BB: SCIAC: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Purple Heys]

Congrats to Caltech for beating Drew in Game 1 today.  11-10!    Good luck on going for the sweep!

Man bites dog:  Cal Tech Sweeps Drew.  La Verne takes 2 of 3 from PP

Nicely done fellas.   

Fixed it for me...did not see that happening.  I still can't say I'm buying on the Leopards as legit, but they just made a statement that they don't care what I think!

This just got interesting.

[Purple Heys]

Having watched the Poets drop 2 to Kean, it is clear that Kean is a very good squad.  Well coached, solid across the board...but #6 in the country...if that is my frame of reference, then I guess I expected them to be a lot better.  I felt that the any that any of the Texas teams we faced were better, and PP (until they got dumped by La Verne) not being ranked - considering Kean's ranking - was an oversight.

Kean and Bates were very similar in teams of athleticism, defense and offense, maybe Kean might have an edge in pitching...but I wasn't impressed to the extent that I was looking at a top 10 team.

The Poets have little pitching depth.  Whittier went toe to toe in game 2 and once our starter ran out of gas, the flood gate opened - again.  Nothing that we have not seen.  PP and Trinity were the only teams that I felt we could not beat - I did not get that sense watching Kean.  Maybe it's early for them and they'll pick it up a notch.

[Purple Heys]

The Poets' schedule has been fairly tough (I am curious how our SoS stacks up) and as the pitching has taken a beating, we have had infield fielding struggles, and we aren't hitting.  These are 2 things that could help cover for a thin pitching staff but are not helping.  I think the coaching staff is in a quandary to select offensive capability vs. defensive prowess.  We have guys that aren't hitting but are better with the glove; and others that are struggling on defense but show promise at the plate.  The lineup changes every game as the coaches search for a group they can trust.  They are clearly frustrated.

On the bright side, we've been getting stellar play in the outfield.  Good range and good arms, scores could have been a lot worse as there have been quite a few extra base hits taken away by this crew; plus yet another outfield assist registered at the plate yesterday that kept the game close - for the moment.

[Teddy_Ballgame]

Tough weekend for Pomona-Pitzer against ULV. They turned a 3-1 lead in the 6th to a 11-3 deficit in half a frame in game 1. ULV was on top all of game 2, and added a 5 run 8th to put it out of reach. Then PP's bats finally decided to show up for game 3 and won 17-3.

ULV hadn't been too impressive before this weekend, but I think this shows that the PP-ULV-UoR battle for the 2-4 spots in conference will be a good one. And there's certainly room for Chapman and Oxy to jump in and play spoiler.

Couple quick notes on the Hens at about the halfway point of the season:
-All nine starters now have home runs (and don't blame the right field fence- there are no left handed hitters in the PP lineup, which is crazy at that park).
-Bruml, who gave up 12 runs in 8.2 IP in his first two starts (both no decisions), is 4-0 with a 1.55 ERA in his last four starts.
-The offense is hitting .331 and averaging about 8.5 runs per game despite Rosenbaum returning to normal person levels of offensive productivity (a solid .274/.418/.571 with 5 HRs)
-Sam Fox has an absurd .463/.532/.720 slash line and 4 HRs (4 more than he had his entire three years as a starter before this). He's always been very talented but never quite performed offensively up to expectations- his .720 Slugging Percentage is up from .346 last year, .272 in 2013, and .303 in 2012. This is on pace to be the first year he slugs better than his OBP.
-The team's fielding percentage is at a very good .974 mark which is up from an uncharacteristically low .949 last year. Moving Tanner Nishioka to CF permanently and getting improved play everywhere else has helped a lot.
-David Gerics has been providing very solid end of game relief (often a couple innings), but got scorched on Saturday. He has four saves.
-Meanwhile, Rosenbaum has only thrown three innings since returning from TJ surgery and they've been pretty rough (24.00 ERA). Yen's return from injury has been going pretty well, as he's settled down for a 0.66 ERA in his last three appearances (1-1) and a 3-1 record overall. 

[Jack Parkman]

Only a couple of SCAIC teams facing each other this weekend but plenty of games all around.

