BB: SCAC: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[BATR441]

Wow it is nice to only have to decide how long to get the hotel reservations for the weekend and not about 2 teams not playing each other. WEATHER controls the schedules not the coaches, OU would have loved to played Centere last year, and most of us feel we would have been able to squeek into the tournament if we had played them, but weather controlled that situation as well. I want to wish all the teams good luck this weekend, but I will say this, if BSC was eligable, in my humble opinion, there would be little to discuss, Granted OU lost 2 of the 3 games primarly on lack of pitching but BSC is a dynamic offensive squad. It will be a very good  for the SCAC when they become eligable.

[infielddad]

Interesting thoughts on BSC.
If they are that much better than every other team, as you project, the likelihood is everyone else gets better and the SCAC gets better.  In the West, other than Southwestern, every program has gotten progressively better over the past 7-8 years and Southwestern can still compete.
There are no easy weekends in the SCAC West.
Whatever makes the SCAC better, more competitive and on a higher level nationally is a good thing, in  my view.
With that said, I would not concede BSC is better offensively than Trinity this year and I never concede any team is better than Millsaps, so long as Jim Page is their coach.
Evan Jones and Kyle Felix are as good as any 3-4 hitters in the DIII baseball and and better than more than a few programs some levels above DIII.  You don't score over 11 runs per game against the SCAC West and ASC programs Trinity has been playing and not have tremendous offense 1-9 and guys coming off the bench.

[Bob_Lotts]

Watching that series this weekend between OU/BSC was eye opening. OU is a very good club. They lack pitching depth but defensivley and offensivley thay are very solid. But BSC came out and just was flat out better in all three phases. I want to back up what Batr441 said about BSC. They are offensively and defensively the most complete D3 team I have seen. I would love to see them in this tournament face off against the likes of Trinity and/or Millsaps. 1-9 they are the best offense club I've ever seen. They ALL have power, speed and athleticism. They grind out AB's and make you work for every out. They very rarely swing and miss and getting a strikeout is very tough. The biggest thing is they wear down pitchers throughout the game and series. Also, they are fantastic on the base paths. Going 1st to 3rd and they are always taking the extra base.

They are a very solid defensive ballclub. OU actually has less errors this season than BSC but the difference is BSC's range all over the field. Their outfield play was flawless.

Pitching is probably their weakness,( if you want to call it that) but they lead the SCAC in pitching too.

BSC, if eligible, is a World Series team. I've seen some great Emory teams in the past and this BSC would run them into the ground. No disrepect to Millsaps or Trinity, they are both very, very good, but I think BSC would be very tough to beat in this tournament .

Alas, BSC is not at the tourney. So....Any predictions out there???

[infielddad]

Interesting stuff about BSU. Thank you for the input and ability to discuss.
It  seems to me it is difficult to get a sense where they fit since they don't play the SCAC West, ever and the SCAC West has a solid, not great, but very solid record in Regional play.
I don't think the 2004 and 2006 TU teams are nearly  as good offensively as this one.
However, each of those teams reached the Championship game of the West Region. The 2004 team lost to the CWS champ, George Fox, and that really was because Fox had the best pitcher in DIII baseball, a 7th round pick who worked far more innings than Coach Scannell would permit with his #1, the other 1st team All American pitcher that year.
The same can be said of their games against the West Coast power, Chapman, which always does well in Appleton.
The point is not to say BSU is not good. You don't get to be  34-4 without being plenty good. I guess one question is would they have the same record playing 5 games each against the SCAC West???
The point is to say even if they are a CWS team, Millsaps and Trinity history shows they compete well with CWS teams in Regional play, and this TU team is the best they have had, in my view, at any time since Coach Scannell arrived...and we still need to make sure Coach Page and his Millsaps guys are in the equation just because they are Millsaps, coached by Jim Page and to my knowledge his teams have been at or near the top every year since 2000.

[Ron Boerger]

I looked at the roster for BSC (not BSU, infielddad).  One senior, 17 juniors, 7 sophs, 8 frosh.  That team is going to be one handful next year when they are finally eligible for a SCAC championship.  A 4.44 team ERA is nothing to sneeze at, even if they aren't playing the heavy hitters in the West, and with virtually the whole team with another year under their collective belts, they'll be dangerous.   It'll give Coaches Scannell and Page yet another challenge to deal with.   

