BB: LEC: Little East Conference

[KSCfan]

Wally-

I am not sure who is going to pitch.  Coach Howe said that they had to pitch around some injuries.  It should be intersting to see who goes for the owls.  Hopefully the bats will stay hot for them.  I know nothing about Salem State, other than last year they where 18-18 and finished towards the bottom of the MASCAC.  They are 2-3 on the year this year as well.  A game the owls should be able to win, and are expected to win

[Wally]

Do they comeback with Crutcher or Perrault? Any idea of who is injured other than Hutch? 6-2 sure looks better than 5-3. Nice to see Bobby get going. Happy for Longo as well. Looks like a real solid lineup for sure! Go Owls!

[LEC Fan]

did Boston drop 2 to Westfield today?? are they now 1-7!?!?!?!?!?

[kscer]

Now I dont know if you can call the 6th game of the season a MUST WIN game.....But I feel as though this is a MUST WIN for UMB to get out of this funk that they are in and string a couple W's together before they come back up north.

Doesn't matter where you start only matters where you finish. UMB will have a bullseye on their back all year but they will prevail and be right in the hunt by May.

Word

They only have to win the conference tourney regardless of what their record is. Just like last year. But I gotta say, jconn,part of me poves this.

[kscer]

1-7 is tough though

[kscer]

Do they comeback with Crutcher or Perrault? Any idea of who is injured other than Hutch? 6-2 sure looks better than 5-3. Nice to see Bobby get going. Happy for Longo as well. Looks like a real solid lineup for sure! Go Owls!

I think Longo has to be legit for them to have a good season. Great HS career in Class S has not transfered to success at the college level. Hopefully this is the year. The guy could be a stud.

[Ms. Beacon]

They only have to win the conference tourney regardless of what their record is. Just like last year. But I gotta say, jconn,part of me poves this.
[/quote]

kscer -- If I am interpreting your typo correctly, saying part of you loves this is a bit perplexing, and quite frankly a little heartless.  Why would you love to see a team start 1-7, especially when you know they have talent and are clearly not playing up to their potential?  Except for when the Beacons are playing their conference games, I am always hoping for the other LEC teams to perform well.  After all, having some many strong teams is what has garnered the LEC respect around the region and the country for so many years.

I saw the Beacons play down in Florida, and they just do not look like themselves.  Going into the season, I think most UMB fans felt confident about both the offense and defense, given that the team had 7 of 8 position players returning.  However, it is these two aspects of the game that have really let them down.  Through seven games (the stats for the second game versus Westfield are not up yet), the Beacons have committed 15 errors, 5 of which belong to Consiglio at short.  The usually steady infield looks rattled, and you have to wonder if their difficulties at the plate aren't affecting their gloves as well.  Many of these errors have led to big innings for other teams, resulting in 14 unearned runs for the Beacon's opponents.

The difficulties the offense is experiencing are mind-boggling.  Seven of the eight starters are hitting below .300, with freshman catcher Taylor Kapulka being the lone hot bat with a BA of .500.  The Beacons hitters seemed to have lost their approach at the plate and are routinely looking at the fastball and then swinging at the curveball in the dirt.  For a team that constantly put the ball in play last season, it is hard to make sense of 51 strikeouts in seven games.  Except for the first game against Thomas More, the Beacons are not driving the ball at all, which explains their measly three doubles.  Moreover, UMB has only worked 20 walks.  And without base runners, Coach Eygabroat is handcuffed and cannot execute the kind of aggressive, small ball offense that he is used to employing.  Losing all-region players Tambling and Fontaine from the line-up has proven to be a huge loss for the Beacons.  Fontaine is slated to return by the first weekend of conference play. 

If there is one stat that sums up the Beacons trip in Florida, it is going 0 for 8 in bases loaded situations.  Walsh, Reinfurt, McCormack and Grassetti have been up in countless big spots during the trip, rarely resulting in clutch hitting.  Coach Eygabroat has clearly tried to create a spark for the team by shuffling the lined-up, switching lead-off batters, giving freshman a chance to prove themselves and pinch-hitting late in games, but nothing seems to have worked.  However, having two freshman get picked-off in key spots and having guys run through stop signs does not help either. 