Pomona vs LaVerne- I will go with Pomona taking 2/3 but I could see them sweeping.  Looks like Bruml has really found it lately and as others have said, I am not sold on LaVerne.  They have played some very tight games, but good teams win the close ones.  Should be a good series.

Chapman vs Claremont-  Chapman wins all 3 but who knows, after Caltech getting an 8-0 lead on them last week, maybe Claremont can steal one from them.

Non-Conference:
CLU plays Concordia (WI), Wesleyan (CT), Linfield and Southwestern (TX) with all games being played in AZ.
Redlands has Rutgers-Newark (2), Ithaca, Spalding and Kean.  Good test on their pitching!
Chapman has Spalding and Kean after the 3 games with Claremont.
Oxy has Ithaca, Spalding and Rutgers-Newark (2).  That's 5 games in 4 days for Oxy, another huge test on pitching.
Pomona has Spalding on Monday after the 3 games with LaVerne.
Whittier has Kean twice this weekend.
Caltech has a double-header with Drew today.
No OOC games for Claremont or LaVerne this weekend.

I am not even going to attempt picking these games as I know nothing about the teams everyone is playing.  Should be a fun, baseball filled weekend!

I am very surprised to see La Verne beat Pomona the way they did.  It could have been "one of those weekends" or maybe La Verne played like the team they could have been all year.  Bruml threw another great game on Saturday but that  series loss was pretty ugly for the Hens.

Chapman swept Claremont like I figured they would, but games 1 and 2 were very close games.  Looks like Claremont had their chance to snap their SCIAC losing streak but no dice.  Big series with Caltech coming up next weekend!

As far as the others and their non-conference games....some good, some bad and some really ugly.

CLU goes 1-3 in AZ.  They squeak by Concordia (WI), lose to Weleyan, lose to Linfield in extras after being up 4-0 in the 8th, and get absolutely blasted by Southwestern.  No clue what happened but that is not a good sign for them.

Redlands goes 3-1 with Kean on tap for today.  Looks like Redlands can really hit but their pitching seems to give up a lot of hits and their Defense looks really shaky.  Big series coming up between them and CLU.

Chapman played Spalding yesterday and lost an absolute slugfest.  Tough to play another game after a 3-game conference series.

Oxy has really hit a rough patch in the last 10 days.  They went 2-3 over the weekend and have Whittier this weekend which could be good for them, or it could hurt them more.

Whittier dropped 2 to Kean and it sounds like they were never blown out in either game.

Without a doubt the biggest news of the week is Caltech sweeping Drew.  It was a tough trip for Drew as they only got 1 win (Oxy) but it is really great to see the Beavers win a pair.  First time they have won back-to-back games since 2000.

[Teddy_Ballgame]

Monday's Results:
PP over Spalding 11-4. Peyton Holm (Frosh) gets the W for the Hens. Rosenbaum gets a solid inning on the mound, PP bats stay hot (particularly Fox and Nishioka).

Redlands over Kean 13-3, Sean McMillan 2-4 4RBI's, solid pitching performances from Collins, White, and Stead.

Today's matchups:
CLU v. Rutgers-Newark
Chapman v. Kean

[Colorado]

Chapman beats Kean 7-6. Always a nice thing to read especially when its a come from behind thriller I missed the game but its particularly fun to beat them in front of their usually chippy fan base. I was happy to see Laverty is not holding back his aces for just the conferences games. Perhaps due to last years poor record against non-conference teams which was a factor in CU not getting a playoff bid despite a 28-12 D-3 record. I hope Kean wins every game after this and its SOS is a top 10 by years end. CU will need it because of the records of the SCIAC's 3 bottom teams, a problem the others hoping for a "C" at large bid  will have too.

[CrashDavisD3]

Chapman beats Kean 7-6. Always a nice thing to read especially when its a come from behind thriller I missed the game but its particularly fun to beat them in front of their usually chippy fan base. I was happy to see Laverty is not holding back his aces for just the conferences games. Perhaps due to last years poor record against non-conference teams which was a factor in CU not getting a playoff bid despite a 28-12 D-3 record. I hope Kean wins every game after this and its SOS is a top 10 by years end. CU will need it because of the records of the SCIAC's 3 bottom teams, a problem the others hoping for a "C" at large bid  will have too.

