BB: SCIAC: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Colorado]

Chapman split 2 yesterday to run their SCIAC record to 2-4.  Too early to panic: Laverty gave his returning guys and prime recruits the first chance to fill the spots vacated by graduation, defections and retirements but some have faltered. So he's had to give the other new guys (especially the pitchers)  "on the field" auditions right now. RHP Connor Williams hadn't pitched much his first 2 years as a spot starter/long relief guy but he salvaged the CLU series with a solid 6 IP effort. By mid March, I suspect Laverty will have figured out the 6-7 pitchers that he'll need to rely on and the lineup that he will mostly use the rest of the way. Once that happens, my guess is that the core will develop and be competitive. For the most part, its a young team in rebuilding mode.

They brought in 1 of their bigger recruiting classes this time and I'm inclined to think that the pitching will develop. The CU pitching coach recruits the pitchers. He was a minor leaguer himself back in the 80's, and over the years, he has developed a method re mechanics that consistently develops a pitcher (rotation of the hips, etc).  The best 2 examples would be Brian Rauh and Travis McGee (both arrived at Chapman for the 2010 season). I saw Rauh pitch in HS and when I saw him pitch again a year later at CU, he was throwing about 10mph faster and his rainbow curve had morphed into a tight, late breaking slider. Both he and McGee are pitching in the pros now (Rauh at high A for Washington).

PostScript on Coach T: for those who remember D-3's Coach of the Decade (who took CU to the CWS 8 times in 11 years), I had dinner last Christmas with someone who worked at CU's administration. Chancellor Doti  viewed T as an anachronism - a dinosaur - who's coaching methods were outdated and unacceptable. They hated  T's old school "tough" guy or bully approach (depending on your perspective).  Laverty is a nice guy. I hope he does well but I was sorry to see T go. My son did well by him both on and off the field. The last I heard is that T remains in Hawaii working at a non-baseball job.

[Teddy_Ballgame]

SCIAC matchups this weekend (prediction)
ULV v. CMS (ULV 3-0) CMS has a lone bright spot in FR Trey Smith who was on the D3baseball.com Team of the week, but that's about it
PP v. UR (PP 2-1) Expecting more consistency from PP arms this weekend, but should still be a lot of high-scoring games. Important series for both teams.
CU v. CLU (CLU 2-1) I think Matt Smith manages to steal one from the Kingsmen, but could easily be a CLU sweep.
Oxy v. CIT (Oxy 3-0) At least one game, maybe two go the full nine innings
WC v. Bates (Bates 2-1) Bates showed they can beat the bottom of the SCIAC and gave PP a fight, Whittier's had a tough start.

Weekend Results:
ULV v. CMS: ULV 3-0 La Verne takes care of business on Saturday to complete the sweep. They're now 6-0 in SCIAC (having only played CIT and CMS), while CMS is 0-6 and 0-11 on the year.
PP v. UR: PP 2-1 After a low-scoring game 1, PP came out hot in game two and then relied on a CG SO from Bruml in game three to get the series win. PP moves to 5-1 in SCIAC, U of R sits at 3-3.
CU v. CLU CLU 2-1 I was wrong about how they would steal one, as Chapman wins game 3 thanks to their offense and some shaky starting pitching and defense from CLU. CLU still looks to be in control of the SCIAC, but showed their vulnerabilities. CLU is 2-1 in SCIAC, Chapman is 2-4.
Oxy v. CIT Oxy 3-0 I was right that CIT would take two games the full nine innings. Game 3 was 3-2 Oxy until the Tigers scored two more in the 8th. And this is an Oxy team that took 2/3 from Chapman. I really think CIT wins one this year- watch out Whittier and CMS (and everyone else for that matter). Oxy now 5-1 in SCIAC, CIT 0-6.
WC v. Bates Bates 2-1 Bates sweeps the Saturday doubleheader to win the series. Bates tallies 32 hits in the two games to Whittier's 11.

Not to toot my own horn, but got all five series predictions correct 

One more note on the PP- Redlands series. Wasn't able to get out there this weekend, but sources on the ground tell me they were really impressed with the Redlands pitching. All three starters are freshmen and can really throw. Their #2 (Acosta) got knocked around a bit, but still came off as impressive- PP just swung the sticks well that game. Their #3 (Collins) pitched a great game but was simply out-dueled by Bruml.
And their bullpen was great too this weekend-
7.2 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 12 K's (!!!)
Seven of those strikeouts came from John White in his 3.2 IP in game 2. Really impressive stuff.

Regardless, it was huge for PP to come out and take that series after dropping the first one. Lot of folks had Redlands as the #2 in SCIAC behind CLU but it's gonna be a fun race. Pomona also managed those victories without starters EJ Lopez and Kevin Brice, who I'm told will be back next weekend for the Whittier series.