[infielddad]

Ron,
Great stuff except my boondoggle on the BSC part.
One thing I know about Coaches Page and Scannell is they are competitive.
I think the same is true of the staff at Austin College and Hendrix.
If BSC is that good, then everyone has work to do and those coaches are not afraid of that.
Some of this might be beyond what Coach Scannell can do.
There is little doubt the increasing academic selectivity at TU is impacting the success of most all of their team sports. They are good in football, but not as good.
Maybe the biggest changes are being seen in mens' and womens' basketball.
Coach Scannell has very talented players every year who are great students but still cannot be admitted with the emphasis the prior President placed on academic standards and their almost rigid application.
With a new President, I have heard he has a greater interest in sports and is interested in facility and overall upgrades.
The TU baseball staff might need that, and more, from what is being posted about BSC. Wow!!

[alldone]

from the SCAC 2010 Archives of Baseball records:
Here is a list of offensive records for the SCAC Tournament..
Millington (Baseball USA) is a "big" park... what records are likely to fall


Batting Average (Min. 15 At Bats)
.706 (12-17) - Jason Geringer, DePauw (2001)

Slugging Pct. (Min. 15 At Bats)
1.200 (18 TB in 15 AB) - Garner Wetzel, Millsaps (2005)

Total Bases
23
Will   Hawkins,   Millsaps   (2008) Hunter Owen, Millsaps (2008)

At bats
29   
Kenneth   Sharp,   Trinity   (2000)

Hits
12   
Jason Geringer, DePauw (2001) Ben Graham, Southwestern (2001) Bryan Jones, Southwestern (2001) Evan Jones, Trinity (2009)
Hunter Owen, Millsaps (2008)

Doubles
5   Will Hawkins, Millsaps (2008)

Triples
2   Tim Ernst, Oglethorpe (2004)

Home Runs
4   Jeff Gabbert, Southwestern (2002) Doug Grigar, Trinity (1999)

Runs Driven In
11   Jeff Claydon, Trinity (2009)

Runs Scored
12   Garner   Wetzel,   Millsaps   (2006)

Stolen Bases
6   Justin Weiner, DePauw (2009)

Walks
7   Matt Gelotti, Southwestern (1999)

[frank_ezelle]

Clearly BSC would be one of the favorites in the SCAC Tournament, maybe a co-favorite with Trinity because both teams are so explosive--especially once the opposing teams gets past their top one or two pitchers.

It's interesting in my mind that the OU series would be used as an example of the near unbeatable nature of BSC.  Looking at the scores, the games seem like a mismatch, but look closer.

Game 1 was a BSC 6-4 lead after 6 innings and then BSC won the 7th inning 10-1 for a final score of 16-5.  Game 2 was simply a blowout.  Game 3 had OU leading 6-5 after 8 innings and then BSC won the 9th inning 6-0 for a 11-6 victory.

Now just suppose that OU still had the fireballing relief pitcher from last season.  All of a sudden game 1 is tight and maybe game 3 is a victory.  All of a sudden this is a fairly even series if OU just had that one player back from last season.  That's something to think about.

And another point I'd like to mention will be in a second post because I've gotten into that jumpy area of the message box.

[frank_ezelle]

I was looking at the common opponents between BSC and Millsaps and BSC has the better record.  No surprise there since BSC is such a veteran team and Millsaps is basically in a rebuilding year.  Still, there are some games that make me wonder.

BSC is 0-1 against MS College and Millsaps is 1-1.  BSC is 2-1 with Huntingdon and Millsaps is 1-1 with the Hawks.  BSC is 1-1 with LaGrange, Millsaps is 2-1.  BSC is 3-0 against Rhodes and Millsaps is 1-1 (BSC outscored Rhodes by a total of 6 runs in that series).  So against these common opponents BSC is 6-3 and Millsaps is 5-4.  Not too much of a difference.

Just for fun, suppose you had a conference where the other 4 teams were MS College, Huntingdon, LaGrange, and Rhodes?  That's a tough schedule, but is it that much tougher than Millsaps having to play Trinity, Austin, Hendrix and Southwestern?   Just another one of those thoughts which makes you wonder if BSC would be closer to 13-7 or 14-6 playing in the SCAC West.

