BB: LEC: Little East Conference

[ECSUalum]

First of all a huge congratulations to freshman Kyle Szatrowski on throwing the first no-hitter in Beacons' history!!  To throw a no-hitter in a metal bat, collegiate level baseball game is a great story and an incredible accomplishment.

And now to everyone's favorite time of the year.  The start of spring and Opening Day/week get everyone excited and happy, but this last month of LEC baseball is some of the best/most exciting baseball you can ask for.  While the seeding may not be set in stone, we all know who is going to be in (for the most part).  It no longer matters what you did against WNEC or MIT or who started hot or who is having an off year.  What it comes down to is using these last couple weeks to "figure it out" and make sure you're in gear and ready to go for tourney time!

That being said, look for the Beacons to "get hot at the right time."  Thus far, the Beacons have got a lot of their production from the underclassmen which, I think, only bodes well for the tourney.  The upperclassmen's College World Series experience will undoubtedly show up when it matters most, as they all seem to shine when it matters most. 

The tournament comes down to pitching, defense and timely hitting and the Beacons seem to be peaking at the right time.  The pitching staff has done a pretty good job of throwing outs, but they need the defense to help them "collect outs."  If they do that they have all the intangibles to grab that LEC-bid and make another run.  There will also be minimal pressure on the Beacons as they have already colonized much of the LEC and have a home wherever they go (especially with Coach Eygabroat's mastery of calling the coin flip, maybe the most underrated intangible come tourney time).  Best of luck to the Beacons and their senior class in these last few weeks!

Yeah, it would be nice to experience Deja Vu in your colony in Mansfield, may not  be playing the LEC tournament in Mansfield, but if the Beacons win it, we will see you back in the place Eyrgabroat et al set program history!!!

[wordsmith]

Weekend predictions:

USM sweeps KSC
RIC splits with WCONN
ECONN sweeps UMD
UMB sweeps PLY

In the spirit of transparency I am posting this at 1pm but have not looked at any scores!

[kscer]

Checking scores upsets in the making @ 1:40

[AllStar]

Scores (as of 2:00 pm)

BOTTOM 7TH:
SOUTHERN MAINE 6   
KEENE STATE 6

BOTTOM 6TH:
PLYMOUTH STATE 6   
UMASS-BOSTON 0

8TH INNING:
EASTERN CONNECTICUT 6
UMASS-DARTMOUTH 2

TOP 7TH:
WESTERN CONNECTICUT 8
RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE 3

[AllStar]

Plymouth State mercy-rules UMass-Boston, 10-0 in 7 innings.

Western Connecticut routs Rhode Island College 15-3 in 7 innings.

Eastern Connecticut beat UMass-Dartmouth 6-3 in Game 1.

[hockeyfan77]

Game  1

Final     USM    9    KSC       6

Game   2


Final    USM     6     KSC     3



USM Sweeps Keene State to improve to 19-16 (9-3 in the LEC):



Next up for USM:


Tuesday May 1  @ 4:00   @ Bowdoin

[ECSUalum]

Eastern Connecticut sweeps UMass-Dartmouth 6-3, 7-2.

[kscer]

Interesting results this weekend. USM is in a good position to win the regular season and host. Unless they lose both to ESCU. KSC has to win both games to have a chance. If RIC wins two games...? A ;ot of [possibilities with four teams fighting for first going into the last weekend. and Plymouth may make to tournament!

[wordsmith]

Ed Flaherty is the Master at umpire manipulation.

[kscer]

I don't think KSC came to play today. There seemed to be a spark missing. The only thing more important than beating USM is beating ESCU. I don't understand not backing up a ground ball to short stop and letting the runner get to second. Pelkey pitched better than what I expected, but his team did not make the plays. USM made the plays. They probably unplayed themselves out of hosting the tournament. They don't have control of their fate at this point.

[wordsmith]

See-saw battle in the "Breezzzzy" Swamp. Wheaton & Keene - 2 heavyweights in New England.

6-6 in the top of the 9th!

