BB: Central Region Rankings

[theoneandonly]

Oneandonly....come on man!  Recruiting violations?  They were a provisional member of DIII, like BigPoppa said.  You're like a high school girl throwing out rumors and opinions with no basis.  The coach at UT-Tyler is a stand up guy, so to even reference recruiting violations in the same sentence with UT-Tyler reflects negatively on their image.  Although, if someone realizes it was you who posted the comments, they won't regard any of it as factual anyway.

NO NO NO, i wasnt saying that they had them, i just said it was what i heard. and i was asking.. in the past if that had happened to them because they WERE banned from the tourny. and acting like a high school girl, all i did was ask a question, i wasnt trying to stir anything up. i just wanted to know how they looked this year and if that was true that that had happened in the past, im sorry for the confusion. that was not my intentions at all.

[theoneandonly]

I am not sure if it was recruiting issues or not but they year they started hot I think they were still a privisional member of  NCAA D3 baseball (Ralph will know the answer to this) and not eligible for post-season as a result. s.

You are correct: UT-Tyler moved from NAIA to D3 in 2003, so the teams were ineligible for post-season play during the required provisional membership period.  Click here for more information.

thanks for clearing that up! i was confused about that, and now ive been called a high school girl for my confusion haha. oh well, anyway do you know how they are looking this year? i see they are pre-season ranked, so obviously they are in the same boat of a stellar team, but any inside info? because ive heard a LOT of good things in the past, but nothing yet this year.

[HomeRunHitter]

on another hand does any one know anything abou texas tyler this year? i know a couple of years back they had some recruiting violations (so i thought) so they couldnt compete in the post season tournaments and that year they were 40-0. i think it was 2 seasons ago. but not so sure. anyway does anyone know how they are looking this year?

You said you "knew" they had recruiting violations and then added in "so I thought".  Again, a responsible, knowledgable poster would ask a question, not make an assumption.

[theoneandonly]

on another hand does any one know anything abou texas tyler this year? i know a couple of years back they had some recruiting violations (so i thought) so they couldnt compete in the post season tournaments and that year they were 40-0. i think it was 2 seasons ago. but not so sure. anyway does anyone know how they are looking this year?

read it again... i do believe so i though was in there, oh and i also said no so sure at the end of that too, sorry for asking about ut tyler... but apparently you just made your user name to go after me since you only have 6 posts. enjoy the rest of your time sending messages to me, and in a week or so we will never see you again.
You said you "knew" they had recruiting violations and then added in "so I thought".  Again, a responsible, knowledgable poster would ask a question, not make an assumption.

[theoneandonly]

soo, out of 6 posts 5 are directed at me and the other one is knocking down the CCIW, you have got to be from Webster.. tell your boys to step it up, and if/when they do i will commend you and tell you that you were right.

[BigPoppa]

Big Poppa's Updated Central Region Rankings:

1.   Illinois Wesleyan:2-1 (Off to a good start and the offense is better than expected)

2.   Augustana: 8-2 (I knew they would be good, but I feel they are even better than anyone thought they would be)

3.   Carthage: 0-0 (opens this weekend with both Whitewater and Wooster on the schedule)

4.   Wartburg: 6-6 (Struggling to find their groove right now)

5.   Wheaton: 3-1 (solid start should lead to a solid season for the Thunder)

6.   Webster: 2-2 (off to a slow start but should feast on other SLIAC teams once league starts)

7.   Ripon: 0-0 (should pile up wins in the Midwest Conference once it gets going)

8.   Simpson: 3-1 (untested yet, but should battle it out in the IIAC)

9.   Beloit: 2-1 (still untested, but I have a good feeling about this group)

10. North Park: 3-2 (I know, I know... a fifth CCIW team in the top ten?? I think NPU is a solid team in 2009 and will do some damage in the region, if not the CCIW)

11.   WashU: 3-1 (needs to fare well in the UAA tourney (Next week) if they are to have any chance this season)

Conference representation: CCIW (5), IIAC (2), MWC (2), SLIAC (1), IND (1)
** I could be crazy, but I think the CCIW is head and shoulders above the other conferences as a whole right now. I know the SLIAC posters will be all over me on this one as will the IIAC posters. Thankfully the MWC posters are MIA so far or they might tear me apart too

[BigPoppa]

Big Games in featuring the Central Region this weekend: (my predictions)

March 13
Illinois Wesleyan vs. Wartburg at Webster (IWU)


March 14
Illinois Wesleyan at Webster (IWU) WRONG!
Wartburg at Webster (Wartburg)
Beloit vs St. Joes (NY) (St. Joes)
Concordia Chicago vs. Illinois Wesleyan (CU-C... IWU will be at the end of its arms) SOMEHOW... I WAS RIGHT!


