BB: E8: Empire 8

[sjfcards]

Regional rankings are out and look like this:

1) Cortland State
2) St. John Fisher
3) Farmingdale State
4) Old Westbury
5) Skidmore
6) Brockport

Surprised Ithaca is not in the mix?

Very surprised given a 14-6-1 regional record. Only bad in-region loss IMO to Rochester. Ithaca also has in-region losses to Stevens, Old Westbury and Fisher.

Only 21 in-region games may affect the voting also.  Most teams have played closer to 30.  I know there are a few execeptions throughout the regional rankings but a bigger sampling can only help.  14-6-1 is good but not great.

Fisher takes game one of the double dip today, 4-0. Beaumont pitches all 7 innings, 5 hits, no runs.

[sjfcards]

Fisher took game 2 today as well. 12-6. Any word on how IC/Stevens is going?

[jdex]

Ithaca 5-1, 11-1

[sjfcards]

Looks like Fisher won the continuation game against Utica, and pounded the ball all over the place in the regularly scheduled game to get back to even with Ithaca atop the E8 at 11-4. Fisher has now won 11 straight.

Ithaca really put the pressure on Fisher with three wins this weekend against Stevens. Fisher will need to try and sweep Stevens now. If both teams end up with the same record, how does that work for a league title. Do they just share it since there is no AQ to play for.

[WrongArm]

If both teams end up with the same record, how does that work for a league title. Do they just share it since there is no AQ to play for.

From the E8 site:

8.1 Conference Champion

8.1.1
The conference champion will be determined using a point system:
      Win = 2 points
      Tie = 1 point
      Loss = 0 points

8.1.2 If two teams are tied with the most points, the champion will be determined by head-to-head competition. If the two teams split their games, the teams will be designated co-champions.

8.1.3
Each team is required to play all league games unless weather prohibits playing with a minimum of 14 games needed to be played to determine a conference champion, based on winning percentage. In the event of a postponement, league games are to be made up on the first available date after the originally scheduled contest.

That tiebreaker document is from 2008 so the reference to 14 games may not be valid anymore. But it looks like same league record, same record head-to-head means co-champions.

Fisher and Ithaca left nothing to chance this weekend. On Sunday, Utica had a good shot to gum up the works for Fisher as they jumped out to a 2 run lead in the continuation game but lost in the bottom half of the inning on a walk-off grand slam.

The upcoming last conference games still matter for the league championship.

[sjfcards]

Stevens will still have a lot to say about the regional as it will be interesting to see what happens if Fisher loses one to Stevens, but wins out otherwise (giving them something like 32 wins, and ranked in the top part of the region (#2 now)), and Ithaca sweeps Utica. How can you leave out a team like IC and put in a team like Fisher if IC wins the league?

[John McGraw]

Stevens will still have a lot to say about the regional as it will be interesting to see what happens if Fisher loses one to Stevens, but wins out otherwise (giving them something like 32 wins, and ranked in the top part of the region (#2 now)), and Ithaca sweeps Utica. How can you leave out a team like IC and put in a team like Fisher if IC wins the league?

League champion didn't go to the regionals last year.

[airball55]

No it did not.  There really is no way to determine who will get in.  Last year was the first time that I can recall that this "league" did not get a bid.  That may be a precedent that both of those clubs don't want to see started.  Question is, would a committee put two teams in the regional from Pool B that play in NY.  I can't see it.  I do think though that Fisher is probably in minus a catastrophe.  I also think Ithaca can make a decent argument... they could use a win against Cortland St. though, and Fisher has that.

[sjfcards]

No it did not.  There really is no way to determine who will get in.  Last year was the first time that I can recall that this "league" did not get a bid.  That may be a precedent that both of those clubs don't want to see started.  Question is, would a committee put two teams in the regional from Pool B that play in NY.  I can't see it.  I do think though that Fisher is probably in minus a catastrophe.  I also think Ithaca can make a decent argument... they could use a win against Cortland St. though, and Fisher has that.

If Fisher can finish 3-3 they will have 30 wins and will most likely still be ranked in the regional. I would imagine that is enough to get in, with wins over Cortland, IC (3), and Brockport. I guess my question was what happens to Ithaca if they win the league but Fisher has done enough that it is impossible to leave them out. 

[rob]

No it did not.  There really is no way to determine who will get in.  Last year was the first time that I can recall that this "league" did not get a bid.  That may be a precedent that both of those clubs don't want to see started.  Question is, would a committee put two teams in the regional from Pool B that play in NY.  I can't see it.  I do think though that Fisher is probably in minus a catastrophe.  I also think Ithaca can make a decent argument... they could use a win against Cortland St. though, and Fisher has that.

