BB: IIAC: Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[doolittledog]

IIAC coaches preseason poll is out...

http://www.iowaconference.com/news/2012/3/6/BB_0306124808.aspx

1 Buena Vista (5) 69 
2 Coe (3) 67 
3 Central (1) 53 
  Wartburg 53 
5 Luther 40 
6 Dubuque 34 
7 Simpson 32 
8 Loras 31 
9 Cornell 20

How does that compare to predictions on here???

[warrior35]

This seems to be the only prediction I've seen on here... and most people so far have seemed to agree that it's at least somewhat accurate.

1. Coe
2. Buena Vista
3. Wartburg
4. Central
5. Simpson
6. Luther
7. Dubuque
8. Loras
9. Cornell

If early records mean anything, I'd say we could have some real competition this year!  BV and Wartburg look like they're struggling with some losses against teams that aren't anything special, but Dubuque and Loras haven't beat anybody that I would see as being top teams in their respective conferences either.  Simpson has faced some real quality opponents and was in pretty much every game except Coe.  Central's loss to Knox hurts too, they'll regret that one come the end of the year.  Likewise, I think Coe should be frustrated by their loss to Macalester... where as the losses to Concordia don't hurt them as much.  Concordia is perennially in the top 10 teams in the region.  Based on what I've "seen" so far, which is WAY to early to tell, here's what I would say for the conference this year.

1. Coe
2. Wartburg (only because they ALWAYS seem to find a way)
3. Central
4. BV
5. Luther
6. Dubuque
7. Simpson
8. Loras
9. Cornell

I'm not convinced that Luther will be a top 5 team, but I have nothing to go on... they haven't played yet.  I also think Simpson could play well during conference and think it's well within their ability to make it to the conference tourney.  At this point it also looks like Coach Wing is going to have a lot of work to do in the next year to even get Cornell to be competitive in the MWC.  Excited for all the teams to start playing back up here so I can see some games!

[doolittledog]

Dubuque wins @ Coe 6-4 today.  Double header tomorrow. 

I was working in Cedar Rapids today and thought I might be able to take in 30 minutes or so of the Coe/UD series.  But as I arrived at the Coe campus, I realized I had no idea where the Coe baseball field was.  I did a quick tour of campus and saw the softball field, but no baseball diamond.  Oh well, maybe next year. 

[doolittledog]

Today's scores...

Dubuque wins @ Coe 6-4
Cornell beats BVU 16-14

What the...

[BigPoppa]

Today's scores...

Dubuque wins @ Coe 6-4
Cornell beats BVU 16-14

What the...

... and I love it all... This is what makes the season so fun as a fan.

[warrior35]

That's too bad doolittle... Coe plays most of their home games just north of their campus a few blocks at Daniels Park. It's not necessarily the easiest place to get to if you don't know where you're going.

I love that the IIAC is opening with a bang!  Maybe Coach Wing can do something in his first year after all?  One game doesn't mean much, but Cornell obviously has the ability to win.  Can't wait to see some games!

[TheSportsFan]

Speechless.

[doolittledog]

warrior35, I looked up Daniels Park, thanks for the tip.  Now I know.

Yesterday reminds me of the phrases..."this is why we play the game" and  "any given day, any given team can win"

I wouldn't mind if the upsets continue 

Of course, if they continue, they aren't upsets anymore

[warrior35]

Who would've guessed that Cornell would win the series this year against BV?  They split today 9-0 and 2-1.  Wow!

Haven't seen Coe Vs. UD scores... crazy start though!

[Floyd in Iowa City]

What a weekend!

Simpson sweeps Loras and from the scores it looks like the Storm pitchers were tough.  This was a slightly a surprise to me as Simpson is known for pitching and being tough in Indianola.

Central sweeps Wartburg!  I know Central was predicted high and had a good start in the preseason, but sweeping the Knights still is not that common even though Wartburg is not the program both in the conference and nationally that they were from around 1997-2005 (or something like that).  That is huge for the Dutch in that they were the upper division team that I wasn't as sure about before the teams started.  I did not have as many doubts about the Knights and Beavers, but perhaps I was wrong.

Cornell winning a series against B.V. is even more of a shock!  The Beavers have a lot of season in front of them, but they need to start to turn it around.  Congrats to the Rams though as this was the biggest baseball weekend they have probably had in quite some time.

Luther at 5-7 will be playing in the Dome this Tuesday against St. Mary's.  The Norse really need to start to develop or they might not like where they will finish in the IIAC this year.

2012 Iowa Conference Baseball
School       IIAC       All
Central      3-0       12-3
Simpson     3-0       9-8
Coe           2-1       9-5
Cornell        2-1       5-9
Dubuque     1-2       12-6
Buena Vista 1-2       9-8
Luther        0-0       7-7
Loras          0-3       8-8
Wartburg     0-3       7-10

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Dubuque plays Wartburg this week in Dubuque.  This is a very big series for the Knights as they don't want to be 1-5 or 0-6 going into the Coe doubleheader on 4/3.  The Spartans took a game from Coe this weekend.  Can they win a series against the Knights?

Luther plays Simpson in Indianola.  Could Simpson be 5-1 or 6-0 in the Iowa Conference after this weekend?  That would be a huge start to making sure they aren't 7th or whatever they were predicted in the preseason poll.  Luther needs to show more hitting and pitching than I have seen in the box scores so far.

Central (3-0) plays Loras (0-3) this weekend.  Will this series play according to the record and stats of both teams?

I think the most interesting series of the weekend might be Coe against B.V. in Storm Lake.  Most likely both of these teams find a way to win at least one game in the series, but I am interested to see what the Beavers do here.  A sweep by either team would be huge in the league race even though there are as many as 24 league games (if the weather is good all year).

It is good to have Iowa Conference Baseball back!

[CaliRamRL6]

It's nice to see Cornell start conference play with a couple of wins. Did anyone go to the game that can comment on the play? It looked like a lot of errors on the defensive side, based on game stats.

[warrior35]

I heard that Jeremy Ryan, who I think is a transfer, pitched very well for Cornell... but that's all I know about the series.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Luther swept St. Mary's last night in the Metrodome, 2-1 and 6-5.  The Norse hit more balls hard than the final score of game 1 shows, but they left a lot of guys on base and did not hit that well at times in those situations where you just have to execute (push runners over with balls hit to the right side, sacrifice flies, etc.).  At one point they got a leadoff triple, but left him stranded at 3rd.

Luckily for the Norse they got a pinch hit HR by Ben Obermann to tie the game late and a sacrifice fly to take the lead.

Danny Smith threw well and really seemed to be hitting his spots as the game went on.  Two freshmen from Eastview High School in the Cities, OF Matt Larson and P Alec Knop, looked pretty good to me.  Larson looks like he could be a solid upper order hitter all year from the left side around Bahnemann and Reynolds, while Knop had a live arm and looked like he could be a conference weekend starter on a pitching staff that is yet to be firing on all cylinders this year.

St. Mary's looks better to me than in recent seasons in that they don't spend as much time beating themselves with pitching walks and fielding errors.  They are now 8-7 while the Norse are 7-7.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

It's nice to see Cornell start conference play with a couple of wins. Did anyone go to the game that can comment on the play? It looked like a lot of errors on the defensive side, based on game stats.

An article from the CR Gazette:

http://thegazette.com/2012/03/26/rams-take-iiac-series-from-buena-vista/