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Welcome to the Message Board for the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference  (IIAC).

I don't know if anyone will even post in this, but I thought the Iowa conference atleast deserved a board.

balla, the IIAC is in the Central Evaluation Region for baseball.

Pat Coleman and I started that thread back in February, and there has been no activity.

Maybe you will get it started.  If you or anyone is interested in volunteering to monitor the board, please send me a private message.

I encourage you to spread the word of the IIAC board on the Central Region Board to your friends! ;)

Thanks.

Being in the Central region threw me off.  I figured we would be in the West or Midwest.  Putting us in the Central region is an insult  to everyone in the IIAC except for the Dutch!  :P

Congratulations to Coach Holst and the Wartburg Knights for their 10th straight IIAC crown.  ;D   Hey, I know it is a shared crown, but the way things looked two weeks ago this seemed impossible.  :P   It took some crazy things to happen in the last two days, but that is why you play them all the way to the end.  ::)  I thought early season stumbles would cause the streak to end.   :'(   I guess not.  Congrats to Central and Simpson for their shares.  Thanks to Luther and Loras for doing their part. :-*

Here is a link to the IIAC Baseball Tournament:

http://www.iowaconference.com/men/baseball/tournament/2006.htm

Any predictions or thoughts?

Predicted IIAC tourney results:
1 Wartburg
2 Simpson
3 Coe
4 Loras
5 Central
6 Luther

Unfortunately for the IIAC I don't think whoever wins the tourney will be able to match Wartburg's run to the NCAA's last year.

Quote from: Gustie13 on May 09, 2006, 04:11:30 PM
Predicted IIAC tourney results:
1 Wartburg
2 Simpson
3 Coe
4 Loras
5 Central
6 Luther

Unfortunately for the IIAC I don't think whoever wins the tourney will be able to match Wartburg's run to the NCAA's last year.

Funny things happen around tournament time... never count anyone out.

Good day to be a Kohawk.

That was a thrilling eleven inning game today.  If the weather wasn't so bad it would have been even better.  I had to feel for the Central and Loras players and their fans.  Waiting for the Simpson/Coe game to end must have been torturous.
However, it is great having the tournament at such a nice facility.

Way to go Kohawk Softball and Baseball.  They have both put together memorable seasons. :D

Kohawks get A.Q.

I wish it would have been a complete tournament.  Vet's is a great ballpark and I was looking forward to a mother's day of Kohawk baseball.  Sure wouldn't mind playing on monday.  The Kernel's are in Clinton till Tuesday.  I guess the weather isn't supposed to be much better tomorrow anyhow.

Way to GO Kohawks!

Way to go Kohawks! It was a lousy weekend for baseball, but you persevered and brought home a tournament championship. Great year for Coe athletics all around.

NCAA Division III Regional
at Witter Field, Wisconsin Rapids
Wednesday, May 17
Game 1 – 9:30 a.m. - #5 UW-Stevens Point (29-15) vs. #4 St. Scholastica (36-4)
Game 2 – 1 p.m. - #2 St. Olaf (28-8) vs. #7 Dominican (21-19)
Game 3 – 4:30 p.m. - #3 St. Thomas (29-9) vs. #6 Coe (26-17)
Game 4 – 8 p.m. - #1 Ripon (31-5) vs. Game 1 winner
 
Thursday, May 18
Game 5 – 9:30 a.m. - Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 3
Game 6 – 1 p.m. - Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3
Game 7 – 4:30 p.m. - Loser Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
Game 8 – 8 p.m. - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 6
 
Friday, May 19
Game 9 – Noon - Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 6
Game 10 – 3:30 p.m. - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8
Game 11 – 7 p.m. - Loser Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10
 
Saturday, May 20
Game 12 – Noon - Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11
Game 13 – 4 p.m. - if necessary

This might not be the place, but it sure is the time.


Kohawk softball wins three games today and they are headed to the elite eight.

Congratulations Kohawks, this is a spring season to remember.

Looks like Coe baseball and softball are headed for showdowns against St. Thomas.  Funny how things work.  Let's just hope for the same success the football team had against the Tommies.

COOCOOFORCOEKOHAWKS!!!!!

Ninth Inning
Coe            3
St. Thomas 3

       

Coe gets two runs on no hits to take a 5-3 lead going into the bottom of the tenth

KOHAWKS WIN!  KOHAWKS WIN!

5-4 in 10 innings.    ;D

Not yet!!  They play-by-play still shows nobody out in the 10th for St. Thomas and two men on base.  The web page updated during the pitching change, but that doesn't mean the game is over.

Read all about it.

http://www.stthomas.edu/tommies/bsbl/    ;)

Great season Kohawks!

You are the best Coe has ever had.  27 wins is an outstanding accomplishment, not to mention the regional win over St. Thomas.  You might not have won the region, but you had a big impact on the outcome.

COOCOOFORCOEKOHAWKS!!!!!

Now that Coe is out of it, go Oles!

Pitching depth is already a pretty big issue for the teams in the loser's bracket.  The rest of the tourney might be decided by which offense can do the best job of hammering secondary pitching.  That is why St. Thomas still has a chance.

St. Olaf is not going to win the regional by outslugging the opposition.

Great season for Coe Women's Softball.  Congratulations, you made the rest of the country sit up and take notice of Coe College and the IIAC.

Coocoo for Coe Kohawks.

C.W.S in the C.W.S  :)

I'm sure there is alot more to be heard from coach Timmons and the Kohawk softball program.

Congrats to Coe on a fine season(s).

Congratulations to the Kohawks that made the All Central Region Baseball Team!

Coe College senior first baseman Chad Kramer (first team)
Coe senior outfielder Brock Auten (second team)
Coe sophomore outfielder Cody Smith (third team)

Ten other IIAC ball players also were named to the All Central Region Team

Earning First Team All-Central Region honors were: Central College senior catcher Adam Duerfeldt, Luther College junior utility player Kyle Schroeder, and Wartburg College senior short stop Casey Pauli.

Second Team honorees were: Central sophomore pitcher Brett Mahan and sophomore first baseman Jeremy Kippley, Simpson College senior catcher Jon Clanton, and Wartburg senior pitcher Ryan Moorman.

Third Team honorees were: University of Dubuque senior outfielder Jeremy Rannals, Simpson senior outfielder Ross Anderson, and Wartburg junior second baseman Ryan Grant.

Great job representing the IIAC guys!

Congratulations Coe softball.

They ended up ranked sixth in the final poll of the season.

Wartburg ended up ranked eigth, the highest ranking for a non C.W.S school.

Excellent showing by the IIAC.

Makes a good argument for the IIAC being the premiere softball conference in the nation! 8)

Adam Duerfeldt, Central - ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year

Congratulations Coe first basemen Chad Kramer

third team ABCA all american! ;D

Does the IIAC have any form of fall ball/practice?

Must not  ???

2007 IOWA CONFERENCE BASEBALL PREVIEW

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . Wartburg College, which earned a share of its
10th straight Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) baseball
title last year, is atop the 2007 IIAC baseball preseason Coaches Poll
despite receiving just two first-place votes.  The Knights received five
second-place votes and a third-place vote for a total of 65 points.

Central College and Coe College received three and four first-place
votes, respectively, and are tied for second in the Poll with 61 points.
Central, which shared the 2006 title with Wartburg and Simpson College
to earn its first IIAC title since 1975, garnered one second-place vote,
two third-place votes and two fourth-place votes.  Coe received a
second-place, third-place and two fifth-place votes.  The complete 2007
IIAC baseball Coaches' Poll follows.


Rank
School (1st place votes)
Points
2006 Record

1
Wartburg (2)
65
27-15, 11-5 IIAC

t-2
Central (3)
61
26-14, 11-5 IIAC

t-2
Coe (4)
61
27-19, 10-6 IIAC

4
Luther
53
17-21, 7-9 IIAC

5
Simpson
46
26-10, 11-5 IIAC

6
Buena Vista
34
14-24, 5-11 IIAC

7
Dubuque
27
14-25, 5-11 IIAC

8
Loras
26
18-22-1, 8-8 IIAC

9
Cornell
23
19-19, 4-12 IIAC

Conference Schedule:  The Conference schedule has expanded to 24-games.
Schools will play a three-game series against each Conference opponent.
Two of those series will be weekday series with a seven-inning
doubleheader on Tuesday and a single nine-inning game the following
Wednesday at opposite sites.  The remaining series will be played on
Friday-Saturday at the same site.  A single nine-inning game will be
played on Friday followed by a seven-inning doubleheader on Saturday.

Conference Tournament:  There are two slight changes to the Iowa
Conference baseball Tournament format which will be hosted by Luther
College on May 10-12 in Cedar Rapids.  The top two teams from the
regular season will receive a first round bye and the Tournament
schedule will feature four games on Thursday, four games on Friday and
two, possibly three, games on Saturday.  The previous schedule had three
games on Thursday, four games on Friday and three, possibly four, games
on Saturday.

Under the new schedule, the #3-seed will play the #6-seed at 1:00 p.m.
on Thursday at Veterans Memorial Stadium with the winner playing the
#2-seed at 4:00 p.m. at Veterans.  The #4-seed will play the #5-seed at
1:00 p.m. on Thursday at Daniels Park (home field of Coe College) with
the winner advancing to play the top-seed at 7:00 p.m. at Veterans.  All
remaining games are scheduled to be played at Veterans Stadium, home of
the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's Midwest League affiliate, Cedar
Rapids Kernels.

