The Race for the 2013 Regional Births.

[Spence]

Kind of seems like not a lot of time was put into these. MIT 10th is probably the most obvious indicator of that, IMO.

[OshDude]

Conflicting info notwithstanding, the AMCC is confirmed to be in the Mideast Region. I stand corrected. Sorry for the confusion.

[forheavendial4999]

And LaRoche celebrates with a home split against Mount Aloysius.

Denison sweeping Heidelberg is a big win for their hopes.

[ADL70]

Conflicting info notwithstanding, the AMCC is confirmed to be in the Mideast Region. I stand corrected. Sorry for the confusion.

The confusion wasn't yours, certainly not yours alone.

[EttaFan1]

So to reprint....

1.  Marietta 18-5, 21-8
2.  Manchseter 19-5, 25-5-1
3.  La Roche 23-8, 23-8
4.  Wooster 16-5, 22-8
5.  Case Western  20-8, 22-9
6.  Thomas More 19-8,22-8
7.  Hope 15-8, 19-10
8.  Adrian 19-8, 20-10
9.  John Carroll  14-9 20-11

Some thoughts on the region rankings for the Mideast.

- Don't know if La Roche's entire confernce (AMCC) is in this region or not, but La Roche is near Pittsburgh, and it makes sense geographically speaking, that they are.

- Now we still can "wonder" about B-W.  Their SOS is really weak.  So perhaps that is a reason they are not on the list.  My guess is they aren't included because they are ineligible.

- PSU Beherend is 20-8 "in region" (.714) but their SOS is 256th on the ranking page.   (Manchester is 284th) So perhaps the AMCC is divided among regions.  I would have thought that would have had them in contention at some point.

- Best chances at a Pool C bid at this point in the season:  Marietta, Manchester, Wooster, and Case. 

- With the regional being played further west (terre haute) there could easily be some cetral teams shipped in, or even some key "eastern teams" from the region shipped to the Mid-Atlantic or New York Regions.  I don't look for St. John Fisher to be shipped into the region this year. 

LOTS of baseball left to make all of this matter.

Key games yesterday...

Denison sweeping Heidelberg.
Marietta defeating Wooster

Key games this weekend:
Marietta vs. BW (a Marietta sweep should clinch the right to host the tournament, and clinch a share of first).
JCU and Heidelberg - For 'Berg a sweep is almost necessary, otherwise they need a lot of help.
Wooster vs. Allegheny - Wooster has a two game lead in their division, Anything worse than a split will damage their pool C resume.
Case vs. W&J (SAT):  Huge for both teams to build their regioal resumes.
Case vs. Denison (SUM): A big in region series for both schools.

Some key games next week and next weekend too, but I'll save those for after the weekend.  Its the best time of the year for college baseball!

[jos s]

when did laroche get moved to the mideast ?

[EttaFan1]

La Roche has played in the last two mideast regionals.  By distance, they have been considered an in region opponent for a number of years for most of the OAC schools. 

The AMCC was slated to move to the Mideast region, but there was some confusion about which year.  Origianlly, I thought I read where it was happening this season, but the folks at d3baseball.com thought it was next season.  It is a school near pittsburgh, and is further west than some of the president's athletic conference schools. 

[Bishopleftiesdad]

I think a team with a solid Pool C resume will stand on its own merrits with or without BW in the rankings.  On selection day, BW is not an eligible team so they won't be considered.  I'm not so certain the one spot difference in ranking due to BW's possible presence will be a significant factor.   

Thanks Etta it is good to know. While the NCAC probably does not have the depth this year to get a pool C. It is good to know that other mideast pool C teams will not be adversely effected.

Maybe I am wrong. Wooster is ranked 4 in the mideast. But is that high enough when comparing nationally? Of course they only have to worry about it if they do not win the NCAC.

[EttaFan1]

I would certainly rather be #4 than #9 trying to get one of the Pool C's....

If Marietta, LaRoche and Manchester get Pool A bids, then Wooster is the highest ranked Pool C team left in the region (provided they don't win the tourney).  May be enough, may not.  It depends on way too many factors. The bottom half of the regional rankings are much longer shots, IMO. 

Of course, with Wooster losing to Marietta, playing JCU next week (possible loss), potential losses at Allegehny and two losses in the NCAC tourney could move them from #4 to not ranked quickly.   Nobody is "safe" at this point. 

[forheavendial4999]

If the season ended the day the rankings came out, Wooster would be in.

But of course it doesn't, and now losing twice to Marietta while JCU split probably doesn't help.

