BB: NCAC: North Coast Athletic Conference

Started by woosterbooster, December 29, 2005, 03:10:56 PM

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David Collinge

Game One goes to Wooster, 11-8.  No details are available at this time.  Game Two is scheduled for tomorrow* at 2pm; Game Three, if necessary, will be directly after the conclusion of Game Two.

(Well, it's still 'tomorrow' for me; I suppose it's already 'today' back on Planet NCAC. :))

David Collinge

Game One box score

Wooster overcomes four more errors to take Game One, 11-8.  After spotting the Bishops an early 1-0 lead, the Scots scored five times in the second en route to a 9-1 lead after their half of the fifth inning.  Wesleyan chipped away at the big lead, scoring five more runs before chasing Scot ace Jon Oliver in the eighth inning, but a last-gasp ninth inning rally fell short. 

Oliver moves to 8-0 on the year, surrendering 6 runs (3 earned) on 10 hits, while striking out 11 in 7 2/3 innings.  Ryan Mullins gave up two ninth-inning runs, both unearned, but held on for his 3rd save.  Michael Krieger (6-2) took the loss for OWU, giving up 9 runs (7 earned) on 7 hits and 4 walks in five innings.

OWU led off the scoring in the first when Brandon Williams singled, advanced on a ground out, and scored on an error by Wooster shortstop John Quimby.  The Scots took control in the top of the second on a three-run home run by Rob Romick before an out was recorded.  Dan Skulina also homered for the Scots, as did OWU second baseman Kyle Sherman.  Wooster's Reilly Enos went 3 for 5, scoring twice and driving in a run with a sixth inning single.  Scot catcher Brandon Boesinger reached base four times (two doubles and two more HBPs) and scored three runs.  Senior Adam Toney led the Bishop attack with three hits, including a double, and two RBIs. 

ScotsFan

Quote from: David Collinge on May 05, 2006, 12:53:52 AM
Scot catcher Brandon Boesinger reached base four times (two doubles and two more HBPs) and scored three runs. .

That performance by Boesiger in yesterday's game raised his OBP to over the .600 mark! :o  This kid really has a knack for getting on base any way possible!  Also, by him getting plunked 2 more times yesterday, he now owns the NCAC record for HBP's and he is closing in fast on the DIII record which stands at 33!


ScotsFan

Since we're in the middle of the NCAC championship finals between Wooster and OWU, I just thought I'd throw out a little tidbit regarding the history between these two storied programs on the diamond.  This series has been even more competitive than I thought it was.  I knew these 2 schools had a pretty good rivalry going in baseball, but I never realized how close the all-time series is.  Including last night's win by the Scots, Wooster now holds a narrow 71-68-1 lead in the series.  Wooster also leads the Bishops in the Conference Championship category by a count of 10-6.  Wooster and OWU have accounted for 16 of the 21 NCAC champions with Allegheny winning the other 5.  The rivalry and domination of the NCAC between Wooster and OWU kind of reminds me of Wooster and Witt on the hardwood in a way.

David Collinge

Wooster outlasts OWU 9-8 in a nailbiter to win the NCAC Tournament Championship.  Wooster advances to the NCAA regional tournament with a 38-7 record; the Scots will likely be the top seed in the Terre Haute Regional.

Congratulations to the Scots and Bishops on great seasons.

imderekpoe

A great series for the Scots over a good OWU team.  I wish that I could have made it over, but it just didn't work out.

Some interesting (IMO) stats for the Scots:

Romick earns the tourney MVP with a team leading 11 RBI's and a slugging percentage of .933

Boesinger had 5 doubles and 1 single in 12 official AB.  Combined with 4 walks and 6 HBP, he had an unreal on-base percentage of .727.  He raised his season OBP to .608 and is a lock to break the season record of .543 set by Dan Penberthy in 2001.

David Collinge

Quote from: Joe Vardon, The Daily RecordAfter sweeping Ohio Wesleyan in the best-of-three NCAC Championship Series on Thursday and Friday, the Scots will be off until they begin play in the NCAA Div. III Mideast Regional on March 17 in Terre Haute, Ind.

