BB: CCIW: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[REDMENFAN]

Forgot to mention, congrats to Augustana on a great effort/season and showing the tough the CCIW is

[augie28]

Congratulations to Augie on an incredible season.  The second NCAA Regional appearance in school history and a 35-14 record.  I am awfully impressed with the way this team battled in close games with so few upperclassmen.  The few seniors that they had, though, Jake Meisenbach, Chris Pietroski and Brandon Engle have all been right in the thick of things since they set foot on campus and knew what it took to win in the CCIW and beyond.  The rest of the team, all the way down to the numerous freshman who put together what have to be some of the best freshman seasons in school history, will surely be a force next year.  They will return all but one pitcher (Engle), and the entire lineup other than Catcher Meisenbach and LF Pietroski. 

Good luck to Carthage in the World Series, hopefully they can keep things rolling and make a run at the title. 

[RedMan1]

Oh man what a weekend!!! Just got back to Kenosha from Bloomington and all the games were great. The Redmen got hits when they needed them and pitched very well. Carthage pitchers got out of jams quite often.
Congrats to Augie, they had a great year..
Coach Augie was tossed in the 6th because he was arguing balls and strikes. The Plate umpire was brutal. Squeezing Ruffie, and opening up the zone for Augustana there were alot of angry people in the stands. Augie getting tossed got the Redmen fired up!!
Going into the game Carthage was not cocky or over confident. The players really wanted to win this, and from just watching the games the past 3 days they didn't play their best baseball yet..... The players also got Augie with a ice water bath........ Great job by the Redmen and we will see who we play up in Appleton!!!

[Mr. Ypsi]

In addition to their 19 in a row this year, Carthage has quite the multi-year streak going.  This was their 14th time in the NCAAs in the last 16 years, and their 6th World Series in that time!  But aside from early on (from 1993-97 they went to the WS 4 times, finishing either 3rd or 4th each time), the CCIW is in a drought at the WS: only 2 appearances in 9 years (IWU in 2001 and Carthage in 2002) and neither team won a single game.

RedMen, time to break the drought - Carthage all the way in Appleton!!

But, after the disappointment of the last two weekends, I have to add this: the Titans still have a hefty lead in conference titles!   Since the founding of the CCI in 1946 (the W was added in 1956, not for Carthage which was still in Illinois and 'on sabbatical' from the conference but for Carroll), IWU has taken the pennant 21 times to Carthage's 13.  NCC is next at 9, Millikin has 8 (but none since 1975), NPU has 4 (all under Bosko Djurickovic, who 'moonlighted' as a national-title-winning basketball coach , from 1983-90) as does Augustana (last title, 1974).  Bringing up the rear is Wheaton (1 in 1951) and former member Lake Forest (1 in 1953).

EDIT: A correction on the trivia note above.  Upon further review, I find the CCI did not become the CCIW until 1967 - a belated nod to both Carroll AND Carthage.  Apparently ONE Wisconsin school didn't cut it, and even with two, they needed five more years to be sure!   (Of course, to be fair and equitable to all current schools, I contend it should be the CCIIIIIIIW conference! )

[kritterhawk]

Augustana Pitcher, Brandon Engle is returning as far as I know....he is has 1 more year of athletic eligibility.  They had him listed all year as a "Jr." on the roster.  He will be back on the mound next season for the Vikings. 

[RedMan1]

Mr. Ypsi, how many CCIW titles has Carthage won since Coach Augie has taken the helm compared to IWU?? Just asking about a little trivia.... Anyone planning on going up to the World Series.. I have asked this for every Carthage trip and no one has come....... We need to bring the Carthage faithful and the CCIW faithful!!

[knarocky22]

Rumor has it that Kuntz might be coming back next year, too.  I don't know if this is true or not, just throwing it out there.

[CardinalAlum]

Congrats to Carthage!  Keep it going all the way!! Great season by Augustana as well!

Boy, I sure miss the days when North Central had a baseball program! 

[diehardfan]

Congrats to Carthage!

[RedMan1]

Does anyone know when/if you need to buy tickets for the World Series?

[Mr. Ypsi]

Mr. Ypsi, how many CCIW titles has Carthage won since Coach Augie has taken the helm compared to IWU?? Just asking about a little trivia.... Anyone planning on going up to the World Series.. I have asked this for every Carthage trip and no one has come....... We need to bring the Carthage faithful and the CCIW faithful!!

Which Coach Augie?

Augie Scmidt III coached from Carthage's return to the (then) CCI, going from 1962-1980.  He won 5 titles (including 4 in a row from 1970-73), but went only 11-33 in the conference his last 3 years (anyone know why?).  During those same years, Coach Horenberger (namesake of the field on which you just won two tournaments!) won 7 titles and had 7 more 2nd place finishes.

Augie Schmidt IV began in 1988 and quickly righted what had been a listing ship.  Since a horrid first year of 1-15, he has won 8 titles.  Over the same years, IWU has 5 titles, plus 3 more South first place finishes (for about a decade, the CCIW had North and South divisions, with the top two in each division meeting in a double-elimination tourney for the league crown).

Augie IV has a slight edge over Martel in the regular season (and a huge advantage in post-season play), but it is quite the rivalry - one or the other has won the last 9 titles in a row (Augie 5, Dennis 4), but neither is yet threatening Jack Horenberger who had 16 titles!

[Note that the two Augies have all 13 of Carthage's titles, while Horenberger and Martel have combined for all 21 of IWU's.]

[OshDude]

Does anyone know when/if you need to buy tickets for the World Series?

You can get tickets at the stadium before the game or you can get them from the Lawrence ticket office until May 24 by using a credit card ($2 surcharge).

But you really don't need to buy tickets ahead of time. There are always tickets available.

All-session tix:
$30 Adult
$18 Senior/student

Single-session:
$10 Adult
$6 Senior/student

Good luck to Carthage. It's fun when two Wisconsin teams are at Fox Cities Stadium (or Time Warner Field at Fox Cities Stadium ... yuck).

[OshDude]

Does anyone know when/if you need to buy tickets for the World Series?

You can get tickets at the stadium before the game or you can get them from the Lawrence ticket office until May 24 by using a credit card ($2 surcharge).

But you really don't need to buy tickets ahead of time. There are always tickets available.

All-session tix:
$30 Adult
$18 Senior/student

Single-session:
$10 Adult
$6 Senior/student

Good luck to Carthage. It's fun when two Wisconsin teams are at Fox Cities Stadium (or Time Warner Field at Fox Cities Stadium ... yuck).

Lawrence University ticket office numbers:
Phone: (920) 832-6749
Fax: (920) 832-6783

[Mr. Ypsi]

First and second round pairings are up on the UW-Oshkosh website:

Friday, May 25: 1:15 Carthage vs. E. Connecticut St. (38-10), New England champ

Saturday, May 26: if (God forbid!) Carthage loses, 10am vs. loser of Emory (South champ, 31-8) vs. UWSP (Midwest champ, 32-15); if they win (yes!), 4:30 vs. winner of Emory/UWSP.

Sunday, May 27, etc.: TBA

[REDMENFAN]

Augie mentioned in yesterday's paper that he wasn't even thinking of having Jacob Husing come into the game because he had just pitched 2 days earlier.  He said he looked down in the bullpen and was shocked to see him warming up.  Looks like Husing took it upon himself and convinced the coaching staff he had enough to get it done. Redman1, I'm going to drive up Friday night after our regional game and catch Saturday's game hopefully