It is sort of amazing that despite these startling statistics, of the Beacons seven loses, three have been by one-run and another by two-runs.  Just a few key hits could have made a huge difference in the outcome of these games.  This team is too talented to not make the necessary corrections and get back on track.  But this trip to Florida will surely leave a bad taste in their mouths.

I will have to get back to you on the pitching; I am too fatigued after reliving the offensive and defensive situations to get into that now.

[Stump]

Sounds like the Beacons are having a harder time shaking off the rust of winter than most people thought they would.  Most of the problems Ms. Beacon brings up are all winter hangover problems(plate discipline, base running blunders, errors piling up at bad times, missing the clutch hit). You have to believe they'll shake it off but 1-7 is a deep hole to be starting from.  It will be interesting to watch how the Beacons respond

[KSCfan]

Keene Pasted Salem 17-3 yesterday.  Crutcher pitched well for owls again which is a good sign.  Not much to talk about in a 17-3 game other than the owls bats swung well, and pitching looked good as well.  Pitching has been stepping up of late.  The owls out to a 6-2 start.  Come back today with Suffoulk at 330pm.  Sounds like an afternoon of live stats while watchin the NCAA tourny.

[ECSUalum]

Foe all the oldtimers who follow ECSU baseball, found this nice write-up on John Caneira below:

http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=2533&pid=2085

[Jcon8958]

How did I know kscer would pop up when the beacons hit a little bit of a rough patch... STANDARD.... Alright my thoughts on UMB are this coming back from FLA at 2-7 is obviously not what ANYBODY thought was going to happen. But hey thats baseball shake it off on to the next game. Fact still remains they are the most talented team in the LEC and in the New England region for that matter. And just to echo what ms. beacon said 4 of there losses are by 2 runs or less in my eyes thats a scary thought because once they stop making all these mental mistakes there not going to lose many ball games. In closing its MARCH no need to panic whatsoever plenty of baseball left to be played (I know I said the game vs. Bowdion was a must win but I was overreacting...its what I do)

Also if you notice I said that they were 2-7.... UMB beat Washington college today 15-5

[wordsmith]

Now I dont know if you can call the 6th game of the season a MUST WIN game.....But I feel as though this is a MUST WIN for UMB to get out of this funk that they are in and string a couple W's together before they come back up north.

Doesn't matter where you start only matters where you finish. UMB will have a bullseye on their back all year but they will prevail and be right in the hunt by May.

Word

I'll say it again about UMB - they will prevail and be right in the hunt come May. I have a healthy respect for what they do in Boston and not that they need any one to come to their defense, but I for one would not want to play UMB once they get it all pieced together. A very talented and highly motivated group of young men, not to mention a most passionate fan base. And besides boys and girls, they are defending champions and they are deserving of our respect.

Word

[LEC Fan]

I have respect for Boston as they put together one hell of a season last year. My suprise is that having 8 of your 9 position players returning gets you to a 2-7 start. I figured that a team of that caliber, with those type of players, they would be ready to go from their first spring game.

I understand that it is early and all that hoopla but the LEC is a tough place to play and coming back from down south with 7 losses puts them behind the 8 ball in the region. Oh sure they can reel off a couple of wins in the LEC Tournament but what if they get knocked off early or lose in the championship, those 7 losses (most, if not all, were to in region teams) can hurt. Splitting conference double headers or getting swept hurts them even more.

My concern is that, for a team that has standout players throughout the lineup and on the mound, they certainly have not played up to expectations. It may hurt them more than we think in the long run.

[BigPoppa]

In my mind, Umass-Boston was not what they appeared to be last year. I saw them as a team that got hot and rode it as long as they could. 2011 may see them crashing back to reality. (Same with Illinois Wesleyan who won the title)

[7express]

West Conn flew down to Florida this morning, first game tomorrow against Wisconsin-Oshkosh or some school like that.  Not sure what to expect, have a few baseball players in my classes, know the LEC is tough with Keene, Boston & Eastern all with good baseball programs.  I think we got picked to finish 4th in the preseason, thats about accurate.