BB: OAC: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Spence]

Marietta doesn't have it won yet. B-W may not be eligible for the tournament but they're a pretty good ballclub and Community Day should see two solid baseball teams do battle.

[EttaFan1]

Completely agree about bw. It won't be an easy series by any stretch.   

Marietta 11-3 (BW and WILM)
BW 10-4 (@MAR and @OTT)
JCU 9-5 (HEID and ONU)
OTT 8-6 (CAP and BW)
MOUNT 7-7  (@WILM and @MUSK)
HEID 7-7 (@JCU and @CAP)

The race for the tournament is a HOT MESS. 

So what happens if there is a three way tie, or even a four way tie,  for one of those two spots (which is very possible with Otterbein, Mount Union, JCU and Heidelberg)?  What has to happen to make this happen?  Heidelberg wins out and finishes 11-7.  With that result, JCU goes 2-2 in their last four, and finishes 11-7.  Mount wins out and goes 11-7.  Otterbein wins three of four and finishes 11-7.

From the handbook...
If more than two teams end up with the same winning percentage, the won-loss record
of each team vs. all the other tied teams will be considered. The team within the tied
group with the most wins will receive the highest seed, the team with the 2nd most
wins receives the 2nd highest seed, etc. If a tie still exists within this group, only
games played against the other still-tied team(s) will be considered.

4 way tie.

          Ott         HEID        MOUNT    JCU  Total Record
OTT     -            2-0           1-1        0-2           3-3
HEID    0-2         -             2-0        2-0             4-2
MOunt   1-1       0-2          -            1-1            2-4
JCU      2-0        0-2           1-1         -             3-3

If this happens, Mount stays home.  Heidelberg is the #2 seed.  JCU the three and Otterbein the 4.

A three way tie between JCU, Berg, and Mount becomes interesting too....

           Jcu   Heid   Mount
JCU       -      0-2    1-1   1-3
HEID     2-0   -      2-0    4-0
MOUNT   1-1  0-2    -      1-3

Heidelberg comes out on top in this scenario. and JCU and Mount remained tied.  Then they start from the top down to break the tie.  Both split against Marietta.  JCU split with BW and Mount was swept.  Mount loses the tiebreaker to JCU. 

So the Raider nation really needs to win 4, and then HOPE 'Berg loses at least one of their last four games OR hope that Otterbein finishes worse than 11-7. 

Heidelberg almost has to win out or hope for a train wreck in Westerville.  A two way tie with otterbein gets broken in favor of Otterbein. 

JCU should make the tournament barring a complete and total collapse (losing more than two of their last four).

Going to be a fun weekend for scoreboard watching!

 

[Dr. Acula]

I'm definitely heading over to Fishbaugh for that BW/Ott DH the last weekend of the regular season.  That's going to be a big one. 

I think if I'm a fan of Etta or JCU I want Ott and Mount as the other 2 teams.  Berg definitely seems more dangerous at this point. 

As for my Raiders, the bad news is that they really need to win all 4 games.  The good news is that they have Wilm and Musky.  The better news is that Carlino will start half of those games.    I think they should sweep Wilm without much trouble.  The Quakers are really having a rough season.  But for some reason that Musky DH scares me.  It's in New Concord, the Fish have proven to be fairly frisky, all the pressure will be on Mount.  Just makes me a little nervous.  Lets look at Musky's resume.  They swept Berg.  Split with JCU, Cap, Wilm.  Drilled by Etta.  And swept by BW in 2 close games (5-3 and 7-6).  So other than Etta they've hung with the next 3 best teams.  Definitely not the pushover I'd hope a 6-23 team would be. 

[Spence]

John Carroll has played really well in the conference. 9-5 probably is a little worse than they deserve. Spagna has 3 of their league losses and I wouldn't doubt that we've seen his last conference pitching performance until Day 3 of the tournament. Doring has shown the ability to not only beat but dominate anyone in the conference on his day.

A 3-way tie between Ott, Heid and Mount looks like this.
Ott -- 3-1, swept Heid, split Mount
Heid -- 2-2, swept Mount, lost sweep to Ott
Mount -- 1-3, split Ott, swept by Mount

Capital has DHs with both Ott and Heid and has pitched well in the league. It's a little tough to see them getting into the running for 4th, but they could have a big say in who ends up there.

An ONU sweep of Muskingum would make their season finishing at JCU interesting. Seems like they've found a couple of reliable arms too.

[EttaFan1]

Mount's prospects in any three way(plus) combination are not good and they need to have things fall in a way which keeps them out of those types of situations. 

I'll admit, I lose track of the "bottom rungs" of the conference.  Northern and Capital at 6-8 with the ability to be 10-8 could have an impact on the outcome.  Particulary sice Cap plays two of the "contenders" in Otterbein and Heidelberg.  Northern has a series with John Carroll which could also have a significant impact on the race. 

Interesting side note:  Coach Brewer, on one of his radio interviews yesterday, indicated that starting next year, conference double headers were going to be two nine inning affairs. 

[Dr. Acula]

Has it been every combination?  7-7, 7-9 and 9-9?  I know when I was playing 12 yrs ago it was 7-9, but then they changed it after that only to switch back to it.  Or am I not remembering correctly?

I like a pair of 9's better.  Always seemed silly to have one of each.  Move up the start time to noon if needed and just play 2 9's. 

[Spence]

Interesting side note:  Coach Brewer, on one of his radio interviews yesterday, indicated that starting next year, conference double headers were going to be two nine inning affairs.

