No matter how we look at it, it is a disadvantage when you get to a regional and face teams that have been playing sometimes up to the prior weekend.
It is very tough to be game ready, against the quality of a regional opponent, when you have been playing intersquads for 3-4 weeks.

[Ralph Turner]

Frank,
there is one very practical but very difficult issue for the SCAC teams when they get to a regional and try to advance to Appleton..
The SCAC's end in April.  Most times, the SCAC teams playing in the regional have at least 3 weeks without a game, sometimes 4 weeks.
No matter how we look at it, it is a disadvantage when you get to a regional and face teams that have been playing sometimes up to the prior weekend.
It is very tough to be game ready, against the quality of a regional opponent, when you have been playing intersquads for 3-4 weeks.

+1!   

Absolutely!

[HeadingForHome]

Oglethorpe wins it's 5th straight game 2-1 against Arcadia.  Junior Pitcher John Hale went seven outstanding 7 innings only giving up 1 run and 3 hits.  He left the game when it was 1 to 1.  The Petrels scratched across the winning run due to a passed ball in the bottom of the 8th and Transfer pitcher Sarisky got the win.

I have been following the Petrels since 2004 and I am very excited to see them have this good start.  They are only three games away from the top win total for a season since I have been around.

Its also amazing to look at the East Standings and see 4  out 6 teams with winning records and then look at the West and see only one out of 5 teams with a winning record.  I know a lot of this has to do with West already well into conference games but it is just seems so foreign to me.

[frank_ezelle]

It's true that the SCAC teams have to deal with a long break if they qualify for the NCAA Tournament.  There can be arguments made in favor of playing straight through from regular season to NCAA Tournament play, and likewise arguments could be made about getting a break to regroup--most people would probably agree that even if a break is good, 3-4 weeks of a break does present challenges. 

Not much can be done about the long break, but the main thing is that a team has to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.  If memory serves me right, the 2006 Millsaps team went as an at-large team so it's important to keep that option open.  This Millsaps team needs to put the first half of the season behind them and go out and put together something similar in the second half. 

Regarding HeadingForHome's post, it is good to see the records improving in the East but the situation in the West isn't a first.  In 2007 Millsaps was the only SCAC West team to finish with a winning record, and the losing records of the other SCAC West teams is what denied Millsaps an at-large bid that year (just as the terrible 2007 seasons by Centre, OU and Sewanee killed the chances for Rhodes).  Every non-conference D3 win by a SCAC team is a plus for the other teams in the league so I'm always glad to see Hendrix, Austin, Southwestern and Trinity win games when they play outside the SCAC.

[frank_ezelle]

A quick scheduling note:  I'm fairly certain that the Millsaps at Hendrix series was originally scheduled to have a single game on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Now it is showing up as a DH on Saturday starting at 2:00 Central and a single game on Sunday.  It is my understanding that all 3 games will be webcast by Millsaps.

[frank_ezelle]

Millsaps wins a single game at Hendrix 5-2 today behind a complete game, 12 K performance by Aaron Williams.  Both Hendrix runs were unearned.  There was something about the weather that caused them to move the DH to Sunday.  I didn't catch the entire story on that.  Here's a link to the Hendrix website story:

http://www.hendrix.edu/Athletics/game.aspx?id=32230

[Lou_Brown]

Oglethorpe won their 7th straight today sweeping Bates 2-1 and 3-1. Outstanding pitching performances by Matt Corwnwell and Sean Tuttle. Cornwell went the distance in gm 1 striking out 7. Tuttle went 5 innings in game two allowing 2 hits and a run. Sarisky came in and finished the job with 3 k's and picked up his 2nd save on the season.

The offense has cooled off a bit but the pitching has really stepped up lately. One bat that continues to stay hot is 3B Rizzo. He hit a monster HR in game one. Defensively the Petrels were outstanding once again, great infield play from all four spots.

Note: starting CF Brendan Pilger has not played in the last few games, I'm not sure of his status by I think its due to some sort of arm injury??