March 15
Augustana (Ill.) vs. Central (Aug)
Wartburg vs Concordia-Chicago (Wartburg)
Concordia Chicago vs. Webster (wow... not sure where to go with this one... I'll take Webster as they are at home.)

[BigPoppa]

Big Poppa's Top 25 (Week 4):

An intersting week to say the least... a lot of teams faring the same that were tightly bunched to start with.

01 Trinity (Conn.) 4-0
02 Millsaps 19-2
03 Salisbury 14-2
04 Texas-Tyler 17-4
05 UW-Whitewater 1-2
06 Wooster 9-2
07 Kean 10-3
08 St. Scholastica 11-2
09 Heidelberg 10-2
10 Johns Hopkins 3-3
11 Southern Maine 2-1
12 Eastern Connecticut 4-0
13 Chapman 16-5
14 Cal Lutheran 15-3
15 Linfield 13-3
16 Adrian 4-3
17 Christopher Newport 10-2
18 Thiel 11-3
19 Pomona-Pitzer 16-2
20 Augustana 11-3
21 Carthage 3-0
22 Wheaton (Mass.) 9-1
23 Marietta 5-2
24 UW-Oshkosh 0-0
25 UW-Stevens Point 3-1

*Just missing my Top 25 (no particular order): Shenandoah (15-3), George Fox (12-3), Penn State-Behrend (7-1), Oneota (11-1), Redlands (12-4), Beloit (6-2), Illinois Wesleyan (4-3), Pacific Lutheran (10-5)

** Please feel free to let me know if you feel there is someone I am missing. While I spend hours a day perusing scores and websites, in addition to attending games if I can, it is nearly impossible to keep an eye on all of the D3 teams. There were some teams with great records that I left out as they have not played any competition that really proves their quality yet. Let me know if there is someone I should watch for next week.

[theoneandonly]

So ive noticed that Illinois Weslyan is off to quite a slow start. As we all know that doesnt always mean much in the Midwest/Central regions because bad starts can be turned around fairly quickly. HOWEVER, I was wondering if anyone knew the cause of this slow start for Weslyan, what is lacking right now?

[BigPoppa]

So ive noticed that Illinois Weslyan is off to quite a slow start. As we all know that doesnt always mean much in the Midwest/Central regions because bad starts can be turned around fairly quickly. HOWEVER, I was wondering if anyone knew the cause of this slow start for Weslyan, what is lacking right now?

From what I understand, there is a combination of key injuries and some serious inner turmoil within the program. I am as shocked as anyone about their slow start as I had IWU as my pre-season team to beat in the Central. Right now I place both Carthage and Augustana ahead of them. If they can sort things out in the next two weeks before CCIW play begins, they could be a team to worry about again.

[perfectgame]

serious inner turmoil? bibpoppa if you dont mind me asking, what is the serious inner turmoil? The team gets along amazingly. They are all very good friends and all really love the game of baseball. I think not liking a coach or agree with a coaching style does not merit 'serious inner turmoil'. If it does, then Wesleyan has had serious inner turmoil for the past four years (i can only speak of when i was playing) and they seem to have done pretty well winning two conference championships in a row and goign 20-1 in conference 2 years ago.

[BigPoppa]

serious inner turmoil? bibpoppa if you dont mind me asking, what is the serious inner turmoil? The team gets along amazingly. They are all very good friends and all really love the game of baseball. I think not liking a coach or agree with a coaching style does not merit 'serious inner turmoil'. If it does, then Wesleyan has had serious inner turmoil for the past four years (i can only speak of when i was playing) and they seem to have done pretty well winning two conference championships in a row and goign 20-1 in conference 2 years ago.