[Jack Parkman]

[/quote]ULV takes 3 against CMS but 1 of the games is close.  I don't think hitting is the problem at CMS, it's the pitching by far.  Rough year ahead for CMS.

The PP/UR series could go either way but I think PP's bats are going to be too much and this is going to be a very high scoring weekend series.  Seeing the numbers Teddy posted I just don't know how long PP can keep up with this style of play. PP takes 2 of 3.

CU/CLU could be a good series but the biggest issue is Chapman's bullpen.  If CLU can get into the bullpen I would expect a sweep.  If Chapman's starters go long enough, I expect a 2-1 CLU series win.  Chapman lost 2/3 to Oxy last week and CLU is a much better hitting team than OXY.

OXY/CIT will be another OXY sweep to put them at 5-1.  After they take 3 against CMS next week (I think) they will have put themselves in pretty good position and a little pressure on the others not to slip up and drop games they shouldn't.  I agree that these games will not be blowouts, OXY just doesn't have the hitting but their pitching has been pretty solid.  DeRaad is having a monster start to the year too.  Looking forward to seeing what he can do against good pitching.

WC/Bates really means nothing to me but I will take the Poet's 2-1 simply because they are a SCIAC team.  Never even heard of Bates until this week so theres that.  Maybe WC can use this to work some things out and become competitive in the SCIAC.  If not, the SCIAC will be a 5 team race.
[/quote]

I really thought CMS was going to get the last game against ULV but it just wasn't in the cards for them.  No idea what is going out over there but I don't see them winning more than 5 games this year.  They get OXY this weekend and I see them taking 1, but I don't have any rhyme or reason for thinking that.

Great series between Redlands and Pomona.  Crazy to see game 3 come down to a complete game shutout by Bruml after we were talking about his struggles.  Redlands started off pretty hot and I still see them making the SCIAC Tourney at this point but they need to win series' against the top teams.

Cal Lu got 2 outstanding pitching performances on Friday and game 1 Saturday as they held Chapman to 2 runs in the first 2 games.  That all went away in a hurry as they got torched in the 3rd game.  Hats off to Williams from Chapman as he kept the CLU hitters in check, as did most of the Chapman pitching all weekend.

OXY and Cal Tech played and OXY swept.  Yaaaawn.  OXY had a 1 run lead late in game 3.  DeRaad continues to be hot at the plate.  They get CMS this weekend so its obvious the schedule gets tougher coming up.

Whittier lost 2 of 3 to a team coming out of the gym.  Gonna be a long year in Whittier.

SCIAC Standings
1. La Verne 6-0; Played Cal Tech and CMS so not much to get excited about.
2. OXY 5-1; Not going to hit much but the pitching has been solid. 
3. Pomona 5-1; Great hitting, improving pitching.  Took 2 of 3 from Redlands, who a lot seemed to be high on.
4. CLU 2-1; Won 2 of 3 from Chapman with great pitching for 2 games.  Need to hit much better if they get pitching like game 3.
5. Redlands 3-3; Not too sure what to make of them right now.  Young team, might go through some growing pains.
6. Chapman 2-4; Struggling big time at the plate but I don't/wont count them out at this point.
7. Whittier 1-2; Pitching is struggling and their hitting is nowhere near what is has been in the past.
8. Caltech 0-6; Played OXY very close in game 3.  I think this is the year they get a SCIAC win.
9. CMS 0-6; The CMS hoops team is having a great year!

My too early prediction for the SCIAC tourney is (not seeded, just the teams):
Cal Lu
Pomona
Chapman
Redlands/Oxy

[Purplebaseball]

I think one thing you have to look at is the rosters for CMS and Whittier, they are very young teams.  CMS has 4 starting freshmen position players.  Whittier has 4 freshmen starting position players along with 6 freshmen pitchers.  Chapman has 1 freshman starting at 1st base. La Verne, Oxy, CLU, Redlands, Pomona are all starting 2nd year players and above.  It will be rough year for CMS and Whittier but we will see how those freshmen develop over the next couple of years?   

[Jack Parkman]

I think one thing you have to look at is the rosters for CMS and Whittier, they are very young teams.  CMS has 4 starting freshmen position players.  Whittier has 4 freshmen starting position players along with 6 freshmen pitchers.  Chapman has 1 freshman starting at 1st base. La Verne, Oxy, CLU, Redlands, Pomona are all starting 2nd year players and above.  It will be rough year for CMS and Whittier but we will see how those freshmen develop over the next couple of years?   

Absolutely, a lot of youth on those squads and them getting this kind of time as freshman will only help in the future.

