BB: MIAC: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[miacball]

Once again, all conference team anyone?

[Gustie13]

I'll wait until after Saturday's games to come up with an all-conf team. I'll just do top 2 from each position + 8 or 9 pitchers. And I won't have the requirements of 1 person from each team makes it.

Augs and StO split 12-11 and 6-5, so the updated top 4 are:
USt  14-4
GAC 14-4
StO  14-4
SJU  13-5

Mac @ SJU
StO @ GAC
Car @ USt *Sunday*

USt holds the major advantage of having swept StO and facing Car in its last dh. If USt and GAC tie at 16-4 (unlikely) then it will come down to a coin toss because they split and will have the same record against each of the other conf opponents.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

G-13-
not to argue with one of my favorite catchers, but if UST & GAC both sweep and tie for top spot, it wont come down to coin toss. Tie breakers are as follows:

Baseball Tie Breaker for MIAC Baseball Tournament
1 Head to head results
2. Results against other teams in playoffs
3. Results against teams not in playoffs from highest finish to lowest finish
4. Coin toss
They split head to head so #1 is moot; they'd have identical records against the playoff field so #2 is moot. 

#3 would break the tie. GAC & UST split with HU, so it would come down to who finishes higher, BU or Aug... GAC needs Auggie to finish higher as they swept AC and split with BU. UST needs Bethel to finish higher as they swept BU but split with Auggie.

What's interesting is that if GAC sweeps today, Olaf very likely will fall to FOURTH.

Any way you pair the playoff field up, there will be a lot of good ballgames next weekend.

********
Drake & Sum....I've bounced back from the end of hoops within days of the end of the season. I've jsut been swamped with things and asa result havent had much to say on here.  But thanks for noticing my absence 

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Player of year is a tough one to pick-- you have 3 guys, all about equal. I haven't seen Schmeissing, but have seen Konicek & Carr several times each. Both are incredible players and frighteningly good hitters. The HR Carr hit to left at GAC Saturday was a monstrous shot.

I think the coaches' decision will go like this: we'll give to Schmeissing next year, and we gave it to Konicek last year... so let's give it to Carr to spread it around. Personally, I'd be hard pressed to choose between those 3. Kasner is a solid player, but is a half-notch below these 3.

Pitcher of the year-- has to be Mathison, although if the title was on the line and I could use any MIAC pitcher, I'd go with Bosch. Hoffer will probably finish 2nd or 3rd, with Bosch the other slot.

Manager of the year---another tough choice. Both Hagen & Carroll got more out of the team than most expected. Depending how things play out this weekend, I'd be inclined to go with Carroll, but if GAC gets swept and falls to 4th, then Haugen (assuming SJU moves up to 3rd).

[Gustie13]

Maniac ~
Excellent catch, I thought USt and GAC had identical results against BU and Augsburg. Aug and BU play each other (what a coincidence) and BU would have to sweep Augsburg for BU to finish higher and give USt the tiebreaker.

Gac and StO has been postponed until tomorrow and from what I hear tomorrow is supposed to be even wetter than today, so they could have to play Monday or even Tuesday! That would mean whoever threw in those 2 crucial games wouldn't be available to throw Friday on the opening day of the playoffs.

As for the Player, Pitcher, and Coach of the Year here's how I see it going down:
Player -
Konicek: The coaches put a good deal of emphasis on in-conference stats and Konicek has by far the best in-conf stats of the three:
               BA    AB    H     R    RBI     2b    3b    HR     Slug%    OBP%   BB    HBP    K    Sb-Att
Konicek  .530  66   35    22   34     11     3      3       .924        .577     10     0       0    2-3
Schmies  .492 61   30    25   20     11     1      4       .902         .579     13     1      4    3-3
Carr        .404 57   23    20   25      0      1      9        .912        .500     6       5      7    0-1

Don't believe me that coaches look at in-conf stats? Consider 2004, Konicek's first year. That was the year teammate Ben Sherer won the award as a soph even though Koniceks numbers were better (.433 v .406, 74hits vs 65hits, 27xbh v 26xbh, 54rbi v 46rbi). The sophomore Sherer won because he nabbed the in-conf triple crown with .513, 8hr, 29rbi while Konicek went .430, 4hr, 24rbi.
I agree the coaches will look past Schmiesing because he is a Jr and Konicek and Carr are Seniors, but I don't think they'll give it to Carr. His best year was 2005 and he should have won it then but the coaches gave it to Brett Olsen from USt (wrongly, IMO).
Schmiesing's and Konicek's numbers overall are very similar, but Konicek kills Schmiesing in RBI (49 to 35) and has been pitched around because #4 hitter Shea Roehrkasse, while hitting .405, has 0hr and only 7doubles, and 23rbi.
The DH between StO and GAC may come in to play when Schmies and Konicek square off.