Maybe serious inner turoil was a poor choice of wrods on my part. Knowing coaches/assistant coaches and others that are very familiar with the CCIW, I have heard that there are some divisions within the team (to protect my sources, I will not divulge more than that). That being said, I still think IWU might be the team to beat in the CCIW, even though they are struggling right now. With the emergence of North Park this eartly in the season, the CCIW is going to be very exciting to watch this year. I can see any of five team being left standing when the dust settles (Augie, IWU, Carthage, North Park or Wheaton). This is going to be a VERY competitive year for everyone.

[perfectgame]

I agree with you big poppa. I dont think any team will run away with it this year. I think it will be a 5 team if not a 6 team race. should be VERY fun to follow

[perfectgame]

well, maybe not 6. 5 though

[BigPoppa]

BigPoppa's Week 5 Poll: (This is getting harder every week as teams are starting to pile up wins. Thanksfully, the conference seasons are approaching and we can hopefully get a little separation).

FYI: This could be the weakest Central Region I have seen in a while.

01 Trinity (Conn.): 8-2 A bit of a stumble this week, but with everyone stmbling a bit behind them, they still hold on to the top spot.

02 Millsaps: 22-3 A nice victory over Illinois Wesleyan and taking 2 of 3 from Hendrix ove the weekend keeps them in contention.

03 Salisbury: 17-3 Only blemish this week was a loss to a 10-3 Richard Stockton.

04 Texas-Tyler: 21-5 Wins versus East Texas Baptist, UT-Dallas and took 2 of 3 from Ozarks. Tyler is looking better every week.

05 UW-Whitewater: 5-3 A great week for Whitewater down south. Beat Otterbein twice and Wooster once while splitting with Carthage.

06 Wooster: 15-3 Only blemish on their week (6-1) was a loss to Whitewater in Florida. Won 12 of their last 13 games.

07 Kean: 13-4 A 3-1 week was highlighted by a win at Chapman.

08 St. Scholastica: 11-2 Did not play this week.

09 Southern Maine: 7-1 A perfect 5-0 week including a win over Johns Hopkins

10 Eastern Connecticut: 10-0 Quickly climbing the rankings. A quality win over Johns Hopkins highlighted their week.

11 Chapman: 16-6 Suffered a loss to Kean and pounded Occidental. After Wayde Kitchens, pitching seems to be an issue.

12 Linfield: 17-3 Swept four from Puget Sound last week. They continue to pile up wins.

13 Pomona-Pitzer 19-3 One of the hottest teams in the nation. Took two from  Keene State and split with Middlebury.

14 Heidelberg: 11-4 Took one on the chin last week with a 1-3 mark. If they wish to be considered a contender, they need to win the big games.

15 Thiel: 11-3 Swept a three game series from Waynesberg over the weekend, but tripped a bit against Hiram. Need to win all those games if they are to be a top program.

16 Wheaton (Mass.): 12-1 Beat a surprisingly tough Rhode Island and took a pair from Springfield. Expect them to start climbing the chart very quickly if their recent play continues.

17 Augustana: 12-3 A 1-0 week in the chilly Midwest included a win versus Aurora.

18 Johns Hopkins: 7-7 The Bluejays suffered rough 4-4 week. Seeing them at .500 this far into the season is a surprise to me.

19 UW-Stevens Point: 8-2 The Pointers appear to be loaded to contend for another WIAC title.

20 Marietta: 8-3 Took a pair from highly touted Heidelberg as well as a split with LaRoche

21 UW-Oshkosh: 1-0 Just getting out of the gates right now, but the Titans look to be loaded again. We'll have a better feel for them next week as they play a few more games.

22 Cal Lutheran: 17-5 Won two games that they should have, but lost two games to a middle-of-the-road Rutgers-Newark who they needed to beat if they wanted to be considered more than a pretender.

23 York (Pa.): 16-2 Sixteen straight wins finds York in my poll this week.

24 Beloit: 10-2 The Buccaneers are off to good start. 4 wins against a terrible Milwaukee School of Engineering helps, they are beating the teams they are supposed to beat.

25 Cortland State: 11-5 Cortland may have things back on track, but do not expect them to stay here for long if they continue to lose to inferior teams like Farmingdale State.

Dropped out:
Carthage: 6-4 (tough schedule this week knocked them out of the Top 25)

Adrian: 6-7 (another bad week has pushed them from a former top ten team to out of the polls)

Christopher Newport: 13-4-1 (you cannot lose to mediocre teams and expect to stay in the poll)