BB: E8: Empire 8

[baseballislife]

This dual league affiliation thing has to stop.  It is not fair to the other teams in the region.  Pick a league and go with it.  Or, if I was Ithaca and St. John Fisher, dummy down the schedule as much as possible and try and go 35-5 to ensure more consideration for those hard to grab at large bids.

No one's complaining about Rochester being in both the UAA and Liberty League.

Just curious, (I could look this up) but how many games does Stevens play in the CUNYAC?  While technically in both the UAA and LL, Rochester plays their entire 8 game schedule in the UAA by playing the other four teams that participate in the Florida tournament twice each over a 7 day period in March.  The teams are quality teams, but it feels much more like a tourney than a "league".  There is is no auto bid, but of course, UR has one available through the LL - something that has proven to be elusive.  At least they (UR) have to play a full 24 game regular season, finish in the top 4 of a 9 team league, and win the post season tourney to get the auto bid. 

[airball55]

the uaa is basically a tournament with no real reward for the winner...if there is one.  That's a totally different situation than what we are discussing with Stevens.  When Stevens left for the Empire 8, did they keep the status with their old league in all sports?  Or was it an exception because the E8 has no AQ for baseball.  You would never see this at the higher levels.  It really is a great situation for Stevens.  Dr. McGraw, I defer to your expertise.

[baseballislife]

the uaa is basically a tournament with no real reward for the winner...if there is one.  That's a totally different situation than what we are discussing with Stevens.  When Stevens left for the Empire 8, did they keep the status with their old league in all sports?  Or was it an exception because the E8 has no AQ for baseball.  You would never see this at the higher levels.  It really is a great situation for Stevens.  Dr. McGraw, I defer to your expertise.

I agree, airball.  That is my point - that the two situations are not comparable and Rochester can win the UAA "league" and be no closer to the NCAA tournament than they are when they are 0-0 in LL play after their Florida trip.  2009 and 2010 are examples of that. 

[John McGraw]

Stevens will play a full compliment of CUNYAC games as it has the last two years. It's a 12-game league schedule with each team playing one another twice. The majority of the Ducks' league games will be played before the 16-game Empire 8 slate begins.

The Ducks were previously members of the Skyline Conference before joining the Empire 8 as a full member in all sports.  The move to CUNYAC affiliate membership, which I believe is for baseball only, came for the 2012 season when the E8 was down to just four teams, nowhere near the number necessary for an automatic bid.

[airball55]

Thanks John, Stevens has a great situation there.  That AQ potentially hurts a Fisher or Ithaca simply because it is tough for both teams to get in.  Those at large bids are hard to come by. 

[airball55]

On another note...Fisher is off to a good start in Florida.  2-1 with a blowout win against NCAA perennial power Aurora and a good split with Gwynned Mercy who split earlier this season at Kean. Cortland also off and running at 6-1.  These two look good early and giving the region some nice out of region wins against good teams.

[DucksBB]

Really is a good situation for Stevens.  The Ducks had a 2 yr probationary period and now have the 'affiliate member' title.  I believe this is what Houghton is doing in the E8.  I'm new to the board and always have felt bad eavesdropping on Fisher and Ithaca discussions.  Hopefully the team can perform well enough to join the discussion this year.  Good luck to all.

[airball55]

Stevens is getting better and better.  I think they have to be in the discussion as the next team to join the big five, Cortland, Ithaca, Fisher, RPI and Farmingdale.  Stevens, Brockport and a few others are in that group just a shade below...depending on the season could move up.  Stevens has got better and better, let's see if they can steal a few on the road this season at Fisher or Ithaca.  That CUNYAC league is so far below the big three leagues in NY (Sunyac, E8, Liberty), it should be easy pickings for them.

[sjfcards]

On another note...Fisher is off to a good start in Florida.  2-1 with a blowout win against NCAA perennial power Aurora and a good split with Gwynned Mercy who split earlier this season at Kean. Cortland also off and running at 6-1.  These two look good early and giving the region some nice out of region wins against good teams.

Fisher improved to 3-1 today, with a win against Trine. Another good pitching performance, this time from a freshman. A few young guys playing big roles for Fisher so far. Good to see for Fisher fans!

[nybaseballfan23]

Looks like Ithaca's consecutive games cancelled due to weather streak might finally come to an end this weekend, as they are scheduled to play Old Westbury Saturday.  Must be itching to get started, and to finally get outside before their annual jaunt to the West Coast.

Saw Fisher has gotten some solid pitching based on the scores, who are their guys they are counting on other than D'Amato?

Regarding Stevens' improvement, I see that they are 23-1 vs. the CUNY last two seasons, 24-35 vs. everyone else, and 1-9 vs. Bombers.

[airball55]

great point NYbaseballfan...I think the new staff has brought in better kids, the records have improved a  bit from season to season with the new Head Coach.  As for the record with Ithaca...lot's of teams are in that situation LOL!  I just think they are closer to the top two (Ithaca, Fisher) than middle of the road teams in the YAC or Liberty for instance who have more teams and quality.  Houghton and Utica offer up 8 games as well as the CUNYAC games...there are a lot of wins there.  If they can get a few from SJFC or Ithaca, they could get near that 30 win mark.

[DucksBB]

With regards to Stevens, I think the culture has been changing.  This year is the new coach's third year but only his second recruiting class.  The staff has worked hard the last two years to recruit needs and is building a good core with a different attitude towards winning than the school had prior under the old regime.  Many are playing quality summer leagues and there is a definite upward trend.  Thanks for the kind observations that we soon could be mentioned with the upper echelon of the region.

I got to witness our split with Fisher last year but missed out on watching Ithaca take care of business against us.  No doubt the team still has a ways to go.  Great to see Fisher off to a good start and I'm sure Ithaca is poised to start strong as well.  It's always good to watch the conference do well.

[nybaseballfan23]

Agreed, airball, lot of wins to be had on that schedule!

Wasn't all that familiar with Stevens, but after doing some digging (very detailed record book on their site) turns out they have been pretty good for a while.  From 2001-11, when the last coach (John Crane) was there, they went to seven postseason tournaments (5 conference, two ECAC) and played in four championship games (3 conference, 1 ECAC) and went to regionals in 2002.  Also had six 20+ win seasons, including five of last seven years before the coaching change after 2011 season.

Program looks like it was bad before that, never more than 12 wins in a season...looks like Crane got it going in the right direction and that is continuing under Kristaps Aldins today.  Hope they make it competitive in the E8 this season, will be great for the league to possibly get 3 in!

[sjfcards]

Another strong performance from Fisher today, as they beat Rose-Hulman 15-2. Another solid outing by a Fisher starter not named D'Amato, with Shawn Corrigan getting the win. A lot of hits/runs so far for the Cardinals as well.

I know it is only 5 games, but I am trying to remember a Fisher start that was this impressive in the last few years, and I am struggling to come up with one.

[Bombers798891]

Another strong performance from Fisher today, as they beat Rose-Hulman 15-2. Another solid outing by a Fisher starter not named D'Amato, with Shawn Corrigan getting the win. A lot of hits/runs so far for the Cardinals as well.

I know it is only 5 games, but I am trying to remember a Fisher start that was this impressive in the last few years, and I am struggling to come up with one.

Meh. Not a lot of great competition so far. I'd probably expect them to be 4-1 at this point. Looks like they beat up on the dregs of the staff today.

I'd be excited if Ithaca actually managed to get a game in before May