BB: General NY Region Talk

[John McGraw]

I think last year Ithaca and SJF were hurt by the fact Stevens got into regional thru their CUNY championship win.  The NCAA probably didn't want to place two E8 teams.   I agree, the Ithaca series will be huge for Stevens and their regional respect.  Their SOS is pretty good this year so the record is more meaningful.  14-1 record in last 15 games and an upcoming Elmira series where they, hopefully, will take care of business.  Looking forward to another possible regional tournament......

Disagree with the point about not wanting two Empire 8 teams. St. John Fisher and Ithaca have both made the tournament a few times. Once, St. John Fisher was sent to the Mid East regional at Marietta (and nearly won it) while Ithaca stayed at the New York regional. The two Pool B teams last year were Emory and Case Western Reserve. Both were in the top 16 nationally in terms of SOS and each had a .750 winning percentage versus in-region opponents. Ithaca (42) and St John Fisher (95) were much lower in terms of SOS. Fisher's in-region winning percentage was higher than either Emory or Case but against a weaker schedule. Had Fisher not lost three out of four from Ithaca, that would likely had gotten them into the tournament. Thankfully, the Empire 8 moving forward has the required number of teams for an AQ and beginning in 2017, they'll have an auto bid to the NCAA tournament and will not have to worry about Pool B.

[DucksBB]

Understood.....last yr was just a tough yr with so many teams with solid resumes.  As a Ducks supporter, I'm just hoping things work out for us this year.  It will be so nice when the E8 gets their AQ.  Thanks for the info.

[John McGraw]

Regional rankings are out. I was a little off between the two Liberty League contenders.

1. Cortland 27-2 (.931)
2. Oswego 23-6 (.793)
3. Clarkson 16-5 (.762)
4. Stevens 22-10 (.688) - Record listed as 20-10 on NCAA web site
5. Rochester 23-8 (.742)
6. Brockport 14-13 (.519)

Rochester with a very good record was hurt by a very low SOS (263). Rochester and Clarkson play this weekend. I'm surprised to see Brockport ranked with a record just over .500. Brockport does have a strong SOS (57) and wins over Cortland & Rochester.

[John McGraw]

Second set of rankings are due out today. I can't imagine there will be much change from last week's rankings. Clarkson (SOS - 90) should remain in the third slot after winning three out of four games against Rochester. Rochester meanwhile should remain in fifth place behind 26-10 Stevens. Clarkson hosts North Country rival St. Lawrence this weekend. Liberty leader R.I.T. could be the likely fifth team in the rankings after beating Brockport yesterday. R.I.T., R.P.I., Clarkson and Rochester all in the mix to host the league tournament heading into the final weekend of the season. R.I.T. plays at R.P.I. this weekend in a potential league playoff preview.

[DucksBB]

Agreed.....probably not much change expected.  Big weekend for Stevens vs Ithaca.  Important for Ducks to do well against Bombers in the eyes of the voters as Ithaca is the yearly power program from the E8.

[jdex]

Latest NY regional rankings  ...

1. Cortland 32-2
2. Oswego 23-8
3. Clarkson 20-6
4. Stevens 25-10
5. Brockport 18-14
6. St. John Fisher 18-16

Fisher makes inroads with 12 wins in last 14 games, though one of those setbacks to Elmira! Fisher roll followed being swept by Stevens in early April. Upcoming Fisher/Stevens tourney showdown??? Fisher dates at RIT and Brockport early next week. And, yes, Stevens has pesky Ithaca this weekend

Liberty League? Clarkson and SOS holding on in region. Upper echelon going head to head this weekend. Could see total flip flop among top four

[John McGraw]

Two AQ's to be handed out today with both teams likely headed for Auburn.

SUNYAC - Cortland vs. Oswego, Oswego needs to win twice
Skyline - Old Westbury vs. Farmingdale, Farmingdale needs to win twice

In the Empire 8 yesterday, Ithaca swept Stevens. Ducks really need a win of their own today to keep NCAA at-large hopes alive.

In the Liberty League, it has come down to R.P.I. and Rochester. R.P.I. won three out of four from R.I.T. and the Engineers finished conference play at 18-6. Rochester split with Union yesterday and sits at 16-6 right now. With a sweep of the Dutchmen today, Rochester can tie R.P.I. for a share of first place. Not sure what the tiebreaker is since there was not a head-to-head meeting between the two teams this year due to the unbalanced league schedule. At this point, the tournament appears like it will be R.P.I., Rochester, Clarkson and R.I.T.

[John McGraw]

Old Westbury is the first New York region team to claim an NCAA tournament automatic bid. The Panthers ended Farmingdale State's seven-year run at the top of the Skyline by defeating the Rams, 11-4, in a winner-take-all championship game at top seeded St. Joseph's (Long Island) this afternoon.

The Rams had won the first game of the championship round, 5-4, in 10 innings. Old Westbury had taken the lead in the top half of the 10th only to watch it slip away.

Old Westbury likely will play in Auburn making a return visit for the first time in 14 years. The Panthers are back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001.

[John McGraw]

SUNY Cortland wins the second automatic bid of the day in the New York region. Oswego forced a winner-take-all game with a 3-1 triumph in the SUNYAC championship round opener. Cortland then pounded Oswego, 10-3, in the championship game.

The tournament title is Cortland's 33rd overall and 14th in the last 16 seasons. The Red Dragons are also headed to the regionals for the 24th time in program history.