No doubt they are a very good team and with all those juniors this year they should be great next season.  It's just kind of hard to say that this year they are absolutely the cream of the crop in the SCAC. 

[infielddad]

alldone,
that is pretty neat stuff.
What surprises me is Matt Gelotti, probably the best hitter in DIII history, not just SCAC but all of DIII only has one tournament record...walks.
Boy, there are some very good players on that list...along with a couple who had 4 days they will probably never forget.

[svbbcoach]

I assume having all pitchers fully rested for the tournament cant hurt their chances. Not to mention the possibility of learning something about the opposition by not playing 3 games going into what should/could be 2 or 3 games against each other. Had this been last weekend, I cant believe that everything would have been done to get the games in. The East should feel very slighted. When it smells like fish....

Coach, what are you suggesting?  Are you suggesting Coach Page and Coach Scannell are lacking in integrity.  Are you suggesting teams get better by not playing?  Page and Scannell would disagree.
Are you suggesting you "learn" something about your opposition by not playing them?  How can that be?
If you ever spend time with Jim Page and Tim Scannell you learn one thing: You don't back down from any challenge and take an easy way out.  If you do, you don't play for them.
To create something like your post out of whole cloth and cast it in the direction of the integrity of the two most competitive and successful baseball coaches in the SCAC seems like a poor choice.  Maybe this was just a poor choice in your words.  I hope so.

It appears that something about the situation makes some folks VERY sensitive. I have the utmost respect and would never question the integrity of Coach Page. I don't know Coach Scannell well at all, but obviously he is one of the best in the SCAC. You will be hard pressed to get anyone to believe that if the Tournament was not this weekend or if one of the teams was not playing next weekend, those games would have been played on Sunday and Monday. My suggestion pertaining to "learning something" has to do with coaching adjustments made playing each other the 2nd time around and then again the 3rd time during the tournament. I am sure that both Coaches Scannell and Page did not feel that their integrity was in question by a "nobody" like me. I have been around the game a long time and seen my share of mutually beneficial agreements made for various reasons. Everything posted here that does not praise someone is not an attempt to crucify them.  But by the reactions posted, I am not that far off!

[infielddad]

Coach, if you know Jim Page, give him a call and ask him. Don't post on a message board.
Do you know anything about the budget in each school and how tight it is to travel and have 0 games. Frowned upon. Did you not believe tigerfan on his comments about the drainage for the field at TU?  He knows!
Second issue, TU is heading into finals so they are not going to tolerate playing Monday and missing classes, going to class on Tuesday and then missing the next 3 days for the SCAC's. It is just not tolerated, not an option. Those guys get back Sunday night(hopefully) and start finals right away.
Look, I recognize you placed kids at Hendrix. Everyone on this board was gracious last year and gave those coaches and players all the kudo's for what they did. Seems odd to contrast how the board was 52 weeks ago for players including yours and now to be reading this stuff.
Your post sounds either very ill informed on what is demanded of a student in the SCAC's, ill informed on budget shortfalls,  or something else.
What you have posted and built into a subtle attack on two top coaches is really too bad. Clearly you felt you want to subtly get in a jab on each coach.
Too bad.

[svbbcoach]

Clearly BSC would be one of the favorites in the SCAC Tournament, maybe a co-favorite with Trinity because both teams are so explosive--especially once the opposing teams gets past their top one or two pitchers.

It's interesting in my mind that the OU series would be used as an example of the near unbeatable nature of BSC.  Looking at the scores, the games seem like a mismatch, but look closer.

Game 1 was a BSC 6-4 lead after 6 innings and then BSC won the 7th inning 10-1 for a final score of 16-5.  Game 2 was simply a blowout.  Game 3 had OU leading 6-5 after 8 innings and then BSC won the 9th inning 6-0 for a 11-6 victory.

Now just suppose that OU still had the fireballing relief pitcher from last season.  All of a sudden game 1 is tight and maybe game 3 is a victory.  All of a sudden this is a fairly even series if OU just had that one player back from last season.  That's something to think about.

And another point I'd like to mention will be in a second post because I've gotten into that jumpy area of the message box.

