BB: E8: Empire 8

magicman · May 14, 2012, 04:31:30 AM

Ithaca gets a Pool B bid and is in the regional at Farmingdale that has 6 teams. Cortland is the top seed in that regional.

Hosted by the SUNY-Farmingdale, Farmingdale, N.Y.

1 SUNY Cortland (30-7-1)
2 Farmingdale State (29-10)
3 Ithaca (27-8-1)
4 Misericordia (36-8)
5 Skidmore (30-15)
6 Castleton (33-14)

St. John Fisher has recieved a Pool C bid and is in the regional at Marietta, Ohio. They are the #4 seed out of 8 teams.

Hosted by Marietta, Marietta, Ohio

1 Marietta (37-6)
2 Washington and Jefferson (35-8)
3 Adrian (35-8)
4 St. John Fisher (29-10)
5 Westminster (Pa.) (33-9)
6 Wooster (27-16)
7 Manchester (25-19)
8 La Roche (25-16)

Here's a link to all the regionals: http://www.d3baseball.com/notables/2012/05/playoff-field

sjfcards · May 14, 2012, 05:55:26 AM

Very happy with the decision to put Fisher and IC into the tournament. That is the good news. The bad news is Fisher is seeded behind the #1, #10, and #14 teams in the country. I can't argue with it, but that is a tough road to the series.

Fisher is going to need some pitchers not named d'amato and Beaumont to really step up.

airball55 · May 14, 2012, 09:03:53 AM

Yes, I agree with that 100%. Cortland to me is as close as a sure thing is there is in the tournament now with Fisher getting shipped. Fisher has already beat Westminster, so they have that going for them. The NY regional is certainly Cortland's to lose, although I could see Ithaca coming out of that now with Fisher out and no one else from say the NJAC or Little East getting shipped in. Regardless, the NY region did okay with the selections and it wasn't really all that close with the seatings being what they were (Ithaca 3, Fisher 4).

rob · May 14, 2012, 10:24:23 AM

Quote from: airball55 on May 14, 2012, 09:03:53 AM
Yes, I agree with that 100%. Cortland to me is as close as a sure thing is there is in the tournament now with Fisher getting shipped. Fisher has already beat Westminster, so they have that going for them. The NY regional is certainly Cortland's to lose, although I could see Ithaca coming out of that now with Fisher out and no one else from say the NJAC or Little East getting shipped in. Regardless, the NY region did okay with the selections and it wasn't really all that close with the seatings being what they were (Ithaca 3, Fisher 4).

No such thing as a sure thing in baseball. All 6 teams are in the Regional because they all have a chance to win.
Especially Farmingdale, who is playing on their home field and won the Regional the last time they hosted, 3 years ago.

EttaFan1 · May 14, 2012, 10:55:11 AM

Bring a mid-east region fan up to speed on the St. John Fisher squad. I quickly glanced at their season stats, and it looks like they have a couple of solid arms and it sure looks like they can swing it a little hitting .340 and 26 HR's on the year.

What is their "style?" (small ball, move runners, etc.)

D'Amato, from the numbers looks like a strike out guy. Does he throw hard, good breaking stuff. What about the rest of the staff?

We are looking forward to the Cardinals coming to the Mid-Ohio Valley for the tournament. If you are coming and need some info about the area, ask me (I'm a local). If you are used to the big city atmosphere, Marietta is the polar opposite. The weather is supposed to be great from Wednesday through Sunday.

I'm hoping to catch all of the games (I'll be sitting behind home plate in the second row for most of the tournament) if you are there, stop by and say "hello."

sjfcards · May 14, 2012, 09:30:38 PM

Quote from: EttaFan1 on May 14, 2012, 10:55:11 AM
Bring a mid-east region fan up to speed on the St. John Fisher squad. I quickly glanced at their season stats, and it looks like they have a couple of solid arms and it sure looks like they can swing it a little hitting .340 and 26 HR's on the year.

What is their "style?" (small ball, move runners, etc.)

D'Amato, from the numbers looks like a strike out guy. Does he throw hard, good breaking stuff. What about the rest of the staff?