[Purple Heys]

SCIAC League Standings - Observations w/o CMS and Cal Tech:

OXY 2-1; vs. Chapman  (Oxy's 2 NC wins were over 1-5 Pacific, but Chapman series should not be dismissed) 
Pomona 2-1; vs. Redlands  (Taking 2 of 3 from UR is legit)
CLU 2-1; vs. Chapman    (3-0 vs. Chapman would have looked better...)
Redlands 3-3; 1-2 vs. P-P, 2-1 vs. Whittier  (Looked strong out of the gate, but WC loss will hang heavy, P-P knocked them down a peg)
Chapman 2-4; 1-2 vs. Oxy, 1-2 vs. CLU   (1-2 w/CLU is respectable; 1-2 sorta not w/Oxy...from a Chapman expectation point of view)
Whittier 1-2; vs. Redlands  (WC will have no easy games this season, including CMS and Cal Tech, beating Redlands proved you can't snooze past them)
La Verne 0-0; Yet to play a SCIAC team other than Cal Tech or CMS, Redlands series will be a litmus test... (1-3 NC, but the win over PacLu was a good win)

[SoCalSoxFan]

For the upcoming week:

Redlands vs LaVerne:  We'll begin to see how LaVerne will do this year.  I'll pick Redlands 2-1, but 3-0 wouldn't surprise me.

Pomona vs Whittier:   I'm uncertain between 3-0 PP or 2-1 PP.   I'm leaning with 2-1 PP, so that's what I'll go with.  PP has a chance to go to 8-1 with a sweep which would start to put more separation with Chapman who has 4 losses.

CLU 3-0 over Cal Tech

Occi vs CMS.  Occi should be able to sweep;  3-0 Occi


Projected SCIAC after the weekend:
- Occi     8-1
- LV       7-2   
- PP       7-2   
- CLU     5-1
- Redlands 5-4 
- Chapman 2-4
- Whittier   2-4
- CMS        0-9
- Cal Tech  0-9

[Teddy_Ballgame]

For the upcoming week:

Redlands vs LaVerne:  We'll begin to see how LaVerne will do this year.  I'll pick Redlands 2-1, but 3-0 wouldn't surprise me.

Pomona vs Whittier:   I'm uncertain between 3-0 PP or 2-1 PP.   I'm leaning with 2-1 PP, so that's what I'll go with.  PP has a chance to go to 8-1 with a sweep which would start to put more separation with Chapman who has 4 losses.

CLU 3-0 over Cal Tech

Occi vs CMS.  Occi should be able to sweep;  3-0 Occi

UR- ULV: UR 2-1 but this one is tough. I respect how ULV did in the early season and think they're a team that can always come out and knock you around. But hearing the reviews of the Redlands staff, I gotta go with them. Also wouldn't be surprised with 2-1 ULV or 3-0 UR.

PP-WC: PP 3-0 but they absolutely cannot take that team lightly, especially if they win big in game one or two.

CLU- CIT: CLU 3-0

Oxy-CMS: Oxy 3-0 but I see a chance for a CMS win, based on how close a couple of the Oxy-CIT games were

[Jack Parkman]

SCIAC League Standings - Observations w/o CMS and Cal Tech:

OXY 2-1; vs. Chapman  (Oxy's 2 NC wins were over 1-5 Pacific, but Chapman series should not be dismissed) 
Pomona 2-1; vs. Redlands  (Taking 2 of 3 from UR is legit)
CLU 2-1; vs. Chapman    (3-0 vs. Chapman would have looked better...)
Redlands 3-3; 1-2 vs. P-P, 2-1 vs. Whittier  (Looked strong out of the gate, but WC loss will hang heavy, P-P knocked them down a peg)
Chapman 2-4; 1-2 vs. Oxy, 1-2 vs. CLU   (1-2 w/CLU is respectable; 1-2 sorta not w/Oxy...from a Chapman expectation point of view)
Whittier 1-2; vs. Redlands  (WC will have no easy games this season, including CMS and Cal Tech, beating Redlands proved you can't snooze past them)
La Verne 0-0; Yet to play a SCIAC team other than Cal Tech or CMS, Redlands series will be a litmus test... (1-3 NC, but the win over PacLu was a good win)

One thing to remember is Oxy was down 4-1 in the bottom of the 9th after getting 1 hit by Chapman up to that point.  Chapman had an absolute meltdown and that allowed Oxy to come back and win it.  Still a good series win as I really don't count Chapman out yet.  They have 2 starters that can beat anyone in the SCIAC and I expect them to claw their way back into contention.

[CrashDavisD3]

For the upcoming week:

Redlands vs LaVerne:  We'll begin to see how LaVerne will do this year.  I'll pick Redlands 2-1, but 3-0 wouldn't surprise me.

Pomona vs Whittier:   I'm uncertain between 3-0 PP or 2-1 PP.   I'm leaning with 2-1 PP, so that's what I'll go with.  PP has a chance to go to 8-1 with a sweep which would start to put more separation with Chapman who has 4 losses.

