BB: OAC: Ohio Athletic Conference

[oacfan]

Yes Rumor is Baulmler is back with the Etta Express for the world series but only as a reliever, he is taking secondbaseman Ryan Belangers spot.  The Etta went to regionals one person shy on their roster because Belanger was a late scratch.

[Spence]

Hopefully both Baumler and Belanger will be back with the club this weekend. Given the nature of Belanger's absence, I wouldn't think that Baumler's addition would necessarily mean Belanger's subtraction.

If one or neither can go, we'll go with what we've got.

[oacfan]

how does the oac look this year?? predictions?

[Spence]

how does the oac look this year?? predictions?

Same song, different verse.

Marietta and Otterbein looking really good again, Heidelberg not looking quite up to that level pure talent-wise but always ends up right in the thick of it with them.

Hoping all 3 of them make the NCAAs, though that's a longshot.

[mideastfan]

Football season is coming to an end and I'm ready for spring.  Can't wait to see the MC boys in Texas, should be some great competition this year!

The games with TX Wesleyan have become somewhat of a nice little rivalry for both schools.....those are the ones I'll be watching!

[a spectator]

Capital was pretty good last year.  Do they have a lot of returning starters?  What about their pitching?

[Spence]

Capital was pretty good last year.  Do they have a lot of returning starters?  What about their pitching?

Sure would be nice if they had a roster up to answer this question.

But I think their all-region guys and Holmberg were seniors last year, so unless they have some very good recruits, I'm guessing they'll struggle to break into that top 3.

[a spectator]

Capital's roster is now up.  Looks like they have quite a few players back.  Know anything about their pitching?  They may be in the top 4 or 5 in the league along with Marietta, Otterbein, Heidelberg.  How do Baldwin Wallace and John Carroll look this year?  Anyone know?

[Ralph Turner]

Welcome spectator!

The Mideast Region preview should be out in a few days.

Good luck to the Crusaders, and tell your friends about D3baseball.com!

[Spence]

Capital's roster is now up.  Looks like they have quite a few players back.  Know anything about their pitching?  They may be in the top 4 or 5 in the league along with Marietta, Otterbein, Heidelberg.  How do Baldwin Wallace and John Carroll look this year?  Anyone know?

You might know better than me the answer to what I think is a pretty important question. What happened to Nick Dewitt last year? Was he injured? He performed quite well against Marietta early in the conference season but then was hardly heard from again.

In limited time, he showed an ability to miss bats and get strikeouts that the rest of the staff just didn't. Uy was respectable as a freshman but his low strikeout number has me skeptical that he can make a big leap. Trainer and Brown are decent arms but I don't think are going to lead Capital to the next level in the OAC. I'm intrigued by what I read about Zach Ellashek. He played in a successful program in HS and had a lot of success.

How did Veenstra end up at Capital? Last I knew he was going to Ohio Dominican. Obviously that seems like a good recruit for them. The Florida kid Bartek may be a contributor as well. He wasn't a star down there, but was a decent player and in even the weaker part of Fla. that shows a little something.

[a spectator]

Spence,  what about John Carroll and Baldwin Wallace?  Mideast Region preview did not say much.  I was hoping for more detail. 

[Spence]

Spence,  what about John Carroll and Baldwin Wallace?  Mideast Region preview did not say much.  I was hoping for more detail. 

DAngit, was hoping you wouldn't ask

Don't know much at all about B-W. They have about a million FR, dunno if any of them are any good.

JCU has a couple decent looking prospects from John Carroll Prep (St. Iggy) and a kid that started on an undefeated team in Pittsburgh (West Allegheny) but other than that, I don't really know that much about them either.

It's always so hard to tell about newcomers in D-III until the season starts because there are so few standout high school players that go D-III.

[a spectator]

How about Wilmington?  I see the freshman pitcher they had last year, Bryce Deweese is not there - went to Wright State I think.  I think they also lost Jameson George - graduated.  They do have Brad Hatfield on their roster.  He was a grad of Washington Court House several years ago.  Don't know if he transferred from somewhere?

[Spence]

How about Wilmington?  I see the freshman pitcher they had last year, Bryce Deweese is not there - went to Wright State I think.  I think they also lost Jameson George - graduated.  They do have Brad Hatfield on their roster.  He was a grad of Washington Court House several years ago.  Don't know if he transferred from somewhere?

Basically what I know is what I can google on most everyone. I live in SC, don't have a lot of inside info...just good at reading between the lines and projecting numbers. But unless some of the local recruits they have can shoulder a lot of weight in a hurry, they don't look to have a lot of pitching, even if Hatfield pans out. I could be wrong and they do hae some guys coming in from some pretty good programs (Adena and Zane Trace in particular).

[a spectator]

Best of luck to all teams in the OAC this weekend.  Looking forward to seeing scores and news.  Good Luck Etta Express in Georgia.