We are looking forward to the Cardinals coming to the Mid-Ohio Valley for the tournament. If you are coming and need some info about the area, ask me (I'm a local). If you are used to the big city atmosphere, Marietta is the polar opposite. The weather is supposed to be great from Wednesday through Sunday.

I'm hoping to catch all of the games (I'll be sitting behind home plate in the second row for most of the tournament) if you are there, stop by and say "hello."

I am trying to figure out how to get to the regional without having my wife leave me in the process. If I make it I will be sure to stop by.

Fisher is led by their two big arms, D'Amato and Beaumont. Both have high quality fastballs and mix in breaking stuff to keep hitters off balance. Beaumont spent the previous year as a starter at a D2 school in Florida, and has been what I hoped he would be all year. Two of his losses were in 2-1 games, and another he had a 9-2 lead in the 8th. The third starter, Tim Johnson, has good numbers but has not faces the best lineups as a general rule. He is very capable of putting up a good performance however.

The Fisher lineup is dangerous. They can hot the long ball but have been good (not great) at moving runners etc. They score runs in a lot of ways. The best hitter is Steve Karnyski who hits lead off. Don't sleep on any hitter as they had 6 players hitting over .400 more than half way through the season.

Fisher is a solid team, and has some quality wins this year (Cortland/Aurora/Westminster) but the pitching is thin after the top few starters and some bullpen guys. If they can get solid performances from some extra pitchers I think the hitting will be there. It is an uphill battle for them as the regional looks to be loaded, but it will be fun to see them compete with some teams from outside the area. Looking forward to it.

EttaFan1 · May 15, 2012, 09:22:51 AM

Thanks for the info....

Sounds like the Cardinals will be a formidable opponent. It could easily be a second round matchup between them and Marietta.

sjfcards · May 16, 2012, 06:01:28 AM

Day one of the regional is here. Glad Fisher is starting early. I couldn't make it to the regional so I will be watching online. Maybe over the weekend if Fisher is still in it.

baseballislife · May 16, 2012, 11:21:49 AM

Quote from: airball55 on May 10, 2012, 08:01:38 PM
Emory I will give you. Washington U. no way. Good programs, our top three can also compete in any region, I think that was more for what I was going for.

Hey airball, pretty funny that after our "debate" all four teams in the discussion - Fisher, Ithaca, Emory, and Wash U. all made the tournament! Good luck to all of them. I think they all deserve to be there.

As a UR guy, I take solace in the fact that the Jackets had to play 12 games (including Skidmore) aganst tournament bound teams this year and competed in most of them - getting wins in Ithaca and against Wash U in Florida. Throw in a win in Brockport, a 13-4 run down the stretch, and the return of their entire pitching staff + added experience for lots of starting underclassmen and I think the future is looking bright in Rochester.

Good luck to the NY teams still playing!

sjfcards · May 16, 2012, 02:49:08 PM

Fisher got off to a good start at their regional, as they beat Westminster 13-7. Fisher had 18 hits, and D'Amato was good as usual. He is now 11-0 on the year. Fisher will have Beaumont ready for tomorrow, and it looks like he will need everything he has as Marietta is putting to Laroche in game 2, 10-2. Should be a fun couple of days, and hopefully Fisher can stick around for a while.

I saw Cortland won today 7-6 in the NY regional. I would love to see Ithaca and Fisher both do well in the regionals. E8 pride and all that.

airball55 · May 17, 2012, 06:10:43 PM

That is kind of neat all the teams got in. And it really wasn't all that close judging by the seeds of the teams. Fisher is going to be a tough out anywhere they go... I think Cortland got a huge break when they got shipped out.

sjfcards · May 17, 2012, 09:06:54 PM

Fisher took down Marietta today in the Mideast regional to move to 2-0. They play the winner of Adrian and Manchester tomorrow.

airball55 · May 17, 2012, 09:53:35 PM

Nice win for the NY region there...

Ralph Turner · May 18, 2012, 08:03:14 PM

The E8 always loves a win over the OAC.

airball55 · May 20, 2012, 08:34:34 PM

Marietta came back and won the regional in the Mideast. Too bad we will never see what would have happened if Fisher stayed in NY where they would have had a heck of a chance to come out of. Good season though for the Cards and the Bombers as the little empire 8 had two teams make the post season.