BB: IIAC: Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[BigToughGuy]

How bad are UD and Cornell?  They are playing a huge roll in shaping this conference race due to their poor play.  Not only are they affecting the standings but the individuals and teams who have faced them are racking up statistics.  Why are they sooooo bad, does anyone know?   This whole race might just come down to if someone slips up and looses to one of these two teams.    Central and Wartburg are already 6-0 in those games.  Simpson is 3-0.  If you look at the conference standings that is #2(wartburg), #3(simpson), and #4(central). Coe, Luther, and Loras have to hold serve to stay in it.

upandin......you're a fart licker!  That's like saying one American league team is at a disadvantage because they play the Kansas City Royals in August instead of April.  It doesn't matter.....everybody plays everybody you f'ing idiot!

Tough Guy..... what can I say your girl has a little gas every once in awhile. But she goes crazy for that ship.   Being that you are a STL guy you should know that MLB does not have a balanced schedule.  The Cardinals don't play the same schedule as the Cubs. So that analogy is crap.  Also coming from the SLIAC area you should be familiar with how much bad teams effect conference play.  But then again when 8 of the 9 teams suck how can one tell.   You tell Loras and Coe that playing Cornell and UD doesn't help.  They both won by run rule Friday.  Loras had 13 runs on 16 hits, while Coe had 24 runs on 23 hits.  My point exactly!!!   I just might be a "f'ing idiot", but looks as though you don't know what the "f" your talking about. 

Tell me which teams in the IIAC DO NOT get to play against Cornell and Dubuque this year.

[youcantseemestill]

Every team plays the exact same schedule in the Iowa Conference.  Every team plays each other member of the conference in a three game series.  Now, you could argue that there is advantage to playing the lower end teams early or maybe playing them later is better.  Bottom line is, you have to win those games that you are supposed to win.  Its that way in any sport.  The Yankees have to beat up on the Orioles every time they play them or the Red Sox or Rays might take advantage. 

Dubuque is bad......very bad.  Cornell is not much better, but I definitely think that Cornell is the better team based on seeing them both this year.  Dubuque cannot hit at all and their defense is awful.  I like some of their pitchers a little bit, but they have a long way to go to be competitive. 

[upandin]

Well hopefully every team plays all the teams in the conference, but that doesn't always happen, due to weather.  My point was not that the in-conference schedules were not balanced.  What I said was: IF teams want to stay in the race, they absolutely have to win the games vs the poor teams.  If UD or Cornell win IIAC games they will be playing a huge spoiler roll.  To act like it doesn't play such a roll is just stupid.

Last year one weekend of weather changed the conference standings.  Luther who tied for 1st didn't get to play Cornell in 2 games.  Coe who was finished 1 game out of a share of the conference championship didn't get to play Dubuque in 2 games.  Central and Loras didn't play 2 of their 3 scheduled games that resulted in Loras sharing the title with Luther, and Central being 1 game out to the conference tournament. (By the way, Central beat Loras 9-2 in the one game they played.)  Better yet to prove my point, Loras wins the IIAC championship outright last year if they don't blow a 9th inning, 17-8 lead to CORNELL, on the last day of the season. 

My point is the IIAC is a dogfight between 7 of the 9 teams every year.  1 win, 1 loss, or 1 game not played against UD or Cornell, can and has decided this conference champion. 

So ToughGuy before you call anyone an "f'in idiot" and a "fart licker", know what the hell you're talking about.  In this case, you obviously don't know a "f'in" thing.

[BigToughGuy]

Well hopefully every team plays all the teams in the conference, but that doesn't always happen, due to weather.  My point was not that the in-conference schedules were not balanced.  What I said was: IF teams want to stay in the race, they absolutely have to win the games vs the poor teams.  If UD or Cornell win IIAC games they will be playing a huge spoiler roll.  To act like it doesn't play such a roll is just stupid.

Last year one weekend of weather changed the conference standings.  Luther who tied for 1st didn't get to play Cornell in 2 games.  Coe who was finished 1 game out of a share of the conference championship didn't get to play Dubuque in 2 games.  Central and Loras didn't play 2 of their 3 scheduled games that resulted in Loras sharing the title with Luther, and Central being 1 game out to the conference tournament. (By the way, Central beat Loras 9-2 in the one game they played.)  Better yet to prove my point, Loras wins the IIAC championship outright last year if they don't blow a 9th inning, 17-8 lead to CORNELL, on the last day of the season.  

My point is the IIAC is a dogfight between 7 of the 9 teams every year.  1 win, 1 loss, or 1 game not played against UD or Cornell, can and has decided this conference champion.  

So ToughGuy before you call anyone an "f'in idiot" and a "fart licker", know what the hell you're talking about.  In this case, you obviously don't know a "f'in" thing.

Haha.....he said "fart licker".  Sounds to me like the conference bylaws are f-ucked up.  

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Not to pile on the Spartans and Rams after the conversation above, but Luther today finished the sweep of Dubuque this weekend, 9-4.  The Norse are now 18-13 on the season and 6-9 in the Iowa Conference.  They are tied with Loras for 6th.

Ben Schott hit three HRs this weekend to tie the modern (post-1960, it seems) record for HRs in a Luther season with 9.  He is now tied with two stud hitters from recent seasons (John Jaeger in 2005, Kyle Schroeder in 2007) for the record.  Why people can't look back and put stats together from the 1920s bugs me, but congrats to Ben for putting his name on the record.

Schott is hitting .486 on the year with the 9 HRs, 12 2Bs, 2 3Bs, and 37 RBIs.  He has had a good career in Decorah but is having a big senior year to this point.

Luther gets Wartburg and Cornell this week.  Both series may depend on who wins the first game as Luther has either swept or been swept in each conference series so far this year.  That is bizarre to me, but I guess the Norse are swimming upstream on the mound other than when Hyland is pitching.

