BB: Central Region Rankings

[Spence]

Webster played really good competition in Florida -- beat Marietta, beat Cortland, beat Wartburg and lost to Wheaton and Wooster. 4 more games this weekend against very good competition.

They hit Marietta ace Jason Byers very well. Byers probably has a pretty good chance to be an All-American.

The only issue I see with them is whether Behme is going to find the range. They seem to hit well, field well, and have a few pretty good arms.

I don't think they're going to drop off as much as might have been expected after losing a couple of good pitchers.

[BigPoppa]

Webster played really good competition in Florida -- beat Marietta, beat Cortland, beat Wartburg and lost to Wheaton and Wooster. 4 more games this weekend against very good competition.

They hit Marietta ace Jason Byers very well. Byers probably has a pretty good chance to be an All-American.

The only issue I see with them is whether Behme is going to find the range. They seem to hit well, field well, and have a few pretty good arms.

I don't think they're going to drop off as much as might have been expected after losing a couple of good pitchers.

Webster has continued to impress after I expected a dip in production.

[Spence]

Didn't notice how long ago that was written haha.

[BigPoppa]

An Early Look at BigPoppa's Central Region Rankings:

1.   Illinois Wesleyan- I really, really like their chances to come out of this regional this year
2.   Wartburg- Time for Wartburg to return to what it was and should be
3.   Webster- Coming off a great season, but I think they are bit over rated at this point
4.   Augustana- Always possess BIG BATS, expect them to make some noise this year
5.   WashU- On the verge of finally breaking through?
6.   North Park- Lost some big arms but always in the mix
7.   St. Norbert- Great program hamstrung by a weak MWC schedule. Does a great job scheduling              WIAC teams to put them in position for a bid
8.   Wheaton- Two words: Trey Martin
9.   Spalding- Ready to make a run at Webster in the SLIAC
10.   Carthage- Just cannot imagine they'd miss the post-season a third straight year.

Carthage was BLASTED by Buena Vista last night in AZ by a 15-2 score. Either the Redmen are not as good as I thought or the Beavers are much better than I thought.

Any insights?

[TheSportsFan]

Saw BV play on the computer down in Oklahoma.  They are very solid - best team in IIAC and will make noise within the region all year long.  It appears that they play ridiculously aggressive - running the bases in a borderline reckless way.  Will win 30 games this year.

[Spence]

I have Buena Vista ranked 17th. 2nd in the region behind Webster.

[y_jack_lok]

So far Wash U and IWU are struggling with slightly below .500 records. Wash U loses to Webster by a football score, 23-7 and IWU gets shut out by the Gorloks 7-0.

I'd keep an eye on Webster's lefty senior pitcher Zach Schneider. He had a good freshman season then got hurt (shoulder surgery) before his sophomore season and only pitched 15 innings as a junior. So far this season he's pitched 13 innings without allowing an earned run.

[TheSportsFan]

My current Regional Rankings:

1. Webster (12-3) - Best team and it's not close.

2. Buena Vista (13-3) - Has to be one of the best and deepest pitching staff's in all of D3.

3. Augustana (10-5) - The top 4 in the CCIW are all jumbled up.  Can't wait to see them start playing each other.

4. Wartburg (10-6) - A different looking Knights team, but still have some of their main cogs with Rettenmeier on the mound and Powers and Wilson in the lineup.  It appears DMACC transfer DJ Utley has been an important addition as well.

5. North Park (12-6) - Starting to get it rolling.  Winning the games they should win.  Now need to see how they do against other top CCIW teams.

6. Illinois Wesleyan (8-7) - I don't care what kind of a funk Carthage is in, sweeping them at least puts IWU into this conversation.

7. North Central (10-4) - Haven't played anybody of real quality thus far.

As usual, the CCIW dominates the Central Region - they may not be the top few teams right now - but clearly the deepest conference.

[BigPoppa]

BigPoppa's best guess at the first central region ranking:

1. Webster
2. Buena Vista
3. Augustana
4. Ill Wesleyan
5. North Park
6. Wartburg
7. North Central College

[Cubbieboy]

Do you think the committee will move CU-C or one of the UW teams into the Central Region (or another region) to even out the playing field...? 

Central Region has Webu#2

Midwest Region has CU-C#3, UW-Whitewater #4, UW-Stevens Point# 9 (3 top-10 teams all in the same region)

I'm sure the NCAA committee would like to move one of the UW's into another region --- to increase odds ($$$'s) for one (or 2) UW teams advancing to CWS (attendance would be high if both advanced)?

[TheSportsFan]

TheSportsFan's Updated Region Rankings

1. Webster (26-4) - Can't argue with their 4 losses and many quality wins.  I'm hoping to see a Webster-BVU matchup at regionals.  I'd drive to see that - especially if BV had Ringblom or Harris available to face the Gorloks.

2. Buena Vista (27-5) - Huge 4-game series this weekend vs. Wartburg.  If they were to sweep Wartburg (which they are more than capable), I would consider putting them above Webster!  The Ringblom-Rettenmeier matchup in Game 1 would be awesome to see.

3. North Park / Augustana - Interchangable

4. North Park / Augustana - Interchangable

5. Wartburg (21-11) - Not all they are creacked up to be.  Have a nice top arm in Rettenmeier and a lineup that can mash at times, but I don't trust them to play well enough to even deserve an at large bid after BV walks through the conference tournament.  Will end the year 26-28 wins and be right on the bubble.

6. Illinois Wesleyan (16-13) - Have played some nice baseball, but I just don't trust a team that has had TWO 5-game losing streaks in a year.  I know they've lost to many good teams, but if you want to be viewed in the same category you need to find a way to play a complete game and be on a more even keel.

[BigPoppa]

BigPoppa's best guess at the first central region ranking:

1. Webster
2. Buena Vista
3. Augustana
4. Ill Wesleyan
5. North Park
6. Wartburg
7. North Central College

Central Region                       
1.   Webster      23-3      26-4           
2.   Buena Vista      27-5      27-5           
3.   Augustana (Illinois)      20-9      20-9           
4.   North Park      20-11      20-11           
5.   Wartburg      19-11      19-11           
6.   North Central (Illinois)      16-10      17-10

I missed on Ill Wesleyan, but the rest are pretty close. It will be interesting to see how this changes as the next few weeks shape it further. I am still not giving up in IWU... I feel they will in the mix near the end.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Hard to rank IWU right now - they've lost 6 in a row and now have 14 losses (12? in D3).  But, yeah, I'm not sure anyone is eager to face them in the conference tourney (unless NCC let their sweep go to their heads).

Can't wait for the showdown against NPU.

[Gregory Sager]

Can't wait for the showdown against NPU.

Ditto!

[izzy stradlin]

Wash U is on a terror late in the season here after slowly getting out of the gate.  Just beast Webster today 4-2 and have won 17 of 20.   24-15 overall.   Probably moving back into the regional picture.