BB: CCIW: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[markerickson]

Regarding Carthage baseball woes, Bosko had a +++ career as North Park's head baseball coach while doubling in basketball.  The team just could not get past the regional powerhouse, which I think was Marrieta (OH).  Maybe Bosko should switch sports at Carthage to resurrect the program.  I do NOT imply his current job should be in question.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park DH Anthony DiNardo has taken over the top spot on the D3 national leaderboard in batting average. He's one of three CCIW players ranked in the top ten:

rank	player, school	yr.	pos.	G	AB	H	BA
1	Anthony DiNardo, North Park	Sr.	1B	14	38	23	.605
2	Doug Schaffer, Williams	Sr.	INF	12	49	28	.571
3	Ryan Serrato, Southern Vt.	Sr.	UT	17	62	34	.548
4	Dylan Nastri, Colby	Fr.	INF	10	26	14	.538
5	Matthew Putman, Carroll (WI)	Sr.	INF	18	67	36	.537
6	Davis Mikell, Castleton	Jr.	1B	17	64	34	.531
7	Max Lahn, Denison	So.	INF	19	68	35	.515
8	Brendan Mapes, Oberlin	Sr.	C	14	49	25	.510
9	Jacob Thompson, Oberlin	Fr.	P	14	53	27	.509
10	Colton Klein, Carthage	So.	CF	19	82	41	.500
	Graham Low, Macalester	Sr.	C	12	42	21	.500
	Nate Vigeant, Rhode Island Col.	Jr.	2B	18	70	35	.500

DiNardo is also seventh in the nation in OBP; Putman is third.

In terms of more obscure statistics, NPU rightfielder Niko Buck is fifth in the nation in hit-by-pitches, and seventh in HBP per game.

(Hat tip to Mr. B for the heads-up on Nard Dog's ascension to the #1 spot in BA.)

[Gregory Sager]

DiNardo is not only leading D3 in hitting, he's leading all of four-year college baseball in hitting:

NCAA D1:	Nick Gonzales, New Mexico State	.483
NCAA D2:	Bradon O'Connor, Benedict	.490
NCAA D3:	Anthony DiNardo, North Park	.605
NAIA:	Blaine Milheim, Concordia (Mich.)	.524
USCAA:	Jordan Carter, Stratford	.573

[Mr. Ypsi]

IWU takes the first of 2 in Waukesha, 13-4.  Nick Brune was excellent as usual - he gave of three earned runs in the 2nd, but otherwise had 7 shutout  innings, before yielding to a relief pitcher in the 9th.

If the Titans are to get back in contention, a sweep would be very welcome!

[Gregory Sager]

IWU takes the first of 2 in Waukesha, 13-4.  Nick Brune was excellent as usual - he gave of three earned runs in the 2nd, but otherwise had 7 shutout  innings, before yielding to a relief pitcher in the 9th.

The Titans hit six homers in that game, three of them by Garrett Shea and two by Steve Billington.

The only thing more fun than hitting against Carroll pitching is hitting against Carroll pitching in Carroll's ballpark.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park scratched out a 2-1 win in game one in Naperville. Josh Ward held North Central to one run over six innings before handing the baton to Ethan Sund, who shut out NCC the rest of the way for his second save of the season.

NPU won the game despite missing three key players from the lineup, leadoff hitter Jared Cantu and middle-of-the-order hitters Jake Reinhardt and Justin Woolbright. I'm not sure what was the reason behind that, but it makes the win over the Cardinals more impressive.

[Mr. Ypsi]

IWU takes the first of 2 in Waukesha, 13-4.  Nick Brune was excellent as usual - he gave of three earned runs in the 2nd, but otherwise had 7 shutout  innings, before yielding to a relief pitcher in the 9th.

The Titans hit six homers in that game, three of them by Garrett Shea and two by Steve Billington.

The only thing more fun than hitting against Carroll pitching is hitting against Carroll pitching in Carroll's ballpark.

How true!  Those were Shea's first three HRs of the season, and Billington's first two.  Carroll seems to have some pretty decent hitting, but their pitching may be historically bad.  They'll probably win a couple of slugfests before the season ends, but I can't see them ever leaving the conference cellar with such pitching.