CLU 3-0 over Cal Tech

Occi vs CMS.  Occi should be able to sweep;  3-0 Occi


Projected SCIAC after the weekend:
- Occi     8-1
- LV       7-2   
- PP       7-2   
- CLU     5-1
- Redlands 5-4 
- Chapman 2-4
- Whittier   2-4
- CMS        0-9
- Cal Tech  0-9

Early on it looks like a 4 horse race in the SCIAC. Will Chapman have winning record is the big question for me. They will do well against Whittier, CMS, Cal Tech. They get a single wins against the rest of the SCIAC in a series.

[Jack Parkman]

For the upcoming week:

Redlands vs LaVerne:  We'll begin to see how LaVerne will do this year.  I'll pick Redlands 2-1, but 3-0 wouldn't surprise me.

Pomona vs Whittier:   I'm uncertain between 3-0 PP or 2-1 PP.   I'm leaning with 2-1 PP, so that's what I'll go with.  PP has a chance to go to 8-1 with a sweep which would start to put more separation with Chapman who has 4 losses.

CLU 3-0 over Cal Tech

Occi vs CMS.  Occi should be able to sweep;  3-0 Occi

UR vs. ULV: I am going with ULV 2-1 but it could be the other way around.  Redlands started out with a pretty weak schedule and they have been ok.  ULV was really tested early on and I think that helps a lot. ULV 2-1

Pomona vs. Whittier: Everything points to a Pomona sweep but who knows, is this the week Whittier finds their bats?  Can Whittier shut down Pomona's hitting?  I am going with none of the above.  Pomona beats up on the pretty good. Pomona 3-0

CLU vs. Caltech: When is the Caltech/CMS matchup???  CLU beats up on them pretty bad. CLU 3-0

CMS vs. Oxy: I am going back and forth on this Oxy team.  Have a good weekend against Chapman and a week later take a 1 run lead into the bottom of the 8th against Caltech.  That just doesn't do it for me at all.  I think CMS puts it all together and takes one from Oxy. Oxy 2-1

[olddog]

Congrats to UR pitcher, Felix Minjarez for pitching a no hitter today against ULV. UR beat ULV 10-0 so the game went just 8 innings due to the mercy rule.

Former UR qb Mitch Samson was 2 for 4, with a single and triple, 2 RBI

Go Dawgs

[Purple Heys]

P-P just cruised by WC 11-1 in 7.

Not saying WC had much going, but a costly fail to turn a DP in the 3rd turned a 4-0 P-P lead into a 10-0 laugher.  This is becoming a pattern of behavior for WC.  the only thing turning that would have done is build confidence for the middle IF's and possibly extend the game to a full 9.  P-P wasn't going to lose this one.

WC's freshman RF hit his 2nd of the season for the lone WC score.

[Teddy_Ballgame]

P-P just cruised by WC 11-1 in 7.

Not saying WC had much going, but a costly fail to turn a DP in the 3rd turned a 4-0 P-P lead into a 10-0 laugher.  This is becoming a pattern of behavior for WC.  the only thing turning that would have done is build confidence for the middle IF's and possibly extend the game to a full 9.  P-P wasn't going to lose this one.

WC's freshman RF hit his 2nd of the season for the lone WC score.

Tried to make it out to the game from the Westside of LA... two and half hours later i arrived to see the final out in a game that was played in under two hours. D'oh. Anyway, PP finishes out the sweep today with a 13-0 win (Yen finally has the great outing we've been waiting for) and a 6-2 win in the finale. PP only had to use four pitchers all weekend, combined to only give up:
3 Runs 15 hits 4 BBs in 23 IP. Grain of salt with the lackluster Whittier offense obviously, but still a great weekend on the mound.
Also, Sam Fox- a Senior- followed up his first career home run this morning with... TWO MORE (5-10 with 3 HRs 8 RBIs in the two games).

In other news, Oxy escapes for a 6-5 win in the afternoon game to sweep CMS
Cal Lu does Cal Lu things to CIT, sweep.
ULV up 7-5 late, hoping to salvage one game in their series against Redlands (after the no-no on Friday)

Edit: ULV beats Redlands 10-6, Redlands takes the series 2-1

[Teddy_Ballgame]

UR- ULV: UR 2-1 but this one is tough. I respect how ULV did in the early season and think they're a team that can always come out and knock you around. But hearing the reviews of the Redlands staff, I gotta go with them. Also wouldn't be surprised with 2-1 ULV or 3-0 UR.

PP-WC: PP 3-0 but they absolutely cannot take that team lightly, especially if they win big in game one or two.

CLU- CIT: CLU 3-0

Oxy-CMS: Oxy 3-0 but I see a chance for a CMS win, based on how close a couple of the Oxy-CIT games were

Results:
UR 2-1 ULV
PP 3-0 WC
CLU 3-0 CIT
Oxy 3-0 CMS

For those keeping track at home, that's two weeks in a row of correct picks.