BB: USAC: USA South Athletic Conference

[BBFan62]

rolln2 - No, my son plays in NY; it's under snow. I just love college and HS baseball, regardless of the conference. I follow many of the kids he played with and against. Yep, sure is fun watching March and early April games! However, it was that way throughout high school. I always kid him and ask him if he forgot there IS baseball in warm states!

[NoVa Baseball]

Boys,

Those two are going to be very hard to replace.  They brought in a lot of pitchers in with this freshman class.  I got to see a couple of them (Santalucia and Bierlien) this weekend and both looked pretty good.  The rest that threw this weekend were the same group that got most of the innings last year other than Brink and Malvo - (Chitzas, Fleishman, Goldsmith, McIlhenney, and Harsanyi).  In addition to those 7, there are 7 more pitchers on the staff so hopefully a few of them will have breakout years.   

[Boysofsummer21]

Nova,
Thanks, yes they are big shoes to fill. The iddle of your infield and two top line pitching slots. WOW hope they are working hard. Franklin gone too should be interesting.

Anyone one got SU news? and haven't heard much about NCWC. Predictions?

[D-BAT]

CNU has been practicing since last week.  Got to watch some intra-squad this weekend.  They seem to have done a good job filling the two positions that graduated in the middle infield.  Hitting is still a strong suit.  What I noticed most is the impact of the new bats - its horrible.  Some great swings were put on pitches and the balls barely made it to the outfielders.  They come off the bat like they used to .... they just die.  Offense is going to be hard to come by for everyone this year.   

Nova,
Do they someone who can step in for Brinkman or the closer (Malvo?)? I have not got to see any hitting with the new bat but image it is a lot like watching wood bat league.

What's wrong with the new bats making it similar to watching a wood bat league?  IMHO, it'll be more like good ole fashion baseball.  At least we'll eliminate those softball scores.  It definitely puts the defense back into the game and brings back the coaching strategy.  The better coaches will surface to the top as a result of the change in the new restricted bats. 

[NoVa Baseball]

CNU has been practicing since last week.  Got to watch some intra-squad this weekend.  They seem to have done a good job filling the two positions that graduated in the middle infield.  Hitting is still a strong suit.  What I noticed most is the impact of the new bats - its horrible.  Some great swings were put on pitches and the balls barely made it to the outfielders.  They come off the bat like they used to .... they just die.  Offense is going to be hard to come by for everyone this year.   

Nova,
Do they someone who can step in for Brinkman or the closer (Malvo?)? I have not got to see any hitting with the new bat but image it is a lot like watching wood bat league.

What's wrong with the new bats making it similar to watching a wood bat league?  IMHO, it'll be more like good ole fashion baseball.  At least we'll eliminate those softball scores.  It definitely puts the defense back into the game and brings back the coaching strategy.  The better coaches will surface to the top as a result of the change in the new restricted bats. 

That's one way of looking at it.  But having brought up two sons playing during the "softball score" era, I wonder if kids like them will not find "old school" baseball boring and lose interest.  Baseball is a hard game to learn and appreciate and by limiting scoring we are risking turning it into soccer from a player and fans perspective.  I too am from the old school era and appreciate a good 1-0 game, but the majority of casual fans do not.  More importantly, a 13 year old OF can appreciate an occasional 1-0 game, but he's not gonna like standing out their watching K's and ground balls every game.  I hope I'm wrong and the reduction in offense brings back the occasional 1-0 game and not a slew of them.  I'd rather watch a game won by a pitcher or batter than a coach.

[D-BAT]

CNU has been practicing since last week.  Got to watch some intra-squad this weekend.  They seem to have done a good job filling the two positions that graduated in the middle infield.  Hitting is still a strong suit.  What I noticed most is the impact of the new bats - its horrible.  Some great swings were put on pitches and the balls barely made it to the outfielders.  They come off the bat like they used to .... they just die.  Offense is going to be hard to come by for everyone this year.   

Nova,
Do they someone who can step in for Brinkman or the closer (Malvo?)? I have not got to see any hitting with the new bat but image it is a lot like watching wood bat league.

What's wrong with the new bats making it similar to watching a wood bat league?  IMHO, it'll be more like good ole fashion baseball.  At least we'll eliminate those softball scores.  It definitely puts the defense back into the game and brings back the coaching strategy.  The better coaches will surface to the top as a result of the change in the new restricted bats. 

That's one way of looking at it.  But having brought up two sons playing during the "softball score" era, I wonder if kids like them will not find "old school" baseball boring and lose interest.  Baseball is a hard game to learn and appreciate and by limiting scoring we are risking turning it into soccer from a player and fans perspective.  I too am from the old school era and appreciate a good 1-0 game, but the majority of casual fans do not.  More importantly, a 13 year old OF can appreciate an occasional 1-0 game, but he's not gonna like standing out their watching K's and ground balls every game.  I hope I'm wrong and the reduction in offense brings back the occasional 1-0 game and not a slew of them.  I'd rather watch a game won by a pitcher or batter than a coach.

The real baseball players will also rise to the top.  If they want softball scores, then go play softball.

Don't go soft, play hard ball!