That's a ton of vacation time within the parameters of a baseball season...

It sure is! :D

bigkrapper

First, congrats to Wooster on another great NCAC Tournament, and Regular Season.  KEEP ON PLAYING!

Just a quick question for those who made it down to Springfield.  The box score for game two lists the attendance at 225 and game one at 275.  Is this accurate?  The only reason I ask is because the semifinal game between Wooster and Witt have three games attendance listed at 150, 150, and 130?  I have a hard time believing that many more people traveled to watch the championship.  Wouldn't it have been nice for fans to be close to where the games where.  While I can't speak for OWU fans I can remember Wooster winning many regular season titles and watching a lot of great college games at Thurman Munson, or at Wooster.  The light(s) argument the NCAC makes is a bunch of crap.  First, the weather was perfect this weekend and second even if it was not they have a whole other weekend to get the games in before the regional.   Can anyway explain the point of the regular season (aside from the obvious you have to qualify for the NCAC Tournament)?  What is the reward for winning the regular season?  Playing a championship game 2.5 hours away? 
Just a note from personal knowledge, Kent State will be hosting the Division 1 Mid-American Conference Tournament, (the are about to win the Regular Season) and they do not have lights at their stadium?
Maybe this will get some people talking!
I just feel like the NCAC is punishing the stronger East conference, Outside of OWU (which is a great baseball program) who else belongs?  The top teams year in and year out are Wooster, OWU, Denison, Kenyon, Allegheny.  Wooster, OWU, and ALL winning the last 21 championships? 
OK I AM DONE RANTING!

ScotsFan

bk,

I didn't attend last week's games in Springfield, but I share in your opinions and questions  about where the NCAC championship series is held and why it is held there.  Facilities shouldn't have any bearing on where the championship series is held.  Facilities aren't pre-determined in basketball, so why do they have to be in baseball?  There's another beef I have with how the NCAC handles the championship series and that is how the home team is determined.  Instead of rewarding the home team to the team with the best conference record, (Wooster was 15-1 in the NCAC East compared to OWU going 13-3 in the NCAC West) they have a coin flip to determine the home team for game 1.  Then, the loser of the coin toss is the home team for game 2.  Wooster lost the coin toss to OWU and was the visiting team for game one.  And if a game 3 is needed, they have another coin toss to determine the home team.  So, even though Wooster had the better conference mark, if a game 3 would have been neccessary, they would have been subject to the laws of chance to see whether or not they could have the advantage of being the home team.  Already, the NCAC has taken away any advantage for having the best conference record by pre-determining the site of the NCAC championship series, and they take it a step furter not even rewarding the team with the best conference record a chance to be the home team the majority of the series.  I think the NCAC needs to refine some things about how it runs the NCAC championship series IMHO! 

Rant's over for me too... ;)

As for the attendance down in Springfield and why the #'s were more than the Wooter-Witt semifinal series at Wooster, I would guess it has to do with OWU and Wooster having fairly good followings on the road.  I know Wooster has a good following away from Art Murray and I would imagine, because of OWU's history of success, they would have a similar road following to that of Wooster's.  I wouldn't imagine Wittenberg's fans travelling to Wooster in the same #'s as Wooster's and OWU's fans travelled to Springfield.  Plus, given the dislike between Wooster and Wittenberg, I would guess there were a couple of locals who showed up just to cheer against Wooster.  Just a guess though. ;) 8)

woosterbooster

It was a lucky thing for Wooster, OWU, and Wittenberg that they did have good weather, as it was mentioned several times on the radio broadcast that the tarp was torn and was of no use.  Seems a bit more important to me to have a tarp than lights, but what do I know.  Plus, although the facility is really nice as far as the press box, grandstand, etc., by all accounts the field is still rough and they couldn't even keep the bases in the ground.

I'm really hoping that now that Denison has lights in Granville that they will put in a bid to host both the NCAC finals and the Mideastern Regional in the future.  Denison is only 45-50 minutes from Wooster and is probably even closer to OWU.  Plus, Granville has it all over Springfield as far as ambiance.