New Coaches:  Ben Blake replaces longtime Simpson head coach John
Sirianni.  Blake served on the Storm coaching staff the past three
seasons, including as associate head coach in 2006.  Sirianni retired
following the 2006 season after 22-years at the helm, compiling a
510-307-2 record (.625 winning percentage) and leading Simpson to four
Conference titles including last season.

Team-By-Team Preview:  A brief preview for each Iowa Conference team
follows.


Buena Vista University Beavers
2006 Record: 14-24 overall, 5-11 IIAC (t-7th)
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost:  6/4
Pitchers Returning/Lost:  6/3

Players to Watch
Ryan Dupic, Sr., 1B/DH/RHP – A First Team All-Conference selection last
season, Dupic hit .303 with five home runs, 27 RBI and a .505 slugging
percentage.  He tied for sixth in the IIAC in home runs, tied for 16th
in RBI and was 14th in slugging percentage.  On the mound, he posted a
4-6 record with a 5.67 ERA in 10 games.  He struck out 51 batters in
60.1 innings, including five complete games.  He ranked third in the
Conference in strikeouts, 10th in innings pitched and tied for 12th in
wins.  Defensively, Dupic made just one error in 238 chances and his
.996 fielding percentage ranked fourth in the Conference.

Michael Barta, Sr., RHP/Inf. – Barta posted a 3-3 record with a 4.63 ERA
and 20 strikeouts in 11 games including seven starts.  His ERA was 16th
in the Conference.  Offensively he hit .302 with a home run, eight RBI
and a .442 slugging percentage.

Adam Hardie, Sr., 1B/LF – Hardie finished second on the team with a .316
batting average and tied for fourth with 22 runs scored.  He hit one
home run, drove in 22 runs and had a .362 on-base percentage

Alex Fokken, Jr., OF – Fokken hit .290 with 17 RBI and he scored 11 runs
in 29 games.

Quote from head coach Steve Eddie
"Our players are looking forward to starting a new season after the poor
finish in 2006.  The eight seniors on this year's team would like to end
their careers with a better showing.  Our team doesn't have a lot of
superstars, but we have a lot of unselfish players that will move
runners and that play for each other."



Central College Dutch
2006 Record: 26-14 overall, 11-5 IIAC (t-1st)
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost:  6/3
Pitchers Returning/Lost:  4/0

Players to Watch
Brett Mahan, Jr., LHP – Mahan was a First Team All-Conference and Second
Team All-Central Region selection last season after posting a 9-1 record
with a 2.53 ERA, 73 strikeouts and seven complete games.  He led the
IIAC in wins, ERA, strikeouts and starts (tied, 11).  His 74.2 innings
pitched were second in the Conference and his .260 opponents' batting
average ranked fifth.

Jeremy Kippley, Jr., 1B – Kippley was a Second Team All-Conference and
All-Central Region pick last year following a season in which he hit
.345 with three home runs, 10 doubles, 41 RBI, a .531 slugging
percentage and a .427 on-base percentage.  He finished among the
Conference leaders in most offensive categories including RBI (t-5th),
triples (t-5th, 4), doubles (t-6th), hits (t-10th, 50), slugging
percentage (11th), home runs (t-12th), runs (14th, 32), on-base
percentage (17th) and batting average (18th).

Mike Luce, Jr., RHP – Luce posted a 5-2 record with a 3.55 ERA and 38
strikeouts in 12 games including nine starts.  He threw 66 innings and
held opponents to a .292 average.  Luce finished 6th in the IIAC in
innings pitched and wins (tied), 10th in ERA and strikeouts, and 17th in
opponents' batting average.

Derek Knutson, So., 3B/C – Knutson was one of six Central players to hit
over .300, posting a .329 average (fourth on the team).  His ranked
among Conference leaders in triples (t-7th, 3), home runs (t-12th, 3),
RBI (12th, 30) and slugging percentage (16th, .486).

Quote from head coach Adam Stevens
"The Iowa Conference is going to be very competitive again this year.  I
think we have the potential to have a very good defense to go along with
a solid pitching staff.  Our guys have shown a great work ethic in
preparing for the season and we are excited about the challenge's that
lay ahead."



Coe College Kohawks
2006 Record: 27-19 overall, 10-6 IIAC (4th)
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost:  3/6
Pitchers Returning/Lost:  2/1

Players to Watch
Cody Smith, Jr., OF – A two-time All-Conference selection and a Second
Team All-Central Region pick last year, Smith is the top returning
hitter from the Kohawks NCAA qualifying team that finished second in the
IIAC with a .319 team batting average.  He hit .365 last year, third on
the team and 12th in the IIAC.  His 36 RBI ranked 10th in the Conference
but were the most by anyone without a home run.  Smith tied for the
Conference lead with six triples, tied for third with 65 hits, tied for
eight with 36 runs scored, tied for 14th with eight doubles and was 20th
with a .478 slugging percentage.

Ryan Nicholson, So., RHP – Nicholson was one of two freshmen to earn
All-Conference honors last year after posting a 5-2 record with a 3.23
ERA and striking out 49 batters in 13 games.  He completed four of five
starts and held opponents to a .206 batting average in 47.1 innings.  He
led the Conference in opponents' batting average and fewest hits allowed
(36), ranked fourth in ERA and strikeouts, and tied for sixth in wins.

Lee Boyse, Jr., RHP – Boyse went 4-4 last season with a 3.82 ERA, 27
strikeouts and five complete games in 12 appearances (11 starts).  He
tied for the Conference-lead with 11 starts, ranked fourth in innings
pitched (73.0), ninth in opponents' batting average (.276) and t-12th in
wins.

Quote from head coach Steve Cook
"We'll be little more inexperienced than past years.  Leadership out of
our veteran starters will be key for us to succeed.  I'm very optimistic
that some young players will emerge.  This is our most talented class of
newcomers in my time here."



Cornell College Rams
2006 Record: 19-19 overall, 4-12 IIAC (9th)
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost:  7/2
Pitchers Returning/Lost:  5/2

Players to Watch
Tyler Downing, Jr., 1B – Downing led the Rams in most offensive
categories last year including batting average (.363), home runs (tied,
2), RBI (tied, 19), doubles (tied, 7), slugging percentage (.478) and
on-base percentage (.435).  He ranked 13th in the Conference in average,
15th in on-base percentage and 19th in slugging percentage.

Jim Bose, Jr., 3B/RHP – Bose was a First Team All-Conference pick at
third base last year after hitting .306.  He led the team with 27 runs
scored, and tied for the team lead in home runs (2) and doubles (7).
His .927 fielding percentage led all regular third basemen in the
Conference.  On the mound, he went 1-1 with a 1.26 ERA, 12 strikeouts
and two saves in eight games.

Tad Barry, Jr., OF/RHP – Barry went 5-1 with a 3.40 ERA, 40 strikeouts
and two complete games in 10 appearances.  He held opponents to a .283
average in 39.2 innings.  He tied for third in the Conference for fewest
hits allowed (45), ranked sixth in ERA, tied for sixth in wins, eighth
in strikeouts and 12th in opponents' batting average.  Offensively he
had two home runs and two doubles among 19 hits.  He stole six bases and
had 13 sacrifice hits, finishing third nationally in sacrifice hits per
game (0.41).

Dan Cleary, Sr., RHP – Cleary went 1-4 last season with a 7.17 ERA and
25 strikeouts in 47.2 innings.

Quote from head coach Frank Fishler
"We are excited about having a group of committed, returning players
with a year of Iowa Conference experience under them.  Our newcomers
will add depth to our program.  Our team is looking forward and ready
for the challenge of an always competitive Iowa Conference."



University of Dubuque Spartans
2006 Record: 14-25 overall, 5-11 IIAC (t-7th)


Players to Watch
Kyle Harris, Jr., C – Harris led the Spartans in most offensive
categories last season.  He hit a team-best .405 and led the team with
29 RBI, a .526 slugging percentage and a .474 on-base percentage.  He
tied for the team lead with two home runs and 47 hits.  Harris ranked
seventh in the IIAC in batting, 11th in on-base percentage, 12th in
slugging and t-14th in hits.  He also threw out 14 would-be base
stealers, fourth-most in the Conference.

Kamron Koplitz, Sr., RHP – Koplitz was a Second Team All-Conference pick
last year after posting a 3-4 record with a 4.05 ERA, 34 strikeouts and
one save in 11 games.  He completed three of seven starts and held
opponents to a .272 average in 60 innings.  He ranked seventh in the
IIAC in opponents' batting average, 11th in innings pitched, 13th in ERA
and t-13th in strikeouts.

Stryder Morissette, Jr., 2B/DH – Morissette hit .338 and drove in eight
runs in limited playing time last year.  He had 23 hits in 22 contests
and had a .408 on-base percentage.

Quote from head coach Shane Schellsmidt
"It's going to be a tough league all around, the new 3 games series will
be demanding, and yet exciting. We'll rely heavily on our incoming class
this year.  We hope with all of their college experience, they will make
an immediate contribution to our goal."



Loras College Duhawks
2006 Record: 18-22-1 overall, 8-8 IIAC (5th)
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost:  7/1
Pitchers Returning/Lost:  7/3

Players to Watch
Brent Poffenbarger, Sr., RHP – Poffenbarger split the 2006 season
between the bullpen and the rotation, posting a 3-4 record with two
saves and a complete game in 12 appearances.  He struck out 28 batters
in 50 innings.

