BB: SCIAC: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[CrashDavisD3]

Whittier at 12-4 continues to exceed expectations.  With early loses to G.Fox, Pac Lu and Linfield, they'll need to win the year end tournament to have any chance of post season. 

Let's not also forget the 18-5 drubbing Whitman handed the Poets during their dismal weekend in Arizona (outscored 52-10 in four games).  To paraphrase the famous Charles Barkley quote, "Bad team man, that was a bad &%$&ing team!"

Whittier has to play 3 with Chapman and 3 with Cal Lu. If there are for real they will go 4-2 if not they could go 0-6

[Colorado]

Not sure how much stock you can put in early season game results. It certainly means something but most teams change as the season progresses --players stuck in slow starts get replaced, ineffective pitchers get to sit, pitchers coming back from surgery start with restrictions and then are unwrapped at some point. Whittier has played well since playing those NWC teams. The SCIAC overall started slow in Arizona and Texas, leaving the first impression that it was a weak year but as the season has progressed, the SCIAC's non-conference record is now a +7 (not counting CalTech) -- not exactly gangbusters but a steady improvement from the 6-25 non-conference start (again excluding CalTech) from that first week. Call me a homer but I'm not sure the SCIAC should be automatically excluded from getting a 2d team into the playoffs.

[Jack Parkman]

My weekend predictions in the SCIAC...

Cal Lu takes 2 of 3 from Whittier...unless they drop the Friday game, then Whittier takes 2 of 3.
Chapman sweeps Cal Tech.
Claremont takes 2 of 3 from Redlands.
Oxy takes 2 of 3 from La Verne in a huge series going into the round-robin portion of the schedule.

[SoCalSoxFan]

My weekend predictions in the SCIAC...

Cal Lu takes 2 of 3 from Whittier...unless they drop the Friday game, then Whittier takes 2 of 3.
Chapman sweeps Cal Tech.
Claremont takes 2 of 3 from Redlands.
Oxy takes 2 of 3 from La Verne in a huge series going into the round-robin portion of the schedule.

JP:

- Cal Lu vs Whittier.  I spent time looking at this, as this is between two teams tied for first in SCIAC. 
1) Fridays game at Whittier will be the key game.   Potential WHittier Fri starter Garcia 1-2 in last three SCIAC games.   Tough last outing and 6.04 ERA in last 4 games.  Petersen of CLU also had a tough last outing against CMS.   Statistically CLU hitters should do well and If Petersen goes long enough to get to Roth, CLU should win. If middle relievers are needed, it means Whittier got to Petersen and Whittier will win.
2) Martin, game 2 starter(?) has had a good year for Whittier, although his 4.58 ERA may indicate that Cal Lu's hitters should be able to connect against him.  Hebda of CLU has had 4 solid starts in a row.  Era in those games is 1.80 (if I did the math right).  This should be most competitive game.   Tossup goes to CLU at Home; but no surprise if Whittier wins.
3) Game 3:  For Whittie, Cheatham has been game 3 for past two outings.  Got two wins even though ERA was 7.36.  He did shut down PP earlier in year, so he has shown ability to have good game and ERA over past 4 games is a respectable 4.00   S. Peters of CLU is having a good year.  In past 6 outings he has shutout Chapman, Redland and Pac LU (outdualing Lubking 3-0).  Offsetting that is rough outings vs Occy and CMS.  Based on strong outings in critical matchups, I pick S. Peters to have a win.

- Chapman sweeps CalTech

- Not sure about CMS vs Redlands.  CMS hasn't won a series yet.  2-1 either way wouldn't surprise me.

- LV vs Oxy, I'll pick LV to win 2.

[Westside]

Holy smokes. Can we take a second to appreciate PP's Simon Rosenbaum. This kid is only a sophomore and he is putting up numbers I haven't seen since the bats were changed. He is hitting .505 with a .594 OBP and .874 Slugging %. He leads the nation in doubles, with 20. He has six bombs, and he his driven in 38. Those stats are just sick. And if I remember correctly, he was a stud pitcher as a freshman? Absolutely filthy.

[SoCalSoxFan]

Holy smokes. Can we take a second to appreciate PP's Simon Rosenbaum. This kid is only a sophomore and he is putting up numbers I haven't seen since the bats were changed. He is hitting .505 with a .594 OBP and .874 Slugging %. He leads the nation in doubles, with 20. He has six bombs, and he his driven in 38. Those stats are just sick. And if I remember correctly, he was a stud pitcher as a freshman? Absolutely filthy.

At the start of the year I had opined that if Rosenbaum was healthy then PP would have a good year.
I was partially right... as he hasn't pitched all year, which hasn't helped their staff.  But his hitting has been fantastic!
and I didn't anticipate the high # of unearned runs, which has been (IMHO) their downfall.

[Whatagame]

Not sure how much stock you can put in early season game results. It certainly means something but most teams change as the season progresses --players stuck in slow starts get replaced, ineffective pitchers get to sit, pitchers coming back from surgery start with restrictions and then are unwrapped at some point. Whittier has played well since playing those NWC teams. The SCIAC overall started slow in Arizona and Texas, leaving the first impression that it was a weak year but as the season has progressed, the SCIAC's non-conference record is now a +7 (not counting CalTech) -- not exactly gangbusters but a steady improvement from the 6-25 non-conference start (again excluding CalTech) from that first week. Call me a homer but I'm not sure the SCIAC should be automatically excluded from getting a 2d team into the playoffs.