[WHEELIN WES]

NCWC has brought in a quality class of freshman position players and pitchers to reload their team.They started practice Monday and from what I understand things are going well.Their biggest question right now is the back end bullpen and who is going to replace the closer John Childs. NCWC has started a JV program again this year mainly due to the depth of the team. The overall program, I believe, will have approximately 36 players on the roster. On paper this year team has the potential to be much better than last years team but only time and game results will tell. The USA South conference should be fun and exciting to watch again this year.  I can't hardly wait for it to start... Ready to see some baseball!

[Catfishncwc]

Hey Guys,
Its been awhile since I have posted. I was wondering about Indy Ball. My son played at the Division 3 level and was all region player 3 times and an all conference player as well. He had very good college stats.....averaging a .350-.380 BA every year with alot of RBIs and 4-5 Home Runs. I know its a tough answer since you prob havent seen him play but do you think he has a shot at playing Indy ball? Whats the level like at Indy ball....does an above average college D3 Player have a chance to excel there? He is been trying to contact teams via email but they seem to invite him to tryouts....are these tryouts worth it? Hope someone knows more than me!

Thanks
The FLY

Unless your kid was invited to any of these tryouts his best bet is to go to these open tryouts it can not hurt for anything.  I have seen a lot of kids who I thought should get a shot never make it and those I thought had no chance get on a Indy team.  It only takes one team to like you.  Also teams don't care about stats, they want to see Tools so without knowing who your kid is I can't say if I have seen him play and give a good idea on his realistic chances. 

[D-BAT]

Shenandoah Tabbed as USA South Baseball Favorites


(FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.)- Shenandoah University, under the direction of eighth-year Head Coach Kevin Anderson, was picked to win the USA South Athletic Conference 2011 baseball title in the preseason coaches' poll. The Hornets will look to duplicate what was a stellar 2010 campaign. Shenandoah won the NCAA South Regional and reached the Division III World Series for the second consecutive season. The Hornets also captured the USA South Tournament Championship for the first time in program history.

The Hornets received six of seven first-place votes (36 points) as head coaches do not vote for their own teams in the balloting.

Methodist University finished second in the balloting with 29 points and the final first-place vote. Christopher Newport University placed third in the poll with 25 points while defending Conference regular season champions, N.C. Wesleyan College, received 23 points to finish fourth. Ferrum College, Averett University and Greensboro College, respectfully, rounded out the voting.

The 2011 campaign gets underway on Saturday, February 5th as Averett, Greensboro and Methodist are in action. The USA South Tournament will be played April 14th - 17th in Burlington, N.C. at the Burlington Athletic Stadium.


2011 USA South Baseball Coaches Poll
Rank/Institution (1st Place Votes)   Pts.
1.   Shenandoah (6)   36
2.   Methodist (1)   29
3.   Christopher Newport   25
4.   N.C. Wesleyan   23
5.   Ferrum   14
6.   Averett   12
7.   Greensboro   8

[LTBB1971]

Wow...NCWC 4th?  They only lost closer John Childs and LF Joel Creef and from what my son has told me, have reloaded on the bats.  Pitching will be solid.  My only question is who will close?  NCWC will not have another 17-19 season...and even with that, they won the regular season title by I believe going 9-3 in Conference if I'm correct.  I look for huge years from 1B Z. Alexander, OF D. Moore, INF J. Rahm and OF  JJ Allen.  On the mound don't be surprised if Webb and Knowles end up as the best 1-2 punch in the USA South.

[WHEELIN WES]

Wow...NCWC 4th?  They only lost closer John Childs and LF Joel Creef and from what my son has told me, have reloaded on the bats.  Pitching will be solid.  My only question is who will close?  NCWC will not have another 17-19 season...and even with that, they won the regular season title by I believe going 9-3 in Conference if I'm correct.  I look for huge years from 1B Z. Alexander, OF D. Moore, INF J. Rahm and OF  JJ Allen.  On the mound don't be surprised if Webb and Knowles end up as the best 1-2 punch in the USA South.

I don't get it either, but according to the team they love being picked forth to finish in the conference and are fired up planning on using this as additional motivation towards having a great season and hopefully winning the regular season crown again and the USA South tournament. They know they will be dog fight and will have to bring their A game every weekend!

[narch]

i'm a bit surprised that the monarchs are #2 in the preseason poll...i figured 3rd or 4th would be where the conference coaches would slot them

we should start to see some rosters up in the coming weeks...that will perhaps answer some of the questions about the polls (or possibly create more if there are losses we are unaware of)

congrats to such (mu), vansickler (su) and brashears (su) for being named 1st team pre-season all-americans (http://www.d3baseball.com/all-american/preseason2011.pdf)

[rolln2]

As all USAS fans know.  When it comes to baseball the pre-season poll never seems to matter.  The teams beat each other up so much, that who ever is left standing takes home the crown.

[D-BAT]

As all USAS fans know.  When it comes to baseball the pre-season poll never seems to matter.  The teams beat each other up so much, that who ever is left standing takes home the crown.

Amen!

[rolln2]

Well any updates on how those early practices and/or intra-squads are going.