BB: CC: Centennial Conference

[RSSmith]

Hopkins bats have come alive and pitching is starting to gel.  Good win against NCWC yesterday, and today, Wiegand and Harbeck held Salisbury scoreless in 8 of the 9 innings.  Blue Jays hitters made up for that little 6-run burp in the 4th.

[RSSmith]

Hopkins played its best baseball (IMHO) of the year in the South Regional.  to elaborate on my former post, Marco Simmons pitched the game of his career against W&J, Chez Angeloni came back on two days rest to hold Christopher Newport in check, and a commitee from the bullpen kept a three-run lead over Shenandoah intact through seven innings before the Blue Jays flat ran out of gas.  Over that six-game, 72-hour stretch, hitters 1 through 9 did everything imaginable from squeeze-bunts to grand slam home runs, and the defense put up web gem after web gem.  This team represented the Centennial Conference well.  Congratulations, guys.

[RSSmith]

Does anybody besides Hopkins visit this board?  As the season ends, I am more and more impressed with the caliber of ball being played in this conference.  Ursinus, F&M, and Haverford could play with most of the teams we saw in the regional.  Dickinson and Swarthmore played some very good baseball this season with a lot of freshmen and sophomores and will be a factor next year.  Washington, Muhlenberg and McDaniel all had competitive seasons and return a ton of players next year.  Hopkins graduated 11 players, but only 3 starting position players and two starting pitchers.  I'm looking forward to being an objective observer next year.

[d3baseballnut]

Does anybody besides Hopkins visit this board?  As the season ends, I am more and more impressed with the caliber of ball being played in this conference.  Ursinus, F&M, and Haverford could play with most of the teams we saw in the regional.  Dickinson and Swarthmore played some very good baseball this season with a lot of freshmen and sophomores and will be a factor next year.  Washington, Muhlenberg and McDaniel all had competitive seasons and return a ton of players next year.  Hopkins graduated 11 players, but only 3 starting position players and two starting pitchers.  I'm looking forward to being an objective observer next year.

Yea, i dunno, I feel like only hopkins ppl talk on this board. For some reason, no other CC teams seem to on the national screen. THat is going to change in the coming years i think.

[Hammer Ball]

Having seen various NJAC,  Mid-Atlantic, Southern, New England and Midwest teams over the years I agree that CC teams compare favorably.  JHU seems unlikely to be knocked off the top spot, even if it did hiccup this year as compared to the last few.

[bulldozer]

Mark my words:  Hopkins will come out with a vengeance next spring to show everyone that they are the best team in the country. 

Although they are losing some key seniors who will be sorely missed, the majority of the team will consist of juniors who now know what it takes to get to the world series.  There will be no let-downs in the regular season for Hopkins next year... be ready for domination from start to finish.

[d3baseballnut]

Mark my words:  Hopkins will come out with a vengeance next spring to show everyone that they are the best team in the country. 

Although they are losing some key seniors who will be sorely missed, the majority of the team will consist of juniors who now know what it takes to get to the world series.  There will be no let-downs in the regular season for Hopkins next year... be ready for domination from start to finish.

haha...thats what I'm talking about!

Bulldozer, seriouslly, go show 'em.

[RSSmith]

McDaniel's Harold Baines taken by the White Sox in Round 45 (1363rd player drafted).

[d3baseballnut]

Ok...ok...I had to start this up.

How good is Hopkins going to be this year? According to memory here is the expected lineup. But what about starting pitching? Do they have guys that can fill the shoes of Angeloni and Fioretti?

1B: Sikorski
C: Swarr/Small
OF: Kahn
OF: Youchak
OF:
SS: Teta
2B: Rapazzo?
3B: Bolyard
DH: Swarr/Small

[pizzashop]

ABCA Preseason Poll: http://www.ncaa.com/sports/m-basebl/division_iii1.html

[Hammer Ball]

JHU and F&M look to be at the top.  Ursinus lost a key player in Engle.  Look for SWAT to make some noise in the top half of the table.

[Centennialbuff]

SWAT has no chance of finishing in the top half. While they will be better, the top 5 in the Centennial are far superior than the bottom 5.
My Centennial prediction:
1. Hopkins
2. Haverford
3. F&M
4. Dickinson
5. Gettysburg
6. Muhlenburg
7. Swat
8. Ursinus
9. Washington
10. McDaniel

[Hammer Ball]

The difference between 5 and 7 was just a game or 2 I believe. 