Wooster is now just 1-3 against regionally ranked teams in the Mideast, and 2-5 against regionally ranked in any region. They still have John Carroll on the schedule which now looks like a very big game.

[OshDude]

La Roche has played in the last two mideast regionals.  By distance, they have been considered an in region opponent for a number of years for most of the OAC schools. 

The AMCC was slated to move to the Mideast region, but there was some confusion about which year.  Origianlly, I thought I read where it was happening this season, but the folks at d3baseball.com thought it was next season.  It is a school near pittsburgh, and is further west than some of the president's athletic conference schools.

The entire AMCC is in the Mideast Region for baseball. Confirmed that yesterday. Then again we thought we had it confirmed the other way.

The 2013 Manual has La Roche in the Mid-Atlantic. Earlier this season an AMCC official said it was in the M-A. Not the easiest answer to lock in as it turned out.

[forheavendial4999]

Pretty ridiculous when the conference and the NCAA don't have it right.

Seems a bit like cat herding.

[EttaFan1]

A Look arround the region....

MIAA

Adrian 18-6 (Region Rank 8)
Hope 17-7 (Region Rank 9)
Trine 14-8
Calvin 14-9

Calvin hasa 4.5 game lead on the next team in the standings.  There is a weekend series for each team coming up which will decide the seeding for the tournament.  Hope did win 3 of 4 from Adrian so they would win a "tie breaker for top seed if it ends up that way.  It would appear likely the MIAA tournament will consist of these four teams (although Trine has played two fewer games to date). 

Adrian went 5-0 in region and 6-0 overall.
Hope went 4-2 in region and 4-2 overall.

Key games this week:  Hope vs. Calvin (4 games), Adrian vs. Trine (4 games) Good slate of games which will have a tremendous impact on tournment seeding.

Key non conference in region games: None

Heartland Conference

Manchester 18-3 (#2 in Region)
Anderson 15-7
Defiance 11-9
Rose-Hulman 11-9
Transylvania 11-10
Franklin 11-10
Bluffton 10-11

It would appear there is a 5 game race for the final two spots of this tournament.  There are plenty of league games on the slate to determine the final composition of the tournament.  Manchester can clinch the top seed in the tournament with one win in their last four games (1 vs. Defiance, 3 vs. Mt St. Josephs).  Anderson can lock down a tournament birth with a win in its last three games against Franklin (a team which must sweep to get in).  Defiance plays Transylvania for three games plus one against Manchester, and Rose Hulman has one game with Franklin and a a three game series with Earlham. 

Manchester went 3-0 both in region and overall.

Key non conference, in region games: none

President's Athletic Conference

W&J 15-6
Thomas More 14-7 (#6 in region)
Thiel 14-7
St. Vincent 12-7.

The next teams are 5 games behind Thiel and three games behind St. Vincent.  It would appear these are the four teams playing in the conference tournament.   Thiel and St. Vincent have a three game series upcoming.  W&J has a three game series with Westminster and Thomas More a three game series with Geneva. 

Thomas More went 2-4 last week in region and 2-5 overall (with a loss to Cincinnati)
W&J went 3-1 in region last week with big wins over Thomas More, La Roche (#3 in region) and a split with CWRU (#5 in region).  Look for W&J to maybe crack the regional rankings this week. 

Key non conference in region games: 

W&J vs. Frostburg and Mount Union

AMCC

Penn St.-Beherend 15-1
La Roche 13-3 (#3 in region)
Mount Aloysius 10-6
Pitt Greensburg 8-8
Penn St. Altoona 7-9
Pitt Bradfod 7-7

The AMCC tournament starts this weekend, and the top six teams are included in the field.  There is a best of three tournament between #6 vs. #3 and #5 vs #4.  Pitt Bradford has one more game to play, which could impact seeding.  The winners go on to play a traditional 4 game double elimination tournament next weekend.  PSU-Beherend is the one seed, and La Roche is the #2 seed. 

La Roche went 4-1 losing to W&J last week. 
PSU-Beherend went 5-0 with a non conference win over Mount Union

There are no key non conference in region matchups this week.

North Coast Conference

I am not sure what is going on with the NCAC tournament race, apparently I am confused about the meaning of their crossover games scheduled for the upcoming weekend.  I'm trying to get clarification as to what it means for their conference tournament and implications on their Pool A births.