Nick Olberding, So., SS – Olberding hit .287 with a team-high two home
runs and 17 RBI as one of only two players to appear in all 41 of Loras'
games.  He was second on the team with seven doubles and tied for third
with 20 runs scored.

Kris Thomas, Sr., 3B – Thomas hit .265 with a team-high 20 RBI last
year.  He scored 21 runs (third on the team), had a .381 on-base
percentage and a .324 slugging percentage in 34 games.

Tim Andrews, Jr., OF/DH – Andrews was a Second Team All-Conference
selection last year despite injuries limiting him to 21 games.  He hit
.418 and slugged .612 in just 67 at-bats.  He had nine doubles (10th in
IIAC) and two triples (t-11th) among his 28 hits.

Quote from head coach Carl Tebon
"Our goal is to finish in the top-three of the Conference, win 25 games,
and make the Conference Tournament.  Pitching match-ups and depth will
be the key to having a successful Conference season.  We like the idea
of a (three-game) series, which will give a better perspective on a
team's true depth."




Luther College Norse
2006 Record: 17-21 overall, 7-9 IIAC (6th)
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost:  5/3
Pitchers Returning/Lost:  4/0

Players to Watch
Kyle Schroeder, Sr., C/3B – Schroeder was a First Team All-Conference
and All-Central Region selection last season.  He hit .471 with nine
home runs, 48 RBI, 12 doubles, a .798 slugging percentage and a .511
on-base percentage.  He led the IIAC in slugging and home runs, finished
second in batting and RBI, fourth in doubles and on-base percentage, and
tied for sixth in base hits (56).  Nationally, Schroeder ranked 5th in
RBI/game (1.45), eighth in batting average and ninth in slugging
percentage.

Troy Peterson, Sr., OF/1B – Peterson hit .299 with 10 extra base hits (6
doubles, 3 triples and a home run) among his 32 hits on the season.  He
slugged .439, scored 27 runs and drove in 21.

Adam Kohls, So., RHP – Kohls was one of two freshmen to earn
All-Conference honors last year after posting a 3-3 record with a 3.43
ERA, 42 strikeouts, four complete games and a shutout in 10 appearances.
He held opponents to a .215 batting average in 63 innings.  He ranked
second in the IIAC in opponents' batting average, seventh in strikeouts,
eighth in ERA and ninth in innings pitched.

Alex Ross, Jr., OF/LHP – Ross hit .357 with a 15 RBI, 25 walks, a .488
on-base percentage and a .398 slugging percentage.  He tied for fifth in
the IIAC in walks, ranked seventh in on-base percentage and 14th in
batting.  On the mound, Ross went 1-7 in 13 games, including six starts.

Quote from head coach Brian Gillogly
"We will return a number of position players and members of the pitching
staff from last year's team that will provide leadership and experience.
We are excited about our recruiting class and feel the combination of
veterans and first year players will make us competitive for the
upcoming season.   Pitching, with the new twenty-four game Conference
schedule, will prove to be the key for the team that finishes at the top
of the Conference race.  Once again we are looking forward to competing
in the highly competitive Iowa Conference."





Simpson College Storm
2006 Record: 26-10 overall, 11-5 IIAC (t-1st)
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost:  2/7
Pitchers Returning/Lost:  8/3

Players to Watch
Jason McClaflin, Jr., 3B – McClaflin, the only returning letterwinner in
the Storm infield, hit .330 last year and drove in 18 runs to go along
with a .376 slugging percentage and a .388 on-base percentage.

Kyle Meyer, Sr., OF – Meyer hit .288 and drove in 10 runs in 28 games.
He slugged .413 and had a .402 on-base percentage.  He had 28 hits,
including six doubles and two triples, 12 walks and scored 28 runs.

Jared Sass, So., RHP – Sass went 6-0 with a 3.48 ERA, 24 strikeouts and
a .280 opponents' batting average.  His six wins were the most of any
IIAC pitcher without a loss and were tied for third overall.  He
surrendered the fewest runs in the Conference (18), third fewest hits
(tied, 45) finished eight in ERA and 11th in opponents' batting average.

Chad Scieszinski, Sr., RHP – Scieszinski went 5-0 with a 4.02 ERA, 20
strikeouts and a .286 opponents' batting average.  His five wins without
a loss was second behind teammate Sass and tied for sixth overall.  He
allowed just 46 hits (fifth fewest in IIAC) in 40 innings.

Quote from head coach Ben Blake
"After losing 13 seniors, we will look to rebuild this year.  We are
young, any way you look at it, and our starting lineup is up in the
air."



Wartburg College Knights
2006 Record: 27-15 overall, 11-5 IIAC (t-1st)
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost:  4/5
Pitchers Returning/Lost:  6/5

Players to Watch
Ryan Grant, Sr., SS – Grant, a Second Team All-Conference and Third Team
All-Central Region selection last year, will move to short stop this
year after splitting time at second and third last year.  He hit .335
last year, third on the team but tops among returnees.  He was seventh
in the IIAC with 37 runs scored and 11th with 35 RBI.

Aaron Saeugling, Jr., RHP – Saeugling went 4-4 with a 6.52 ERA and 24
strikeouts in 14 games last year, mostly out of the bullpen.

Luke Albert, Jr., RHP – Albert went 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA and 14
strikeouts in 11 games last year including three starts.

Zach Mundy, Jr., LHP – Mundy went 2-0 with two saves, a 3.65 ERA and 17
strikeouts in 14 relief appearances last year.

Quote from head coach Joel Holst
"I have enjoyed being around this group of guys. I think our chemistry
will be our strength. We will have mostly juniors and seniors starting
for us at all positions. With that said, we have a number of these kids
that have been in back up roles and only time will tell if they can
handle being the go to guy."

Great info... and may quite possibly set the record for the longest post in history!

I am not certain how Wartburg is not given more respect in the poll. I know they are picked to win it again, but to only get two first-place votes is odd.

Quote from: BigPoppa on February 22, 2007, 11:56:10 AMI am not certain how Wartburg is not given more respect in the poll. I know they are picked to win it again, but to only get two first-place votes is odd.

What are you talking about man?  How can you say that they aren't getting any respect?!?  They lost 98% of their starting pitching from last year and lost Greiner, Pauli, Henderson, Numendahl, Blacker, O'Donnell, and Kersbergen.  That is a TON of holes to fill.  In my opinion, it is only on respect for the program that they got any 1st place votes at all, let a lone the nod for the pre-season conference champs.

Quote from: youcantseeme on February 28, 2007, 12:35:07 AM

Quote from: BigPoppa on February 22, 2007, 11:56:10 AMI am not certain how Wartburg is not given more respect in the poll. I know they are picked to win it again, but to only get two first-place votes is odd.

What are you talking about man?  How can you say that they aren't getting any respect?!?  They lost 98% of their starting pitching from last year and lost Greiner, Pauli, Henderson, Numendahl, Blacker, O'Donnell, and Kersbergen.  That is a TON of holes to fill.  In my opinion, it is only on respect for the program that they got any 1st place votes at all, let a lone the nod for the pre-season conference champs.

Wartburg has consistently proven they can fill those holes. Look at it any way you wish, but Wartburg will be standing on top of the conference when all is said and done.

I wasn't saying they arent deserving of that respect, but I think that pulling the line that they aren't getting respected because they aren't rated higher is crazy considering their losses.  Besides, if you are talking about pre-season conference polls, those are done by the conference coaches and I am guessing the coaches throughout the conference know what they are voting on. 

Side note: any Wartburg fans know why that O'Donnell kid isn't back.  Man he was good at the end of the season last year for them. 

So if you know so much, why isn't the Odonell  kid back this year?

First baseman Jake Shandri of Wartburg College and starting pitcher Bill Dictus of Edgewood College have been named the first NCAA Division III National Hitter of the Week and Pitcher of the Week for 2007 as chosen by representatives of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association for the week of Feb. 26-March 4.

Quote from: Jim Dixon on March 08, 2007, 03:30:22 PM
First baseman Jake Shandri of Wartburg College and starting pitcher Bill Dictus of Edgewood College have been named the first NCAA Division III National Hitter of the Week and Pitcher of the Week for 2007 as chosen by representatives of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association for the week of Feb. 26-March 4.

What a great start for the Central Region... both players for national honors in week #1!!

A really good start for the IIAC in the Central region with Central and Coe getting wins over ranked teams. 

Anyone have any insight about the season coming up?  Who looks strong?  Who might falter? 

I think the three-game sets will really show the overall strength of the pitching staffs. 

Lee Boyse is the national pitcher of the week.
Iowa Conference dominance so far.

http://www.d3baseball.com/

3 of the 4 national players of the week have come from the IIAC. Not a bad start for the conference.

Conference starts this weekend.  Any thoughts?  Big change of venue for the Norse and the Dutch this weekend. 

Looks like Luther had a couple good pitchers, Mahan gave up 1 ER but still lost...lots of errors by the Dutch...they will need to clean that up!

As most might expect, Wartburg is standing atop the IIAC and is well on their way to their 11th straight title.  So much for all of those holes to fill.  Pitching staff is looking good and nobody can come close to the numbers they are putting up offensively and defensively, good luck all.

Sounds like the Wartburg-B.V. series was fun to watch for those who attended.  The Beavers are off to their best start since 1975 and the Iowa transfer Ryan Dupic has had a very good season so far.

I don't know if Wartburg is "well on their way" to another conference title since they are in 2nd place as of 4/16/2007.  They are having another good season in the league, and winning the B.V. series was very solid.

