BB: General New England Discussion

[kscer]

If Keene beats Williams, a nemesis in every sport it seems, and comes back 10-2 then they have to be #1. Keene coaches has to be concerned about the pitching giving up so many runs. Trinity seems to pick their schedule not to test the team but to garner wins. Eastern will be in the top five at the end. Wheaton is so disciplined and well coached they will continue to win. Southern Maine is a surprise losing their first three.

[Bostonian]

I've ripped Trinity in the past for their schedule, but this year, they are playing some solid teams. St. Mary's, Babson, and Denison are solid wins, and the St. Thomas win is clearly impressive.

Trinity's resume may not be that great, but their talent is. They've got the pitching depth to win it all.

Solid trips for other NESCAC teams. Williams beat Keene St., Brockport St., and swept UMboston. Only loss is to Hopkins. Bowdoin went 8-3 although their schedule was not tough. Most suprisingly, Tufts is 6-4 with wins over ranked NC Wesleyan and Greensboro. Looks like their freshmen class is for real.

[wordsmith]

Keene State has to be concerned about their pitching staff. They gave up a lot of runs in Ariz. Their bats won several games with their bats (2 vs CNJ & 1 vs Johns Hopkins); the offense scored 124 runs in 12 games.

Phil Mabey is considered a real key to the staff and he had a tough trip. In his 2 starts his line was:

Innings            Hits             E. Runs              BB          K's
----------          ------            ----------             ----         -----
  8.0                 13                  13                   5            2

If KSC wants to be a participant on the national stage they'll have to improve the staff performance. 

My top 8 in NE:
1. Trinity
2. Williams
2. Keene State
4. Eastern Connecticut
5. Suffolk
6. Wheaton
7. Curry
8. Bowdoin

[363dp]

Very early for a top 10, 8 or 5, so here goes.

Keene - beat some top teams
Williams - beat Keene
Trinity - soft schedule so far, need a sweep of Bowdoin to stay up here
Wheaton - three great outings by starting pitcher since back in New England
WNEC - I know what their record is and I know how good their starting pitching is
Eastern - Yes they have some pitching of their own, what about Defense

[TheGNAC]

WNEC? Huh?

Anderson's good, and Pizzoferrato's injured. After those two, they have no arms.

They also got spanked by Suffolk in Arizona 14-2.

[Rick Vaughn]

I wouldn't be too worried about KSC's pitching yet.  After hitting inside for a month or two, the baseball looks gigantic.  Once all these teams get back up north and start pitching in cold weather the offensive explosions will slow some. 

That reason is exactly what makes Trinity so tough this year.  They have been pitching and hitting in FL.

GNAC, WNEC may not be Top 10 material as of now, but Pizzoferrato and Anderson can beat anyone.  Not a lot of depth, but never count out two studs at the front of a rotation.

Nice DH today in Arizona.  A struggling So Maine takes on a surging Williams.

[KSCfan]

Good game for thursday, Keene at babson.  If anyone wants to listen to it Keene is broadcasting it over the internet.  Just audio no video, but the play by play guy for keene(adam Skebeck) does a very nice job.  Enjoyed him listening to the Arizona trip with him.  Its free to listen to, go to the keene state athletics pages and click on the blue teamline logo right under the rotating picture.  Then pick baseball out of the list and you are good.  Just throwing it out there for anyone that wants to check it out.  WHy dont more teams around the area do this kind of thing? i love it

[KSCfan]

Trinity stays perfect at 15-0 are they the number 1 team in the nation??? and does anyone want to throw out another regional rankings after this week? 

[DougiesGoinDeep]

KSC Fan,

No team in New England can even compare to the strength of Trinity's pitching staff. Kiely is without a doubt the best pitcher in New England, and Chandler Barnard, Mike Regan and Jeremiah Bayer all held a good hitting Bowdoin team to 2 runs in 3 games. Trinity should definitely be considered as a #1 team.

[TheGNAC]

I wouldn't say Kiely is the best pitcher in New England without a doubt. Personally I'd put Shawn Gilblair ahead of him pretty easily.

[wordsmith]

Trinity stays perfect at 15-0 are they the number 1 team in the nation??? and does anyone want to throw out another regional rankings after this week? 

OK here are my NE Rankings:

1) Trinity
2) Wheaton
3) Keene State
4) Williams
5) Eastern Connecticut
6) Suffolk
7) So. Maine
8 -Salem State

In the weeds - WNEC, Roger Williams, Rhode Island College, Curry

[Rick Vaughn]

Trin is the clear cut #1 right now, and with Gilblair banged up Kiely is the best pitcher in the region right now.  Williams beat KSC head-to-head already and has a similar record.  Should be #3 right now.

[TheGNAC]

Now that I think about it, there's a few other arms I might take over Kiely, also. Chris McDonough from Wheaton could be considered the top arm in the region, as could Chris Anderson WNEC. Sam Whelan from Babson pitched in the Cape last summer, he could be up there.

Point is, there's a lot of arms in this region, and it's pretty hard to say one of them is the best "without a doubt." It's not like there's a Jonah Bayliss or Ryan DiPietro in the region this year.

Anyway, on to my regional top 8.

1. Trinity (15-0)
2. Wheaton (14-4)
3. Keene State (12-4)
4. Williams (12-4)
5. Curry (10-1)
6. Suffolk (12-4)
7. Eastern CT (9-7)
8. Babson (10-6)

[wordsmith]

But KSC's 2 wins over College of NJ - their only 2 losses, and a quality win over Johns Hopkins out-weigh, at least in my mind and my poll, the single loss to Williams.

[Rick Vaughn]

Lack of research on my part.  I did not realize that Keene had wins over TCNJ and Hopkins.  My regional top 8 would mirror the others mentioned.