BB: USAC: USA South Athletic Conference

[Boysofsummer21]

Sawsnow on the weather forecast map so it must be getting close to USA South baseball! Merry Christmas to all!

[NoVa Baseball]

Ugh!!  Winters seem to get longer every year.  Can't wait for the "spring" season which starts for some schools the first week of Feb.  We'll be watching CNU without HokieOne and his bride this year - sure to be wierd without them - they were an institution.  Hokie if you are still checking in on D3 - wish Parker the best for us and a Merry Christmas to the Neal family.  Maybe we will see you at a game this year.  Only 53 days to go. 

[WMSBRGFan]

Ugh!!  Winters seem to get longer every year.  Can't wait for the "spring" season which starts for some schools the first week of Feb.  We'll be watching CNU without HokieOne and his bride this year - sure to be wierd without them - they were an institution.  Hokie if you are still checking in on D3 - wish Parker the best for us and a Merry Christmas to the Neal family.  Maybe we will see you at a game this year.  Only 53 days to go. 

Nova,
I am with you, to Parker congrats and to HokieOne thank you for being so nice and making the transition from HS parent to college parent very nice. To all the CNU parents and players I have enjoyed becoming part of the family and everyone has been so nice. To all a happy holidays and a happy coming season! Go Captains.

[hokieone]

Blessings to all of the CNU family! We're keeping up and will certainly be to some CNU games. It is weird not counting the days till opening day, but I get my baseball fix as GM of our new Valley League team, www.strasburgexpress.com.   Being out of the loop, I miss getting the "inside" news, but I know CNU has plenty of horses returning and will be rooting hard for the Captains.  It's about time to win a lot more of those away games.  Parker is doing fine in the business world and is the Director of Player Personnel for our summer team so it's a neat way to stay in the game-he does a lot of our recruiting.   Merry Christmas folks, we miss ya'll and will see you this spring! Go Captains!

[NoVa Baseball]

Hokie:  Glad to hear you got the Strasburg team off the ground.  Congrats on that.  Shan really enjoyed the Cal Ripkin League the last two years.  Great baseball and great kids.  We still stay in touch with the two kids that lived with us all summer.  One told us how miserable he was with this year's host family (N/E League).  Make sure you remember these are 19-21 year old boys - they'll go nuts staying on a farm with 2 old ladies and no ESPN (bless them for offering their home, but it just doesn't work).   The Braves used to require the local kids to put up an out of town kid - not a bad policy. 

I'm guessing Parker will also do double duty as the hitting instructor if he's having to do the 9 to 5 thing.  You guys will make great owners.  We'll have to come watch a game this summer. 

Stay in touch and let us know when you will attend a CNU game so we can plan to be there.

[NoVa Baseball]

No surprise that Shenandoah nabs a #6 pre-season ranking.  They have earned it over the past two years, and they are still the team to beat in the USA South. 

Gotta give credit to Coach Harvell though - he has ramped up the competition for CNU this season.  They will be well tested by the time the USA South tourney rolls around.  The Captains play #2 Cortland on Feb 19th and have 9 games against teams on the ABCA list with a couple Myrtle Beach teams still to be named.  Strength of schedule won' be a problem for the Captains this season. 

#2 Cortland State (1 game)
# 6 Shenandoah (2 games)
# 11 Tufts (1 game)
#21 Salisbury (2 games)
"other top teams"
Mary Washington (1 game)
York (2 games)

Go Captains!!

[D-BAT]

OK, its 2011 now, when is everyone's 1st day of practice?

[LTBB1971]

My son is going back to school this Saturday so I'm pretty sure maybe the following week practice will begin at NCWC.  Can't wait for this season to start, should be another fun year in the USA South.

[D-BAT]

No surprise that Shenandoah nabs a #6 pre-season ranking.  They have earned it over the past two years, and they are still the team to beat in the USA South. 

Gotta give credit to Coach Harvell though - he has ramped up the competition for CNU this season.  They will be well tested by the time the USA South tourney rolls around.  The Captains play #2 Cortland on Feb 19th and have 9 games against teams on the ABCA list with a couple Myrtle Beach teams still to be named.  Strength of schedule won' be a problem for the Captains this season. 