[DucksBB]

Stevens got their win today...good pitcher's duel with Ducks Yano vs Bombers Sanders.  One unearned run separated teams thru 7 innings (1-0) but Ducks pull out victory in the end.  Ithaca's regular season is complete and Stevens finishes Monday against Rutgers Camden.  Then on to the inaugural E8 tournament Thur-Sat.

[D3SportsFan]

With Cortland, Old Westbury, and LL winner in, it seems likely that an outsider will come to the NY Regional.

Oswego has a very strong Pool C chance, Rochester (can help or hurt themselves in tournament) and Clarkson (only 30 regular season games played) have a good chance, RPI most likely needs to win LL tournament.

Stevens has a strong chance for at-large, depending on other Pool B bids going out. I don't see Ithaca or St. John Fisher getting an at-large.

Does the NEAC winner come to NY Regional, or does that depend on who it is knowing there colleges from different regions there?

Thoughts? What a great time of the year this is!

[John McGraw]

With Cortland, Old Westbury, and LL winner in, it seems likely that an outsider will come to the NY Regional.

Oswego has a very strong Pool C chance, Rochester (can help or hurt themselves in tournament) and Clarkson (only 30 regular season games played) have a good chance, RPI most likely needs to win LL tournament.

Stevens has a strong chance for at-large, depending on other Pool B bids going out. I don't see Ithaca or St. John Fisher getting an at-large.

Does the NEAC winner come to NY Regional, or does that depend on who it is knowing there colleges from different regions there?

Thoughts? What a great time of the year this is!

It's very likely that there will be at least a few non-region teams playing in Auburn. There just aren't enough teams and AQ leagues in the region to justify having eight teams play in the NCAA tournament. If I had to guess, at least one New England and one Mid-Atlantic.

The NEAC winner may or may not be shipped to Auburn. It depends on the team that wins the tournament though all four teams are within driving distance of Falcon Park if I'm not mistaken. If SUNY Poly (formerly SUNYIT) wins the NEAC tournament, then SUNY Poly would definitely be headed to Auburn. The other three could either go to Auburn or to the Mid-Atlantic regional in York.

In terms of New York at-larges, I would say Oswego right now has the best case with an SOS of 13 and a win over top regionally ranked Cortland. The Lakers benefit from five games against the Red Dragons. Their SOS will drop a little with games against R.I.T. and Caz left but right now, I would put Oswego in the tournament.

Rochester has to win the Liberty League to get in as the Yellow Jackets were not even in last week's regional rankings. The same goes for any of the other Liberty League teams. Clarkson has a strong record but I don't know if New York can get two Pool C teams into the tournament - this is assuming that Oswego gets an at-large.

I'm torn on Stevens. The Ducks have a decent enough record. They'll need to do well in the Empire 8 tournament. At this moment, they're in the Pool B discussion along with perennial Pool B favorite Emory and Wash. U. In last week's regional rankings - Emory was third in the South and Wash. U was fourth in the Central. And right now, despite the results this past weekend, I would take Stevens over both of Ithaca and St. John Fisher.

[D3SportsFan]

Yesterday with a Stevens (27-13) loss to Rutgers-Camden and a St. John Fisher (21-17) win vs. RIT (21-13), SJF is pushing for more consideration, especially with being in the week 2 Regional Rankings. They have one game with Brockport and one game with Cortland this week before the E8 tournament. Can they do enough to warrant an at-large?

[Bombsquad]

I saw Fisher last weekend at Ithaca.  They can really pitch.  Best I have seen.  Would be dangerous team if entered.  Record isn't great but after looking at their schedule (Heldelberg, Marietta, Cortland, Concordia Chicago, Suffolk, Keystone, etc..) you would think that schedule would merit some respect.  They have to run the table one would think but them, Oswego and Stevens have gone out and played some good teams.  I don't see Ithaca obviously, not enough games (sigh).  Stevens better win that tournament if they want to get in but have to beat Ithaca and Fisher...on natural grass.  I believe Stevens has the best home field advantage in the league.  I don't know much about the liberty although Clarkson looks legit and played what appeared the best schedule (no Bard, no Skidmore) in league.  I don't see Rochester but they did beat my Bombers twice...although this is not a typical Ithaca club.

[John McGraw]

The upcoming regional rankings will tell the story as to who may or may not be in contention. I'm curious to see where teams will fall after this past weekend.

In terms of the Pool B outlook, I would say that Stevens and St. John Fisher are competing with Wash. U and Emory on the national level. Stevens has a middling SOS (104) but a decent enough record (27-13) along with a series sweep of St. John Fisher. For me, the head-to-head result goes a long way. St. John Fisher has a much better SOS (36) and playing Cortland, the regional number one, will only help that.

Stevens' loss to Rutgers-Camden yesterday does not help their cause. It may come down to what happens in the conference tournament this weekend in Utica.

At this point, the postseason is going on right now for St. John Fisher with six games in the next six days. The Cardinals beat R.I.T. yesterday, host Brockport today and then tangle with Cortland on Wednesday before heading right into the Empire 8 tournament on Thursday morning at 10:00 AM against an improved Utica club.

Ithaca earned the top seed in the Empire 8 tournament and the Bombers are 17-14. The injury to Prendergast in the season opener in California was devastating and injuries at times to some of the other pitchers haven't helped.