BB: General West Region Discussion

[ILVBB]

Wildcat, so you don't have to wait too long...

Linfield; nice people, nice school, nice field, well run operation ... too far from the hotels and the weather stinks!

[108 Stitches]

Wildcat, so you don't have to wait too long...

Linfield; nice people, nice school, nice field, well run operation ... too far from the hotels and the weather stinks!

Plus beautiful area in general and GREAT wine!!!

[Whatagame]

Although unlikely, the last time Linfield hosted, they ended up raking and striping the field instead of playing on it.

[NWBaseballFan10]

It will be interesting to see come May if Linfield hosting helps a 2nd NWC team earn a spot in the Regional...Last year the NCAA decided to give Texas Lutheran the 6th seed over George Fox who (In my probably biased opinion) should have received the last spot. Perhaps, this year the NCAA will return the favor and give 2 NWC teams a shot at winning the west.

Time will tell...

[108 Stitches]

I am thinking that the likely team likely to be ranked number 1 at the start of the season will not be stripping their field come May, but that is why the games are played.

Like most years the 6 spots in the West Regional better plan on separating themselves on the field as there will be some very good teams fighting for those slots. I would however think that one NW team might have a slight advantage if it is close.

We are about 7 weeks from the season start and looking forward to hearing about how some of the programs look.

[Whatagame]

If I recall, I believe G. Fox also had a legitimate argument over Pomona Pitzer for a 2013 at large?  No doubt, Linfield is the class of NWC, they lose Wilson to graduation, but virtually everyone else returns and they are so deep.

There's some really interesting early games this coming season that should give us an early read on some teams:

Chapman at TLU and Trinity.  If injured starting Ps from 2012 are back and in form, it could be a very different Chapman team from 2013

Whitworth out of the blocks with 3 against Pomona-Pitzer and a single game with Oxy.  Was the 2012 CWS Whitworth the anomaly, or the 8th Place NWC team of 2013?

Emory University coming to SCIAC early Feb to play PP, CLU (2 games) and Oxy.  I just think this is interesting, for some reason, and potentially a good early test for all.

PLU, who some thought were a strong pre-season pick to earn a regional berth last year based on their great weekend rotation, stumbled scoring runs.  They are a team to watch, potentially more than G. Fox.  Let's see how PLU starts in early Feb in Arizona Classic.  I believe they get Linfield for a game in that tourny.

Oxy, kind of a surprise in 2013, plays a very light schedule prior to SCIAC league play (single games vs. Whitworth, Emory and La Sierra), could that hurt them out of the blocks in league play?

What else?

[108 Stitches]

TLU should be back even stronger this year and may surprise some folks.

CLU looses a lot so I think they will not have the type of season they had.

P-P will be back strong.

Chapman will come back strong with returning pitching and a more seasoned team.  Look out for them.

I think UTT lost a lot but not sure on their recruits.

Whitworth I think will rebound and be a force in the NW.

I don't know GF.

Does Concordia rebound?

Trinity will be back with a better offensive team than last year, pitching will be strong and deep but not sure about a dominate number one/two starters. They have a much tougher schedule and will be battle tested come Regionals.

My prediction is Trinity vs Linfield with Linfield having the edge due to home field advantage, but repeating is difficult.

Come on Feb!!!

[Ralph Turner]

It will be interesting to see come May if Linfield hosting helps a 2nd NWC team earn a spot in the Regional...Last year the NCAA decided to give Texas Lutheran the 6th seed over George Fox who (In my probably biased opinion) should have received the last spot. Perhaps, this year the NCAA will return the favor and give 2 NWC teams a shot at winning the west.

Time will tell...

Well, we are looking at 4 flights at the minimum. "Geographic proximity" may favor the NWC this year.

My unofficial bias is that the West is so strong and so balanced that the difference between the 6th and 7th team is a "hair's breadth".  I beileve that we can justify 2 Pool C bids out of this region every season.