I've been talking to the people over at Rose-Hulman regarding tickets at the regional.  There will not be an all-tournament pass.  Tickets are either $5 or $10 per day, depending on whether you buy general admission (baseline bleachers) or preferred seats (theatre-style seats behind the plate).  There will be in-an-out privileges, and it is permissible to bring in food/drink.  He did, however, say that the brats are very good. :-)

Is anyone from Wooster thinking of making the trip?  I'm toying with the idea, but can't quite decide.

David Collinge

Regarding the question of home-field advantage based on conference record, recall that the NCAC engages in divisional play in baseball.  As I understand it, each team's conference schedule consists of four games each (two doubleheaders) against the other 4 teams in their division, for a total of 16 games.  Games played against conference members in the other division do not count towards conference records.  That means that Wooster and OWU had no conference games in common, excluding the conference semifinals, and their respective conference records are apples and oranges.  For all intents and purposes, they played in different conferences prior to the tournament. 

It's similar to the World Series, where home field advantage is not determined by the records compiled almost entirely against intra-leage opponents.  Instead of using records with few if any common opponents, MLB uses an entirely logical, reasonable basis to determine home-field advantage in the Fall Classic: it goes to the team representing the league that wins an otherwise meaningless exhibition game played by players selected largely on the bases of their overall popularity and that of their home ballclubs....

uh....wait a second...scratch that last paragraph.  :D

ScotsFan

As I was perusing the article by Joe Vardon from last Sunday's Daily Record, I came across an interesting stat and a dubious record the Scots are chasing and it isn't one you would necessarily be thrilled about breaking.  That record being for team errors for a season.  The record stand at 105 and was set in 1997.  Wooster has committed 92 on the season to date.  Ironically enough, the record was set during arguably the Scot's most successful season as they finished national runner-ups in 1997.  So maybe Wooster can get it done in the post-season with a bit of a shaky defense.

Also of note from that article, Wooster wasn't exactly stellar defensively last season either.  But they managed to turn it on and only committed 4 errors in their 4 games in last year's Mideast Regional.  Maybe the extended layoff will give the Scots some time to heal (both physically and mentally) and also give them some extra time to work on some of their defensive lapses that have been plaguing them throughout the season.  Obviously, Wooster has proven that you can go far in the post-season even if you are setting records for errors in a season!

imderekpoe

Quote from: ScotsFan on May 09, 2006, 12:25:59 PM
Obviously, Wooster has proven that you can go far in the post-season even if you are setting records for errors in a season!

Agreed.   But they've been consistently bad in the field all year, and I think that Einstein might think it insane to expect different results from the same players in the postseason.

David Collinge

Quote from: Joe VardonThe College of Wooster (38-7), which won its third straight NCAC championship and 11th overall last weekend, swept the league's four individual awards, The Daily Record has learned.

Scots 25th-year coach Tim Pettorini was named NCAC Coach of the Year for the seventh time and senior Jon Oliver became the school's second two-time Pitcher of the Year. Senior designated hitter Kurt Kapferer kept the NCAC Player of the Year Award in Wooster for the fourth consecutive season and freshman shortstop John Quimby is the league's Newcomer of the Year.

The individual awards and All-NCAC teams will be officially announced Thursday.

The Scots, who took two straight from Ohio Wesleyan in the league's championship series May 4-5, claimed all four NCAC individual honors for the first time in school history.  (emphases added)

Link to source article from the Daily Record, which may not work if you are not a subscriber to the online edition.

Pat Coleman

Quote from: ScotsFan on May 09, 2006, 12:25:59 PM
As I was perusing the article by Joe Vardon from last Sunday's Daily Record, I came across an interesting stat and a dubious record the Scots are chasing and it isn't one you would necessarily be thrilled about breaking.  That record being for team errors for a season.  The record stand at 105 and was set in 1997.  Wooster has committed 92 on the season to date.  Ironically enough, the record was set during arguably the Scot's most successful season as they finished national runner-ups in 1997.  So maybe Wooster can get it done in the post-season with a bit of a shaky defense.

Of course, the record for most errors is always easier to set when you play more games. The 55 games in 1997 is a good chunk.
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