Absolutely how it should be. Why play less baseball? The NCAA already limits you more than enough.

[EttaFan1]

Has it been every combination?  7-7, 7-9 and 9-9?  I know when I was playing 12 yrs ago it was 7-9, but then they changed it after that only to switch back to it.  Or am I not remembering correctly?

I like a pair of 9's better.  Always seemed silly to have one of each.  Move up the start time to noon if needed and just play 2 9's.

It was a 7/9 for years. then in the early 2000's they switched to two 7's.  Coach Schaly was not pleased with this.  It took away 18 innings of baseball from the kids.  They switched back to the 7/9 format sometime after 2006. 

Brewer talked about how different the strategy is in the 7 inning game vs. the 9 inning game, and how little things have a magnified impact.  You make defensive substitutions earlier, or Pinch hit earlier.  According to him, nobody in the conference likes the seven. 

[Dr. Acula]

Well two 7's is just ridiculous at the college level, IMO.  You want to do that in FL or when you go hang out at Wittenberg on a Sunday afternoon that's fine.  But not for OAC games.  Play full games. 

[EttaFan1]

JCU had a real chance to make a case for improving their regional appeal with a twinbill against a Solid Case team yesterday and came away with a split.  This isn't necessarily a bad outcome.  But a sweep would have been huge. 

Other key in region non-conference games this week include:

Mount Union losing to PSU-Beherend 6-2
Berg defeating Trine 11-9
'Berg vs. OWU today
Mount Union vs. Allegheny today
Marietta vs. Frostburg St. Today
Otterbein and Denison today (probably more critical for Denison at this point)
'Berg vs. Dension tomorrow
Update: Marietta vs. Wooster Thursday

Dr. A, Would you label the results so far this year disappointing considering the talent the Raiders had returning?  There is certainly a chance for redemption with a strong tournament run, so it isn't over yet.  I expected Mount to be in serious contention for the regular season title, but they are now in a "pressure situation" where they MUST win all four games and hope things go there way in other games just to have that chance to be in the tournament.  Just curious about your thoughts (or anyone elses for that matter). 

[Dr. Acula]

Mount drops a non conf game at PSU Behrend yesterday 6-2.  They did little to help their own cause mustering just 4 hits in 9 innings (2 each for Morino and Sherwood) and giving up 5 unearned runs in the crucial 4th inning.  They're 16-14 and at Allegheny today. 

[Dr. Acula]

Dr. A, Would you label the results so far this year disappointing considering the talent the Raiders had returning?  There is certainly a chance for redemption with a strong tournament run, so it isn't over yet.  I expected Mount to be in serious contention for the regular season title, but they are now in a "pressure situation" where they MUST win all four games and hope things go there way in other games just to have that chance to be in the tournament.  Just curious about your thoughts (or anyone elses for that matter).

I'm certainly disappointed.  The fact is that they went 8-2 in FL against a less than strong schedule.  If you do the math that means they're 8-12 up north.  7-7 in the OAC.  For a team that went 13-5 in the OAC last year, split with the National Champs and basically returned their entire team it's very disappointing.  I was right there with you thinking they should potentially contend (I figured there'd have to be some drop off with Etta losing so much).  Unfortunately what we've seen is that one start a week they can be the beat anyone.  The other three starts they struggle to put together a complete effort with offense/pitching/D.  And honestly they probably don't put together complete offensive efforts in Carlino's starts either he just consistently overcomes it and wins games where they don't score much (he's 4-0 in games they score 4 runs or less).   

But I try not to be too negative because, just like any other school, those kids are working their tails off in practice every day.  I've harped on the negatives (inconsistent pitching, lack of any real pop with the offense), but they've had some positives.  Knott and Morino have emerged as good corner infielders this year (both hitting over .400 last time I looked).  Carlino has been absolutely fantastic as the #1 starter.  They have a couple of freshmen playing that are showing some good flashes offensively.  And again, their entire team returns next year.  They don't have a senior on the roster.  So if they win out and make the tourney I'll be the first one on here touting "Carlino has beaten Etta and JCU.  If he can win the opener in the OAC tourney who knows!!"  Life as a fan I guess.  Haha.

[Spence]

I think this year's OAC tournament will feature 4 teams that have very good first-day pitchers, and several good ones after that.

Anyone know when the last time someone other than Marietta, Heidelberg or Otterbein won the OAC tournament? And who won it? I sure didn't...

[Dr. Acula]

I think this year's OAC tournament will feature 4 teams that have very good first-day pitchers, and several good ones after that.

Anyone know when the last time someone other than Marietta, Heidelberg or Otterbein won the OAC tournament? And who won it? I sure didn't...

It has to be back in the 80's because when I was a freshman (1998) no one aside from Etta had won for like a decade straight.  My guess would be ONU in the 80's??

[Spence]

I think this year's OAC tournament will feature 4 teams that have very good first-day pitchers, and several good ones after that.

Anyone know when the last time someone other than Marietta, Heidelberg or Otterbein won the OAC tournament? And who won it? I sure didn't...

It has to be back in the 80's because when I was a freshman (1998) no one aside from Etta had won for like a decade straight.  My guess would be ONU in the 80's??

Not a bad guess. B-W in 85. ONU won it in like 82 and 83. 83 must have been a heckuva year in the OAC.

Mount tied for it in 1970 when the championship game was rained out with a tie score.