Pitcher -
I honestly think its a tough call because Mathison has been hurt and hasn't pitched in a few weeks. His overall numbers are great (1.88era, 6-0) but he only pitched 20 2/3 conf innings (compared to teammate Paul Johnson's 35). Same goes for Bosch's 20 conf innings and 1-1 record. I'd be tempted to give it to Johnson, but he didn't look too hot against USt last weekend.
If the MIAC title were on the line i'd much rather have Mathison on the mound than Bosch, however.

Manager -
Haugen. SJU was picked 7th in the preseason coaches poll and are at least going to be 4th. If GAC wins the conf I could see it going to Carroll, but thats the only way I see Carroll beating Haugen. They may just give it to the coach of the reg season champ, whoever that is, to play it safe.

[OshDude]

I ran some QOWi numbers, and most Midwest Region teams need to do more than they think. These results should be very close, though I have four more St. Scholastica in-region games than the previous rankings had.

Though there are many criteria, on the national board many posters think 9.7 is a reasonable cutoff for at-large bids using the QOWi criterion.

Let me know if I made any errors or if another team should be considered.

Numbers through Sunday's games:
1. Oshkosh 10.32
2. St. Olaf 10.04
3. Ripon 9.7
4. St. Thomas 9.66
5. Stevens Point 9.61
6. St. Scholastica 9.33
7. St. Norbert 9.2

[Gustie13]

#1 USt vs #4 GAC
#2 StO vs #3 SJU

I'd expect Leslie or Bosch to throw for USt and GAC to counter with Hoffer. StO will probably throw Johnson and SJU could throw Wilfhart or Crees.

* Mathison hasn't pitched in over 2 weeks.

[Pat Coleman]

I ran some QOWi numbers, and most Midwest Region teams need to do more than they think. These results should be very close, though I have four more St. Scholastica in-region games than the previous rankings had.

Though there are many criteria, on the national board many posters think 9.7 is a reasonable cutoff for at-large bids using the QOWi criterion.

Let me know if I made any errors or if another team should be considered.

Numbers through Sunday's games:
1. Oshkosh 10.32
2. St. Olaf 10.04
3. Ripon 9.7
4. St. Thomas 9.66
5. Stevens Point 9.61
6. St. Scholastica 9.33
7. St. Norbert 9.2

I believe that 9.7 is in Pool C. Pool B -- aka St. Scholastica -- usually has a different standard.

[miacball]

All-conference team here....the guys i'd like to take on my team if i could

I quoted conf. stats, but I'm taking into account full-season worth when choosing these guys

8 IF, 2 C, 8 P, 6 OF

IF---
Andrew Bennett HU- Jaw-dropping power numbers for one of the better hitters in the league this year
Chris Terrazas STO- Defensive wall with legitimate run producing abilities
Josh Maus STO- Though he didn't play much, the 16 games he did start in conference offered up a league-leading .568 avg. and 20 RBIs
Mike DesLauriers GAC- Proved to be a tough out and a defensive star for Gustavus this year
Adam Wedwick MAC- Offered great power numbers in the 1-hole this year (6 HR) and good speed (4-5 SBs)
Nick Winecke SMU- Good on-base percentage and good run production on an otherwise offensively starved team
Jay Kasner SJ- One of the most feared hitters in the league; quick bat and aggressive mentality allowed him to hit .373 in conf. with 8 HRs
Pat Siering GAC- Great offensive output this year including 5 HRs and .370+ BA

C-
Matthew Pexa UST- hitting .468 on the year and heating up as of late; easily the best offensive catch in the league
Craig Henry AUG- solid freshman who contributed greatly to an Augsburg offense that was down this year