Baseball is very hard to predict, but it always makes sense to pick the team with recent history clearly on their side.

How about those Kohawks scoring a school record 33 runs in their route of Mt. Mercy.  I know it's just MM, but 33 runs is a ton!!!

That was a very eye-popping number to see, regardless of who they played.  They backed that performance up by beating Loras yesterday in a low scoring contest.

Coe was predicted by the league coaches to have a good Iowa Conference team this year (they had more 1st place votes than anyone and were tied with Central for 2nd in total votes).  They have struggled so far to a 3-9 mark in the IIAC, but maybe they can turn these last two performances into some positive momentum heading down the stretch.

Coe was being slightly outscored by the opposition on the year before the Mount Mercy game (122-116).  Now they are outscoring the opposition (152-126) by a decent margin.

Wartburg is a half game behind Luther right now, and the two teams have yet to play eachother, you cant honestly tell me that you expect Luther to take that series, no matter what, Wartburg will always beat Luther, that is the way it will always be. 

Quote from: wartburgalum on April 20, 2007, 01:40:15 PM
Wartburg is a half game behind Luther right now, and the two teams have yet to play eachother, you cant honestly tell me that you expect Luther to take that series, no matter what, Wartburg will always beat Luther, that is the way it will always be. 

You were correct about the Luther-Wartburg series this week. :)  I only saw the third game, but it appears as if both the 1st and 3rd games of the series were something else with both going 11 innings.  Great job by the starters on the mound for both teams in those games.

I seem to remember Luther sweeping Wartburg at least 3 times since the mid-1990s, but that really didn't matter when the Knights have won at least a share of the league title in most of those seasons.

Luther lost the series this year, but co-champions of the Iowa Conference must have a nice ring to it for them. ;D

Congrats to both Luther and Wartburg for playing so many league games and innings in the last 8 days and still winning the IIAC title. 

Quote from: wartburgalum on April 13, 2007, 05:39:55 PM
As most might expect, Wartburg is standing atop the IIAC and is well on their way to their 11th straight title.  So much for all of those holes to fill.  Pitching staff is looking good and nobody can come close to the numbers they are putting up offensively and defensively, good luck all.

I guess a team came about as close as you can to the Knights as two teams finished 18-5! ::)  Last year was pretty close as well with Central, Simpson, and Wartburg all finishing 1st.

Take a look at the league stats now that the dust has settled and the regular season is over.  Wartburg had a great regular season as usual, but Luther led in most pitching categories and in a bunch of offensive categories.  Loras led the league in fielding.

Congrats to Central and Coe for not mailing those last games in even though they may have meant more for Luther and Wartburg.  The Norse and Knights killed their pitching staffs with Luther playing 9 conference games in 8 days with two of the games finishing in 11 innings.  Neither Luther nor Wartburg were able to bring their best pitchers this past weekend, but Coe and Central deserve the credit for getting it done even though Coe lost the series.

Both Wartburg and Luther played Central twice and one game was not played due to the weather.  They both played everyone else three times for 23 league games.

Wartburg now has won 17 titles since 1947.  Luther now has won 12 since 1947 and their first since 1985.  B.V. is still in 2nd place with 14 titles.  Too bad the conference decided after World War II to not count the league champions that were won before WWII (unlike the fact that they count them still for football and basketball).

Good luck to all in the IIAC tourney.

Congrats to the Luther Norse for winning the Iowa Conference Tournament today and receiving an automatic invite to the NCAA tournament. 

The regular season co-championship is more meaningful since they and Wartburg both played 23 conference games and finished on top, but going 3-0 (over Loras 16-9, over Wartburg 10-6, and over Wartburg 11-8) this weekend is a nice finish against conference foes.

Luther is now 29-9.

Wartburg should still have a shot at making the NCAAs since they also had a great regular season and played 3 games in extra innings against the Norse.  Luther was 3-2 in the five games between the two teams this year.

Has anyone from Iowa submitted a regional hosting bid? If it was ever going to happen this might be the year for it to be in Cedar Rapids or somewhere.

Wartburg gets shut out of the NCAA field and the CCIW gets 3 teams in?  I realize that Carthage and Augie made runs in their tourney and Carthage eventually won it, but three teams is a lot for one conference especially when a co-champ with a great record in Wartburg stays at home.

Sometimes you just have to wonder how the committee determines the regional field.  3 CCIW teams in and 1 from the IIAC, doesnt quite make sense.  Wartburg was snubbed while Luther gets the 1 seed.  I know that Luther made a great run through the tourny this year, but how does Wartburg not even get in.  Good luck to Luther the rest of the way out, hopefully they will represent the IIAC well enough so that maybe in the years to come we can get more than 1 team in.

Number of teams per conference isn't really part of the selection process. It's far more important what each team did and what the regional records, Quality of Wins Index and results against regionally ranked opponents show.

I understand that number of teams per conference does not factor into the selction process, but I still dont get how the runner-up in the conference tourny and regular season co-champions (not to mention ranked in the top 20) doesnt get in and Luther (who no doubt made a great run in the tourny) can get a 1 seed, and the CCIW gets 3 teams in.  That is my point, I'm not complaining but sometimes you have to wonder what happens during this selection process.

I think if you compared the ABCA poll, their regional poll, and the NCAA's regional rankings you would see that the NCAA cares little what the coaches do with their ranking.

If someone were to calculate the numbers and put all the selection criteria on the table, I'm sure it would justify the selections.

What I don't get as far as Wartburg goes is how they can be regionally ranked above Augustana all year, by the same criteria presumably that the picks are made, finish 2nd in their tournament to the top team in the region, and lose out. It seems like despite being highly ranked in the region, they never had a chance to get a Pool C, because aside from winning the tournament they couldn't have really done any more from the last region rankings to the selections. It isn't like they got knocked off by low seeds.

Good question. Perhaps they felt that Augustana's 2-2 performance at the CCIW tournament was enough to push them over the top. Augie did beat a regionally ranked team at its conference tournament, while Wartburg did not.

I wonder how much the Central series before the IIAC tourney played into this?  Wartburg was 5-5 in their last 10 games, but 5 of those games were against Luther (the #1 seed in the regional).  The Knights and Norse played three of those games into extra innings, so neither team should be penalized much for mostly great baseball.

Wartburg was co-champs of the Iowa Conference and 2nd at the conference tourney.  The only two schools in the region that they had a losing record to were Luther (29-9, 18-5 in the IIAC) and Central (19-20, 12-10).  Getting swept by the Dutch at the end of the regular season appears to be the only real blemish on another good season by the Knights.

My sense of the regional is that although Luther is the #1 seed, there isn't much that separates how most of these teams rank on paper. 

Luther has now made the Division III regional four times and are looking for their first regional title since they won the Division II regional back in 1965 (the Norse had some pretty good teams during much of the years between 1891-1985 :)).

In some of the recent years in the Iowa Conference, Wartburg has made regionals eight times and won the regional twice.

That #1 seed doesn't mean much once they start playing games tomorrow.

Why didnt Lewis and Lawler play for Wartburg in the conference tourney this year?  I figured they were hurt, but I didnt see them on the bench either.

Congrats to Luther catcher and IIAC MVP Kyle Schroeder on signing an independent minor league contract. :)

http://sports.luther.edu/men/baseball/season%20-%202008/news/schroeder.html (http://sports.luther.edu/men/baseball/season%20-%202008/news/schroeder.html)

The change in subject heading is to facilitate identifying a specific message board by sport and then by subject.  Good luck in 2008.

Any predictions of how the upcoming season will go? Will the Kinghts string be broken?

Luther (31-11 overall, tied for the regular season IIAC title, IIAC tourney champs) lost Schroeder (C) and Peterson (OF) to graduation, and they were anchors in the middle of a very good offensive lineup last year.  They were the two seniors among the six all-IIAC performers for the Norse last year.

They do return almost everyone else though, and that was a deep lineup for much of the year.

The Norse pitching staff returns and should be pretty deep if everyone is healthy.  Kohls and Todd should be very good again.

Wartburg will be good again, but I haven't read anything on them as of yet.  Aaron Saeugling (P) is back for them, and he impressed me last season.  If I remember correctly, the Knights lost more to graduation than the Norse.

Each year is a new season though.  Good luck to everyone, as I will start to get into baseball after the wrestling championships are done.

The season is underway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Finally!  Man I love baseball season.

Warts struggling early up in the dome.  I don't recognize A LOT of their players.  Man, Schmitt pitched a helluva game against the Ole's.  Is anyone out there looking at this board yet?

Wow!  I didn't even know that Wartburg had started playing until I saw the paper this past weekend.  Nothing too horrible about splitting with St. Olaf to start the season.  It looked like Aaron Saeugling and Schmitt both pitched well against the Oles.

Saeugling also appears to be a main part of the Wartburg offense this year as well. 

I would love to hear about what happened against Bethel as those scores did not appear close.  Bethel is a solid program and the Knights had thrown the top two pitchers against the Oles, but that is not the way the Knights wanted to start the year.

Things can change pretty quickly though and Wartburg has a great track record this past decade. 

Congrats to Iowa Baseball for beating #7 Vanderbilt and Xavier so far this weekend!  Hopefully they can play well against Kansas today to give them some good early momentum.

#16 Luther opens up in the Dome next Saturday.  Pitching depth and keeping players healthy will be my main focus to start this year.  Maybe I can see the Norse early in the morning before heading to the Big Ten Wrestling tourney at the Barn.

