BB: IIAC: Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Floyd in Iowa City]

I watched about 9 innings of Luther's sweep of Macalester on Saturday night (and Sunday morning), 2-1 and 4-1.  The Norse are 2-0 on the season.

It took 8 innings for the Norse to win the first game.  P Danny Smith was a little inconsistent during his four innings, but he only gave up one run.  He also pitched around some mistakes from the Norse Defense, but it was the first game of the year.  The infield and catching defense is pretty new though, so I wonder how strong the defense will be as the year goes on.

P Alex Byom got the win by pitching the final four innings.  He looked very good and threw both with velocity and command as well as I have seen from him in the past few seasons.

OF Matt Larson had a great AB to take the lead in the 8th as he clearly had the distance to hit a long bomb, but it was foul.  On the next pitch he bunted for a hit to drive in the run and shocked everyone around us.  He was a very nice hitter as a freshman last year, so hopefully he has a big year hitting 3rd in the order again. 

In the second game I only stayed for the first inning since it was already like 1:30 in the morning (with daylight savings), but the Norse were already up 4-1.  P Alec Knop got the win as he pitched five innings, and overall he looked like the guy that pitched so well as a freshman last year.  He was throwing more breaking balls than I remember, but he still showed some fastballs that popped the glove well.

SS Eric Pittman and 1B Aldon Severson looked like they had potential as hitters.  Pittman overall looks like he could hold down the SS position.  I also hope that CF Andy Briggs has a nice season.

Lots of questions about the 2013 Norse, but it is good to be 2-0!

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Coe swept Dubuque to take an early lead in the conference standings at 2-0.

Congrats to the Norse and Wartburg for starting 3-1 in league play after this weekend.  I was very happy to see the Norse win the series on the road at Storm Lake.

Has anyone gotten out to see some college baseball so far this spring?  Who is looking solid?

Experience and depth could be real issues at Luther, but I have only seen two games in person and two on the computer.  I have been happy with the progress in the infield as the Norse were real young there to start the year.  I hope the outfield can provide some real offense as the year goes on, and there should be some solid candidates to help DH or provide a bat off the bench.  The team looks like 3 pitchers have been good in games so far, but with the demands of the schedule more guys are going to have to step up and be consistent.

As far as preseason schedules, I would say Coe, Dubuque, Wartburg, and then Luther looked like the four schools that played some of the teams that I would have liked to play when I was in school.  Dubuque maybe took the most lumps in the preseason of the four, but it will be interesting to see how much progress the Spartans make this year.

Now that Cornell is out of the league and teams are playing four games against the other league schools, it seems like IIAC baseball will present a lot of challanges and questions this year.  Will teams have enough pitching and pitching depth?

I liked the 3-game series compared to the old doubleheader systems of the 1990s (up through 2006) as a true league champion was more likely to develop with that extra game each series.  I also liked the 3-games series more than the 4-games series that the Iowa Conference used to have back before 1994 (too many teams did not have enough pitching for 4-game sets, made for some ugly games).

The Big Ten cut back from 4-game sets to 3-game sets a few years ago, and I thought it improved the play of league games and yet still determines the champion.

Bring on spring weather!

[doolittledog]

I think Dubuque will have some bats, but they are pretty much starting from scratch with their pitching, which is not a good recipe for success.  These guys could develop, but I think Dubuque could be in for a long year and is working for some success a few years down the road. 

[putmeincoach]

I think Dubuque will have some bats, but they are pretty much starting from scratch with their pitching, which is not a good recipe for success.  These guys could develop, but I think Dubuque could be in for a long year and is working for some success a few years down the road.

looking at Dubuque's scores to date - wow they have lost a lot of close games - things could turn around quick if they can start winning some of those tight games

[doolittledog]

Wartburg 14-2
Coe         14-2
Central     7-9
Loras       7-9
BVU         6-10
Luther      6-10
Simpson   6-12
Dubuque   6-12

Looks like Wartburg and Coe are running away and hiding from the rest of the conference.

Looks like 3rd place through 8th place is up for grabs. 

[Floyd in Iowa City]

I don't think anyone should be shocked that Wartburg and Coe are at the top of the standings, but the fact that they are so far out in front is a little shocking.

I was happy to see the Norse win game two last night against the Knights.  Hopefully they can get hot here the last 10 games.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Congrats to B.V. for getting a couple solid wins early over UWL and St. Thomas!

Doesn't feel close to baseball weather yet, but I am hopeful for the snow to be gone by April!

