BB: OAC: Ohio Athletic Conference

[EttaFan1]

So far in game two, two outstanding outfield plays by both teams.

JCU right fielder guns a guy out trying to go first to third (and almost got the guy trying to advance to second)

Mountedt fielder guns a guy at the plate after catching a line drive.

Baseball when played well is beautiful.

The pitching matchup is living up to the expectations. Both have been able to get out of jams. Both have labored at times.

[Dr. Acula]

Mount couldn't do much off of O'Brien, but they did exactly what they needed to...stay close and get to the pen.  Down 3-1 the Raiders scored 6 in the top of the 8th and went on the win it 7-3.  I love the scrappiness.  And great job by Ceriani tossing 3 hitless innings of relief to get the W.

[EttaFan1]

Ceriani was outstanding. Jcu's pen was a hot mess.

Bad defensive decisions compounded the problems too.

Lee Grosscup made a number of sparkling plays tonight, too

The big story of tomorrow will be the weather. The forecast looks rough.

[EttaFan1]

Day two Story lines...

Weather

Right now, the radar picture looks pretty good for a while here in Marietta.  A little shower went through early this morning and there is a big 'ol green blob coming up through Tennessee and southwestern Indiana.  How soon it gets to our little corner of the state is anyone's guess. I won't be caught in the stands without my umbrella today (unlike yesterday!).

Expecting the unexpected

I never expected the top two seeds to be in the losers bracket facing elimination against each other.  I thought Mount had a chance to win yesterday and I discounted Otterbein way too much.   both of the lower seeds got the job done.  Now what?  Will Otterbein get another solid pitching performance?  Can Mount Union continue with timely hitting?   

Tough Spot

JCU and Marietta are each in a tough spot.  Both facing elimination in just their second game (Reminds me of the 2010 regional when Marietta and Wooster suprisingly ended up in the losers bracket after the first day).  Dorring vs. Mulvey will be interesting.  Mulvey struggled mightily in his last outing.  He stood on his head at JCU a few weeks ago and matched Dorring inning for inning.  Unearned runs were his undoing.  He has to do the same today or it's 2 and bbq for the Etta Express.

Don't be surprised if...

Evan Brockmeier moves from first to short, and Marietta gets an extra bat in the lineup.  The defensive drop off would be minimal.  But Marietta is struggling a little at the plate right now.  A move like this could help boost the offense.  (I love being an armchair fan).

They only get two games in today.  The weather forecast is not very good for today or tomorrow.

Marietta makes a quick exit from the tournament.  Yesterday's performance was less than desireable. If they are suffering from a "hangover" it could be an ugly exit.

Otterbein advances to the championship with a win.  (They have yet to throw Ellis and Meadows who both have solid numbers!)  They were super aggressive yesterday and it worked well most of the time. 

This tournament field is as good as it has been in a long time. 

[jos s]

i guess my question is....if marietta goes out of the tourney today....do they make the regional playoffs ?     i guess a silly question when they lost 2 last weekend, and moved up in the top 25, and stayed #1 in the region.

[EttaFan1]

Marietta is in regardless, I think.  Their In region win pct,  SOS and record against regionally ranked opponents.  If they lose the first game they are at .735 win pct.  Their SOS rank is 26th in the country, and second in the region behind Case. And their record against regionally ranked opponents would be 7-5.  Win game one and lose game two, it improves all of those factors. 

I would not consdier them to be a "bubble team" by any measure used in the criteria.

[tigerfan_2001]

Marietta is in regardless, I think.  Their In region win pct,  SOS and record against regionally ranked opponents.  If they lose the first game they are at .735 win pct.  Their SOS rank is 26th in the country, and second in the region behind Case. And their record against regionally ranked opponents would be 7-5.  Win game one and lose game two, it improves all of those factors. 

I would not consdier them to be a "bubble team" by any measure used in the criteria.

when has the #1 ranked team in a region not gotten a bid?

[Dr. Acula]

Meadows vs. Clarke is the pitching match up this morning.  Scoreless after 1 inning.

[Dr. Acula]

Very quick 3 innings.  0-0 and only 1 hit for each team.

[EttaFan1]

Meadows is pitching well but mount isn't seeing it very well right now.

The missed hit and run here in the fifth for mount may loom large for he raiders.

Talk about your lucky bounces. Ball hit to second near the bag, ball hits off the second baseman and bounces to the shortstop covering who turns the double play.  Gets mount out of a major jam in the sixth

Right guy in the right situation. Mounts leading hitter comes up with runners at second and third. Fails to come through. Meadows escapes an inning.

Defensively speaking. Lee grosscup from mount is impressive.

Wow. That ball was crushed. Walk off fashion. Bad pitch up and over the plate.

[Dr. Acula]

A couple of clutch 2-out singles plate single tallies in the 4th and 5th.  2-0 Otterbein.  Mount kind of ran themselves out of a potential inning as Ettafan said.  Can't get 3 guys on base and come away empty too often when you're not getting many baserunners in the first place.

[Dr. Acula]

Wow!!  Pinch hit, walk off 3 run homer by Jeff Bennett wins it for Mount. Unbelievable. 4-2 final.

[mideastfan2]

Wow!!  Pinch hit, walk off 3 run homer by Jeff Bennett wins it for Mount. Unbelievable. 4-2 final.

awesome!! soak it in; there is nothing better than postseason drama at Schaly Stadium. Congrats Mount!!!

[EttaFan1]

First rain delay. Before anyone takes the field.

they are going to start the game at 5:00 7:30 between Marietta and JCU.

[forheavendial4999]

Rain is a break for OTT. If they had had to come back tonight with their #4, I don't like their chances.

Now they could bring back their Game 1 guys tomorrow at least for part of the game.