BB: Midwest Region

[OshDude]

Ranked by winning percentage (through 4/13). Midwest series against Top 20 in parentheses.

1.  Ripon 4-0
2.  Stevens Point 10-2 (StT 1-1, LAX 3-1, Norbert 2-0, Sup 2-0)
3.  Gustavus 8-2 (Stout 1-1, StJ 2-0, Moor 2-0)
4.  Whitewater 12-4 (StO 1-1, Beth 2-0, Augs 1-1, UWO 2-2, Platte 2-0, Stout 2-0)
5.  St. Olaf 5-2 (WW 1-1, Grinn 2-0, Beth 1-0)
6.  Oshkosh 12-5 (CSS 1-1, StT 1-1, Beth 2-0, Sup 3-1, WW 2-2, LAX 2-0)
7.  Grinnell 11-5 (StO 0-2, Sup 1-1)
8.  St. Scholastica 4-2 (StT 1-1, UWO 1-1)
9.  Illinois College 7-4
10. St. Thomas 5-3 (CSS 1-1, Point 1-1, UWO 1-1)
     Moorhead 5-3 (LAX 2-0, Gust 0-2)
12. Hamline 12-8 (LAX 2-0, Stout 2-0)
13. Augsburg 9-7 (LAX 0-2, WW 1-1, Stout 1-1)
14. Platteville 10-8 (Stout 3-1, LAX 2-2, WW 0-2)
15. La Crosse 11-11 (Augs 2-0, Ham 0-2, StJ 2-0, Moor 0-2, Point 1-3, PV 2-2, Stout 2-0, UWO 0-2)
     Superior 8-8 (Grinn 1-1, StJ 2-0, UWO 1-3, Stout 2-2, Point 0-2)
     St. Norbert 5-5 (Point 0-2)
18. St. John's 6-8 (LAX 0-2, Stout 0-1, Sup 0-2, Beth 1-1, Gust 0-2)
19. Bethel 4-7 (UWO 0-2, WW 0-2, StJ 1-1, StO 0-1)
20. Stout 7-14 (Ham 0-2, Gust 1-1, Augs 1-1, StJ 1-0, PV 1-3, Sup 2-2, LAX 0-2, WW 0-2)

Midwest Region's 5 Big Results of the Week (4/7-13):
St. Olaf 4, Bethel 3.
St. Mary's swept two games from Hamline.
Gustavus swept two games from both St. John's and Concordia.
Whitewater (4-0), Stevens Point (2-0) and Oshkosh (2-0) all went undefeated.
One MWC team played a game (Lawrence def. Lakeland).

Midwest Region's Pitching line of the Week (4/7-13):
Jeff Amann, senior, Northwestern, vs. Crown (4/8): W (1-2), 7 IP, 0 H, 5 BB, 9 K in 3-0 win.

Midwest Region's Hitting line of the Week (4/7-13):
Alex Buresh, sophomore DH, Hamline, vs. Carleton (4/9): 2-for-2, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB, HR, SF in 11-0 win.

Midwest Region's 5 Big DH's of the Week (4/14-20):
4/14 Gustavus vs. Bethel
4/14 St. Norbert vs. Beloit (8-5 in-region)
4/16 St. Thomas vs. St. Olaf
4/16 Stevens Point vs. Oshkosh
4/19 Illinois College vs. Grinnell

[BaseballFan]

Nice to see UWW join the top 25 this week thats 4 midwest teams now.

Also good to see CSS play their 1st games in 3 weeks with a win yesterday and a sweep today (15-3). They used 14 pitchers I see, no one going more than 2 innings to save arms They have the chance to go 8-0 this week and be 20-3---5 midwest teams ranked next week?

[xyz123]

"Also good to see CSS play their 1st games in 3 weeks with a win yesterday and a sweep today (15-3). They used 14 pitchers I see, no one going more than 2 innings to save arms They have the chance to go 8-0 this week and be 20-3---5 midwest teams ranked next week?"