#2 Cortland State (1 game)
# 6 Shenandoah (2 games)
# 11 Tufts (1 game)
#21 Salisbury (2 games)
"other top teams"
Mary Washington (1 game)
York (2 games)

Go Captains!!

No matter who a team plays, they must win their respective "in-region" games to be ranked when the Reg'l rankings come out.

[NoVa Baseball]

That's true but I seem to recall discussions on this site around SOS when it comes down to the last couple teams that get in.  All things being relatively equal (in-region) I would think that SOS would get some consideration as a tie-breaker. 

[OshDude]

That's true but I seem to recall discussions on this site around SOS when it comes down to the last couple teams that get in.  All things being relatively equal (in-region) I would think that SOS would get some consideration as a tie-breaker. 

SOS is based on in-region results.

[D-BAT]

That's true but I seem to recall discussions on this site around SOS when it comes down to the last couple teams that get in.  All things being relatively equal (in-region) I would think that SOS would get some consideration as a tie-breaker. 

SOS is based on in-region results.

That is why is really does not benefit any particular team to play teams outside of their respective "regions".  Your team gains nothing by playing out-of-region, but has a lot to lose within regards to your "in-region" rankings, SOS, OPWP and all of that other stuff that is used to determine the top 6-8 teams within each region.

[CrashDavisD3]

That's true but I seem to recall discussions on this site around SOS when it comes down to the last couple teams that get in.  All things being relatively equal (in-region) I would think that SOS would get some consideration as a tie-breaker.  

SOS is based on in-region results.

That is why is really does not benefit any particular team to play teams outside of their respective "regions".  Your team gains nothing by playing out-of-region, but has a lot to lose within regards to your "in-region" rankings, SOS, OPWP and all of that other stuff that is used to determine the top 6-8 teams within each region.

There is some benefit to playing out of region teams. It could be the difference between staying home or going to the playoffs. Here is an section taken from the NCAA DIII Championship Handbook which is related to Pool B/C bids:

Secondary Criteria

If the evaluation of the primary criteria does not result in a decision, the secondary criteria will be reviewed. All the criteria listed will be evaluated (not listed in priority order). The secondary criteria introduce results against out-of-region Division III and all other opponents including those contests
versus opponents from other classifications (i.e., provisionals, NAIA, NCAA Divisions I and II).

• Out-of-region head-to-head competition.
• Overall Division III win-loss percentage.
• Results versus common non Division III opponents.
• Results versus all Division III ranked teams.
• Overall win-loss percentage.
• Results versus all common opponents.
• Overall DIII Strength of Schedule.

Additionally, input is provided by regional advisory committees for consideration by the men's baseball committee. In order to be considered for selection for Pools B or C, an institution must play at least 50 percent of its competition against Division III in-region opponents. Coaches' polls and/or any other outside polls or rankings are not used as a selection criterion by the men's baseball committee
for selection purposes.

Also many teams like independents or teams that travel to warmer regions to get early season games played have no choice but to play out of region games to get to the max of 40 games allowed during regular season play.

[CrashDavisD3]

OK, its 2011 now, when is everyone's 1st day of practice?

1/10 for some teams on West Coast

[Ralph Turner]

No surprise that Shenandoah nabs a #6 pre-season ranking.  They have earned it over the past two years, and they are still the team to beat in the USA South.  

Gotta give credit to Coach Harvell though - he has ramped up the competition for CNU this season.  They will be well tested by the time the USA South tourney rolls around.  The Captains play #2 Cortland on Feb 19th and have 9 games against teams on the ABCA list with a couple Myrtle Beach teams still to be named.  Strength of schedule won' be a problem for the Captains this season.  

#2 Cortland State (1 game) Not in-region
# 6 Shenandoah (2 games)
# 11 Tufts (1 game)  Not in-region
#21 Salisbury (2 games)
"other top teams"
Mary Washington (1 game)
York (2 games)

Go Captains!!