BB: Midwest Region

[cubs]

Koback should be in the running for player of the year overall in D3. 

It wil be interesting to see where Koback and Donovan end up on the respective All American Teams.  They will both be at the Utility Position, which will be a tough vote as they both have great offensive and pitching numbers.

[OshDude]

Now that some of the All Conference teams are starting to be released, where who would you guys vote as the Midwest Region Pitcher and Position Player of the Year?  

Some of the leading candidates would seem to be:

Pitcher-
Westphal-Oshkosh
Lewis-CSS
Hughes-St. Olaf
Hallahan-Bethany Lutheran

Position-
Koback-Stevens Point
Moody-CSS
Rahm-St. Thomas


Oshdude?  I know you have an opinion on this......

My guys would be Westphal and Koback, but Donovan is a close 1b to Koback as a utility player. I think all three of those guys are All-Americans. What teams, if at all, we'll see. There is a lot of AA competition for pitchers this season. Ridiculous numbers around the nation.

Besides the ones quoted, there are several good MW noms. In no order, and I'm probably missing some (not meant as a definitive list, just a quick scan): Putnam, Coe, Moody, Flagstad, Link, Douglas, Gerber, Scala, Stephens, Davidson, Kohls. Some of those guys, and others I surely missed on the gigantic list, could get nods. I now see Moody mentioned.

Without a fine-tooth comb yet, I think we'll see more MW AA players than in years past. Not a significant increase, but I hesitantly/cautiously see more from around here.

[forheavendial4999]

My guys would be Westphal and Koback, but Donovan is a close 1b to Koback as a utility player. I think all three of those guys are All-Americans. What teams, if at all, we'll see. There is a lot of AA competition for pitchers this season. Ridiculous numbers around the nation.

Besides the ones quoted, there are several good MW noms. In no order, and I'm probably missing some (not meant as a definitive list, just a quick scan): Putnam, Coe, Moody, Flagstad, Link, Douglas, Gerber, Scala, Stephens, Davidson, Kohls. Some of those guys, and others I surely missed on the gigantic list, could get nods. I now see Moody mentioned.

Without a fine-tooth comb yet, I think we'll see more MW AA players than in years past. Not a significant increase, but I hesitantly/cautiously see more from around here.

Pretty close to lead pipe locks for All-American assuming they don't completely wet the bed...just from looking at current stats and that most of them are in the regionals...

3B Chad Mullins, Case Western
OF John Snyder, Marietta
1B Jordan Walton, Randolph-Macon
C Kyle Moody, St. Scholastica (There is a ton of competition at catcher this year though)
Of Ken Gregory, Kean
1B Kevin Callahan, Illinois Wesleyan
UTL John Apostolo, Mitchell

P Brian Gasser, Marietta
RP Michael Schweiss, Dallas

Greg Ross of Frostburg State and Jason Pankau of Illinois Wesleyan could make it hard to pick against them with good performances in the regional. Mike Russo and Mike Swietanski are right up there. Derek Dallas of UTD and Brian Rauh of Chapman are also in the conversation. Really hard to choose. Chad Sherman of UTT, Andrew Kirk of Alvernia...I have no idea how you pick among those guys. Robert Vaughn of Linfield has put up great numbers but doesn't have as many innings. I think all of those guys have better numbers than anyone from the WIAC on the mound.

I believe there have been cases where a guy wasn't voted all conference but was voted all region and ended up all-American. Not many, but a few. Daniel Putnam could be one of them.

[biggio34]

Now that some of the All Conference teams are starting to be released, where who would you guys vote as the Midwest Region Pitcher and Position Player of the Year? 

Some of the leading candidates would seem to be:

Pitcher-
Westphal-Oshkosh
Lewis-CSS
Hughes-St. Olaf
Hallahan-Bethany Lutheran

Position-
Koback-Stevens Point
Moody-CSS
Rahm-St. Thomas


Oshdude?  I know you have an opinion on this......

I would have to replace Hallahan on this list with Justin Kohls from BLC. Kohls went 9-0 with a 1.87 era and .221 BA/against

While Kohls 9-0 record and a low era is nice, let's examine who he put up these numbers against.  As BLC's #3 or #4, he didn't get the starts against the good teams that BLC played.  Kohls had wins in games he started against...

NWC (14-25)
Morris (9-20)
Crown (4-25)
NWC (14-25)
Northland (10-25)
Martin Luther (7-23)
Martin Luther (7-23)
Bridgewater (VA) - (26-18)

Of that list only Bridgewater had a winning record.

Kohls did not get starts against...
St. Thomas
CSS
Coe
Buena Vista
Aurora
St. Olaf

So it would seem that even though his numbers are nice, he was not even one of the best pitchers on his team, much less in the region.

So, should the teams you perform against be considered when selecting players for all-region?  Last year I felt it was a bit of a joke when CSS's Jeff Adams was selected to the D3 all America list for similar reasons.  He never pitch against anyone good until the regional and accumulated his numbers against bad conference opponents.

To me these selections should not just be made on the numbers, but I realize that is pretty difficult to do.

[cubs]

Wednesday Predictions.....

