BB: Top Teams in West Region

Started by CrashDavisD3, February 20, 2012, 08:23:11 PM

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TexasBB

The ASC is not very strong this year. UTT did take 2 out of 3 from UTD and Letourneau, so they are winning the series they are supposed to win. However, they did poor against CTX on the road loosing 2 out 3 in blow outs. CTX in the meantime has been less then stellar. UTT does not have the pitching strength or power to be a real factor in the regionals IMO. None of the ASC teams right now looks to have the strength to compete with Trinity.

dp643

I would agree with the ASC comments above. An interesting team to watch may be Hardin Simmons. After starting 2-6 they have gone 13-1 in their last 14 games. Again, this is against lesser teams, but still noteworthy. They also wont play CTX or UT Tyler in conference play (how in the world did that happen?). Their remaining schedule is fairly weak. They could end up with a pretty impressive record when this is all said and done due to their weak schedule.

108 Stitches

Through games of Sunday March 27, 2016

#   School (1st votes)   Rec   Pts   Prev.
1   Trinity (Texas) (17)   23-4   611   1
2   Cortland (5)   18-3   577   2
3   Ramapo   13-0-1   551   4
4   UW-Whitewater (3)   8-0   530   8
5   Randolph-Macon   18-3-1   507   6
6   Birmingham-Southern   20-6   453   3
7   Emory   20-7   449   7
8   Whitworth   20-4   421   10
9   Shenandoah   16-5   415   9
10   Rutgers-Camden   10-2   338   15
11   Christopher Newport   18-5   337   14
12   Salisbury   13-6   294   11
13   Oswego State   13-3   232   19
14   Southern Maine   6-4   220   5
15   Texas-Tyler   18-8   215   17
16   Centenary (La.)   17-6   213   12
17   Wooster   8-2   174   22
18   UW-La Crosse   6-4   161   13
19   North Central (Ill.)   11-0   153   rv
20   TCNJ   13-1   137   rv
21   St. Thomas   7-3   121   20
22   Frostburg State   11-7   103   16
23   Amherst   9-2   97   rv
24   McDaniel   17-1   95   rv
25   Buena Vista   9-3   72   23

Dropped out: No. 18 Mary Washington, No. 21 Western New England,  No. 24 UW-Stevens Point. No. 25 Concordia-Chicago.

Others receiving votes: Mary Washington 71, Berry 67, Occidental 50, Concordia Chicago 49, Western New England 40, Keystone 38, Saint Mary's (Minn.) 27, Concordia Texas 24, Luther 23, Wartburg 22, Marietta 22, Swarthmore 19, Wheaton (Mass.) 18, Webster 14 Pacific (Ore.) 14, Ohio Northern 13, Eastern Conn. St. 12, Misericordia 11, Mitchell 11, Maryville (Tenn.) 11, Suffolk 10, Redlands 9, Roanoke 7, La Roche 7, Macalester 6, Endicott 6, Ferrum 6, Elmhurst 5, Piedmont 5, Washington College 5, Wesleyan (Conn.) 4, Haverford 3, La Grange 3, Thiel 3, Earlham 2, Brockport 1, Elms 1, Mt. St. Joseph 1, N.C. Wesleyan 1, Ohio Wesleyan 1, Texas Lutheran 1.

Ron Boerger

Quote from: dp643 on March 28, 2016, 07:45:25 AM
I would agree with the ASC comments above. An interesting team to watch may be Hardin Simmons. After starting 2-6 they have gone 13-1 in their last 14 games. Again, this is against lesser teams, but still noteworthy. They also wont play CTX or UT Tyler in conference play (how in the world did that happen?). Their remaining schedule is fairly weak. They could end up with a pretty impressive record when this is all said and done due to their weak schedule.

Too many teams in the conference to play all opponents in the regular season, so HSU drew the "long straw" this year.    Wonder if the conference might move to an East and West setup once McMurry and Belhaven complete their provisional D3 period.    I wouldn't solve the problem of not playing everyone, but it would provide each team a core set of opponents they would play each year in addition to a few teams from the other division.

108 Stitches

I would like to see a few of the ASC teams come over to the SCAC. This would balance out the conferences a little.

dp643

Quote from: Ron Boerger on March 29, 2016, 12:52:33 PM
Quote from: dp643 on March 28, 2016, 07:45:25 AM
I would agree with the ASC comments above. An interesting team to watch may be Hardin Simmons. After starting 2-6 they have gone 13-1 in their last 14 games. Again, this is against lesser teams, but still noteworthy. They also wont play CTX or UT Tyler in conference play (how in the world did that happen?). Their remaining schedule is fairly weak. They could end up with a pretty impressive record when this is all said and done due to their weak schedule.

Too many teams in the conference to play all opponents in the regular season, so HSU drew the "long straw" this year.    Wonder if the conference might move to an East and West setup once McMurry and Belhaven complete their provisional D3 period.    I wouldn't solve the problem of not playing everyone, but it would provide each team a core set of opponents they would play each year in addition to a few teams from the other division.

I figured as much. I think it would make sense to go back to an East/West setup where you play everyone in your division and a couple of rotating crossover matchups.

Ralph Turner

Quote from: 108 Stitches on March 29, 2016, 01:24:42 PM
I would like to see a few of the ASC teams come over to the SCAC. This would balance out the conferences a little.
Football...

108 Stitches

What are the surprises so far in the West this year?