Nick Vita, local Keene kid, hits a walk-off single with the bases loaded to propel KSC to a 7-6 win over Wheaton.

[Ralph Turner]

Congratulations KSC.  Nice win!

[KSCfan]

With the win over Wheaton yesterday, did it punch a regional appearance for the owls?  The two losses to Southern Maine absolutely hurt them on saturday, but then they bounced back and beat Wheaton who is number 1 in new england.  The owls sitting at 27-11 have two more games aginst dartmouth next weeekend, and then the conference tournament.  Obviously you want to win the tournament, but Keene has a very real chance to win 30 games, and 30 wins seems like the bench mark a lot of times.  This team has gotten national attention and the NCAA has them currently #2 in New England.  Now even if Keene slips they wont slip that much with the win over Wheaton. 

My question to the masses is how much does the conference tournament count in the NCAA eyes.  Can a team on the bubble play themselves in by making a conference championship game and losing, or can they play themselves out by going two and screw?  How many games does Keene have to win in the conference tournament to get at least a pool c bid?

I would say that if Keene can get to 30 wins....3 more games..... then they should be in playing in the regional.  The LEC is wide open ( a team sitting around 500 is in first place currently) so it should be interesting to see what happens in the tournament and this last weekend.

[7express]

Western results from the week:

Monday's game against Mount St. Vincent was postponed, probably not will be made up due to this being the final week of the regular season.
Tuesday we beat Trinity 3-2
Saturday we split with RIC winning game 1 15-3, losing game 2 12-9.
This week we have Ramapo today, Manhattanville tomorrow, FDU-Florham Wednesday all at home, then the final game of the season Saturday at Plymouth state which will more then likely decide who gets into the tournament and who gets left out.

From what I can gather and I'm probably wrong so hopefully someone can correct me:
If there's a sweep this weekend, the team that gets swept is left out, and even if Western splits it's not good enough as we couldn't pass the Panthers and Boston owns the tiebreaker over us due to 2-0 season series record
In regards to Dartmouth: I believe Western owns the tiebreaker over the Corsairs due to Western gaining splits against Eastern & RIC while Dartmouth went 0-2 against both of them.
So again if I have it right:
The top 5 have clinched playoff bids: USM, Keene, Eastern, RIC & Boston (they could tie Western and or Dartmouth, but I beleive they own tiebreakers over both).
As long as Plymouth wins just once on Saturday, they get the final spot.  Plymouth can finish 5th by sweeping Western and having Boston get swept this weekend
Western sweeps Plymouth they get the final spot; can't finish higher than 6th.
Dartmouth is already elimnated I believe losing tiebreakers to both Plymouth & Western.

[wordsmith]

Weekend predictions:

USM sweeps KSC
RIC splits with WCONN
ECONN sweeps UMD
UMB sweeps PLY

In the spirit of transparency I am posting this at 1pm but have not looked at any scores!

Actuals:

USM Swept KSC 
RIC splits with WConn
EConn swept UMD
UMB swept by Plymouth 

Boys and girls did not see that last one coming down the pike. Would like to hear from the Jungle what happened. I have followed LEC baseball for about 13-14 years and cannot remember when Plymouth State swept a double header last?

The Last week of LEC regular season action>>> finals (Keene had a huge pub crawl through town yesterday, that's right ladies get yer brain ready fer dem last tests!), moving out, heading back to the 'rents,

One last chance to make it real, for a few a career winds down to a precious few swings, a catch, a hit, a pitch, and then, its over. Moms and dads stand in the shadows and think where did the time go? Wasn't it just yesterday he was putting that glove, that old glove that was way, way too big for him on, oh, he'll grow into it, putting it on the wrong hand? My how time flies. And players, in the spring of manhood think, there will be other days, next year, or the next and then it hits, this is it, dang the world just slapped me upside the head. No more Legion ball, no more bus rides, no more dugout pranks, no more teamamtes, but what a ride.

The old saying goes an athlete dies two deaths, so boys enjoy those last few days and play hard and good luck.