I am of the opinion that any team that gives up 6 runs to Crown in 3 games should go down in the rankings.  I don't care who they pitched. 

[BaseballFan]

"Also good to see CSS play their 1st games in 3 weeks with a win yesterday and a sweep today (15-3). They used 14 pitchers I see, no one going more than 2 innings to save arms They have the chance to go 8-0 this week and be 20-3---5 midwest teams ranked next week?"

I am of the opinion that any team that gives up 6 runs to Crown in 3 games should go down in the rankings.  I don't care who they pitched. 

True probably should not give up 6 runs to Crown but under the circumstances i think its ok: 14 pitchers, cold weather, havent played in 3 weeks, some of those guys im guessing hadnt really pitched all year, its pretty tough for 14 different guys to be perfect. A wins a win, no matter if its 20-19 or 1-0 and its good they are playing

[OshDude]

With the regional rankings due to be out by the end of April, I thought it may be fun to get some early guesses as to what they are before the weekend games. The first rankings should look similar to those in the past, with only Gustavus being a new serious contender.

Here's my list as of today, with in-region records through 4/16:
1. Oshkosh 16-5 (splits with CSS, StT, WW, swept Point)
2. Whitewater 16-4 (splits with UWO, StO)
3. St. Thomas 9-3 (splits with CSS, Point, UWO, swept StO)
4. Ripon 8-0 (swept Carroll, Lawrence ... whatever)
5. St. Scholastica 7-2 (splits with UWO, StT)
6. Stevens Point 12-4 (split with StT, swept by UWO, swept Norbert)

Other teams at least two games over .500:
Gustavus 12-2 (swept a .500-in-region Concordia-Moorhead team)
St. Olaf 7-4 (split with WW, swept Grinnell, swept by StT)
Hamline 14-8 (swept a .500-in-region Concordia-Moorhead team, too)
Grinnell 11-7 (swept by StO)
St. Norbert 8-6 (swept by Point and Carthage, lost to Augustana, won 3 of 4 against Beloit)
Beloit 10-8 (lost 3 of 4 to Norbert, lost to Augustana)

And yes, those are the only teams at least two games above .500 so far.

Any other early season predictions?

[biggio34]

OK, so the standards are now that unless you shut out bad teams you should drop in the rankings.... That doesn't make much sense to me, do you think the pollsters care about the number of shutouts a team has in a year or how the team actually stacks up against the others?

[Gustie13]

OK, so the standards are now that unless you shut out bad teams you should drop in the rankings.... That doesn't make much sense to me, do you think the pollsters care about the number of shutouts a team has in a year or how the team actually stacks up against the others?

CSS has to be on a shorter leash because the play in the UMAC, no ifs ands or buts.

[xyz123]

"... That doesn't make much sense to me, do you think the pollsters care about the number of shutouts a team has in a year or how the team actually stacks up against the others?"

They better care.  If a team goes 40-0 and only plays teams like Crown, that doesn't really say much for how good they are.  Obviously the pollsters have to look at who a teams wins are coming against or else they are not doing their job.

Don't get me wrong, I think CSS should be ranked regionally and in the national polls, but I had to give them a little bit of a hard time when they gave up 6 runs in 3 games to a team that was no hit by Northwestern.  That's all.

[biggio34]

I agree that CSS gets a ton of easy wins a year by being in the UMAC, that is clearly the case.  I'm saying that the pollsters probably don't care if they gave up 2 runs per game against crown, MLC, Northwestern, etc.  I would imagine that the pollsters understand CSS situation that they are required to play those games and most of the time treat them as JV games to get second and third string guys some innings.  I don't know how many conf games they have off the top of my head, but if they go 20-0 (or whatever) in the UMAC and have zero shutout, that is better than going 18-2 with 5 shutouts.

[xyz123]

I agree biggio34.  I dont think the scores matter, nor should they.  I was simply trying to poke alittle fun at your squad for giving up runs to Crown... as meaningless as those runs were.

