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Midwest Region / Re: BB: WIAC: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
« on: August 01, 2023, 09:22:13 pm »
This seems like a GREAT hire for River Falls.
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Midwest Region / Re: BB: WIAC: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
« on: July 12, 2023, 11:35:23 am »UWRF is bringing back baseball for the spring of 2025.
Their proximity to the Twin Cities should provide a solid base for recruiting as they re-enter the world of college baseball. I am sure it will take a few seasons to get going, but the right coach/recruiter can make an impact pretty quickly... maybe not in the WIAC right away, but surely in the Twin Cities area with the vast amount of D3 schools in the area.
You would assume they'd hire a coach this fall to get a jump on recruiting for the following year as they'll "go live" in spring of 2025. They have a fantastic turfed stadium in town that seems like a natural fit for their team.
Any thoughts on a potential candidate for the position?
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Central Region / Re: BB: CCIW: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
« on: May 25, 2023, 12:16:31 pm »Not much chat here in CCIW baseball, but I can't help but wonder what's going on in Kenosha? The team hasn't won 20 games once over the past 4 non-covid seasons. This season and the last two have produced 25 or more losses. Since they went 31-12 in 2018, they are 60-101 (29-63 in CCIW). What happened to the program?They've stopped getting the Wisconsin kids from the Fox Valley to come to Kenosha and play baseball.... Some may think it's not that simple, but consider this:
When Carthage was competing for CCIW, Regional and World Series titles in the past, the entire lineup was from Wisconsin with just the occasional guy from Illinois. Looking at their roster this year, they have 14 kids from Wisconsin and over half (8) of those are from Kenosha. There isn't a single kid from north of Highway 21 (the Fox Valley) which used to be where they got the guys like Muthig, Everts, Winfield and Hallock that built the program into what it used to be.
I'll defer to BigPoppa on just about everything Carthage, but I don't think that it's a mere coincidence...
I am just as frustrated and baffled as the rest... with Carthage's tuition climbing rapidly, they have often been unable to go after those blue-collar Fox Valley kids (like myself) and have been forced to recruit the more-affluent North Suburbs of Chicago. It may be a stereotype, but the North Suburb kids cannot handle Augie's demanding nature in the same way the kids from the Fox Valley could... Brian Mosher, long-time pitching coach at Carthage, left years ago and the program has struggled to recruit the Fox Valley kids since. Mosher was from the Valley and had a lot of ties.
As an alum, it's frustrating knowing how great of a coach Augie truly is and they are simply unable to get the results they need from their arms.
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Central Region / Re: BB: CCIW: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
« on: March 06, 2023, 10:50:56 am »
Carthage Redmen (I cannot bring myself to call them Firebirds) split four games in Florida... Return to Kenosha 2-2 with wins over Albion and Anna Maria followed by a pair of losses to Grove City and Fitchburg State. A few things that stand out to me (granted, it's early and likely have not been outside much, if at all):
Hitting .260 as a team (ehhh....)
Allowed 13/18 SBs on the weekend (that's not a good start)
Zuleger hit in the middle of the lineup for the opener with a 3-run bomb and didn't play the rest of the weekend? (Injury?)
Carthage hitters struck out 43 times in 4 games.... that's a ton of unproductive outs.
Pitchers allowed 27 walks in four games ... cannot win many games doing that.
Really hoping they can get it back on track in AZ next week.
Go Big Red!
Hitting .260 as a team (ehhh....)
Allowed 13/18 SBs on the weekend (that's not a good start)
Zuleger hit in the middle of the lineup for the opener with a 3-run bomb and didn't play the rest of the weekend? (Injury?)
Carthage hitters struck out 43 times in 4 games.... that's a ton of unproductive outs.
Pitchers allowed 27 walks in four games ... cannot win many games doing that.
Really hoping they can get it back on track in AZ next week.
Go Big Red!
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National topics / Re: Top 25 Discussion
« on: January 30, 2023, 04:27:21 pm »
Can't wait for the season to get rolling!
