BB: CC: Centennial Conference

[old ends]

Spring sportsmanship awards:

Click here:http://www.centennial.org/sportsmanship_team/spring_08.pdf

enjoy

[pizzashop]

I'll break the silence.

F&M named a new coach: http://godiplomats.com/sports/m-basebl/2008-09/news/taylorhire

Former Randolph-Macon player and DI coach.

[pizzashop]

Stepping on the crickets again... 3 months and a day till the first pitch

Adam Taylor rounds out his staff: http://godiplomats.com/sports/m-basebl/2008-09/news/horninghire

2009 Diplomats Schedule: http://godiplomats.com/sports/m-basebl/2008-09/schedule

[commish]

The Centennial Conference baseball coaches will hold a live preseason chat on Thursday, Feb. 26, beginning at noon EST. The 10 coaches will talk about their prospects for the upcoming season and other topics surrounding the Conference and Division III baseball in general. You can log in, post questions and participate in our moderated chat on the Centennial Conference blog.

[RSSmith]

Any Muhlenberg posters give us some updates on your Florida trip?  Thiel's a good team, but how do you split a DH with Clark?

[RSSmith]

Spring's here.  Play ball!

[RSSmith]

Today we'll get a glimpse of how the conference stacks up on the national scene.  Hopkins plays #23 Wheaton MA (5-1), F&M plays #29 Shenandoah (14-3) and Haverford plays Guilford (10-5).  Good luck to all.

[coachmilburn]

Today we'll get a glimpse of how the conference stacks up on the national scene.  Hopkins plays #23 Wheaton MA (5-1), F&M plays #29 Shenandoah (14-3) and Haverford plays Guilford (10-5).  Good luck to all.

I reside in Winchester and caught 5 innings of the F&M vs. SU game.  I was told that F&M might have 1 or 2 guys drafted this year?  Anyone know the names of those guys?  Are they pitchers or position guys?

I also learned that F&M should be around the 20 win mark again this year.  From what I saw, I like F&M's approach at the plate and they took quality hacks.

This game could of been much different if F&M could of gotten a clutch hit with bases drunk in the 3rd inning no outs but a shot was hit back up the middle that SU's VanSickler snagged and started a 1-2-3 DP and the next guy hit a hard liner to the LF.  F&M could of easily gotten several runs but the defense for SU stepped up and made plays.  That 3rd inning was the difference in the ball game.

I think F&M has a very respectable team and had some good looking athletes, not many sand-blowers (short guys) on that team.

SU's 2009 team is by far the most productive team I have ever seen at SU in all of my years watching them play.



WINCHESTER, Va. - Shenandoah University set new school records for most runs, hits and largest margin of victory in a 32-5 non-league baseball win over Franklin & Marshall Friday afternoon.

The Hornets (15-3) scored four runs in the first, eight in the second and then a combined 10 in the middle three frames to pull away from the Diplomats (1-2).

After substituting for all but one starter, the SU reserves finished off the game with a 10-run eighth.

In all 19 position players and four pitchers saw action in the contest for the hosts.

Sophomore Greg Van Sickler (3-1) started and tossed the first six innings before giving way to three relievers. Van Sickler allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out two. He also was 3 for 5 with four RBI at the plate before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh.

Shenandoah had 11 extra-base hits including three home runs (two by Scott Van Dusseldorp).

The Hornets banged out 28 hits and had 27 runs batted in off of eight F&M pitchers; none of them lasted longer than six outs.

BoxScore : http://www.su.edu/athletics/bb/current/031309.htm

[RSSmith]

Hopkins seems to be having some pitching troubles in Arizona this spring.

If this Hopkins team reverts back to the "just out slug 'em" mentality they had before the 2007 season, it is a wide open race for the Centennial Conference crown this year.

Hopkins has to travel to F & M this year, and we all know what happens when Hopkins teams of the past have traveled to Lancaster and been forced to stop playing Home Run Derby, and start playing baseball.

It wasn't hitting that took the Blue Jays to Wisconsin last year.

I just got back from Arizona, and I'm not so concerned about Hopkins' pitching.  In their first 12 games last season, Blue Jay pitchers gave up 78 runs (6.5 per game) and in the 12 games so far they've given up 94 runs (7.8 per game) against what appears to be a little better-hitting competition.  The 26 errors so far this season seem, anecdotally, to have come in important situations.  The coaching staff also appears to be experimenting with how to use veteran pitchers (Shiffner, Goldman, Fioretti, Pevsner) in different roles, and they brought a couple of freshmen along.  Angeloni and Harbeck are recovering from minor injuries (back and ankle respectively) and should be 100% soon.  I look for the team ERA to start going down dramatically once we hit the conference schedule and the lineup becomes more stable.

[RSSmith]

On reflection, here's the Blue Jays' paradoxical dilemma:  too many good position players.  Before the season started, I thought this team looked a little better statistically than last year's team--returning position players hit .422 last year compared to the team's .377; returning pitchers had a 4.06 ERA compared to the teams 4.19; and returning players had a slightly better defensive average than the 2008 team as a whole.  So far, the only big statistical discrepancy at this point in the season between this year and last is the wins and losses.  Watching the guys play in Arizona has not changed my mind, but I certainly don't envy the coaching staff's challenge with finding the best lineup to put on the field.  A perfect example of that challenge is at first base.  Hopkins has four talented first basemen (Biner--.436/2HR; Garber--.412/3HR; Huisman--.364/2HR; and Sikorski--.520/2HR).  Keeping all those bats in the lineup and still building some consistency and routine will require incredible juggling.  Same thing behind the plate (Swarr--.464/1HR and Small--.429/2HR), though double headers in the regular season will give the coaches more time to sort that out.  Similar challenges exist at every position.  So far, eleven position players have hit home runs (including Borenstein's shot that was erased because of a lineup card goof) and that's without the short right field porch at Homewood and without Youchak or Emr hitting home runs yet (which they inevitably will).  This is a very talented team with a lot of depth, and once the roles are cast and everyone gets settled into a routine they will be very successful.