If Fisher can finish 3-3 they will have 30 wins and will most likely still be ranked in the regional. I would imagine that is enough to get in, with wins over Cortland, IC (3), and Brockport. I guess my question was what happens to Ithaca if they win the league but Fisher has done enough that it is impossible to leave them out.

As of right now I would say Fisher is in and Ithaca is out.  I also don't think Ithaca can do enough to get in.  A very good season, but not good enough.
IF Fisher goes 3-3 as you say, 30 wins is nice but this is a bad time of the year to lose 3 games in two weeks.  3-3 puts them on the bubble, I think.  Anything better gets them in.

[sjfcards]

No it did not.  There really is no way to determine who will get in.  Last year was the first time that I can recall that this "league" did not get a bid.  That may be a precedent that both of those clubs don't want to see started.  Question is, would a committee put two teams in the regional from Pool B that play in NY.  I can't see it.  I do think though that Fisher is probably in minus a catastrophe.  I also think Ithaca can make a decent argument... they could use a win against Cortland St. though, and Fisher has that.

If Fisher can finish 3-3 they will have 30 wins and will most likely still be ranked in the regional. I would imagine that is enough to get in, with wins over Cortland, IC (3), and Brockport. I guess my question was what happens to Ithaca if they win the league but Fisher has done enough that it is impossible to leave them out.

As of right now I would say Fisher is in and Ithaca is out.  I also don't think Ithaca can do enough to get in.  A very good season, but not good enough.
IF Fisher goes 3-3 as you say, 30 wins is nice but this is a bad time of the year to lose 3 games in two weeks.  3-3 puts them on the bubble, I think.  Anything better gets them in.

I agree with your thoughts about Fisher going 3-3. I would say 4-2 they will have a solid case, but losing the third game would put them right on the bubble. If Fisher takes all 3 from Stevens then my question is basically mute anyway. Hopefully Fisher will just get it done.

[sjfcards]

The new regional rankings are out and Ithaca goes from out of the rankings all the way up to 4th.

Cortland
Fisher
Farmingdale
Ithaca
Old Westbury
Brockport

Not surprised that Ithaca jumped into the rankings, but a big jump to leap frog at least three teams. Good for the E8.

[WrongArm]

Not surprised that Ithaca jumped into the rankings, but a big jump to leap frog at least three teams. Good for the E8.

Maybe better for the E8, but not better for Fisher. Personally, I think that the remainder of the E8 season should be no more important than any other in region games for the selection committee. All those teams have already played each other three times and Fisher and Ithaca six times. But if Fisher stumbles against Stevens and Ithaca sweeps Utica, watch the PR machine on South Hill ramp up to a fever pitch proclaiming that Ithaca is, once again, the E8 baseball champion, citing obscure historical wining percentages and consecutive championships. The May, 1 ABCA poll placed Fisher at #26 behind only Cortland (#4) in New York, but the D3baseball.com/NCBWA poll actually has Ithaca ahead of Fisher by a few points just outside the top 25. I'd never count Ithaca out.

[Ralph Turner]

Not surprised that Ithaca jumped into the rankings, but a big jump to leap frog at least three teams. Good for the E8.

Maybe better for the E8, but not better for Fisher. Personally, I think that the remainder of the E8 season should be no more important than any other in region games for the selection committee. All those teams have already played each other three times and Fisher and Ithaca six times. But if Fisher stumbles against Stevens and Ithaca sweeps Utica, watch the PR machine on South Hill ramp up to a fever pitch proclaiming that Ithaca is, once again, the E8 baseball champion, citing obscure historical wining percentages and consecutive championships. The May, 1 ABCA poll placed Fisher at #26 behind only Cortland (#4) in New York, but the D3baseball.com/NCBWA poll actually has Ithaca ahead of Fisher by a few points just outside the top 25. I'd never count Ithaca out.

1)  Ithaca getting into the Regional Rankings is very good for SJF. They have 3 wins over that "regionally ranked" teams.

2) Please remember in the context of Pool B/C consideration, neither Poll, NCBWA or ABCA, influences the committee decision on playoff bids.

[airball55]

Wrongarm is dead on with his assessment.  There is no way that two teams from this region from a non-AQ league will get an at-large and Fisher is still a bit of an outcast in regards to the name of Ithaca and post season history.  Although the higher ranking of Ithaca does help Fisher theoretically, I think what Wrongarm is alluding to is that if these two teams are dead even, Ithaca gets more help from administrators then Fisher.  I am in agreement with that.