BB: USAC: USA South Athletic Conference

[D-BAT]

Ethan Carter coming to CNU?  Any truth to this rumor?

[D-BAT]

Here are my thoughts on a few of the accolades...

Kenny Moreland is, by FAR, the best pitcher I've seen. Despite the accolades of Van Sickler, when watching both pitch Greg does not come close to the level that Moreland was on.

I agree with Back2Back in that Bailey has the edge of Ingram. While Ingram is very, very good, Bailey was about as good as they come at the dIII level. I wouldn't even Ingram is easily the 2nd best SS after Bailey, as Henry (SU) is just as good, if not better, than Ingram.

Ryan Anderson from SU has a 2 very, very good years in the OF.

Maloney and Burgess both from GC had MONSTER junior years, but kind of fell off in their SR years.

Brett Thomas was a stud 3B. (I just recently played him in old man's softball; he can mash one of those too)

Kevin Brashears is certainly deserving of being in the OF conversation, as does Connor Madden once his collegiate career comes to a close. Both are about as good as it gets offensively.

Blake Rice and Ben Moore from NCWC deserve in the conversation, as does Matt Smith and Chris Pecora.

That's about all I can think of out of memory....Any thoughts?

Of guys I saw...Jason Dooley was probably the best pitcher, though Moreland had a better overall D-III career because it was longer. Dooley was pitcher of the year over some guy named DeSalvo. I don't know if he ever amounted to anything or not.

I can't imagine a better hitter than Matt Turner. He and Jeremy Elliott in the same outfield was sick. The USAS seems to be a little thin up the middle in the infield, but Chad Anderson and Armando Reyes from Averett were both really good defensive players. I actually remember thinking when he was in high school that Brett Thomas would make a really good college pitcher. Threw close to 90, needed some mechanics work. Jeremy Schutt just hit everything he saw for a year. I remember thinking he would come back to earth and I guess he did...the next season!

So many good players on those teams in the early 2000s. P Doug Heagen from Ferrum was another good one, they just never had enough help. Chris Phaup had a huge 2002 WS. Rob Dye tried to throw CNU to a championship just about by himself. Threw a CG, then later closed a game and got the win and tried to start the next day and got through 4 innings with the lead but ran out of gas in the 5th and they didn't get him out soon enough. The defense really let them down and let his pitch count get up, though one of the errors was his own. Still, a bigtime effort and a really good pitcher. Not very often a guy starts 2 games in a Series and gets 3 decisions.

Shenandoah had a kid (Chris Kees) that duked it out with Dooley all of the time when SU won 31 games back in 2000 or 2001?  I think Kees had 11 to 14 wins?

[Catfishncwc]

Ethan Carter coming to CNU?  Any truth to this rumor?

I read a article and it did mention CNU as a possible place to play next year.  Below is a snipet from the article in the Daily Press

Carter missed out on South Carolina's repeat championship, but he's hoping to return to Columbia next month.

"They had some guys (go) in the draft that need to sign officially before they can offer me a scholarship," Carter said. "If not, I've been exploring a couple of Division II schools and even Christopher Newport."

[rolln2]

No Ethan Carter is not headed to CNU.  Last word was he is headed to UNC-Pembroke.

[CNU85]

Last I heard Ethan Carter was going to Louisburg. But that was per a newspaper story back in January.

[Catfishncwc]

Last I heard Ethan Carter was going to Louisburg. But that was per a newspaper story back in January.

HE already played his one year at Louisburg, the year before he was at South Carolina and with Louisburg being a JUCO his two years are up and he needs to go to a 4 year school. 

[narch]

blake maxwell has had a pretty nice season between double a and triple a this year...

http://www.mumonarchs.com/news/2011/8/15/BB_0815114855.aspx

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=t546&t=p_pbp&pid=476190

combined 4-5 with a 2.21 era and 12 saves in 42 appearances

[Catfishncwc]

blake maxwell has had a pretty nice season between double a and triple a this year...

http://www.mumonarchs.com/news/2011/8/15/BB_0815114855.aspx

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=t546&t=p_pbp&pid=476190

combined 4-5 with a 2.21 era and 12 saves in 42 appearances

Maybe a September call up in his future?

[rolln2]

Well it's that time again.  The players are heading back to school over the next few weeks.  All of the teams in the USAS will then begin the fall practice season.  Each team having brought in their group of freshmen.  So as each team begins their quest for the 2011-2012 season.  Who are some of the incoming freshmen that we might see help their team this season?  Also which teams are we looking to make a run at the USAS title this year.  Are you ready to get started?

[LTBB1971]

Looking for something different from Battling Bishops this year.  We've had 2 horrible years in a row, combined with the inability of the coaching staff to put the players in the best possible situation to succeed has led to NCWC falling from the top of USAS.  There seems to be a few fresh faces on the coaching staff that will hopefully infuse some enthusiasm on those boys and bring us back to where NC Wesleyan baseball belongs.  Structure and defining roles in the fall would be a good start...