True, but the SCIAC currently sits 8-21 versus the NWC this season, and nobody played Caltech.   

[Jack Parkman]

Holy smokes. Can we take a second to appreciate PP's Simon Rosenbaum. This kid is only a sophomore and he is putting up numbers I haven't seen since the bats were changed. He is hitting .505 with a .594 OBP and .874 Slugging %. He leads the nation in doubles, with 20. He has six bombs, and he his driven in 38. Those stats are just sick. And if I remember correctly, he was a stud pitcher as a freshman? Absolutely filthy.

Makes a tough choice for the conference player of the year.  I think it's a 2-horse race.

Stats (conference only)
Rosenbaum- .538 avg, 15 2b's, 6 HR's, .962 slg%
Barzilli- .394 avg, 5 2b's, 12 HR's, 1.015 slg%

[Jack Parkman]

[/quote]

True, but the SCIAC currently sits 8-21 versus the NWC this season, and nobody played Caltech.
[/quote]

Yikes, thats pretty ugly.

[Colorado]

Yep. 8-21 is not very good but a team like Chapman (no record vs NWC, maybe ends up with 28-30 wins and a win over Kean) ought to be in the final selection mix.  Just my speculation, but  if CU were still an independent and had this kind of record, I'm guessing they'd probably get their ticket punched. During CU's epic run from 2003-2011, they always scheduled a large number of games with the SCIAC without it dragging their selection chances down. Just a homer thinking out loud.

[108 Stitches]

If Chapman plays well at the end of the season they are definitely in the mix, but a lot depends on what happens around them. (assuming they don't  win the SCIAC) If they win the SCIAC, which they are capable of doing then end of discussion.  If you take the 4 losses out from the beginning of the season they have played fairly well. IMO this is why it is important to play a tough OOC schedule as it prepares the team for conference play and the end of the season games which mean more.

[Whatagame]

Don't get me wrong, I believe if both Cal Lu and Chapman finish the season winning at a very high rate, and then, you have those two teams play each other in the title game of the conference tourney, then I think its legit that both teams make the regional.  I think Chapman sets up as a very dangerous team in the SCIAC tournament format with their pitching.  One thing I don't get is how two posters on this thread are surmising how Cal Lu could lose 2/3 this weekend to Whittier.  If that's the case, then how could Cal Lu even be considered a threat in the regional?  I think the absolute expectation would be a Cal Lu sweep this weekend.

[Jack Parkman]

Don't get me wrong, I believe if both Cal Lu and Chapman finish the season winning at a very high rate, and then, you have those two teams play each other in the title game of the conference tourney, then I think its legit that both teams make the regional.  I think Chapman sets up as a very dangerous team in the SCIAC tournament format with their pitching.  One thing I don't get is how two posters on this thread are surmising how Cal Lu could lose 2/3 this weekend to Whittier.  If that's the case, then how could Cal Lu even be considered a threat in the regional?  I think the absolute expectation would be a Cal Lu sweep this weekend.

Believe me, I do not expect Cal Lu to lose 2/3 but it seems like each weekend one of their starters has had trouble.  Maybe last weekend was just "one of those weekends" but I hope all 3 get solid starts.  I don't think Whittier has the pitching to hold them down but they sure do have an explosive offense.

[Lets Play Two]

Whittier draws first blood at home today, beating Cal Lu, 4-2.  Garcia went 7+ to get the win, scattering 10 hits.  Petersen was impressive as well, though he did give up a 2-run shot to Cerami and a solo blast to Barzilli. 

[Teddy_Ballgame]

Holy smokes. Can we take a second to appreciate PP's Simon Rosenbaum. This kid is only a sophomore and he is putting up numbers I haven't seen since the bats were changed. He is hitting .505 with a .594 OBP and .874 Slugging %. He leads the nation in doubles, with 20. He has six bombs, and he his driven in 38. Those stats are just sick. And if I remember correctly, he was a stud pitcher as a freshman? Absolutely filthy.

Makes a tough choice for the conference player of the year.  I think it's a 2-horse race.

Stats (conference only)
Rosenbaum- .538 avg, 15 2b's, 6 HR's, .962 slg%
Barzilli- .394 avg, 5 2b's, 12 HR's, 1.015 slg%

Rosenbaum has been unreal. And those 6 home runs are no joke- he's a right handed hitter, so he has to deal with the deep fence in left at Pomona not the short one in right.
Unfortunately for Simon, the MVP usually comes from the team that won SCIAC (or at least a contender). It takes a pretty incredible year to buck that trend, but I think his season might just qualify. And when he's fully recovered from the Tommy John, he's got the ability to be one of their best pitchers (if not their best). Gotta wonder if focusing on hitting and not worrying about being on the mound has helped him this year.
And all credit due to Barzilli who is having a phenomenal year as well!

Meanwhile, PP has a chance to make some noise this weekend and play spoiler as they travel up to Linfied for a 3 game set (2 Saturday, 1 Sunday). I think they might just pull one out up there.