2014 West Regional - McMinnville, OR

[Jack Parkman]

Could they send LeTu and Trinity to the South to save $$?

I don't think that would save $$$ as it would still require flights for both to GA.  The only way to fill out the 6 teams in the West would be to have 3 NWC teams and 2 SCIAC teams but it would still cause them to fly someone into the West.  I would be in absolute shock if Trinity went anywhere but Oregon.  I don't know how the rest of the country works in terms of distances but I would figure all flights will be designated for the West with maybe 1 other coming from another region.

[Whatagame]

My predictions.

1. Linfield
2. Trinity
3. Cal Lu
4. Le Tourneau
5. George Fox
6. Chapman or Concordia-Texas or Fly in

Not sure why Trinity would jump Cal Lu or how LeTu would go from unranked to 4th.  I agree that the last spot is up for grabs.  Really interested to see what the NCAA does.  I'll give it a shot.

1. Linfield
2. Cal Lu
3. Trinity
4. George Fox
5. LeTu
6. Illinois Wesleyan, John Carroll or St. Norbert

Of course, I could be way off and Chapman could hold onto the 6 seed or CTX could still go as the 6

I'm sorry, but if somebody named St. Norbert or John, Carol, Ted and Alice gets shipped-in to get dominated by Linfield and whoever they play in game 2 over placing Chapman or CTX in the West, that will be a travesty.

[108 Stitches]

I'm sorry, but if somebody named St. Norbert or John, Carol, Ted and Alice gets shipped-in to get dominated by Linfield and whoever they play in game 2 over placing Chapman or CTX in the West, that will be a travesty.

That is hilarious whatagame.      ...however Pool C bids are National, why would that be a travesty?

[Spence]

Has there ever been a 4 team regional?

How many teams are scheduled for the South Regional now?

Way back in the day I think all regionals were 4-team (maybe 2 6-teamers mixed in) but there was a pretty large expansion to add about 20* more teams. 

*Just throwing a # out, I honestly have no clue how many were added.

Way back in the day, the West was a 2 team regional, with no teams being shipped in or out. That was when the west was basically the SCIAC + Chapman + a couple of sundries.

[Westside]

I'm sorry, but if somebody named St. Norbert or John, Carol, Ted and Alice gets shipped-in to get dominated by Linfield and whoever they play in game 2 over placing Chapman or CTX in the West, that will be a travesty.

That is hilarious whatagame.      ...however Pool C bids are National, why would that be a travesty?

Probably because the West Region makes up almost half of the country, and they only have one regional. So it seems crazy to think that there aren't six teams good enough to make the regional. Or at least something like that.

[108 Stitches]

While it makes up "1/2 of the country" (in area) check this out to give you an idea on how few schools are actually here. Gives you a good perspective.

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=106466522675975704523.00045acb606a0577b3b44&dg=feature

[Westside]

I feel like that would prove the point more than diminish it. There are so many teams in the east, that a lot of the teams are just embarrassing and it gets watered down. In theory, since there are less teams in the West, there would be a lot higher quality of teams. But obviously this is all just speculation.

[Whatagame]

I believe the regions are proportional, and I'll never, ever believe that the West Region is not strong enough to fill out it's 6 team regional.  SOS is a non-starter, because West region teams have more parity, and only play each other, and cannibalize to an extent.  It worked out well for the teams they shipped in to the 2012 west regional.....  I mean Wesleyan won the vaunted NESCAC this year, and Bates did damage in the NESCAC tournament...

[NWBaseballFan10]

http://www.d3baseball.com/playoffs/2014/2014-playoff-projections

D3baseball.com has published their regional predictions. According to them, Chapman is out of the running. CTX is up against a few teams from other regions. Definitely going to be interesting to see who they go with. Either way, should be a strong and exciting field to watch in Mcminnville.

[Strike1]

Official rankings are out and we were all way off. No fox, plu, chapman or tic Concordia!

[Westside]

Wow... Shocked.

I guess this is good for the West teams, because there is no way these teams are as good as George Fox.

[Jack Parkman]

Wow... this is embarrassing. Shocked.

On one hand it's great to see the NCAA willing to spend money to fly teams but how in the world do they not take a team that was #4 in the last regional rankings and is 10 minutes away from a regional site?

Man, I feel bad for the GF team and Chapman too.  I can understand Chapman not making it but it's tough as I thought they could do well.  I guess I am shocked as well.

[108 Stitches]

Here it is:

Hosted by Linfield, McMinnville, Ore.
1. Linfield
2. Cal Lutheran
3. Trinity (Texas)
4. UW-Stevens Point
5. Illinois Wesleyan
6. LeTourneau

Will be interesting "Regional" looks like it is truly based on performance no matter where the team is coming from. Three teams that have never played in McMinnville. Wow.

[Westside]

Ordering the teams from best to worst in team categories looks like this:

Team Batting: Cal Lutheran, UW-Stevens Point, Trinity, LeTourneau, Linfield, Illinois Wesleyan
Team Pitching: Linfield, Trinity, LeTourneau, Cal Lutheran, UW-Stevens Point, Illinois Wesleyan
Team Fielding: Linfield, Cal Lutheran, UW-Stevens Point, Trinity, LeTourneau, Illinois Wesleyan

Game one: Linfield vs. LeTourneau
Chris Haddeland (10-1, 1.08 ERA) vs. Curt Copeland (7-2, 3.22 ERA)

Game two: Cal Lutheran vs. Illinois Wesleyan
Jake Peterson (8-2, 3.95 ERA) vs. Jeff Johnson (6-2, 3.52 ERA)

Game three: Trinity vs UW-Stevens Point
Zack Speer (8-1, 1.79 ERA) vs. I tried to look at their schedule and have no idea who their game one starter should be.

[Colorado]

Wow... this is embarrassing. Shocked.

On one hand it's great to see the NCAA willing to spend money to fly teams but how in the world do they not take a team that was #4 in the last regional rankings and is 10 minutes away from a regional site?

Man, I feel bad for the GF team and Chapman too.  I can understand Chapman not making it but it's tough as I thought they could do well.  I guess I am shocked as well.

Can't say that I am happy about it but if this is the new approach from now on, I'm fine with it. What they should do is that if they are not going to honor regional boundaries as much as they did in the past, then they should eliminate the regional rankings and publish a national ranking during the last 3 weeks so that teams have a better idea of who's in and who's not relative to the entire country. It would give us a better idea of who we were competing against for playoff spots. Regional rankings gave one too many teams the false impression that they were in (ie. George Fox at #4) or had a shot however slim (Chapman at #6). Congrats to all of the selected teams, and hope the West teams outlast the rest of the nation.