East:
Wooster 12-3 (#4 in region)
Allegheny 9-6
Oberlin 9-7
Kenyon 7-7
Hiram 0-14

West
Denison 10-6
Wittenberg 8-8
OWU 8-8
DePauw 8-8
Wabash 6-10

I'm trying to clarify what is going on with the crossover games for the weekend.  But the matchups (according to Bishop Lefties Dad) are:  #1W Denison vs. 4E Kenyon, 2W Depauw vs 3E Oberlin, 3W OWU vs 2E Allegheny, 4W Wittenberg vs. 1E Wooster.  According to the same poster, these are best of three series with the winners advancing on to the NCAC tournament. 

Wooster went 2-2 last week in region, losing a key game to Marietta (#1 in region). 
Denison went 3-1 in region and had their game vs. Case cancelled. 

Key non-conference, in region matchups this week: 

Dension vs. #1 Marietta
#4 Wooster vs. #9 JCU

OAC

Marietta 13-3 (#1 in region)
John Carroll 11-5 (#9 in region)
B-W 10-6 (ineligible)
Otterbein 9-7
Mount Union 9-7
Ohio Northern 8-8
Heidelberg 7-9
Capital 7-9

Marietta swept B-W on Saturday and by most estimates, wins the tiebreaker over JCU in the event the two finish tied.  Marietta plays lowly Wilimington in its last league series.  JCU plays Ohio Northern which has tournament implications as does the matchup between Otterbein and B-W.  Mount Union travels to Muskingum needing one win to clinch a spot.  Heidelberg and Capital play each other with both needing a sweep and some help. 

Marietta went 3-0 last week with a key win over #4 Wooster.
JCU went 3-1 splitting a twinbill with #5 Case Western Reserve

Key Non conference in region matchups:
#9 JCU @ #4 Wooster 
#1 Marietta vs. Denison
#1 Marietta vs. #5 CWRU
#1 Marietta vs. Frostburg State.
#9 JCU vs B-W

Independents

#5 Case Western went 2-2 last week, splitting a series with both W&J and #9 John Carroll.  They had two games rained out.

Key upcoming games: 

#5 CWRU vs. Baldwin Wallace
#5 CWRU @ #1 Marietta

Big SOS bump for Case with those two games.

In a week the conference tournaments will be set and the battles for the trip to Terre Haute will be on. 

My best guess for regional rankings this week:

#1 Marietta  (.808, NCAA SOS Rank 8)
#2 Wooster ( .720, NCAA SOS Rank 24)
#3 Manchester (.815, NCAA SOS Rank 279)
#4 CWRU (.688, NCAA SOS Rank 33)
#5 La Roche (.711, NCAA SOS Rank 226)
#6 Adrian (.750, NCAA SOS Rank 244)
#7 Washington & Jefferson (.679, NCAA SOS Rank 112)
#8  John Carroll (.630, NCAA SOS Rank 130)
#9  Hope (.655, NCAA SOS Rank 176)



 

[jskomra10]

hiram-john carroll match up cancelled due to NCAC game for Hiram on Wednesday.  JCU and BW scheduled to play 430 Wednesday in Berea in a non-conference regional game. JCU has Wooster and BW back-to-back. Marietta beating up on Denison as we speak.

[Bishopleftiesdad]

North Coast Conference

I am not sure what is going on with the NCAC tournament race, apparently I am confused about the meaning of their crossover games scheduled for the upcoming weekend.  I'm trying to get clarification as to what it means for their conference tournament and implications on their Pool A births.

East:
Wooster 12-3 (#4 in region)
Allegheny 9-6
Oberlin 9-7
Kenyon 7-7
Hiram 0-14

West
Denison 10-6
Wittenberg 8-8
OWU 8-8
DePauw 8-8
Wabash 6-10

I'm trying to clarify what is going on with the crossover games for the weekend.  But the matchups (according to Bishop Lefties Dad) are:  #1W Denison vs. 4E Kenyon, 2W Depauw vs 3E Oberlin, 3W OWU vs 2E Allegheny, 4W Wittenberg vs. 1E Wooster.  According to the same poster, these are best of three series with the winners advancing on to the NCAC tournament.

Wooster went 2-2 last week in region, losing a key game to Marietta (#1 in region).
Denison went 3-1 in region and had their game vs. Case cancelled.

Key non-conference, in region matchups this week:

Dension vs. #1 Marietta
#4 Wooster vs. #9 JCU

I had the tie breakers wrong. The west is set for seeding the cross overs.
1. Denison
2. Witt
3. Depauw
4. OWU
5. Wabash

The east still needs to make up some games. Only seedings set are Wooster at 1 and Hiram at 5. Just need  to finish the games to seed the rest.