BB: SCIAC: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[SoCalSoxFan]

My takeaway from the series is that CLU will be fine offensively and that their pitching will keep them in most games. 4 errors in 3 games is OK. They are the best team in the SCIAC at the moment.

Chapman competed and will continue to develop and will likely be the two seed in the SCIAC tournament and will continue to improve as the season progresses. End of season games are all about pitching and defense and getting a hit in a critical situation, their pitching will continue to develop since they have so many guys coming back from injury. Time will tell regarding the offense.

Both teams can expect to see each other again at the end of the season and in reality the rest of the season is for both teams to get ready for the SCIAC tournament, it is probably more important for CLU to keep winning to keep up their in region ranking just in case they lose the conference tournament so they are in the running for an at large bid, CU will have to beat them to make it to  Mc Minnville IMO.

108:  Good assessment.  I agree with the need for CLU to keep Regional Ranking strong as possible.  We know that in a Conf Tourney, it just takes on off-day or one Hot pitcher to offset a Regular Season conference title.

[Jack Parkman]

My picks for the weekend...

Chapman sweeps Claremont.  I see Chapman as the #2 team in the SCIAC and it really isn't close.  Chapman has plenty of pitching to come back after a short week.
Oxy sweeps Cal Tech but maybe closer than expected in a few games.
CLU sweeps Redlands.  Maybe a few high scoring games but Redland's pitching cant hold down CLU's bats. 
Pomona wins 2/3 from Whittier.  That 3rd game of the series really hasn't gone well for Pomona this year.

[Colorado]

Chapman prevails over CMS 5-1. SP Braden Riddle picks up his 3rd win and Osaki gets his first save in a short stint out of the bullpen. Redlands shocks CLU with a 7-5 win, with the real surprise being that they started Peterson on 3 days short rest; and he  gave up 7 runs and 10 hits. In a contrast of approaches, CU starts Hanks  today in the CMS twin bill and on Monday, gives closer Tabor Watson the nod against Kean, the 5th and 6th different pitcher to start over a 7-game/8-day stretch. It may not result in more "W's" but it's got to be a lot easier on the boy's arms.

[108 Stitches]

These stretches of a lot of games compressed mid season are a great opportunity to flesh out and build your bullpen for later in the season when you need a lot of pitching in conference tournament play or the regionals. Personally I prefer the Chapman approach as they will be a better team for it, even if you lose a game, you have pitchers with experience in meaningful situations come the end of the season.

On the other hand Petersen is such a stud it is hard not to put the ball in his hand, but if it was me I would have waited for the last game of the series to give him additional rest and see if you would need him at all.

Makes today's games more interesting and us something to talk about.

[108 Stitches]

I am thinking that the teams in the SCIAC will start taking Whittier a bit more seriously now.....

[Jack Parkman]

I am thinking that the teams in the SCIAC will start taking Whittier a bit more seriously now.....

Nah, I still think Whittier is the 6tb/7th best team in the SCIAC.

[SoCalSoxFan]

These stretches of a lot of games compressed mid season are a great opportunity to flesh out and build your bullpen for later in the season when you need a lot of pitching in conference tournament play or the regionals. Personally I prefer the Chapman approach as they will be a better team for it, even if you lose a game, you have pitchers with experience in meaningful situations come the end of the season.

On the other hand Petersen is such a stud it is hard not to put the ball in his hand, but if it was me I would have waited for the last game of the series to give him additional rest and see if you would need him at all.

Makes today's games more interesting and us something to talk about.

Hebda and Peters both had strong outings on 3 days rest; resulting in CLU wins.  Peters threw his second shutout in 4 days. 
CLU offense was in high gear Sat with contributions from almost everybatter.  Gunter (.579), Petersen (.571), Crowl (.415) and DellaValle (.391) lead this potent lineup. (4 other starters hitting > .350).  They have definitely answered the pre-season questioning about whether they had this years team could hit like the 2013 team.

With CLU it looks like pitching will decide their outcome.   All three starters have what it takes to shut down the opposition, but they have each had off outings.  Scott Peters look strong, his ERA is down to 1.33 after two shutouts pf Chapman and Redlands this week.

[SoCalSoxFan]

I am thinking that the teams in the SCIAC will start taking Whittier a bit more seriously now.....

Looking at the preseason expectations, Whittier sweeping PP was definitely unexpected.
PP hasn't performed as expected, giving up too many unearned runs!

[CrashDavisD3]

I am thinking that the teams in the SCIAC will start taking Whittier a bit more seriously now.....

Looking at the preseason expectations, Whittier sweeping PP was definitely unexpected.
PP hasn't performed as expected, giving up too many unearned runs!

Whitter has swept Pomona and Claremont. They could surprise some team.

Chapman has losses to teams they should have swept with Occidental and Claremont.