Congrats to Loras for taking one from B.V. today.  That made things more interesting for the conference title (and the race for 6th).

[Floyd in Iowa City]

With Hyland on the mound, the Norse can still play some ball as they beat Wartburg today in game 1 of the doubleheader, 3-1.  The win moved them to 19-13 overall and 7-9 in the IIAC.

However, it is already 5-1 in the 2nd inning in favor of Wartburg in game 2.  Time for the Norse Defense and Pitching to step up without Hyland on the mound.

Ben Schott drove in a run in game 1 and hit a HR in game 2 already.  That is 10 HRs on the year for Ben.  He hit the bomb to tie the game at 1-1 going in the 2nd, but the pitching couldn't keep the momentum going.

Coe and Wartburg played shootouts and a low scoring game this weekend.  I want to see if the Norse can mix it up in a shootout after winning the low scoring game.

[doolittledog]

Since UD doesn't win all that often I thought I would put a link up.

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=280986

The Spartans get their 2nd conference win of the season over cross town rival Loras 7-3

[upandin]

Congratulations to BV for winning the 2010 regular season title. ( with UD and Cornell left to play)  Looks like that all important #2 seed will come down to Wartburg or Central.  Wartburg has the tie breaker winning 2 of 3 over Central.  As most IIAC followers know, being a #1 or #2 in the tournament is a huge advantage.  Even more so this year when nobody in the IIAC has more than 3, and some teams 2, legitimate starters.  That said all 6 of the top teams have at least one shut down starter.  Could be a crazy IIAC tournament. 

Congrats to UD for winning a game outside the Cornell series.  Its going to be a battle for last years Co-Champs to get that # 6 seed.  Like I once said.....1 win, 1 loss, or one no-play, with UD or Cornell could make the difference.  That just might be the case for Loras getting in the tournament or not. 

[wartburgalum]

As a former Wartburg player it is strange to see BV or anybody else claiming the regular season championship.  When I was there it was not only our goal, but it was just expected that we would find a way to win the thing.  That said, Congrats to BV and lets hope that whomever goes on to represent the IIAC (hopefully Wartburg) in the regional tourny, will do us all proud.  Can't wait to see how the conference tourny plays out, lets all pray for bright blue skies and temps in the 70's.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

As a former Luther player from the mid-1990s it was bizarre to see Wartburg go on the long run they did after I finished up.   I knew a lot of the Knight players and played summer ball with a bunch of them, but they seemed a long ways away from going on a great run.

My IIAC Baseball world in 1995 was seeing Wartburg finish dead last (by far), Coach Holst at Loras, and the Norse being tied for 3rd with Simpson looking up at Upper Iowa in the standings that year.  A lot changed in the Iowa Conference in the years right after that.  Oh, and Billy Penn was an upper division baseball school that was a bottom feeder in almost every other sport.

They were good baseball schools at the end of their time in the league, but I still don't miss Upper Iowa or Billy Penn except perhaps in a few sports for Upper Iowa.  The IIAC is more consistently deeper today as a league.  I still have a bunch of Billy Penn and Upper Iowa stories though!

[BigPoppa]

I played William Penn in the 1993 Central Regional! They were a great team, but not nearly as good as the Upper Iowa team we beat to go to the series in 1994. Their shortstop/pitcher (David Schrank?) was the real deal. In fact, I think most of that team was literally from Miami.

[wartburgalum]

I hear ya Floyd, but you are talking 15+ years ago.  Just 5 years ago (man time flies) I was pitching in Appleton for the Knights.  I suppose all good things (if you are a Wartburg fan) must come to an end. 

I still expect them to get back to their dominant ways though, maybe not to the extent of 11 in a row. 

You are right though, the IIAC is a pretty balance conference (with the exception of UD and Cornell) and it definitely makes for an exciting season.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

I hear ya Floyd, but you are talking 15+ years ago.  Just 5 years ago (man time flies) I was pitching in Appleton for the Knights.  I suppose all good things (if you are a Wartburg fan) must come to an end.  

I still expect them to get back to their dominant ways though, maybe not to the extent of 11 in a row.  

You are right though, the IIAC is a pretty balance conference (with the exception of UD and Cornell) and it definitely makes for an exciting season.

Cornell has had a tough go of it in many sports like I remember from the days of Upper Iowa and Billy Penn, but they are a more respected member of the conference in many ways (including the overall athletic department).  Besides didn't the Rams almost win the league over Wartburg earlier this decade in baseball when Reasland was coaching?

Upper Iowa and Penn both were schools that it felt like had huge financial and other campus/town disadvantages compared to other IIAC schools.  Both schools were good in baseball in part from bringing players in from warmer climate areas and not maybe as much Midwest recruiting.  

Upper Iowa and Penn sometimes gave the vibe that they didn't even want to field a team in some sports.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

I played William Penn in the 1993 Central Regional! They were a great team, but not nearly as good as the Upper Iowa team we beat to go to the series in 1994. Their shortstop/pitcher (David Schrank?) was the real deal. In fact, I think most of that team was literally from Miami.

It seems like William Penn had a great team one year in the early 1990s that dominated both in the league and outside the league, but I remember a Des Moines Register article on how the senior California kids on the team left and went back home after graduation ceremonies instead of playing in NCAA Regionals.

I thought that was the craziest thing I had ever heard as you know the main reason guys came across the country to go to school on that campus was to play ball.  To have a great team and play in regionals should have been the high point of the season.  Instead they got destroyed.

Maybe they were too used to it as they had 5 outright or shared IIAC regular season league titles between 1986-1992.

[wartburgalum]

Floyd, you can probably speak more to Upper Iowa and Will Penn.  I believe I only played against UI once as a freshmen.