BB: OAC: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Gramps]

The Berg's bus broke down on the way to Georgia.  First it was a broken fuel line, got that fixed, than
another problem with the bus.  Hope the bad luck is only on the bus and not on the team, as they play
two games with Piedmont on Thurs and Fri. 

Whats this with all of the bus problems???   First MUC, than Heidelberg. 

[Dr. Acula]

Who are the top pitchers in the OAC so far?

Hard to say as most guys have only made 1 start, maybe 2 at most by the end of their spring trip.

[Dr. Acula]

be proud of Marietta....they are playing an extremely tough schedule in Texas on their spring trip, and are taking care of the teams from the ASC.

Yeah, when I was looking for the records so far last night I saw their schedule and thought "that is a BRUTAL schedule".  But they're doing very well and definitely representing the OAC well.  Always do. 

And as was mentioned earlier, this is the kind of scheduling that prepares you for the OAC tourney and regionals later.       

[Dr. Acula]

I just pulled up the live stats for the MUC/Wittenberg game only to find that the Raiders are down 11-6 in the top of the 3rd.  My initial reaction was to feel bad for whatever youngster was taking the lumps today, but much to my surprise I find that it's Paul Mariotti on the mound.  Even stranger is that he threw a CG on Sunday so by my math that would be 3 days rest.  Please tell me I've been looking at numbers too long today and my math is wrong.  I mean, you wouldn't throw your #1 guy on 3 days rest the first week of the season, right?  Not when today's a 9 inning game and you have a DH tomorrow.  Worst case don't you have to pitch by committee today and then get your 1-2 their 2nd starts tomorrow on full rest?  Am I missing something?     

[Gramps]

The Berg rescheduled their two games with Piedmont.  They played one varsity game today at 3:00PM.
The only facts that I have are that Dave Paddock pitched and got the win and that Heidelberg won
with a score of 4-0.  The second game will be played at 7:00PM tonight.  I'll report the score as soon
as I get the results. 

[Dr. Acula]

I feel like Paddock has been at the Berg forever.  That tends to happen when someone is good.  My guess is by the time Jason Lash graduates I'm going to swear he's been there since 2001 or something.

[Dr. Acula]

MUC came back to beat Wittenberg 13-12 to go to 5-1.  They scored 2 in the 6th, 4 in the 7th and 1 in the 8th and got 6.2 shutout innings of relief from Soph. Matt Lambert to complete the comeback.  SS Craig Knott went 3-5 w/ a 2B and his 3rd HR of the season.  He's off to a good start so far.

[Gramps]

Again, I have no stats or any other info except the score, which turns out to be another win for
the Berg with a 6-4 score. This ends the Florida experience for another year.  Back to the cold north.
Brrrr!!!!! 
GO BERG!!!!!

[JK]

I feel like Paddock has been at the Berg forever.  That tends to happen when someone is good.  My guess is by the time Jason Lash graduates I'm going to swear he's been there since 2001 or something.

Hence the jokes about Rocky being at Cap forever on the football boards 

I mean, you wouldn't throw your #1 guy on 3 days rest the first week of the season, right?  Not when today's a 9 inning game and you have a DH tomorrow.  Worst case don't you have to pitch by committee today and then get your 1-2 their 2nd starts tomorrow on full rest?  Am I missing something?     

I personally don't disagree with this statement, although there may be some reason.  Don't we start OAC DH's soon, like next week.  Without looking at their schedules and doing the math, it could be that MUC is trying to get Mariotti another start before the OAC schedule kicks in to get him aligned with the conference games they want him to pitch?

[Dr. Acula]

MUC swept Trine (IN) today.  They're now 7-1.  They have a single game at LaGrange (GA) tomorrow and then back to Alliance. 

Joe Irwin had his 2nd excellent start of the spring throwing 6 shutout innings allowing 2 hits in a 9-0 win.  Bobby Huth went 4-5.  What a nice spot to be in having 2 catchers that can swing the bat.   Nate McFarland went 3-4 continuing his early season tear.

The Raiders took the 2nd game 10-5.  Brett Thomas went 3 giving up 3 ER.  I think it's safe to say that Irwin is the #2 right now, but Thomas is a proven starter and I have no doubt he will be back to form.   Cory Slaybaugh and Connor Nell each had 3 hits.  And freshman Kyle Von Duyke went 2-3 picking up his 1st varsity hit (at least according to the season stats).  Very cool for him.

I'll try to give some updates on the other OAC schools shortly. 

[Dr. Acula]

BW lost 16-9 to Thomas More.  The Jackets are 2-5 and somewhere SaintsFan is smiling.

We need lhpdiggy to let us know what's going on with BW so far since I think he's the resident BW guy.

[Dr. Acula]

Musky is 7-3 after beating Bluffton 10-2. 

Through 3 starts so far Jr. Nathan VanMeter is 2-0 w/ a 2.16 ERA.   

Obviously Whiteman and Carder are known commodities, but what about the starts that these two have had:

Erik Spitzer, So:  .391 w/ 17 RBI
Colton Newell, Fr:  .390 w/ 16 RBI

For what seems like the 100th straight year, a trip through the heart of the Fish lineup looks like a nightmare for opposing pitchers. 

[lhpdiggy]

BW finished the FL swing at 4-6.  3 very tough losses for a number of different reasons. The kids played very well the last 2 days and are looking forward to the OAC season getting underway.  Better competition down south this year, and the old saying, "its not how you start it's how you finish" seems to carry the day for BW right now.  They have very good team chemistry with solid veteran leadership and some young guys who will suprise a few folks.  I am optimistic about this year...it should be fun!

[OAC baseball fan 3]

Congratulations to Ohio Northern for defeating Adrian Mi. 3-0.   Looks like the young pitcher Fisher pitched very well.  By the game reports and stats, looked like Junior Miller (1-2) and Freshman Drerup (0-2)  had rough outtings, but senior Hill (2-1) had a good outting until the 6th inning.  Hope the team can continue to improve.

[JK]

Capital dropped three to Hanover over the weekend.  Two one run losses in a DH and a blowout 15-2 loss on Sunday's single game.

Cap is now 6-8 on the season.