Any predictions for top 2-3 teams in each region?
Any predictions for top 2-3 teams in each region?
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Midwest Region / Re: BB: WIAC: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
« on: May 15, 2022, 11:46:56 am »
It will interesting to see how the NCAA divides this up.... is it more economical to ship teams out of the region or bring teams in? A lot will likely depend on results today in other parts of the country. And as usual, some decisions will be based on economic factors.
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National topics / Re: 2021 Playoffs
« on: May 27, 2021, 01:57:52 pm »Appear to have delayed MN regional from 11AM to 3 PM according to videostream link.It is an UGLY day here in MN... 45 degrees and rain all day... I don't see how ANY games happen in MN today.
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West Region / Re: BB: Top Teams in West Region
« on: May 25, 2021, 12:12:06 pm »
Minnesota is hosting two regionals just over an hour apart. I am hoping to catch a game or two at each venue this weekend (while working around my own baseball coaching schedule).
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Central Region / Re: BB: CCIW: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
« on: April 06, 2021, 11:48:26 am »
Regarding talent from the Fox Cities, a lot of mid-major D1s have have worked their way into the Valley and the kids that used to land at UWO, Carthage, Stevens Point, etc... are being scooped up by the likes of Xavier, Bradley, Valpo, St Louis, etc...
Whitewater has maintained its ability to grab top kids and has been very successful as a result. St Norbert has also done well in the Fox Valley getting some kids to stay home. Granted the academic standards are ridiculous, but I have always been baffled by Lawrence University's inability to build a solid program in Appleton.
Whitewater has maintained its ability to grab top kids and has been very successful as a result. St Norbert has also done well in the Fox Valley getting some kids to stay home. Granted the academic standards are ridiculous, but I have always been baffled by Lawrence University's inability to build a solid program in Appleton.
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Central Region / Re: BB: CCIW: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
« on: March 30, 2021, 01:17:02 pm »
You gotta recruit the Fox Valley if you want to win in Wisconsin... Carthage used to pound the valley but former pitching coach, Brian Mosher, was from the valley. He recruited it hard. The number of valley kids on the Carthage roster has declined greatly since he left.
It's easier to recruit the North Suburb kids to Carthage but those are VERY different types of kids (upper-middle class white collar kids) than the kids from the Fox Valley (Tough, blue collar kids who know what adversity is).
It's easier to recruit the North Suburb kids to Carthage but those are VERY different types of kids (upper-middle class white collar kids) than the kids from the Fox Valley (Tough, blue collar kids who know what adversity is).
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Central Region / Re: BB: CCIW: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
« on: March 30, 2021, 11:01:45 am »Does ANYone care to take a stab at the CCIW this year? With almost no 2020 season to use as a baseline, just about anything is possible in 2021. My top three:
1. North Central
2. IWU
3. Carthage
Tell me I am wrong...
I withdraw my statement. Carthage pitching is horrendous. This is the worst pitching staff I've seen Carthage run out in at least 30 years. Struggling to gain Ws vs traditional middle-to-bottom dwelling CCIW opponents. I fear for the games vs the top of the CCIW.
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Central Region / Re: BB: CCIW: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
« on: March 12, 2021, 12:33:57 pm »
I like NPU as well. Lots back to build on.
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Central Region / Re: BB: CCIW: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
« on: March 05, 2021, 03:45:29 pm »
Does ANYone care to take a stab at the CCIW this year? With almost no 2020 season to use as a baseline, just about anything is possible in 2021. My top three:
1. North Central
2. IWU
3. Carthage
Tell me I am wrong...
1. North Central
2. IWU
3. Carthage
Tell me I am wrong...
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Central Region / Re: BB: CCIW: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
« on: March 12, 2020, 01:24:19 pm »
There are a few school districts starting to announce cancellations in MN as well. At least in terms of extending Spring Break an extra week or two.
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Central Region / Re: BB: CCIW: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
« on: March 12, 2020, 07:34:19 am »
... and so it begins... will anyone be left playing by the end of the week?