[dahlby]

Chapman over Kean (NJ) 6-2.
Box score and write-up at:
www.chapmanathletics.com

[Colorado]

Just got back from the Kean-Chapman game. The atmosphere in this game between old intersectional rivals was absolutely electric. Felt like the old days again. Nice win for the Panthers as closer Tabor Watson in maybe his first start for CU went all the way to beat Kean on a 4-hitter. Kean's Thielmann pitched well for 4 innings but looked like he tired in the 5th and surprisingly, they left him in to give up 6 runs and 10 hits over the last 4 . No one was warming up until the 8th after the damage was done. They've played a lot of games lately so maybe they ran out of pitchers.  Watson was never really threatened as Kean had trouble getting guys on base (4 hits, no walks). David Bason, batting 9th for CU and known as a great glove guy, was the batting hero for CU as he smacked 2 hits, knocked in 2 RBI's including the GWRBI in the pivotal 7th inning. How big of a factor is SOS in getting a Pool C bid because if its still part of the criteria, we at CU certainly hope Kean wins the rest of their regular season games.   

[CrashDavisD3]

Wow. A great win for the Panthers.  I have seen almost everyone one of the Chapman-Kean games over the years but did not see this gem.

Panther pitchers and catchers have had some great games over the year vs Kean.

This shows what the team is capable of doing. I still  believe that Chapman must win the SCIAC conference tourney if they want to play in Regionals this year. Never count on getting a very tough Pool C bid. I expect a Pool C out of the NWC conference and only the Pool A bid for SCIAC, SCAC, ASC. But I could be wrong, since Chapman has played ranked teams(Cal Lutheran, Kean, Trinity) that will help their SOS if these teams continue to play well as expected but they really need a high D3 winning percentage/Regional Winning percentage for a Pool C bid in 2014 also IMO.

Did they Chapman find another dominant starting pitcher in Watson??? Several years ago, Devin Drag would start and close games in the same season for the Panthers.

Panthers if they play up to their ability should sweep Pomona like they did with La Verne. No more Occidental games/CMS game type losses.

Team ERA is now at 3.06 and opp BA is at an unbelievable .205. A very good pitching staff.

Panthers lead the SCIAC in Team ERA and Fielding % but is only 5th in batting average, Slugging % and OBA. Hitting needs to pick up if they want to get to McMinnville, Oregon in May.

https://chapman.prestosports.com/sports/bsb/2013-14/releases/201403119d2mu0#.Ux6d0KLjhXk.facebook

[Colorado]

This was a game Crash would've liked. Kean's bench came out chippy and all it seemed to do was fire up Chapman. This was the noisiest I have heard Chapman's dugout get since those bunch of characters on the 2011 squad that went to Appleton.  In looking at how CU did during the weather-induced crunch of the last week, they went 4-3. They blew 2 leads and a chance to go 6-1 but their pitching got through it without really taxing any one guy on the staff. Watson was a staff saver by going 9 but they still had a rested Molnar and Hahn to bring in early, and they had Osaki warming up in the 9th just in case. Didn't need him though and that frees him up to start on Friday against Pomona Pitzer followed by Smith and Riddle or McGee or Watson.  PostScript: pitching coach Edwards missed the Cal Lu series because of health reasons and came back this past weekend. Eddie calls the pitches. Cal Lu scored 22 runs in 3 games. Kean/CMS scored 8 while  playing in 1 more game. Of course, it's not just Eddie but it makes you wonder what might have happened.

[CrashDavisD3]

I have seen EPIC battles between Kean-Chapman over the years from 2006 to 2012.

There was a game the Kean coach and fans went after ex Chapman players in the stands at Hart Park.

The screaming by Kean coaches and single fan at the 3rd base umpire in Appleton the whole game after their runner was called out after leaving early.

Unbelievable pitching and hitting performance by players on both sides. The several times they have faced off against each other in Appleton over the years.

The Kean bench in Appleton with all its rituals with bats pregame and white powder they threw in the air with rushing towards the front of the dugout with screaming during the opening pitch after a game started late in the evening due to rain delays in Appleton.

Former Chapman players giving the Kean catcher a bad time the whole game at Hart Park.

This is an intense rivalry West vs East. There is no love loss between these schools. They plain don't like each other and love to win this game. I really missed a good game it sounds like

Check out games from prior years http://keanathletics.com/sports/bsb/archives/sportarchive

[108 Stitches]

My predictions for the SCIAC this weekend.

Chapman takes 2 of 3 from P-P. Not sure if Chapman is good enough of P-P is bad enough for a sweep, but it could happen.

CLU sweeps Occidental. O could sneak a game.

Lavern takes 2 of 3 from CMS. Does it matter?

Whittier takes 2 of 3 from Redlands. Does the magic continue?

Caltech: How is the Mars lander doing?