BV will be a young and very underrated team this year.  They are very talented and could surprise some people.  The team is made up of 25 freshman, 8 sophomores, 5 Juniors and 4 Seniors.

Is it bad that BV is getting as many baseball freshmen as football freshmen? ;D

The IIAC race will most likely be determined by which team has the most pitching depth. To win the conference a team is going to need 4-5 quality pitchers. A number of teams have a couple interchangable #1's (Wartburg, Luther, Coe, Central). Depthwise, I've got to believe Wartburg, Luther, and Central will have the capability of running out 5-6 guys that can hold teams in check.

It sounds like BV has a couple of good arms this year. Cornell could be a surprise with the solid veterans on their staff. Loras has Barilla, not sure what they will have after him. Dubuque looks to be struggling early on, but Boals is definitely capable of holding teams down. Unsure of what Simpson's staff will shape up to look like. Coe has some good ones in Nicholsen, Lewis, and Boyse.

BV has some very good arms but young arms.  Lot of freshman potential on the mound and in the field and could start around 6 freshman this year.  They will probably take some bumps in the road but will also suprise people.  Watch out for OF Brandon Pietrzyk, he will make some noise this year.  He is a transfer junior from an oregon school and is very good.

Quote from: baseballfan186 on March 05, 2008, 10:17:29 PM
The IIAC race will most likely be determined by which team has the most pitching depth. To win the conference a team is going to need 4-5 quality pitchers. A number of teams have a couple interchangable #1's (Wartburg, Luther, Coe, Central). Depthwise, I've got to believe Wartburg, Luther, and Central will have the capability of running out 5-6 guys that can hold teams in check.

It sounds like BV has a couple of good arms this year. Cornell could be a surprise with the solid veterans on their staff. Loras has Barilla, not sure what they will have after him. Dubuque looks to be struggling early on, but Boals is definitely capable of holding teams down. Unsure of what Simpson's staff will shape up to look like. Coe has some good ones in Nicholsen, Lewis, and Boyse.

Coe also has welcomed the return of Teren Bladel who was out with a broken wrist last season.  In his first start in Florida he went 6.1 innings of hitless ball.  Lost the no-no on a solo jack.

BV is 3-1 on the year losing their first one to Midland Lutheran and won their last 3 against them over sunday and tuesday in Omaha.

Congrats to Coe for getting off to a pretty solid start at 8-4.  They took some lumps last season but overall they have been pretty solid the past five years.

I don't know about B.V.'s opponents, but congrats to the Beavers as well for going 4-1 so far with that young roster.  Luther is supposed to play B.V. this weekend in Decorah.

It is early, but I have been surprised at the pitching depth (or lack of it) so far from Loras and Wartburg.  The Knights are now 6-9 and Schmitt was knocked around recently.

#16 Luther is 0-1 after losing to #10 UW-Oshkosh 7-5 in extra innings.  In the game 2 that never officially took place (in the Metrodome with the time limit stuff), Luther was leading Oshkosh 9-5 after six innings.  The Norse play a very solid Gustavus Adolphus squad on Wednesday.

BV will find out a lot from this week.  Wednesday or tonight they play St Scholastic in the Meterdome.  They have been receiving votes all year long for the Top 25 and obviously as stated before a very good Luther team.  BV is 4-1 and was up 8-1 in the 4th inning last weekend against Peru State in the second part of the DH but the game was canceled so now of it has happened. 

Congrats to Simpson, Central, Coe, and Dubuque for actually being able to play conference baseball games this weekend!

From a Luther perspective, it has been a slow start to the season so far.  They could not make a spring trip because the B.V. series and Easter fell during spring break this year (spring break seems to be later and later every year on the Decorah campus), so they have been trying to get Metrodome doubleheaders in instead.  The weather (B.V. series) obviously has not helped this year so far.

The Norse play three doubleheaders in the Dome starting tonight through Wednesday against Minnesota schools.  They split with Gustavus last Wednesday (saving the top 3 pitchers for the B.V. series that never happened), losing game one 2-1 while winning game two 6-0.  Both teams had more chances to score in game one and did not get it done while Luther hit more consistent in game two and pitched a no-hitter with the #6(?) starter.  Gustavus has been a pretty solid MIAC program the past few years, so I was pretty happy overall with how solid Luther looked even when pitchers #1-3 did not play.  They are now 1-2 on the year and have a game that did not count (9-5 lead on #10 Oshkosh after 6 innings).

I assume Kohls and Todd (the top two pitchers) will throw either today or tomorrow up in the Dome to get more work in before the Wartburg series this weekend.  Both of them have only pitched once this year, and that was back on March 8.

The Norse looked pretty good defensively against Gustavus as C Waddle was good behind the plate and 2B, SS, and 3B looked pretty good in game two.  There was a freshman 3B in game two that looked very smooth.  The outfield looked good for this early in the year as well.

I think you will br very happy with Waddle as your primary catcher.  He was an excellent catcher in high school but went to the outfield when Schroeder caught.  I personally think that Waddle is the better catcher of those two.  He doesn't have quite the arm, but makes up for it with great mechanics and a quick release.

Interesting that Coe got their complete series in against Dubuque, but just 20 miles east in Mt. Vernon, the entire series with Wartburg gets cancelled.......

Quote from: youcantseemestill on March 25, 2008, 02:06:48 PM
Interesting that Coe got their complete series in against Dubuque, but just 20 miles east in Mt. Vernon, the entire series with Wartburg gets cancelled.......

It is tough when Wartburg and Luther did not get to play games against conference teams that either struggled last year or are young this year.  I wish they could have found a way to reschedule those games for later in the season no matter how good Cornell or B.V. end up being this year.

It was fun last year that not only did Wartburg and Luther tie for the conference title at 18-5, but they both played everyone three times except Central (they both played the Dutch twice).  There were no legit arguments about an unfair schedule.

It is daunting to attempt to get 24 conference games in during a spring in the Midwest.

Quote from: youcantseemestill on March 24, 2008, 11:55:17 AM
I think you will br very happy with Waddle as your primary catcher.  He was an excellent catcher in high school but went to the outfield when Schroeder caught.  I personally think that Waddle is the better catcher of those two.  He doesn't have quite the arm, but makes up for it with great mechanics and a quick release.

Waddle is a good catcher.  He has caught the last four games in the Dome and looked good for the most part.  I have been surprised so far that they haven't rotated him more into DH or LF just to keep him fresh as a hitter and build up some depth at C, but maybe they will do that more as the year goes on or even during the nonconference doubleheaders today and tomorrow.

Hopefully Jake will continue to hit like he did last year.

Luther swept Northwestern (MN) in the Dome last night, 3-0 and 13-1.  Both teams had good pitchers going in the first game while Northwestern struggled on the mound in game two.

Pitching staff veterans Kohls and Todd both threw very well last night.  Kohls was very effective as he threw a complete game shutout while striking out 12 and giving up 3 hits.  Todd gave up 5 hits and a run in six innings in game two.

Perhaps Joe Nelson (#3 starter last year) and Max Flaig (#4 starter last year) will get the nod on the mound today. 

Paul Pichelmann (#3 starter in 2006) looked good in relief last week and may get the nod with Cody Hyland (threw a no-hitter against Gustavus last week) tomorrow.

If the series was cancelled, and the games are not made up, do the seedings for the tourney revert back to IIAC winning percentage? If so, it could very interesting to see who benefits most form this and who is harmed the most.

It is only winning percentage that determines seeding in the conference tourney in baseball.  It goes winning percentage, then head to head, then records against common opponents.

The Norse #3 starter walked 4 and a backup outfielder misplayed a couple of balls in a 5-4 loss to Macalester in game one on Tuesday.  Luther outhit the Scots 13-5 but left too many guys on base.  Against the Macalester ace, Luther pulled within 5-4 in the 7th but had a runner called out at 3rd to end the game on a very controversial call by the ump.  Ben Schott (1B) and Alex Ross (OF) both hit the ball very well in the loss.

Luther won the 2nd game, 10-2.  Max Flaig (#4 starter) got the win and Paul Pichelmann put in two scoreless innings to go with the two scoreless innings that he threw in game 1.  Jake Waddle (C) had three hits while Jeff Hiatt (SS) drove in four runs.

Yesterday the Norse beat Carleton, 14-1 in game 1 yesterday.  Cody Hyland (#5 starter as of now) went to 2-0 on the mound for the Norse this season as he got the win after 6 shutout innings.  Carleton threw a ton of pitchers who took a ton of time throwing pitches, as the 2nd game was not completed due to time restrictions.

The Norse are now 5-3 on the season with two potential wins (would have been 7-3) taken off the books due to the Metrodome time rule.  Gustavus was a solid opponent, Oshkosh was a good opponent, and they saw the best pitchers that Northwestern and Macalester had to offer.  They haven't won a real close game as of yet going into the conference games this weekend with Wartburg, but some of the guys have been swinging the bat well and the pitching staff has been pretty good overall.

It's Wartburg, Simpson, and Coe as the upcoming games for the Norse, so the real season is starting pretty quick.

BV split a pair of games with NW Missouri State.  The won the first one and droped the night cap. 

Looks like the young Beavers might have a decent squad this season.  Luther will be a nice measuring stick. 

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on March 27, 2008, 12:36:38 PM
The Norse #3 starter walked 4 and a backup outfielder misplayed a couple of balls in a 5-4 loss to Macalester in game one on Tuesday.  Luther outhit the Scots 13-5 but left too many guys on base.  Against the Macalester ace, Luther pulled within 5-4 in the 7th but had a runner called out at 3rd to end the game on a very controversial call by the ump.  Ben Schott (1B) and Alex Ross (OF) both hit the ball very well in the loss.