P-

Riley Bosch UST- hard-throwing pitcher with nasty deuce; again anchors one of the best staffs in the country
Todd Mathison STO- Injury limited innings, but when he was pitching, he was dominant; allowing only 3 ER in 2 years of conf. ball (WOW!)
TJ Nelson SJ- Started off the year rough but came back to a 5-0 conf. record that included 2.78 ERA and .237 Opp. BA
Lonnie Robinson UST- Flamethrower who finally hit his stride this year; should be a dominant force in the MIAC next year if he can master his offspeed
Kyle Foster HU- Finally reached his potential this year, leading the MIAC in IP and K's
Erik Olson UST- super-soph again produces another stellar year; should be one of the better pitchers in MIAC history
James Murrey MAC- hard-throwing super-fresh who anchored a weak Macalester staff; very bright future for him in this league if he can get support someway
Dan Leslie UST-  accurate, hard-throwing righty who provided a spark at the end of UST's dominant rotation, a very underrated pitcher

OF-

Kirby Carr BU- 5- tool star who led the league in HR's; dominant force who should be able to excel at the next level
Tony Konicek GAC- One of the greatest hitters in MIAC history; capped off an extraordinary career with yet again another season of amazing production
Andrew Schmiesing STO- Sort of overshadowed by Carr and Konicek; he's undoubtedly one of the best pure hitters in the league; will easily be the best player in the league next year
Chris Bullis UST- unsuspecting hitter with aggressiveness and a lightning-fast bat; should be one of the best players next year
Tyler Kaus GAC- great production for GAC this year with 2 HR and 22 RBIS with a .400+ avg.
Carson Jones STO- continues his impressive freshman campaign into the playoffs with a .390+ avg. 2HRs and 16 RBIs; the best hitter in his class IMO

[Gustie13]

Maniac~

Do you want me to count Konicek as an IF or OF (since he did play all his conf games at 3b this year)? Thought I'd ask before I unleash my all conf team =)

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

G13-- I'd say he would have to be considered a 3B if that is where he played all season. The games I saw him in, he was solid defensively.

My jaw is still hanging slightly down from the HRs he & Carr ripped when they played at Gustavus. As you recall, it was very windy, but I'd say the wind made it harder to blast one to left.

Maybe the Twins should sign both of them and Schmiessing to fill the hole in LF? They cant do much worse than Kubel/Tyner/Rabe, and would be an improvement on Lewwwww-Im hitting 210!-Ford (and would play for far less $$)

Im assuming everyone will be at the playoffs....I plan to take in the games at Dundas, love that stadium!

[Gustie13]

Konicek's .862 is pretty indicative of how he play D at 3b... not so well. He played only 4 conf games in CF at the rest (starting with the Augs dh) at 3b. He was a good CF but probably wasn't going to play it professionally.

USt will play the Miesville Mudhens amateur team Wednesday. Apparently UW Stout did not want to play their scheduled game now that they've made the playoffs and USt could not find another college team to play.

[Gustie13]

Conf Records broken, tied, or nearly tied this year:

At Bats: 82, Mike Deslauries, GAC *new record* (old: 78, Briant Sprout, StO 2002)
Hits: 38, Tony Konicek, GAC *2nd* (record: 39, Ben Sherer, GAC, 2004)
HR: 10, Kirby Carr, BU *tied record* (multiple)
Doubles: 13, Andrew Schmiesing, StO *tied record* (multiple)
RBIs: 38, Tony Konicek, GAC *tied record* (Kyle Aug, HU 1985) -side note, this was the oldest record in the MIAC-

No pitching records were challenged.

[Gustie13]

MIAC Player of the Year: Tony Konicek, GAC
MIAC Pitcher of the Year: Lonnie Robinson, USt  *did anyone see this coming?*

StO has caught some terrible breaks: their #1 and #2 pitchers are now hurt. Mathison came in for an inning of relief against SJU in the first playoff game but from what I heard he was throwing s..l..o..w and Johnson has a boot on his foot from turf toe. I bet they will still make the regional (whether through auto bid or at large) but without Mathison and Johnson their prospects for advancing further are pretty slim.

Tomorrows championship game: I give USt the edge because StO has really only 2 pitchers to use, Shrewsbury and Sopwinik. From the box score it appears Shrewsbury performed better against USt in the reg season, so I'd expect him to get the start. USt still has Chris Bullis fresh and ready to go, and if he gets in trouble I could see them coming back with Leslie or Bosch in relief.

[Just Bill]

I see that St. Olaf is playing in their 18th regional and has never made the World Series.  Anyone know if that's a record?