1. Whitworth as strong as they are.
2. PLU and Linfield implosions.
3. Oxidental, really?
4. Relative weakness overall in SCIAC
5. My goodness what has happened to the once powerful Chapman?
6. ASC and SCAC more or less as expected except for CTX?

It looks like Whitworth are the two teams that are really separating themselves at the moment. I am a bit surprised that no other teams are really developing as in past years.

Westside

A few surprises on the NWC side of the West Region.

I would add Pacific's offensive explosion to the list. Take a quick look at their offensive numbers from last year to this year, and it is astounding.

2015: 21-19, .274 batting average, 60 doubles, 9 triples, 8 homeruns.
2016: 17-9, .322 batting average, 59 doubles, 8 triples, 19 homeruns.

So in 14 less games, they have nearly as many doubles and triples, and more than twice as many home runs. Add .50 points to the team batting average, and now there is a pretty dangerous team. Granted their pitching staff leaves a lot to be desired, but they can hope to keep bludgeoning teams to death.




I think the surprising part about Whitworth is they are relying, almost completely, on youth for their pitching staff. Their top two starters are freshman, and their third guy is a sophomore. They don't have a single senior that has thrown an inning this year. Their lineup is predominately juniors and sophomores. Coach Ramsey continues to build a program that looks like it will be sticking around for a while. They should be the team to beat for the next few years.




I would call PLU and Linfield "struggling" more than an implosion. I mean, both teams are still over .500. PLU's is a bit more surprising since they returned almost their entire lineup from a team that hit .300, and they have struggled to hit. But their staff has taken some lumps too.

Linfield's is a little less of a surprise, as they are proving that replacing a two-time National Pitcher of the Year and another All-American pitcher can be pretty tough. Add on the loss of their top two hitters from last year, and the regression makes a little more sense. The pitching staff has been hit quite a bit, but they are young and there have been some very bright spots.




Quick note surprises:

George Fox improving their team batting average from .257 to .313.

Joseph Zimmer, sophomore from Whitman, leading the conference with a .485 batting average (and 2nd highest isn't even close). He also leads the conference in hits, doubles, and runs.
NWC Baseball

Jack Parkman

Quote from: Westside on March 31, 2016, 12:32:08 PM
Coach Ramsey continues to build a program that looks like it will be sticking around for a while. They should be the team to beat for the next few years.



But will he stay there?  Was all set to leave once, what holds him back from doing it again?  I think we have all seen good examples of new coaches taking over and what it has done to those programs.

Westside

Quote from: Jack Parkman on March 31, 2016, 01:49:49 PM
Quote from: Westside on March 31, 2016, 12:32:08 PM
Coach Ramsey continues to build a program that looks like it will be sticking around for a while. They should be the team to beat for the next few years.



But will he stay there?  Was all set to leave once, what holds him back from doing it again?  I think we have all seen good examples of new coaches taking over and what it has done to those programs.

I doubt he stays there, you are right. He was all set to go to Washington State before they made coaching changes. But I think they have made enough strides that the program would stay strong, even if he were to leave in the next year or two.
NWC Baseball

Just_Some_Guy

Quote from: 108 Stitches on March 31, 2016, 11:15:30 AM
What are the surprises so far in the West this year?

1. Whitworth as strong as they are.
2. PLU and Linfield implosions.
3. Oxidental, really? Do they pass the eye test? Prior to taking 2 of 3 from Redlands, my assumption was just that they were beating weaker teams. Let's see how they do with Pomona, LA Verne and Cal Lu. They didn't win those series last year, *but* they are getting some great production from multiple freshman -- both at the plate and on the bump (Martel).
4. Relative weakness overall in SCIAC
5. My goodness what has happened to the once powerful Chapman?  They fired a very successful coach for talking like half of the good coaches I've ever had have talked. Not sure if it's 'right' or 'wrong,' but there's no denying the dynasty that Tereschuk had built in Orange County.
6. ASC and SCAC more or less as expected except for CTX? Was CTX not expected to contend for the ASC title? Seems to me that's exactly what they're doing. They played a solid schedule the first 2-3 weeks, and have seemed to settle in during conference. If they get Bertsch back on track (he was good last week against La College) they're dangerous.

It looks like Whitworth are the two teams that are really separating themselves at the moment. I am a bit surprised that no other teams are really developing as in past years.

Whatagame

Chapman's offense has been solid to very strong, it seems every season since T's departure.  They have/had a number of guys that can really swing it.  What they haven't had is that stable of lights-out pitching, like draft pick guys etc. that they rolled-out for a number of years.  T's penultimate season (I believe), the weekend rotation was essentially Rauh, McGee, Osaki - pretty formidable - although amazingly, that team went 20-20 that year.

Whatagame

#1903
West side, as a side note to your comments about Zimmer at Whitman - this year's Whitman team could have had easily the best offensive infield in the NWC IF Ozzy Braff hadn't transferred to D1. You'd have Zimmer at 3rd, Vela at SS (who was 2nd team all conference last season as Frosh and batting 370 with power this year) and Braff at 2nd, who was a beast in the NWC, was all conference last year at D1 Mountain West Conference and is tearing it up again this year. That scenario would have been surprising.

TexasBB

When the ASC conference tournament comes around I expect it to be between UTT and CTX with perhaps HS with an outside shot.

The winner will get the regional bid. I do not expect any other team in the conference  to make to the regionals.