It appears by the stats and records that BSU is a clear cut above the rest of the East for whatever reason. It doesn't make sense to me why the East and West don't play each other. Rather than travel 2 weekends to each location, it would make more sense playing each team in your division 3 times and each team in the opposite division 2 times. Beginning the season with the East teams traveling to the southern or West teams that have better weather early in the season. This would truly make the tournament more of a true playoff with everyone having some scouting reports. It would also give credence to 1 team having a vastly superior conference record. Without the tournament, the East and West SCAC are completely different conferences/leagues. I am sure there are reasons why this does not happen and I am not trying to disrespect anyone or question anyone's integrity. Seems silly that each post appears to need that disclaimer anymore!

[infielddad]

Clearly BSC would be one of the favorites in the SCAC Tournament, maybe a co-favorite with Trinity because both teams are so explosive--especially once the opposing teams gets past their top one or two pitchers.

It's interesting in my mind that the OU series would be used as an example of the near unbeatable nature of BSC.  Looking at the scores, the games seem like a mismatch, but look closer.

Game 1 was a BSC 6-4 lead after 6 innings and then BSC won the 7th inning 10-1 for a final score of 16-5.  Game 2 was simply a blowout.  Game 3 had OU leading 6-5 after 8 innings and then BSC won the 9th inning 6-0 for a 11-6 victory.

Now just suppose that OU still had the fireballing relief pitcher from last season.  All of a sudden game 1 is tight and maybe game 3 is a victory.  All of a sudden this is a fairly even series if OU just had that one player back from last season.  That's something to think about.

And another point I'd like to mention will be in a second post because I've gotten into that jumpy area of the message box.

It appears by the stats and records that BSU is a clear cut above the rest of the East for whatever reason. It doesn't make sense to me why the East and West don't play each other. Rather than travel 2 weekends to each location, it would make more sense playing each team in your division 3 times and each team in the opposite division 2 times. Beginning the season with the East teams traveling to the southern or West teams that have better weather early in the season. This would truly make the tournament more of a true playoff with everyone having some scouting reports. It would also give credence to 1 team having a vastly superior conference record. Without the tournament, the East and West SCAC are completely different conferences/leagues. I am sure there are reasons why this does not happen and I am not trying to disrespect anyone or question anyone's integrity. Seems silly that each post appears to need that disclaimer anymore!

Simple answer: budget/money. They cannot afford that level of travel for baseball.

[Ralph Turner]

Clearly BSC would be one of the favorites in the SCAC Tournament, maybe a co-favorite with Trinity because both teams are so explosive--especially once the opposing teams gets past their top one or two pitchers.

It's interesting in my mind that the OU series would be used as an example of the near unbeatable nature of BSC.  Looking at the scores, the games seem like a mismatch, but look closer.

Game 1 was a BSC 6-4 lead after 6 innings and then BSC won the 7th inning 10-1 for a final score of 16-5.  Game 2 was simply a blowout.  Game 3 had OU leading 6-5 after 8 innings and then BSC won the 9th inning 6-0 for a 11-6 victory.

Now just suppose that OU still had the fireballing relief pitcher from last season.  All of a sudden game 1 is tight and maybe game 3 is a victory.  All of a sudden this is a fairly even series if OU just had that one player back from last season.  That's something to think about.

And another point I'd like to mention will be in a second post because I've gotten into that jumpy area of the message box.

It appears by the stats and records that BSU is a clear cut above the rest of the East for whatever reason. It doesn't make sense to me why the East and West don't play each other. Rather than travel 2 weekends to each location, it would make more sense playing each team in your division 3 times and each team in the opposite division 2 times. Beginning the season with the East teams traveling to the southern or West teams that have better weather early in the season. This would truly make the tournament more of a true playoff with everyone having some scouting reports. It would also give credence to 1 team having a vastly superior conference record. Without the tournament, the East and West SCAC are completely different conferences/leagues. I am sure there are reasons why this does not happen and I am not trying to disrespect anyone or question anyone's integrity. Seems silly that each post appears to need that disclaimer anymore!

Simple answer: budget/money. They cannot afford that level of travel for baseball.

Bus rental costs this month?  About $3 per mile.  Round trip from Jackson to San Antonio 1216 miles.  $3648 for bus costs alone.