Luther won the 2nd game, 10-2.  Max Flaig (#4 starter) got the win and Paul Pichelmann put in two scoreless innings to go with the two scoreless innings that he threw in game 1.  Jake Waddle (C) had three hits while Jeff Hiatt (SS) drove in four runs.

Yesterday the Norse beat Carleton, 14-1 in game 1 yesterday.  Cody Hyland (#5 starter as of now) went to 2-0 on the mound for the Norse this season as he got the win after 6 shutout innings.  Carleton threw a ton of pitchers who took a ton of time throwing pitches, as the 2nd game was not completed due to time restrictions.

The Norse are now 5-3 on the season with two potential wins (would have been 7-3) taken off the books due to the Metrodome time rule.  Gustavus was a solid opponent, Oshkosh was a good opponent, and they saw the best pitchers that Northwestern and Macalester had to offer.  They haven't won a real close game as of yet going into the conference games this weekend with Wartburg, but some of the guys have been swinging the bat well and the pitching staff has been pretty good overall.

It's Wartburg, Simpson, and Coe as the upcoming games for the Norse, so the real season is starting pretty quick.

I was impressed by Luther's hitting top to bottom. I saw them play Macalester and then Carleton last night. Kind of disappointing I'd imagine to see them split to a team like Carleton. It seemed like they were flat from the night before, in both games. However, Gustavus is a good team to split with, and Macalester is so-so. They probably should have won that first game against MAC, especially in the early innings where Macalester pitched a freshman who had not started yet this year (Luther did not, as you claim, face their best pitching for most of the game) They did face Murray at the end and all I came away with from watching that was that either Murray throws pretty hard, or Luther's bats are very slow. However, the play at the end of the game was controversial; yet, as an umpire on a close play like that, you do not reward stupidity, which is what it was for the runner to try to advance to third.

With that all being said, I think Luther is a very tough team. Their hitting is very good. I like Riddle in the leadoff and Schott is a monster in cleanup. I would probably pick them to be the far and away favorites after seeing Wartburg earlier this year (not impressed). Good luck on the year, Luther is a solid team.

Thanks for posting supermiac.  Which Wartburg games did you see in the Dome?

I wasn't trying to imply that Murray had pitched the whole way in the 5-4 game but rather that they were getting back into the game on him (down 5-3 when he came in during the 6th, had the tying and winning run on base in the 7th when the out was called at 3rd). :)  Murray did look like a very talented pitcher to me (good size, very good fastball, decent breaking ball).  Congrats to the MAC LF for letting the ball go through his legs to get the Norse runner to try and take the extra base. ::)  My brother and I even initially thought the ball was going to roll far enough after going through his legs that Luther might have been able to score.  It obviously didn't go that way.

As I mentioned earlier, the only negative to me besides the weather is that the Norse have lost three close games while the five wins have not been that close.  It was good that the Norse even got 13 hits in the MAC loss, but they left too many on.

I left the 2nd Carleton game with the Norse winning and the #6 Luther pitcher on the mound (the doubleheader the night before was very late and my son was with me for the Carleton games).  I wasn't surprised that the 2nd game didn't count as the Knights had pitching issues and injury issues that really slowed down the 1st game.  I hope the Carleton kids are all right.

Overall the Norse pitching impressed me in the 8 games I saw more than the hitters in terms of consistency (pitchers Kohls, Todd, Hyland, and Pichelmann looked very good, Flaig looked all right and Nelson needs to throw more strikes), but the hitters clearly showed signs of doing a lot of the things that they did last year.  Hopefully Waddle and Schott can be anchors in the offense all season.

I am telling you right now......after seeing Hyland throw some last year as a freshman, and then seeing his stats to start this season, it would not suprise me to see him making conference starts sooner than later.  I think, based on limited viewing of Luther, that he is/will be this season, Luther's second best pitcher (behind Kohls).

It would be nice to see all of the teams get games in this weekend to really see what is out there in the conference.

I have seen that Hiatt isn't on the same pace as last year.  Do you think that he has come back to earth a little this season, or is he just struggling right now?

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on March 25, 2008, 02:50:18 PM
Luther swept Northwestern (MN) in the Dome last night, 3-0 and 13-1.  Both teams had good pitchers going in the first game while Northwestern struggled on the mound in game two.

Pitching staff veterans Kohls and Todd both threw very well last night.  Kohls was very effective as he threw a complete game shutout while striking out 12 and giving up 3 hits.  Todd gave up 5 hits and a run in six innings in game two.

Perhaps Joe Nelson (#3 starter last year) and Max Flaig (#4 starter last year) will get the nod on the mound today. 

Paul Pichelmann (#3 starter in 2006) looked good in relief last week and may get the nod with Cody Hyland (threw a no-hitter against Gustavus last week) tomorrow.

When teams play at neutral sites (like the Dome) and switch off being home/away, is it the home team's team book that is Official? If that is the case, GAC was the home team in game 2 vs Luther and their website shows 1 hit. Looks like GAC gave a hit to DesLauries while Luther gave an E to Hyland. I wasn't there so I have no idea what the play in question was like. But if its the home teams book that is official then Hyland doesn't get credit with a no-no.

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on March 28, 2008, 01:19:39 PM
Thanks for posting supermiac.  Which Wartburg games did you see in the Dome?

Well I got to see their series against Bethel at the beginning of the year. I know their top pitching wasn't in the game, but I hope for they sake they have better depth than what I saw. I also saw their win against St. Olaf. I liked what I saw there, how they roughed up Mathison a bit (which no one had yet to do). However, Saeugling looked like a very good hitter, but after that nothing really stood out to me. Schmitt looks like a high-quality number #2 pitcher. I was more impressed by Luther's offense however (and the fact that they have a billion lefties it seems).

Quote from: youcantseemestill on March 28, 2008, 02:10:39 PM
I am telling you right now......after seeing Hyland throw some last year as a freshman, and then seeing his stats to start this season, it would not suprise me to see him making conference starts sooner than later.  I think, based on limited viewing of Luther, that he is/will be this season, Luther's second best pitcher (behind Kohls).

It would be nice to see all of the teams get games in this weekend to really see what is out there in the conference.

I trust Todd quite a bit after how he has performed the past couple of years.  Kohls (8-1 with a 2.55 ERA last year) and Todd (8-3 with a 2.40 ERA last year) have been pretty solid as #1 and #2 over that time.  Flaig had a nice season last year as a freshman (6-2 with a 3.43 ERA), but Hyland has made things look easier than Max so far this year.

Nelson (4-2 with a 4.11 ERA) has good stuff and has pitched some good games (Gustavus was one of the games in person last year in the Dome that he looked great), but he is up and down with his location and just being crisp.

Quote from: youcantseemestill on March 28, 2008, 02:11:38 PM
I have seen that Hiatt isn't on the same pace as last year.  Do you think that he has come back to earth a little this season, or is he just struggling right now?

He has had some big hits and drove in a decent amount of runs so far (11 in 8 games), so I am not too worried yet about him falling back from last season.  Hiatt had great numbers last season before his numbers fell back in the regional (fell to .366 at season's end), so I could see his batting average being around .340 to .375 again this year.  If he hits around that with some pop and good run production it should be a good year for him.  Offensively I found myself paying the most attention when he, Waddle, or Schott were hitting this week.  All three of them hit some balls hard even if it wasn't always for a hit.

Luther is losing 2-1 to Wartburg in the 8th.  Too bad I couldn't make it today.  Go Norse!

Congrats to Wartburg for winning 3-2 in the 13th inning.

Congrats as well to the pitchers for both teams.

Quote from: Gustie13 on March 28, 2008, 02:33:54 PM

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on March 25, 2008, 02:50:18 PM
Luther swept Northwestern (MN) in the Dome last night, 3-0 and 13-1.  Both teams had good pitchers going in the first game while Northwestern struggled on the mound in game two.

Pitching staff veterans Kohls and Todd both threw very well last night.  Kohls was very effective as he threw a complete game shutout while striking out 12 and giving up 3 hits.  Todd gave up 5 hits and a run in six innings in game two.

Perhaps Joe Nelson (#3 starter last year) and Max Flaig (#4 starter last year) will get the nod on the mound today. 

Paul Pichelmann (#3 starter in 2006) looked good in relief last week and may get the nod with Cody Hyland (threw a no-hitter against Gustavus last week) tomorrow.

When teams play at neutral sites (like the Dome) and switch off being home/away, is it the home team's team book that is Official? If that is the case, GAC was the home team in game 2 vs Luther and their website shows 1 hit. Looks like GAC gave a hit to DesLauries while Luther gave an E to Hyland. I wasn't there so I have no idea what the play in question was like. But if its the home teams book that is official then Hyland doesn't get credit with a no-no.

In non-conference games on a neutral field, the only book that matters to a school is their own.  When teams travel to Florida or Arizona for their spring break trips they don't meet up with the home book to discuss rulings.  You keep you own book in those situations and that is all that counts into your stats.   In conference games, however, the home SID/home book have the final and permanent say on what goes into the final stats from those games.  That is a dumb rule for our conference because there are SIDs in this league that have no clue on how to score baseball games.