The second game is already IWU 7, Carroll 2 in the 3rd.

[Gregory Sager]

Carroll's pitching is historically bad every season, Chuck.

The first season that they were back in the league, the Pioneers posed a 7.80 ERA in CCIW play. Last season their team ERA against CCIW hitters was 6.96. And their CCIW ERA coming into today was 8.34.

That ballpark of theirs certainly doesn't help, but Stein Rear can't seem to recruit anybody who knows how to miss bats without walking or plunking anybody.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Carroll's pitching is historically bad every season, Chuck.

The first season that they were back in the league, the Pioneers posed a 7.80 ERA in CCIW play. Last season their team ERA against CCIW hitters was 6.96. And their CCIW ERA coming into today was 8.34.

That ballpark of theirs certainly doesn't help, but Stein Rear can't seem to recruit anybody who knows how to miss bats without walking or plunking anybody.

Yeah, saw a good example of that in the 3rd of game two: Billington walked (on five pitches), took second on a WP, took 3rd on a passed ball, scored on a single - all with two out after IWU had already plated four!

[Mr. Ypsi]

Titans get the DH sweep, 16-7.  Tomorrow they will go for the series sweep.  While baseball may be more prone to upsets than any other sport, I suspect IWU will do it.

Ay Caramba, Carroll is worse at baseball than NPU ever was at football!  In the top of the 9th, IWU got FIVE runs on TWO hits, two walks and three errors!  While it is probably hyperbole, I'm not sure Carroll could win at Williamsport.

[Gregory Sager]

North Central topped North Park in the nightcap, 10-8. The Vikings faced an 8-2 deficit going into the top of the ninth, but forced NCC's hand by plating a half-dozen runs in that half-inning, sparked by two-run doubles by Ranko Stevanovic and Anthony DiNardo. But Rob Marinec of NCC hit a two-run walkoff homer in the bottom of the ninth with two out and one on to win it.

I'll gladly take the road split on a day in which NPU was playing with one hand tied behind its back with no Cantu, Reinhardt, or Woolbright in the lineup. After that first win, the ninth-inning comeback by the Vikings made it feel as though the Park was playing with house money.

NPU is now a half-game out of second at 5-3 with Wheaton at 6-3, a game and a half behind Augie, as the Sonic Atmospheric Disturbance finished their season sweep of Elmhurst today.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Carroll got their first conference win this afternoon.  As expected, it was hitting, not pitching, that got it for them.  IWU scored 12 runs, but in the bottom of the 10th Carroll got run #13.

[Gregory Sager]

Carroll got their first conference win this afternoon.  As expected, it was hitting, not pitching, that got it for them.  IWU scored 12 runs, but in the bottom of the 10th Carroll got run #13.

Carroll did it with small ball, though -- an infield single followed by back-to-back bunt singles and a sac fly.

IWU blew a 9-1 lead in that game, as well as a 12-8 lead going into the bottom of the eighth.

Carthage managed to outslug Millikin, 7-6, to take two out of three from the Big Blue up in Kenosha this weekend.

North Central @ North Park has been pushed back to 5:30 this afternoon.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Carroll got their first conference win this afternoon.  As expected, it was hitting, not pitching, that got it for them.  IWU scored 12 runs, but in the bottom of the 10th Carroll got run #13.

Carroll did it with small ball, though -- an infield single followed by back-to-back bunt singles and a sac fly.

IWU blew a 9-1 lead in that game, as well as a 12-8 lead going into the bottom of the eighth.

Carthage managed to outslug Millikin, 7-6, to take two out of three from the Big Blue up in Kenosha this weekend.

North Central @ North Park has been pushed back to 5:30 this afternoon.

The bottom of the 8th was the killer, and so out-of-the-blue.  Matt Blaney entered in the 8th with a 0.00 era for the season (10.1 innings); 5 hits, 4 earned runs (and two outs) later he exited with a 3.27 era and the Titans no longer in the lead.  At that point I definitely saw the writing on the wall!

[mwunder]

North Central @ North Park has been pushed back to 5:30 this afternoon.

Caught a little of this game on the video feed prior to the lightning delay.  Marinec's bomb in the first was a blast that would have gotten out of anyplace not named the Polo Grounds...Geesh!