[BaseballFan]

With the regional rankings due to be out by the end of April, I thought it may be fun to get some early guesses as to what they are before the weekend games. The first rankings should look similar to those in the past, with only Gustavus being a new serious contender.

Here's my list as of today, with in-region records through 4/16:
1. Oshkosh 16-5 (splits with CSS, StT, WW, swept Point)
2. Whitewater 16-4 (splits with UWO, StO)
3. St. Thomas 9-3 (splits with CSS, Point, UWO, swept StO)
4. Ripon 8-0 (swept Carroll, Lawrence ... whatever)
5. St. Scholastica 7-2 (splits with UWO, StT)
6. Stevens Point 12-4 (split with StT, swept by UWO, swept Norbert)

Other teams at least two games over .500:
Gustavus 12-2 (swept a .500-in-region Concordia-Moorhead team)
St. Olaf 7-4 (split with WW, swept Grinnell, swept by StT)
Hamline 14-8 (swept a .500-in-region Concordia-Moorhead team, too)
Grinnell 11-7 (swept by StO)
St. Norbert 8-6 (swept by Point and Carthage, lost to Augustana, won 3 of 4 against Beloit)
Beloit 10-8 (lost 3 of 4 to Norbert, lost to Augustana)

And yes, those are the only teams at least two games above .500 so far.

Any other early season predictions?

1. Oshkosh 16-5 (splits with CSS, StT, WW, swept Point)
2. Whitewater 16-4 (splits with UWO, StO)
3. St. Thomas 9-3 (splits with CSS, Point, UWO, swept StO)
4. St. Scholastica 7-2 (splits with UWO, StT)
5. Stevens Point 12-4 (split with StT, swept by UWO, swept Norbert)
6. Ripon 8-0 (swept Carroll, Lawrence ... whatever)

Tough to argue you with your rankings, I would probably put Ripon 6 because havent beat anyone good overall and their 8 in region win are against 2 teams with terrible records. Their last 6 games will show if they are actually that good (2 vs STP, 4 vs Norbert).

Still a lot of ball to play.
1. UWO looks in the drivers seat with only 2 tough games left (STP).
2. UWW only 4 tough games left (STP).
3. UST will coast into the regional and with a win over CSS and GA split and tourney championship will get a #2 seed.
4. CSS needs to play a lot of games still. Sweep over Gustavus and a win over UST gets them in probably 4 or 5.
5. Stevens Point tough 6 games plus ripons 2. Needs to go 4-4 I think in those games
6. Ripon might still need to win conference tourney to get in.

GA could make things interesting if they sweep St thomas and is on a roll lately. If St thomas doesnt win their conference tourney that could put the 3rd WIAC team out (STP?) or CSS if they dont take care of business. Same could be said if Ripon doesnt win either

[Gustie13]

With the regional rankings due to be out by the end of April, I thought it may be fun to get some early guesses as to what they are before the weekend games. The first rankings should look similar to those in the past, with only Gustavus being a new serious contender.

Here's my list as of today, with in-region records through 4/16:
1. Oshkosh 16-5 (splits with CSS, StT, WW, swept Point)
2. Whitewater 16-4 (splits with UWO, StO)
3. St. Thomas 9-3 (splits with CSS, Point, UWO, swept StO)
4. Ripon 8-0 (swept Carroll, Lawrence ... whatever)
5. St. Scholastica 7-2 (splits with UWO, StT)
6. Stevens Point 12-4 (split with StT, swept by UWO, swept Norbert)

Other teams at least two games over .500:
Gustavus 12-2 (swept a .500-in-region Concordia-Moorhead team)
St. Olaf 7-4 (split with WW, swept Grinnell, swept by StT)
Hamline 14-8 (swept a .500-in-region Concordia-Moorhead team, too)
Grinnell 11-7 (swept by StO)
St. Norbert 8-6 (swept by Point and Carthage, lost to Augustana, won 3 of 4 against Beloit)
Beloit 10-8 (lost 3 of 4 to Norbert, lost to Augustana)

And yes, those are the only teams at least two games above .500 so far.

Any other early season predictions?