[RSSmith]

My 2010 prediction:

Johns Hopkins
F&M
Washington (my sleeper pick)
Gettysburg
Haverford
Dickinson
Muhlenberg
McDaniel
Ursinus
Haverford

2009 conference standings
Johns Hopkins   14-4
F&M         13-5
Ursinus      10-8
Washington     9-9
Haverford        9-9
Swarthmore   8-10
Gettysburg      8-10
McDaniel      7-11
Muhlenberg   6-12
Dickinson      6-12


Johns Hopkins
2009 Record:  28-16, 13-5
Key player losses:
   All American third baseman Todd Emr
   All Conference first baseman Ryan Biner
   1 and 2 starting pitchers  All Conference Chez Angeloni & Dave Fioretti
Returning studs:
   All region DH/infielder Lee Bolyard (.381, 11 HR, 47 RBI)
   All American OF Brian Youchak (.440, 5 HR, 43 RBI)
   All Conference catcher John Swarr (.379, 4 HR, 22 RBI)
   All Conference OF Jesse Sikorski (.370, 13 HR, 45 RBI)
Key wins in 2009:  Salisbury, Christopher Newport, North Carolina Wesleyan, Washington & Jefferson
The Blue Jays return two pitchers with CWS experience.  Lefties Marco Simmons and Greg Harbeck, both of whom had good outings in the South Regional in 2009. Right-hander  Matt Wiegand will miss the season with Tommy John surgery.
The 2010 team will boast 17 seniors, most of whom have post-season experience.  The team has excellent depth at catcher with senior John Swarr, red-shirt junior Joe Borelli, and sophomores Zach Small and Aaron Borenstein. The returning players hit .356 in 2009 with 53 home runs.
Success will depend in no small part on sophomore pitchers Ryan Kahn, Sam Eagleson and Garrett Gomez.

Franklin & Marshall
2009 Record:  24-14-1, 13-5
Key player losses:
   All-Conference Shortstop Andrew Hanson (.333)
Returning studs:
   IF Matt Will (.379, 3 HR, fldg% .983)
   All-Conference P Nick Markel (5-1, ERA 3.36)
   Reliever Brendan McCreary (ERA 1.49)
   All-Conference IF Bill Murray (.378, 4 HR)
Key wins in 2009:  Denison (2)*, Ursinus
*Denison swept a double header from Trinity (CT).
The 2009 Diplomats was a team loaded with freshmen and sophomores.   F & M lost only four players to graduation, and they return all pitchers except for the #3 starter.  They will have only three seniors on the team next year. The Diplomats split catching duties three ways in 2009.  With the loss of John Dutton to graduation, the catching situation is interesting.  Sophomore Blue Wells hits well (.385) but is weak receiving and throwing.  Junior Russell Tischler is good defensively but hit only .288 in 2009.
   
Washington College
2009 Record:  16-18, 7-11
Key player losses:
   OF Tony Tozzolo (.382, 14 2B, slg% .618)
Returning studs:
   2B/SS Ryan Normoyle (.366, slg% .618)
   OF Ben Jardot (.357)
   3B Matt Boucher (.347, slg% .495)
   P Chris Keiper (ERA 3.09, 35 IP, 48 K)
The Shoremen return a mature pitching staff led by Keiper (a senior), Senior Chris Smith (45 IP), Junior Paul McMannis (21 IP, 31 K) and Sophomore Hunter Draheim (3.90 ERA in 11 appearances from the bullpen)—those four pitchers had 126 strikeouts in 128 innings.  Washington also returns three of its top four hitters who will be joined with Sophomores Stephen Cook (6 hits in 15 AB) and John Lambert (5 hits, 4 RBI in 15 AB).  12 of Washington's 18 returning lettermen are sophomores.  Look for this team to improve dramatically this year and next.

Gettysburg College
2009 Record:  17-21, 7-11
Key player losses:
   None
Returning studs:
   All of them
Key wins in 2009:  Hopkins
Gettysburg lost 3 position players and 1 pitcher to graduation, none of whom will be very difficult to replace.  The Bullets return their top six hitters who hit a combined .325 in 2009, and their top four pitchers who had a combined ERA of 3.90.  Sounds like a pretty good nucleus.

