BB: CCIW: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[augie_superfan]

Augustana starts the 2012 campaign tomorrow with a DH against Brandeis down in Winter Haven, FL.  Not sure what to expect out of the Augustana squad this year.  There are some definite holes to fill so it will be fun to watch some of the youngsters get a chance to step up and fill some much needed roles.  The top of the rotation looks to be good if McIntosh and Trotta can continue their success.  Josiah Martin returns after having a very nice year in the bullpen but Augustana will need to find a few more pitchers to fill out the bullpen and rotation depth.

In the field, Augustana lost two very good players in Dave Hoffman and Pat Wilson.  They also lost starting catcher T.J. O'Donnell.  Augustana does return some pretty good bats at 2B, SS and 3B.  Joe Cecchi hit 0.425 in limited at-bats (40).  Jeremy Juhl hit 0.370 in 35 games and Kurt Schmidt hit 0.336 over the course of the season.  In the outfield, they return 3 players (including McIntosh) who started 15, 25, and 30 games last year.  There are also several reserves who look to press for more playing time this year. 

Should be fun to watch the results out of Florida and see how things are shaping up.  At quick glance, their early schedule doesn't look super difficult but will probably still pose a decent challenge.  3 games against a decent Brandeis team to start off.  Then Augie plays HCAC preseason favorite, Franklin.  They then get a breather against MSOE.  Then back to the HCAC for a single game against the usually tough Engineers from Rose Hulman.  They will finish up with 3 games against IIAC foes.  First is a DH against middle-of-the-road Loras and they finish up with a single game against a tough Wartburg squad.

Augustana seems to always get out of the gates pretty well and then fade down the stretch.  I'm hoping one of these years they will snap out of that cycle for good.  Should be a fun year to follow the CCIW.

[augie_superfan]

Augustana opened the season with a split vs. Brandeis.  Augie won game one 12-0 behind a complete game 4-hit, 1 BB, 4 K game from Mike Trotta.  Augie was 10 for 23 for the game.  They were lead by Kevin Serna (3-3, 2 2B, 2 RBI), and Jeremy Juhl and Kurt Schmidt with 2 hits apiece.  Joe Cecchi led the team with 3 RBIs.  A few new names in the starting lineup today.  Hitting 3rd and playing CF was a Blackhawk CC junior transfer, Mark VanNatta.  Looks like another transfer hit 4th and played 1B, Grant Stewart, a junior from Ellsworth CC.  Starting DH was a freshman catcher from Downers Grove South, Nicholas Tenerelli. 

Game two saw the big hits disappear as Augie had 9 hits but could only come up with 1 run in a 3-1 loss.  Ben Heaton started the game and was relieved by Matthew Mistretta, who is listed as a catcher on the roster.  Mike Barker started in LF and went 2-3. 

Augustana plays a thrid game against Brandeis on Thursday.

[79jaybird]

Glad to see my Cousin get a W for Augie pitching game 1. I know he (Mike Trotta) is going to be one of the senior leaders looked upon to carry the team all year.

[augie_superfan]

Looks like Augie won 16-2 today against Brandeis again.  I'll update later once a box score gets posted.  Augie is off Friday before playing Franklin, the HCAC preseason favorite, on Saturday.

[BigPoppa]

Augustana has always piled up the runs and has a solid offense. They always get a few two-sport players from football that turn out to be great baseball players. The problem with Augustana has always been the lack of pitching depth. I see that as a major reason why they have yet to win the CCIW. Everything else is in place... just always seem to be an arm or two short in May.

[augie_superfan]

Augustana dropped to 2-2 on the year with a 12-4 loss to Franklin.  This was Franklin's first game so they faced Franklin's #1 pitcher who was 9-2 last year.  Not much to say on the offensive side for this game.  Augustana started freshman Seth Davis.  He pitched 4 innings while giving up 6 runs.  Senior Josiah Marting came on in relief to give up 2 runs in 3.1 IP. 

As Poppa said earlier, I think Augie should be able to score runs but the key to their season will be seeing how deep the pitching staff can become but it is still very early in the season and Franklin should be a very good team.

Next up for Augustana is a single game vs. MSOE on Monday.