1. Oshkosh 16-5 (splits with CSS, StT, WW, swept Point)
2. Whitewater 16-4 (splits with UWO, StO)
3. St. Thomas 9-3 (splits with CSS, Point, UWO, swept StO)
4. St. Scholastica 7-2 (splits with UWO, StT)
5. Stevens Point 12-4 (split with StT, swept by UWO, swept Norbert)
6. Ripon 8-0 (swept Carroll, Lawrence ... whatever)

Tough to argue you with your rankings, I would probably put Ripon 6 because havent beat anyone good overall and their 8 in region win are against 2 teams with terrible records. Their last 6 games will show if they are actually that good (2 vs STP, 4 vs Norbert).

Still a lot of ball to play.
1. UWO looks in the drivers seat with only 2 tough games left (STP).
2. UWW only 4 tough games left (STP).
3. UST will coast into the regional and with a win over CSS and GA split and tourney championship will get a #2 seed.
4. CSS needs to play a lot of games still. Sweep over Gustavus and a win over UST gets them in probably 4 or 5.
5. Stevens Point tough 6 games plus ripons 2. Needs to go 4-4 I think in those games
6. Ripon might still need to win conference tourney to get in.

GA could make things interesting if they sweep St thomas and is on a roll lately. If St thomas doesnt win their conference tourney that could put the 3rd WIAC team out (STP?) or CSS if they dont take care of business. Same could be said if Ripon doesnt win either

Even as a loyal Gustie fan I don't consider GAC much of a threat to USt.

Back to CSS, lets be honest, the pollsters probably don't know just how bad Crown, MLC, etc. are.

[cubs]

6. Ripon NEEDS to win conference tourney to get in.

GA could make things interesting if they sweep St thomas and is on a roll lately. If St thomas doesnt win their conference tourney that could put the 3rd WIAC team out (STP?) or CSS if they dont take care of business. Same could be said if Ripon doesnt win either

I only made one change in the above statement.....  If they don't win the MWC Tourney (which I predicted back in February that St. Norbert would win) they WILL NOT get a Regional bid.  Take it to the bank!!!

[BaseballFan]

6. Ripon NEEDS to win conference tourney to get in.

GA could make things interesting if they sweep St thomas and is on a roll lately. If St thomas doesnt win their conference tourney that could put the 3rd WIAC team out (STP?) or CSS if they dont take care of business. Same could be said if Ripon doesnt win either

I only made one change in the above statement.....  If they don't win the MWC Tourney (which I predicted back in February that St. Norbert would win) they WILL NOT get a Regional bid.  Take it to the bank!!!

I pretty much agree with you. I dont think the MWC will get 2 teams. No room for them both  if 3 go from WIAC, 1 MIAC, 1 UMAC.

[ballboy]

Hello. Just a thought is that there are some set criteria that the committee is to use for determine the at large bids, both for pool B and pool C. There are below. And as far as the pool C bids (those for teams who are in a conference with an AQ but who do not get that AQ) and the Pool B teams (those without an AQ in the conference) much of the determining factor comes down to if the best teams in the nation win their conference tourneys.

These are the primary criteria that are used to rank the Pool B & C teams:
• Win-loss percentage against regional opponents
• Quality of Wins Index: only contests versus regional competition
• In- region head-to-head competition.
• In-region results vs. common regional opponents.
• In-region results vs. regionally ranked teams
• Ranked opponents are defined as those teams ranked at the time of the ranking/selection process only.
• Conference post-season contests are included.
• Contests versus provisional members in their third and fourth years shall count in the primary criteria. Provisional members shall remain ineligible for rankings and selection.

If the evaluation of the primary criteria does not result in a decision by the committee, the following Secondary Criteria (for ranking and selections) will be evaluated:
• Out-of region head-to-head competition.
• Overall Division III won-loss percentage
• Results versus common non Division III opponents
• Results versus Division III teams ranked in other regions
• Overall win-loss percentage
• Results versus common out-of region opponents
• Overall Division III Quality of Wins.