We're getting into conference play in the Mid-Atlantic region. Here's how I see the top of the pile:
1. Johns Hopkins (11-3, 0-0 CC). Last 4 games were pronounced wins over Keene State, #22 Southern Maine, and #14 Eastern Connecticut.
2. Kean (9-4, 0-0 NJAC). Lost 2 to #12 Carthage, split with #3 Wooster, beat Keystone.
3. Rowan (8-5, 0-0 NJAC). Beat Wheaton (MA) like a lot of other teams. Averaging only 5.5 runs per game.
4. Montclair State (4-3, 0-0 NJAC). No shame losses to #2 Heidleberg, #20 Shenandoah, and #9 RPI.
5. Lebanon Valley (9-3, 0-0 MACC). 2 losses to a very good Ferrum team.
6. Penn State-Behrend (8-2, 0-0 AMCC). No heavy lifting. Split with Manhattanville and Thomas More.
7. DeSales (7-4, 3-0 MACF). Easy conference wins over lightweight opposition. Won’t be challenged until March 30 at Montclair State.
8. Widener (6-3, 0-0 MACC). Won 2 from Farmingdale. Good losses to #11 Augustana and #16 Rose Hulman.
9. Frostburg State (12-5, 0-0 AMCC). Stomped Washington College.
10. Franklin & Marshall (5-6-1, 0-0 CC). Good win against Averett, but got swept by defending Southern Region champ #20 Shenandoah. Dips will be glad to start conference play.
NJAC is seriously down this year. I dont know how this conference is still going to get at large teams in when they have the records they have, and the games they have lost overall. But they will
I dont see anything that says that this conference is the SEC of D3 baseball anymore, which was the justification for teams like Montclair (26-18) getting in a few years back. If JHU had a 4-3 record as Montclair, or an 8-5 record as Rowan, would they be in same spots? No, and their schedules are comparable, if JHU's isnt better.
I am not knocking you RSSmith - this will no doubt be the tone of the Regional Rankings in a few weeks. I don't like how NJAC teams can be 4-3 and at the top of the rankings. For instance, last year, Montclair (25-15, 22-8 in-region) was ranked over keystone (34-4, 28-1 in-region) in the final regular season regional rankings. Just bc they were in the NJAC, which was NOT good last year. No different than other conferences....lost to mediocre teams all the time. Plus, keystone was 2-0 vs. the NJAC with additional wins over Cortland State (X2), and RPI. Still wasn't enough
Was the NJAC really that much better to make a 22-8 in-region record better than a 28-1 in-region record from another conference??
And if in-region records don't matter, how can you put Montclair #3 in the region with an 18-13 record in 2009 when their in-region record was their only strength (15-6)