Game #1- Point over Aurora 8-2  (Williams isn't at his best, but throws good enough to get the job done.)

Game #2- St. Thomas over Whitewater 3-2 (Edwards outduels Tincher.)  

Game #3-CSS over Hamline 5-2 (Lewis keeps it close until CSS scores a couple late for the win.)

Had the score right, just the wrong way....  Too bad it's not a pool, as I would still get paid!!!

[cubs]

P Brian Gasser, Marietta
RP Michael Schweiss, Dallas

Greg Ross of Frostburg State and Jason Pankau of Illinois Wesleyan could make it hard to pick against them with good performances in the regional. Mike Russo and Mike Swietanski are right up there. Derek Dallas of UTD and Brian Rauh of Chapman are also in the conversation. Really hard to choose. Chad Sherman of UTT, Andrew Kirk of Alvernia...I have no idea how you pick among those guys. Robert Vaughn of Linfield has put up great numbers but doesn't have as many innings. I think all of those guys have better numbers than anyone from the WIAC on the mound.

Do yo have the numbers of the other guys handy?  I would love to compare them to WIAC Pitcher of the Year Luke Westphal.

Westphal's Line:
7-0 (In 8 Appearances, all starts) 1.34 ERA, 5 CG, 64 K's/14 BB's in 60.1 IP .184 BAA (Gave up just 6 extra-base hits all season.)

If they all have better numbers that that, than more power to them!!!!

[MIACLUV]

Offense went into hiding for Tommies today and Point was a little to much for a depleted Hamlin's staff. Nice run MIAC.

[OshDude]

Oshkosh's Luke Westphal was named the ABCA Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year.

I saw an ABCA All-American list on the nation board that had Stevens Point's Scott Williams as a 2nd-Team selection and Westphal 3rd-Team. That doesn't seem possible. Well, nonsensical may be a better way of stating it.

[cubs]

I saw that same list posted on the Nation Board....  Has the All Midwest Region list been posted anywhere yet?

[Just Bill]

Finally, the WIAC put up a complete list...

http://www.wiacsports.com/documents/2011/5/31/2011ABCAAllMidwestRegion.pdf?id=1333

[OshDude]

Finally, the WIAC put up a complete list...

http://www.wiacsports.com/documents/2011/5/31/2011ABCAAllMidwestRegion.pdf?id=1333

Can we borrow a shortstop from the 2nd Team when we play the West Region 1st Team in the tournament? The players look fine, but the makeup is odd for all of the teams.

[OshDude]

The Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association all-star classic was last weekend. About 70 of the state's top seniors are chosen to play.

I'm not sure how firm the info is or whether the players will even play baseball in college, but I thought I'd pass along the breakdown of D-III schools the players will attend, according to the tourney program.

Stevens Point: 7 8
Oshkosh: 3
Whitewater: 3
St. Thomas: 2
Carroll: 2
La Crosse: 2
Ripon: 1
St. Norbert: 1
Augsburg: 1
Superior: 1
Benedictine: 1
MSOE: 1
Edgewood: 1
North Park: 1
Hope: 1
Undecided: 12

[tomt4525]

The Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association all-star classic was last weekend. About 70 of the state's top seniors are chosen to play.

I'm not sure how firm the info is or whether the players will even play baseball in college, but I thought I'd pass along the breakdown of D-III schools the players will attend, according to the tourney program.

Stevens Point: 7 8
Oshkosh: 3
Whitewater: 3
St. Thomas: 2
Carroll: 2
La Crosse: 2
Ripon: 1
St. Norbert: 1
Augsburg: 1
Superior: 1
Benedictine: 1
MSOE: 1
Edgewood: 1
North Park: 1
Hope: 1
Undecided: 12

Could you possibly name the 8 going to Stevens Point?  I'm just curious on who they are bringing in and couldn't find that info myself...thanks in advance.

[cubs]

One kid that I know of for sure, but wold not be included in eight players Oshdude is talking about would be Ripon's Michael Polcyn.  He was the winning pitcher in the Division 2 State Championship this past spring, but I would venture to say you won't see him as a pitcher at the next level.  He is a big (6'3") strong LH hitter, who played SS in HS, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him make a position change. 

The variable in the whole situation is that while he had his mind made up about going to Point, UW Milwaukee became a player after Ripon's State Tournament run and offered some scholarship money.  I guess we will see how "firm" his choice of Point was in the coming weeks.

[tomt4525]

One kid that I know of for sure, but wold not be included in eight players Oshdude is talking about would be Ripon's Michael Polcyn.  He was the winning pitcher in the Division 2 State Championship this past spring, but I would venture to say you won't see him as a pitcher at the next level.  He is a big (6'3") strong LH hitter, who played SS in HS, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him make a position change. 

The variable in the whole situation is that while he had his mind made up about going to Point, UW Milwaukee became a player after Ripon's State Tournament run and offered some scholarship money.  I guess we will see how "firm" his choice of Point was in the coming weeks.

Thanks cubs, I had heard about Polcyn but didn't hear he had decided on Point.  Scholarship money is hard to turn down though, for my alma mater's sake I hope he can turn it down.  He sounds like he has the makings of being a huge contributor if he makes it to Point.