Love when Chapman beats Kean. I personally watched they lose to Chapman in Appleton in 2009. Saw many Chapman - Kean games a true rivalary with passion and intensity. Also I have seen a few Kean loses at Chapman at Hart Park in Orange, CA

[Jack Parkman]

Chapman beats Kean 7-6. Always a nice thing to read especially when its a come from behind thriller I missed the game but its particularly fun to beat them in front of their usually chippy fan base. I was happy to see Laverty is not holding back his aces for just the conferences games. Perhaps due to last years poor record against non-conference teams which was a factor in CU not getting a playoff bid despite a 28-12 D-3 record. I hope Kean wins every game after this and its SOS is a top 10 by years end. CU will need it because of the records of the SCIAC's 3 bottom teams, a problem the others hoping for a "C" at large bid  will have too.

I watched a little and you ar enot kidding about the fans being chippy.  Sounded like an intense group of fans. 

*Note to Chapman- if you are not going to offer commentary during a game, mute the thing so you don't have to listen to the people in the booth place their food order and talk about what sorority they are in.

[Teddy_Ballgame]

I just want to note that at the moment CIT is "ahead" of CMS in the SCIAC standings:
http://thesciac.org/sports/bsb/2014-15/standings

Both teams are winless in conference, but CIT has played fewer games and has one more non-conference win than CMS.

Also didn't realize that Whittier is sitting at 3-16 overall right now... knew they were struggling but yikes. It would be nice to see them pull one out today against Rutgers-Newark.

[Purple Heys]

Also didn't realize that Whittier is sitting at 3-16 overall right now... knew they were struggling but yikes. It would be nice to see them pull one out today against Rutgers-Newark.

Same MO against Rutgers-Newark, not enough hitting to support a good enough to win pitching day, and a couple of errors led to some extra runs that spells a 6-4 defeat.

The Poets batted .000 with 2 outs.  R-N batted .333.  Recalling the PP and La Verne series' the Poets could not get out of an inning and had a terrible time booking the third out time and again.

They have trouble finishing games because they have trouble finishing innings.

[Purplebaseball]

Yes PH I agree with you about the game yesterday but the season as a whole has been a pitching issue.  I know the  hitting is struggling and the defense can be shaky at times but the relief pitching is letting us down.  The staff ERA is 7.5 allowing a average of 13 hits a game and having a .345 batting average against while giving up 14 bombs!

Also didn't realize that Whittier is sitting at 3-16 overall right now... knew they were struggling but yikes. It would be nice to see them pull one out today against Rutgers-Newark.

Same MO against Rutgers-Newark, not enough hitting to support a good enough to win pitching day, and a couple of errors led to some extra runs that spells a 6-4 defeat.

The Poets batted .000 with 2 outs.  R-N batted .333.  Recalling the PP and La Verne series' the Poets could not get out of an inning and had a terrible time booking the third out time and again.

They have trouble finishing games because they have trouble finishing innings.

We could be hitting .300 with 10 hits a game and scoring 7 runs a game and still losing.

[CrashDavisD3]

SOS is will be bad for the SCIAC teams and a Pool C bid may be impossible to get. Too much weight on SOS in my opinon is given for Pool C bids. You have very little control if 3 teams records tanks.

[Ralph Turner]

SOS is will be bad for the SCIAC teams and a Pool C bid may be impossible to get. Too much weight on SOS in my opinon is given for Pool C bids. You have very little control if 3 teams records tanks.

I think that the committee looks a Records versus regionally ranked teams, espeically for the West. Since the guidelines allow counting all games versus D3, the key is getting to play good teams from the other regions, especially Midwest and Central Region teams who might come to Arizona.

The SOS's in the West Region tend to hover around .500, so a few games against out-of-region teams help.

[Ralph Turner]

What happened in the Cal LU loss to Southwestern?

That does not look good. Southwestern does not strike me as an outstanding team.  Their losses to TLU and to UMHB bring them back to the pack in the ASC/SCAC part of the region.