[NoVa Baseball]

Hoping to see the Captains in action this weekend if the weather cooperates.  The expectations are high for CNU after last year's impressive regular season and conference tournament run which ended sadly with a very poor showing at the NCAA Regional.  The Captains only lost 2 starters (one position player and one pitcher) to graduation and had so much bench talent pushing the starters, that they have to be considered the favorite in the USAS.   I know it's early but I'm sure there are some folks out there ready to start the prognosticating about the coming season.  For the second season in a row I'll throw my predictions out there first and let everyone take shots at it.  The usual disclaimer applies - no disrespect is intended to any players, coaches, or teams with this forecast.   It's simply the idle musings of an increasingly older old man:

1) CNU Captains - They lost their leadoff hitter, their #1, and 3 other contributors.  What propelled CNU last year was not just a great starting lineup but an incredibly deep bench and bullpen.  They finished the regular season #1 in the nation and knocked off rival SU in the USASouth tourney.  They will have a big target on their collective back this year, but should be the top team.
2) SU - They lost a couple real studs but they always seem to reload well.  CNU seemed to figure them out last year but none of the other teams did.  Until they do, I see the SU mastery over this conference continuing.  Too bad they are leaving after this season, the CNU-SU rivalry is as good as any in sports.
3) Greensboro - I'm gonna make lots of MU fans angry with this pick, but it just seemed to me that GC was becoming a better team by the end of the year and MU lost several studs.  GC has a huge roster and several redshirt players and seems to be on the upswing.   This could be the biggest miss on my list, but I'm making GC my upset pick of the season.
4) MU - Always solid but without several of their best players from the last few years.  Such is still around but he needs folks to drive home.  Britt was always a force on the mound.  MU is always well-coached and plays hard and smart and if there are some younger players ready to step up, they could really mess up my prediction. 
5) Averett - A surprisingly strong year last year.  Averett is always tough at home and always plays well in the tournament.  Their roster is thin though, and Higgins graduated.  He was a really tough out and accounted for 20% of their runs.  I can't see Averett moving up this list after losing him. 
6) NCW - OK let the hating begin.  NCW has the most passionate fans on this board and I'm sure this slotting will draw their ire.  My thinking is simple - they seemed to be in so much turmoil last season I can't see it turning around very quickly.  I loved the duo of Webb and Knowles - both studs.  I think the previous post to this one shows the uncertainty that surrounds this program.
7) Ferrum - The 18-20 overall record was much better than the 2-9 conference showing, but Ferrum just seems to have trouble competing in this incredibly tough conference.  They were a very young team last year so that bodes well, but most of their power came form Crump who is gone.  Can't see them jumping up this year but maybe the next??

So there it is.  Have fun telling me how wrong I am. 

[LTBB1971]

NoVa Baseball,
you are correct about NCWC.  Over 50% of the roster from last year is gone again, not a good trend.  This has seemed to be the case the past 2 years with our inability to keep players in the program long enough to develop.  Not sure what is going on behind closed doors but it's sure affecting the team. 

Knowles and Webb are HUGE shoes to fill as they ate innings and threw quality games every time they were out there.  We also lost Ben Longton who was a stud freshman closer.  Weekend spots are up for grab and it will be interesting how coaching staff handles those choices.  Defining each players roles this fall will go a long way into a successful 2012 campaign.

NCWC also seems to reload well, so it will be interesting when the rosters are posted to see how much firepower they brought in.

[Boysofsummer21]

WHere did Longton go?

[LTBB1971]

From what I hear some JUCO in Virginia.

[Boysofsummer21]

Nova,
Thanks for starting the talk around BASEBALL. After a few weeks of fall ball the the text message smack talk has started and I figured I would add my two cents here.
1.   CNU – Yes they lost Vernon who was their RF and leadoff but they have the depth to cover the fielding part but they will need to figure out their leadoff hitter. They had a great year but this is a new year and they will need to remember that they will not see many 3 or 4 pitchers this year and everyone will approach their games with them as beating the #1 team. But that said they are returning virtually the same lineup this year (assuming McDougal replaces Vernon) and the loss of their #1 from last year probably hurts them less than anyone else losing their #3 starter because of their pitching youth and depth. I doubt they have many decisions that need to be made this fall except for maybe they bring either Verdillo or Fleischman into the starting rotation. But I doubt that as they have enough quality starters as to why mess up your closing end of your staff. But CNU better win this year because next year they will probably be 6 or 7th in the league after losing all the seniors this year.
2.   SU – They reload better than anyone but pitching pitching pitching. How do you replace your 1 and 2 when they were that good? Their offense took a hit with Bashiers and Van Sickler gone but bet they are still at the top of the offensive categories at the end of the year. Now they do have to make a tough decision with Scallion. They will need some young guys to really step up. SU knows what it takes to win so they can easily win it all.

I predict CNU and SU at regionals again this year. Also predict both in the top 15 per season poll and top 15 end of season polls. And the only reason SU will not be picked over CNU next year is because they are leaving.... Boo. Think the ODAC really knows what they are getting in this team?

3.   MU – It is about knowing how to win and MU knows how. They are too well coached to really drop lower than this. Period. Such will carry his load but he will need to carry this team so we will see how he holds up.
4.   Greensboro – I agree they are on an upswing but can they win the close ones? I think they are a year out of really being in a position to rule the conference but they are close and will win more than people think. If they stay focused and work the fundamentals like they did at the end of the year they can be anywhere from 1 – 4 so not hating this pick
5.   NCWC – Ok ok they lost everyone but not ready to write them off.  The coaching staff needs to learn to trust their bullpen and things would be better. They are not going to have the horses to ride on the mound like last year but.......
6.   Averrett – Just not enough players and talent. Very good up top but that is where it ends and with the seasons being the way they are they just can't keep up. Sorry.
7.   Ferrum – As young as this team is this could be off by 6 positions, if this teams gets some confidence and momentum they well be dangerous but think this is another team that is a year or two away.