[commish]

"Spring Training" is over ... it's time for the real games to begin.  Centennial Conference play begins on Tuesday at five diamonds.  See you there!

Dickinson at McDaniel; Washington at Franklin & Marshall; Gettysburg at Johns Hopkins; Ursinus at Haverford; Swarthmore at Muhlenberg

[d3baseballnut]

Hopkins seems to be having some pitching troubles in Arizona this spring.

If this Hopkins team reverts back to the "just out slug 'em" mentality they had before the 2007 season, it is a wide open race for the Centennial Conference crown this year.

Hopkins has to travel to F & M this year, and we all know what happens when Hopkins teams of the past have traveled to Lancaster and been forced to stop playing Home Run Derby, and start playing baseball.

It wasn't hitting that took the Blue Jays to Wisconsin last year.

I just got back from Arizona, and I'm not so concerned about Hopkins' pitching.  In their first 12 games last season, Blue Jay pitchers gave up 78 runs (6.5 per game) and in the 12 games so far they've given up 94 runs (7.8 per game) against what appears to be a little better-hitting competition.  The 26 errors so far this season seem, anecdotally, to have come in important situations.  The coaching staff also appears to be experimenting with how to use veteran pitchers (Shiffner, Goldman, Fioretti, Pevsner) in different roles, and they brought a couple of freshmen along.  Angeloni and Harbeck are recovering from minor injuries (back and ankle respectively) and should be 100% soon.  I look for the team ERA to start going down dramatically once we hit the conference schedule and the lineup becomes more stable.

RSSmith-Do you still think this? Hopkins has given up 20 runs in the past 2 games to conference opponent Gettysburg, a very mediocre d3 team. If you still believe their pitching is fine, you must be either not watching the games, or in simple denial. Although their pitching may come around late season as you said, if they dont start winnings games, they may not be around long enough for it to matter.

[RSSmith]

Hopkins seems to be having some pitching troubles in Arizona this spring.

If this Hopkins team reverts back to the "just out slug 'em" mentality they had before the 2007 season, it is a wide open race for the Centennial Conference crown this year.

Hopkins has to travel to F & M this year, and we all know what happens when Hopkins teams of the past have traveled to Lancaster and been forced to stop playing Home Run Derby, and start playing baseball.

It wasn't hitting that took the Blue Jays to Wisconsin last year.

I just got back from Arizona, and I'm not so concerned about Hopkins' pitching.  In their first 12 games last season, Blue Jay pitchers gave up 78 runs (6.5 per game) and in the 12 games so far they've given up 94 runs (7.8 per game) against what appears to be a little better-hitting competition.  The 26 errors so far this season seem, anecdotally, to have come in important situations.  The coaching staff also appears to be experimenting with how to use veteran pitchers (Shiffner, Goldman, Fioretti, Pevsner) in different roles, and they brought a couple of freshmen along.  Angeloni and Harbeck are recovering from minor injuries (back and ankle respectively) and should be 100% soon.  I look for the team ERA to start going down dramatically once we hit the conference schedule and the lineup becomes more stable.

RSSmith-Do you still think this? Hopkins has given up 20 runs in the past 2 games to conference opponent Gettysburg, a very mediocre d3 team. If you still believe their pitching is fine, you must be either not watching the games, or in simple denial. Although their pitching may come around late season as you said, if they dont start winnings games, they may not be around long enough for it to matter.

Pitching is still well below potential, but I am still confidant that it will get up to par.  2.5 errors per game is still way too many.  Yesterday, baserunning mistakes hurt a lot.  Hitting seems to be in good shape.  Gettysburg with Matt Waris pitching is more than a mediocre team, but I must agree with you that this JHU team needs to get its groove on and the sooner the better.

[coachmilburn]

[Gettysburg with Matt Waris pitching is more than a mediocre team, but I must agree with you that this JHU team needs to get its groove on and the sooner the better.

I would take Matt Waris on my team any time.  Back on March 4th when Gettysburg came to Winchester to play Shenandoah, I was impressed with him on the bump and he can swing it as well.

[CentennialGuru]

Pitching is still well below potential, but I am still confidant that it will get up to par.  2.5 errors per game is still way too many.  Yesterday, baserunning mistakes hurt a lot.  Hitting seems to be in good shape.  Gettysburg with Matt Waris pitching is more than a mediocre team, but I must agree with you that this JHU team needs to get its groove on and the sooner the better.

I'm a recent F&M grad and I have to say, I have never seen a Hopkins team like this.  As D3baseballnut said on the main boards, Hopkins used to play "homerun derby" but at least in the past their pitching was good to very good.  This year the team WHIP is an atrocious 1.88!!!  It is nearly impossible to win liek that!  Somehow the offense has taken it to another level even after losing a bunch of stud hitters.  I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel for this pitching staff.