Haverford
2009 Record:  17-17-1, 11-7
Key player losses:
   All Region OF Dean Laganosky (.328, 4 HR)
Returning studs:
   All-Conf. IF/Relief Pitcher Charlie Carluccio (.347, 7 HR, ERA 1.17)
   All-Conf. Pitcher Stefan Pappius-Lefebvre (6-3, ERA 3.97)
   OF Jeff Butera (.369, 3 HR)
Key wins in 2009:  Greensboro, Ursinus, F&M
The Fords graduated only five players, and return their entire pitching staff.  They will miss Laganosky's leadership, but one or two of 2010's eleven seniors will surely step up.  Haverford needs to find some offensive power—2009's .274 BA and 27 home runs in a small park just won't get 'er done.

Dickinson
2009 Record:  11-23, 6-12
Key player losses:
   None
Returning studs:
   C/OF Mike Schuster (.391)
Key wins in 2009:  Hopkins (2), Simpson
The Red Devils lost only 1 player to graduation, a pitcher who was 1-6 with a 6.91 ERA.  Unfortunately, he was the second best pitcher on the Dickinson staff.  In spite of returning virtually the entire team, they will have to find some way to punch up an anemic .278 team batting average with only 8 home runs, and they must lower the team ERA of 7.64.

Muhlenberg
2009 Record:  14-22-1, 8-10
Key player losses:
   All Conference OF Chris Conti (.356, 5 HR, .619 Slg.)
   First baseman Ed Risener (.333, 30 RBI)
Returning studs:
   Pitcher Phil Cresta (5-3, 70.1 IP)
Key wins in 2009:  Hopkins
Granted that the Muhlenberg field is a monster, the Mules graduated 11 of their  12 home runs, and 7 of their 12 triples, so they will need to find some power.  Sophomores OF/1B Nick Busillo (28 AB, 13 H, 4 2B, 1 3B) and OF/1B Will Falco (16 AB, 6 H) should be able to contribute.  The Mules will need to find some pitching help for the big left-handed workhorse, Cresta.

McDaniel
2009 Record:  15-15, 7-11
Key player losses:
   All-Conference OF Harold Baines (.375, 3 HR, 26 RBI)
   All-Conference OF Russ Coover (.375, 29 RBI)
   1B/DH Troy Tipton (.351, 25 RBI)
   C Justin Reitz (.327, 20 RBI)
Returning studs:
   3B Matt Pace (.351, 3 HR, 26 RBI)
Key wins in 2009:  UMass-Boston and Haverford (2),
The Green Terror graduated their four best hitters and nearly half of their RBI total.  They have a couple of young pitchers in Sophomore Danny Snight (3.53, 4 sv, .232 OBA) and Junior Tyler Persun (55 IP, 46 K) who should improve with experience.

Ursinus
2009 Record:  25-11-2, 14-4
Key player losses:
   All American pitcher Zeb Engle (9-0, ERA 1.87)
   All Conference First baseman Dave Randolph (.407, fld% .994)
   Third baseban Scott Young (.366, 4 HR)
   All Conference Relief pitcher Ryan Schmidt (ERA 1.33, OBA .224)
Returning studs:
   Infielder Rob Vogt (.347, 5HR)
   All Conference Starting pitcher Luis Serrano ( 6-2, ERA 3.07)
Key wins in 2009:  St. Scholastica, TCNJ, Hopkins
The Bears return five pitchers (Serrano, Corey Weaver, Jason Mullins, Steve Christakos, and Nate Schnell)  who averaged over 36 innings in 2009 with a record of 9-10 and an ERA of 4.92. The 2010 team will have only 6 seniors.  Only three of Ursinus's top nine hitters (Vogt, Brett Umstead, and Mike Schwager) return.  In 2009 those three hit .313 with 8 HR.  Ursinus has some serious holes to fill if they want to contend in 2010. 

Swarthmore
2009 Record:  13-23, 4-14
Key player losses:
   None
Returning studs:
   1B Mike Cameron (.382, 6 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, slg% .711)
C/OF Mike Waterhouse (.375)
   2B Anthony Montalban (.343, 4 HR, slg% .540)   
Key wins:  PSU Berks
The Garnet lose only one starter to graduation.  Swarthmore's top nine returning hitters combined for a .321 BA in 2009 and accounted for 16 of the teams 17 home runs.  They will need some help for a pitching staff that walked as many as it struck out and had an ERA over 7.00.

[RSSmith]

My bad.  I meant to have Swarthmore at #10.  Haverford can only finish in one spot.