Look at the 2013 Regional Finals.  Every game was a nail-biter.

[Whatagame]

My prediction is that with the exception of Linfield, who will/should have a completely outstanding regular season, the remainder of the NWC will be more compressed in terms of win/loss records.  The historically lower-tier NWC teams (L&C, Whitman, UPS, Willamette) should all continue to improve and win more conference games than before. (for example, Whitman taking 2/3 from Fox last season, Willamette beating Linfield last year, UPS being a thorn in many team's sides...)  Thus, the majority of the top NWC team's losses will be "in-conference", but these losses will be offset by a high non-conference win % and the NWC team's typically very high SOS, thus finally resulting in a second regional berth for the NWC.

Who that team will be, we shall see......

There, I'll put my crystal ball back on the shelf next to my Santa snow globe.

[CrashDavisD3]

Chapman has had 2 consecutive non winning seasons(2012,2013) after being 1 game away from a National Championship in 2011. Do they bounce back with a new coach and long time pitching coach returning with a team that only lost 1 senior only. Do they miss the regional playoffs again in 2014?

Will the SCIAC only land 1 team in the Regional playoffs?

I was lucky to be able to attend 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 games in Appleton on the Chapman bandwagon. Looks like the old days are gone

Merry Christmas to all !

[108 Stitches]

West Region Teams in top 25. Who is going to move up, who is not ranked who will be, and who is going to move down?

School (1st votes)   Rec   Pts   Prev.
1   Linfield (22)   42-8   620   1
2   Southern Maine (1)   46-10   592   2
3   Kean (1)   39-13   557   5
4   UW-Stevens Point (1)   41-11   525   4
5   Ithaca   41-8   500   3
6   Trinity (Texas)   40-9   479   9
7   Manchester   39-7-1   428   7
8   Webster   37-12   415   6
9   St. Thomas   34-7   401   13
10   Cortland State   38-11   341   10
11   Cal Lutheran   35-9-1   310   17
12   Millsaps   38-14   296   8
13   Salisbury   33-9   288   11
14   Texas-Tyler   37-12   273   18
15   UW-Whitewater   35-9   271   15
16   Concordia (Ill.)   39-7   260   16
17   Keystone   37-10   221   12
18   Marietta   32-14   207   14
19   Wheaton (Mass.)   32-12   168   22
20   Johns Hopkins   37-10   145   23
21   Augustana   34-11   109   20
22   Rowan   32-14   104   rv
23   Misericordia   39-11   85   24
24   Bridgewater (Va.)   34-13   84   rv
25   Washington and Jefferson   33-13   65   rv
Others receiving votes: Adrian 63, Endicott 47, Christopher Newport 41, Shenandoah 33, Illinois Wesleyan 29, Mount Union 28, Wartburg 26, Wooster 21, Birmingham Southern 19, Western New England 9, Huntingdon 9, St. Scholastica 8, DeSales 7, Covenant 5, UW-Oshkosh 4, Alvernia 4, Eastern Conn. State 3, Washington (Mo.) 3, George Fox 3, Case Western Reserve 3, Pomona-Pitzer 3, Saint Joseph's (Me.) 2, Rhodes 2, La Roche 2, Concordia (Texas) 2, Moravian 2, St. John Fisher 1, Penn St.-Behrend 1.

[NWBaseballFan10]

George Fox should be another team to keep tabs on as the season plays out. Last year they stayed home while the NCAA gave Texas Lutheran the final ticket to the West Regional. They return the bulk of their starters and have a strong incoming class featuring a few junior college transfers and a solid freshman pitcher from the Seattle area.

[wildcat11]

Wildcat, so you don't have to wait too long...
... too far from the hotels and the weather stinks!

Oh...now it's on!

[ILVBB]

Linfield; nice people, nice school, nice field, well run operation

Wildcat - you forgot the rest of the quote!

I try and deal in "reality."

[Ralph Turner]

George Fox has to be on the West Region radars!