Wartburg over Luther  3-2 (13)
Central over BV  15-7
Coe over Loras 7-2
Simpson over Cornell 16-2 (8)

Don't come in the baseball board too often, but article in USA Today about Buena Vista and other teams playing 3 am games in the Metro Dome! lol...

Looks like Luther is about to turn one loss to Wartburg into three. >:(  4-0 in the 5th to Wartburg.

With the 3-2 (13 innings) and 2-1 losses to the Knights, Luther has now lost 5 close games in which the offense could not get it done when it needed to.  Most phases of the game have been solid to very good overall, but a 5-6 record and 0-3 conference mark is a very bad way to start the season if this continues. >:(

Coe and Simpson are not going to get any easier.  In fact, Coe has probably been playing better ball than the Knights so far this season.

Quote from: Old School.... (Tom Doebler) on March 29, 2008, 12:46:50 PM
Don't come in the baseball board too often, but article in USA Today about Buena Vista and other teams playing 3 am games in the Metro Dome! lol...

Playing crazy hours sometimes to find out that one of the games doesn't even count.  The Dome people need to find a way to address that.

Kohawks split with Loras today, winning 10-5 and losing 2-1.

Great start to the IIAC season for Coach Cook's squad...

BV took 2 out of 3 from Central in Pella.  Central took the first one 15-7 but BV took the final 2 games.  There was a great pitching dual from the way it sounded in the first game saturday.  Dekker for BV went the distance giving up 4 singles for the 3-0 victory.  Mahan took the loss with 6 IP, 6 Hits, and 2 ERs.  Dekker has pitched great this season so far but only got the one victory.  His stats so far are 4 starts, 19 IP, 13 Hits, .95 ERA, with  20 ks to 8 walks.

Interesting start to the season thus far.  I thought that on paper, Luther was far and away the most talented overall team.......and they still may be, but that was a struggle this weekend, especially at home.  To get dominated by Luke Albert is not a good sign.  Maybe it shows a real weakness they are going to have against lefty starters. 

Nice job by BV coming back after getting dominated in game one.  They look like they are really hitting the ball well thus far. 

Coe has won two series's so far.  Winning 4 of 6 against the two Dubuque schools.  Ryan Nicholson has pitched very well thus far.

Luther won both games against Simpson tonight to get back to 2-3 in the IIAC.  Cody Hyland won game one to move to 3-0 while Paul Pichelmann got his first start of the year and pitched well again to move to 1-1.  Pitchers Todd and Kohls should hopefully be ready to go this weekend.

The Coe series seems pretty significant to me in that the Norse will not play in the conference again until Simpson again on April 16.  Hopefully everyone is healthy and they can throw all the pitchers as Viterbo and Augsburg are the next couple of DHs.

Norse pitchers have held opponents to a .221 batting average so far and have given up only 36 runs in 13 games.  Thanks in big part to the brutal Wartburg series, Luther is only hitting .285 so far with 72 runs scored in the 13 games.

Pitchers Hyland (3-0 with 0.50 ERA in 18 innings), Pichelmann (1-1 with a 1.53 ERA in 17.2 innings), #1 Kohls (1-0 with a 1.57 ERA in 23 innings), and #2 Todd (1-2 with a 3.52 ERA in 15.1 innings) have all thrown well most of the time while #3 Joe Nelson and #4 Max Flaig have mostly struggled this year (Flaig to a lesser extent) compared to how they can throw.  I wonder if Nelson or Flaig will be scheduled to start one of the three Coe games this weekend?

Waddle (.409 with 11 RBIs) has been the most consistent Norse hitter, but Schott (.293 with 9 RBIs) and Hiatt (.304 with 15 RBIs) are very capable of moving toward the consistent level that Waddle has been at.  Schott hit very well in the Dome and has not hit well since they have played outside.  I do still think this team will start hitting at a more consistent level much more like last season than what the stats show right now.

BV split with Dubuque tonight in Caroll.  Dub took the first game like 10-4 and BV won the second game 12-10.  I dont know much about the games beside Piertzyk had 3 HRs on the day. 

3 HRs is quite the day!

Yeah that puts him at 5 so far this season.

Carroll Stadium is a little bit of a homer dome with the way the field sits.  Not trying to take anything away from him, but just adding some perspective that UD hit 5 homers as a team in the two games.

Are all the games on for today still?

Coe picked up a big 6-5 win over Luther today.

The young Beaves picked up 2 wins in 3 games over in Mt Vernon this weekend.  They are now 5-3 in the conference for the year and look like they could make a little noise down the stretch. 

I can not say that I think they are ready to take the conference crown, but I think they will be a team to keep you eye on. 

The young pitching staff looks to be holding their own, and they should have a nice building block for future seasons considering everyone stays healthy. 

BV has beaten everyone they played at least once except St Scholastica, which is a very good ball team.  They split with D2 Northwest Missouri State team.  Every starting pitcher this year has been a freshman or sophomore.  They are a very young but talented team that i think will just get better as these kids get used to college baseball.  Could be a dangerous team come tournament time.

BV is off to a great start.  This is shaping up to be a HUGE week in regards to the conference race.  #3 BV vs. #4 Simpson in mid-week.  And then this weekend #1 Wartburg vs. #5 Central, #2 Coe vs #3 BV.  A lot could/should be clearer following this week. 

It was a very exciting weekend with no underdogs taking a series despite 3 of the 4 series openers being taken by the lower ranking team.  Coe is the only team that could split on the Saturday after winning Friday night.

Congrats to Coe on winning the series against Luther this past weekend.  The Norse team batting average has not risen enough as of yet following the Wartburg series, and they still have not won any real close games.  Luther is 8-2 when the game is decided by more than two runs either way (8-0 loss to Wartburg, 8-2 loss to Coe), but are 0-6 in games decided by two runs or less.

I haven't seen the Norse play since the games in the Dome, but I hope to see them play against Augsburg on Sunday and against Central the following Friday.

Considering the youth on the team, congrats to B.V. for the solid start!  Too bad that the Norse-B.V. series did not take place.

Wartburg and Coe are now clearly ahead of Luther.  I am not ready to mail in the conference race, but the Norse clearly have to make a move in terms of playing better.  It will be tough to win the league title, but I will really be disappointed if the team hangs around .500 all year (barring injuries). 

Coe just added a game against Iowa in Iowa City tomorrow night at 5 p.m.

Quote from: Klopenhiemer on April 06, 2008, 12:24:44 PM
The young Beaves picked up 2 wins in 3 games over in Mt Vernon this weekend.  They are now 5-3 in the conference for the year and look like they could make a little noise down the stretch. 

I can not say that I think they are ready to take the conference crown, but I think they will be a team to keep you eye on. 

The young pitching staff looks to be holding their own, and they should have a nice building block for future seasons considering everyone stays healthy. 

I watched Dekker pitch Friday night.  In all honesty, he probably should have gotten the win that night.  Yeah he gave up 11 hits (all singles) and 5 earned runs but most of those were ground balls that had eyes or other hits that just fell in.  He still holds a 2.42 ERA in 26 innings and 32 k's.  Didn't realize that he had 12 k's on the night until I got home and looked at the box score, considering the first inning he didn't have any strike outs.  I was sitting around the other players that were out keeping a chart and saw that he was 91 in the first inning and still 88 in the 7th after a 100+ pitches.  He will definitely be one to watch for the future as he gains more experience.

Wasn't able to make it back for the second game but heard that they played really well Saturday with Dupic picking up his 4th win in the process.  A great asset for their team as a middle relief guy.  Hopefully this kids keep playing well, there will be some games that go wrong, that comes with youth, but like others have said they will surprise this year.  Hope to make it to the Simpson series tomorrow night and then the Coe series this weekend, weather pending of course.


Wow Coe picks up Division 1 Iowa.  Whats up with that?

Quote from: Kohawk Krazy on April 08, 2008, 03:14:42 PM
Coe just added a game against Iowa in Iowa City tomorrow night at 5 p.m.

Everything is going well for Coe right now!  Luther used to play Iowa quite often, but the last time they played I think was around 10 years ago.  The Norse stopped being competitive at all with Iowa in some of those 1990s games (used to play Iowa all the time and gave them troubles at times as well) and they changed the Division I rules about counting non-Division I wins towards the overall win total.

I believe the Hawks traveled to Luther in 1997 and were in a tight game in bad weather conditions when Iowa Head Coach Duane Banks had a major blowup with someone on the Iowa team.  The fallout from that caused the retirement of Coach Banks.  If I remember right the Iowa captains refused to travel with the team if Coach Banks were still coaching the team that season.  That caused Bob Bowlsby to intervene and force a compromise settlement.

Good luck playing the Hawks!  I am a Iowa fan as well as a Norse fan, so I would like a good showing from an IIAC member with a Hawk win!

I really wanted to play well against the Hawks going into my senior year, but the game against Iowa was snowed out. :(

BV and Simpson split.  Dekker pitched well again to get the win.  5.2 IP 5 KS 3 walks 2 unearned runs, 4 singles and one double.  BV won that game 4-2.  BV blew a 10 run lead in the Bottom of the 4.  Up 10-8 in the 7th too and couldn't finish the game.  Very disappointing loss as the sweep was in their hands.

Good to see Coe play somewhat tough against Iowa yesterday.  Coe has a bunch of games this week and it looks like the main pitchers all got some time on the mound yesterday against the Hawks.

Quote from: youcantseemestill on March 28, 2008, 02:11:38 PM
I have seen that Hiatt isn't on the same pace as last year.  Do you think that he has come back to earth a little this season, or is he just struggling right now?