[BigPoppa]

I'd be Surprised if they don't beat MSOE by 12-15 runs.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park went 2-2 on its weekend trip to northern Georgia to inaugurate the 2012 season. On Friday the Vikings split a doubleheader with Bates, winning the opener, 6-5, and losing the nightcap, 8-4. The games were played at Berry College's ballpark. Yesterday, NPU lost to Berry, 8-3. Today, the Park came back to beat Berry in fifteen innings, 6-5. Not bad, considering that Berry had already played ten games before NPU had played its first.

Lots of unfamiliar names in the NPU lineup ... and a few familiar names are playing in unfamiliar positions.

The Vikings next play on Thursday up in the Metrodome in the Twin Cities against St. Olaf before swinging down south to Fort Myers to participate in the Gene Cusic Classic again. They'll play six games down there, and then return to Chicago for the home opener against Dominican (and a familiar face in new Stars head coach Steve Hardman) on March 20.

[augie_superfan]

Augustana had a come-from-behind win over MSOE yesterday by a score of 4-2.

Today they beat Rose-Hulman 10-8.  They spread around 18 hits with 6 players having at least 2 hits apiece including 3B Joe Cecchi with a 4-5, 2 RBI day.  Ben Heaton went 8 innings giving up 10 hits and 6 ER.  He struck out 6 and walked only 2.  He improves to 1-1 on the year.

I can't believe I've overlooked it so far but Augie's #1 or #2 pitcher, Jared McIntosh, has yet to play this year.  He also figure to start in the outfield when not pitching.  I'm not sure what the reason for his absence from the lineup is but it will definitely hurt Augie's pitching depth which was already going to be a question mark for this team this year.  Several young arms have gotten some time in the first 6 games of the season so that can only help once conference play comes around.

Augustana now stands at 4-2 and plays a doubleheader vs. Loras tomorrow before finishing up the spring trip with a matchup vs. Wartburg.

[augie_superfan]

Augustana finished up their spring trip by sweeping Loras by scores of 9-5 and 3-1 along with beatin Wratburg 3-2 today.  They now stand at 7-2 on the season.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Augustana finished up their spring trip by sweeping Loras by scores of 9-5 and 3-1 along with beatin Wratburg 3-2 today.  They now stand at 7-2 on the season.

Ooh - better not visit certain parts of Iowa anytime soon - though 87% of the IIAC would love you!

[augie_superfan]

Augustana finished up their spring trip by sweeping Loras by scores of 9-5 and 3-1 along with beatin Wratburg 3-2 today.  They now stand at 7-2 on the season.

Ooh - better not visit certain parts of Iowa anytime soon - though 87% of the IIAC would love you!

Haha, I actually live in Iowa so I'll keep an eye out.

One good thing in the Wartburg game is that Jared McIntosh was the starting pitcher, going 6 innings and giving up only 1 ER.  His appearance should be good news for the pitching staff.

[Gregory Sager]

NPU swept an early-morning doubleheader from St. Olaf on Friday, winning the opener, 4-1, and the nightcap, 4-2. Two solid starting performances from Steve Kuligowski and Nick Soldano.

Now the Vikings (4-2) will fly down to Ft. Myers for the Gene Cusic Classic, which they'll open next Saturday with a game against Mitchell.

[warrior35]

Wheaton splits their games on opening day.  Beating Coast Guard Academy 15-0 and falling short to Muhlenberg 10-9.

It appears that Wheaton has some offensive power, coming out swinging with 34 hits and 5 home runs on opening day... the defense is a different story, 6 errors and 11 walks combined in two games isn't going to get it done in the CCIW.  At least it was yesterday.  I'm looking forward to seeing how these boys progress!  I think Driggers likes to see what he has, starting a true freshman pitcher in the second game.  Since he has been coaching at Wheaton he has seemed to coach games down south different than he coaches when they get back up north.  Wheaton has their work cut out for them early this week with Haverford on Monday who finished 32-10 last year, and Heidelberg on Tuesday who is currently ranked #10 and got knocked out of the regionals last year by the eventual National Champs.  Hopefully the defense and pitching gets better in a hurry!

[CCIWFAN6]

IWU swept a doubleheader over Fontbonne this weekend in St. Louis.  Not sure this game showed us anymore than we already know about this team.  With victories of 12-0 and 10-2, they scored a lot of runs and their top 2 pitchers pitched well.  Where this team's season will be won or lost is in arms behind these top 2.