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Luther swept UW-Platteville yesterday, 12-6 and 8-7.  Lots of offense for the Norse (which was an issue last season)!  Hopefully the newcomers continue to make the lineup deeper in 2014. 

Alec Knop struck out 11 in 4 innings and gave up 2 runs.

They are now 2-0 on the season going into the games today with North Central.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Luther split with North Central on Sunday.  They won 10-5 and lost 10-5.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) has announced that Eric Pittman has been named the IIAC Athlete of the Week for the week ending Sunday, March 9, 2014.

Pittman, a senior shortstop, hit .466 (7-of-15) with a .600 slugging percentage, two doubles, seven runs scored and six RBI as Luther went 3-1 to open the season. He went 3-for-6 with a double, two runs scored and drove in two, leading Luther to a 12-6 win in the first game of a March 8 doubleheader against UW-Platteville. In game two, an 8-7 Norse win, he was 2-for-4 with a double, three runs scored, two RBI and two walks drawn. He also hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninght. Pittman collected another two hits, two RBI and a stolen base in a 10-5 win over North Central (Ill.) on March 9.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Luther has had scores all over the place in recent games on the spring trip.  They are now 6-4 on the season after beating Carthage today, 6-3.  Carthage left a lot of baserunners out there, but Luther also had 15 hits in the game.

The Norse are averaging almost 9 runs a game on offense and hitting .342 as a team.  Eric Pittman (.421 average with 15 runs scored and 11 RBIs) and Andy Briggs (.439 with 11 runs scored and 7 RBIs from leadoff spot) are off to big starts for the returning position players.  They are now the top two hitters in the order many games as JUCO newcomers Czenvic Rojer (.385 average with 17 RBIs) and Carlos Pineda (.324 with some pop) hit right after them.  Hopefully the lineup can keep this up as it appears to be deeper and better this year.

Luther pitching from a distance doesn't appear to be rolling as a group right now.  The main starting pitcher who seems to be doing well is Alec Knop (22 Ks, 4 runs, in 11 innings).

The Norse and B.V. play their series in Arizona starting this weekend.  I guess Luther is the home team?

[Floyd in Iowa City]

The Beavers are playing like the preseason favorite to win the IIAC as they are now 10-1 heading into the series with the Norse.  They have been doing well against MIAC teams as they split with St. Thomas while winning against Hamline and Gustavus (twice).

The team pitching numbers are way ahead of the Norse stats right now.

Simpson and Central look to be off to solid starts as well right now.  Robbie Rushing for the Dutch is already hitting .510 with 9 doubles, 3 HRs, and 20 RBIs even before league play starts for the team.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Luther and B.V. split down in Arizona as the Norse won game 1, 1-0 but lost game 2, 6-3.

I still wish Cornell was in the league and everyone played 3 games against each league member.

The Norse are going to have to getting hitting on Saturday as the pitching probably isn't going to be good enough to win any more of the 1-0 or 3-2 type games.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Rick Heller and his Iowa Hawkeye Baseball team is now 15-7 and 3-1 in the Big Ten after winning at Michigan tonight 3-2.

A very good start for the Hawks!

Heller was the head coach for many years at Upper Iowa when the Peacocks were in the IIAC.  He also coached well at UNI when the Panthers still played baseball.  Dropping baseball or leaving the Iowa Conference are not my favorite moves of when I think back on college baseball in Iowa.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

From the Norse website:

Luther and Wartburg split tonight's Iowa Conference double header in Waverly. The Norse won game one 9-1 and dropped the nightcap to the Knights 11-2.

Alec Knop continued to pitch well leading the Norse on the mound. Knop spread eight hits, walked one and struck out six, en route to his third win of the season. The Knights scored their lone run in the fifth.

The Norse scored nine runs on 11 hits and opened this game wide open with a five run third.  Eric Pittman and Aldon Severson both drove in two runs. Pittman led the team with three hits, while Severson and Matt Larson both tallied two. Andy Briggs, Czenvic Rojer, Larson and David Lowe all drove in one.

The split gives Luther an Iowa Conference record of 3-3, 9-7 overall. Wartburg remains atop the league standings with a mark of 5-1, 11-7 overall.

It is hard to be super happy about getting a series split with the Beavers and a doubleheader sweep with the Knights, but they were the two league favorites and are tough early season tests for the Norse.

The Luther Offense does look better on paper than last season and Knop has been outstanding so far.  There still are pitching depth issues though and the offense has been up and down in league play.

I just want to get out and see college baseball in person!