[tiger_fan2000]

Trinity slept though a 7-5 victory against Univ of Dallas today.  Watching the game, a 5 run first helped by 2 errors from U of D allowed TU to coast to a victory.  Interesting note, Bronson was warming up in the 9th.  I assume he will pitch tomorrow.....

[frank_ezelle]

Millsaps wins the first game at Hendrix 5-1.  My understanding is that Tait Hendrix had a very good outing, but I haven't seen the box score and the live stats now show the second game.

Hendrix leads the second game 6-1 after 3.  I hope I'm pleasantly surprised and Millsaps is able to come back, but it doesn't look like it's going to be their day.  Twice they have had a line out, throw behind the baserunner double play.  But besides that, it seems like Millsaps is in a hitting slump right now.  Early in the season it seemed like a rally could and would be started by any section of the lineup.  At the moment they don't seem to be hitting nearly as well up and down the lineup. 

Now going into the bottom of the 4th at 6-1 and Hendrix singles on the first pitch.  It just doesn't feel like Millsaps is going to come back and win this game.

[Jack Parkman]

Pretty good video feed of the game, minus the pole right in the middle of the screen.  Very good quality picture.
Tait Hendrix looks like a pretty solid arm.  He looked like he was throwing hard but obviously that was on the video.

[infielddad]

Jack,
Based on what I saw last weekend in San Antonio, Hendrix is 82-84.
Very good command and his fastball has a huge tail.  Darn lefties...how do they do that?
Last weekend he pitched away, away, away and was almost always ahead in the count.
Against right handed hitters, Millsaps plays their outfield about where you would play a left handed pull hitter.
With the tail and pitching away, and great command, Hendrix is really good.
The outfield positioning takes away the ability of right handed hitters to go the other way.
Hendrix will win a lot of games.
TU beat Dallas today, 6-0.  Evan Bronson looks like he has found himself.  I think both runs were unearned against Millsaps last Sunday.  If I am right, he has 18 scoreless now.

[Jack Parkman]

Am I crazy or was Hendrix wearing green hats?

[frank_ezelle]

I didn't notice any green hats but it's not like the webcasts are high definition.  Millsaps got down by 11 and came back 10 to lose 13-12 after stranding a lead-off double in the top of the 9th.  It's their third loss of the season, all by 1-run (2 to Hendrix and 1 to Trinity).

There were certainly things to be learned in this game--Coach Page said as much in the postgame interview--but I would have rather learned those lessons in a comeback victory.  Millsaps still hasn't solidified the #3 starter which is a little odd to say because last year you had to have a #3 and #4 starter for SCAC weekend.  Someone recently told me that they would like to see Boomer Hudson get a start--based on what he did today and the ERA under 1.00, it might not be a bad idea.

[Gus Sinski]

 A few observations from Hendrix v. Millsaps, more specifically the acid reflux-inducing Game 2 Sunday.

* Yes, those were green hats. The coaches broke them out for the players for a St. Patrick's day double-header against Central Baptist College. The motive behind the verde redux Sunday remains unknown to the author, but bright green upon bright orange is nothing if not a pleasing and natural hue, no?

* I do not know where Jim Page found Aaron Williams, but after Saturday, my best guess is the planet Krypton.

* On a similar note...I would not worry about the lack of a No. 3 if I were a Majors backer. Just find someone to get through the lineup one time, then hand the ball to Maddox, then hand the ball to Hudson. You'll be fine.

* On the Hendrix side...kudos to Geoff Lomax for getting the save in Sunday's tilt-a-whirl. But my admiration goes out to frosh set-up man Caleb Schallawitz, who reduced the downpour to a trickle just when it was needed most.

* If Hunter Owen isn't the best pure hitter in the SCAC, Daniel Ward has to be. And/or vice versa.

* I'd say that Millsaps showed a lot of character by battling back from a 11-1 deficit, but that shouldn't be considered news. The Majors are a first-class, hustling ballclub under Jim Page. You know, as usual.

[Jack Parkman]

Phew!  I thought I saw green hats and if not, I was going to Best Buy to get a new computer!