Jeff appears to be putting the numbers up again as he is now up to .333 with 5 2Bs, 1 HR, and 19 RBIs in 18 games.  He was hitting cleanup yesterday in the doubleheader as the Norse split with Viterbo.  I believe Viterbo is now 21-7 on the season or something like that.  Luther is still at .500 at 9-9.

Joe Nelson had his first good start of the year yesterday in the Norse win as he gave up 2 runs on 2 hits.  Bigger than the hits for him was that he only walked 2 while striking out 8.  Hopefully Joe can get hot here in the 2nd part of the season.

Cody Hyland got off to a great start this year at 3-0 with great numbers, but he dropped to 3-2 yesterday after he gave up 5 hits and walked 5 in less than 3 innings.  His other loss was last Friday when he gave up 2 runs in relief against Coe.

Paul Pichelmann pitched very well in relief of Hyland and is now 1-1 with a 1.64 ERA in 22 innings.  A solid starter during his freshman year, Paul has done very well in various relief roles and one start.

Kohls and Todd are clearly the #1 and #2, but that #3 spot is still up in the air in my mind right now between Nelson, Flaig, Hyland, and even Pichelmann.  The pitching staff still has been very good this year as the team ERA is 3.68, but I am still hopeful that the pitchers can be even more consistent as Kohls and Todd start to get on a more normal routine and perhaps the offense can help get the whole team on a role.

As someone wrote earlier, Dekker threw really well yesterday on only 4 days rest.  They pulled him after 5 2/3 when he was starting to visibly get tired after 100 pitches but was still in the 87 range and was 90-91 through the 3rd.  Brought in Dupic who closed the game down solidly while the beavers added 1 in the top of the 7th for insurance.

Bats were there yesterday, but allowing Simpson back in that 10-0 game was very disappointing.  Simpson hit the ball hard all day, but the second game was when they finally started to fall in.  Also, didn't help that the BV youth bullpen were struggling to throw strikes after their starter (Probasco) took them a solid 3 innings on his second start since breaking his glove hand wrist the night before practice started earlier this year.  Definitely a youth loss, but they are still learning things and are on the edge of getting hot.

Coe picked up two big wins over BV today...11-4 and 5-1...

Kohawks looking like a solid contender for a top spot in the IIAC Tourney...

Quote from: BVer10 on April 10, 2008, 03:00:24 PM
As someone wrote earlier, Dekker threw really well yesterday on only 4 days rest.

Hey Bver10, 4 days rest is full rest!    ;)

Quote from: youcantseemestill on April 13, 2008, 09:42:40 PM

Quote from: BVer10 on April 10, 2008, 03:00:24 PM
As someone wrote earlier, Dekker threw really well yesterday on only 4 days rest.

Hey Bver10, 4 days rest is full rest!    ;)

Yes, I realize that usually.  But he had only been pitching every 6 or 7 days, I don't know if that was the plan or just how the schedule fell into play.   8) 

Heard they had some tough ones against Coe today.  Sounds like Coe hit the ball really hard, and the young beavers defense struggled as well.  Still aren't sure who they with throw against U of D on Wednesday, they have the Wartburg series coming up this weekend, so I know the BV coaches have some decisions to make about who will throw where.

Luther added a doubleheader against #11 UW-Whitewater for today since the weather and Dome time limits had been messing with the Norse schedule so far.

Nothing like adding a ranked opponent right before playing Simpson tomorrow and Central this weekend!  This should be a fun week if the weather cooperates.

Congrats to Wartburg and Coe for having strong weekends.  Wartburg has put themselves in very good shape by taking out the Norse and then reversing the outcomes against Central from a year ago.

Looks as if the beavers played another good game yesterday taking the 9 inning game 7-4 over U of D making that series 2-1 in favor of the beavers.  Looks as if their bats are still hot putting up 14 hits with 5 doubles, a triple, and a home run, while stealing 3 bags.  Also appears as if coach Eddie decided to throw Dekker yesterday instead of against Wartburg on Friday.  Don't really totally understand that, other than to make sure that they took the series, and maybe he doesn't want them to see him till the tournament, but that's why hes the coach and I'm not  ;D.  Heard from a cousin that goes to U of D that his friend saw one of the 2 guns that were taking velocities on him that he was 92 in the second inning and 88 still in the 7th.  He went 7 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs (neither earned), 3 walks, 1 hit batter, with 7 ks.  Dupic came in behind him and put the Spartans away going 2 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs (both earned), 2 walks, and 2 ks.  Hopefully the beavers will keep their bats hot going into Waverly this weekend!

How did everyone else in the conference fair? 

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on March 28, 2008, 06:07:27 PM

Quote from: youcantseemestill on March 28, 2008, 02:11:38 PM
I have seen that Hiatt isn't on the same pace as last year.  Do you think that he has come back to earth a little this season, or is he just struggling right now?

He has had some big hits and drove in a decent amount of runs so far (11 in 8 games), so I am not too worried yet about him falling back from last season.  Hiatt had great numbers last season before his numbers fell back in the regional (fell to .366 at season's end), so I could see his batting average being around .340 to .375 again this year.  If he hits around that with some pop and good run production it should be a good year for him.  Offensively I found myself paying the most attention when he, Waddle, or Schott were hitting this week.  All three of them hit some balls hard even if it wasn't always for a hit.

Luther is losing 2-1 to Wartburg in the 8th.  Too bad I couldn't make it today.  Go Norse!

The team is still struggling at times, but Hiatt is now hitting .355 with 1 HR, 6 2Bs, and 26 RBIs in 26 games.  He and Jake Waddle have been the clear anchors for that lineup.  Jake is hitting .432 with 1 HR, 9 2Bs, 3 3Bs, and 22 RBIs in 26 games.

Ben Schott (.352 with 16 RBIs) and Alex Ross (.355 with 11 RBIs) have also had nice seasons so far, but the Norse lineup has not been as deep nor have they hit for as much power as last year.

The Norse once again split a doubleheader yesterday (won 4-2 behind Kohls, lost 4-3 behind Nelson) against Loras to fall to 6-8 in the league.  What was an early season trend has become the general line for the season, as Luther is now 0-8 in games decided by one run.

When the game is decided by one run: 0-8
Two runs or less: 2-10
Three or more runs: 10-4
Extra inning games: 0-3

They have had some clutch hits to tie games up late, but I can't remember anything clutch to take the lead.  There have been way too many games in which the Norse had many more hits and baserunners than the opponent but lost a close game.

At this point, they are what they are no matter what they did last year or what the preseason expectations were.  They are a .500-type team that needs to do well down the stretch to solidify a spot in the conference tourney.

Congrats to Wartburg for moving closer towards winning another conference title.  Simpson and Coe have done good jobs of erasing last season and moving back into the upper part of the Iowa Conference standings.  It doesn't appear to be much of a fluke either as those three teams are the top three in team batting average and runs per game and among the top four in team ERA.

Hiatt has really come around to close out this season.  I did hear that he was injured (possibly seriously) in game Sunday against Dubuque.  Floyd, can you confirm or deny this?  I hope to hear that he is fine........that would be a huge loss to a Luther team that is showing signs of being much better. 

Huge sweep for the Kohawks this weekend and a devestating sweep for the Dutch.  Coe has the only chance to catch the Knights, but could fall all the way to 4th under another senario.  Nice to see the top two teams matched up for the final series. 

There is going to be a heck of a battle for those last couple of spots.  Should be a fun week.

I wasn't able to make it to the series this weekend, so I am in the dark about an injury situation.  He did go 3-4 in the last game with a 2B, a 3B, and 5 RBIs.  That brings him to .371 on the season with 8 2Bs, a 3B, a HR, and 32 RBIs in 29 games.  I also hope that he is all right and ready for the the games with Loras and Cornell this week.

With the 13-2 and 12-0 wins over Dubuque this weekend to go with the 7-6 loss to the Spartans, the Norse (14-15 overall and 8-9 in the IIAC) are now:

0-9 when the game is decided by one run or less
12-4 when the game is decided by 3 runs or more
4-9 when the game is in Decorah
0-3 in extra innings

The Norse are hitting .310 while the opposition is hitting .253.  They have outscored the opposition 164-114. 

Jake Waddle is still hitting well at .434 with 10 2Bs, 4 3Bs, 2 HRs, and 27 RBIs.
Adam Kohls is now 4-1 on the mound with a 2.28 ERA.
Joe Nelson got the complete game win yesterday to move to 3-2, but much like Hiatt I am concerned about how healthy Nathan Todd is right now.  Todd is 1-3 with a 4.35 ERA after going 8-3 with a 2.40 ERA in 2007.

Quote from: youcantseemestill on April 28, 2008, 09:28:19 AM
Hiatt has really come around to close out this season.  I did hear that he was injured (possibly seriously) in game Sunday against Dubuque.  Floyd, can you confirm or deny this?  I hope to hear that he is fine........that would be a huge loss to a Luther team that is showing signs of being much better. 

Jeff played tonight and went 1-4 in a 4-3 win over Loras.  The Norse finally won a game by one run!! :) ??? ::)

Nathan Todd moved to 2-3 on the year as he gave up 2 runs in 8 and 1/3 innings.  Loras got all 3 of their runs in the 8th and 9th as Kohls came in to get the save.

Kohls and Nelson will probably starting on the mound this weekend against Cornell, but I am not sure who the 3rd starter will be.  Pichelmann?  Hyland?  Kohls?  Flaig (who hasn't pitched recently)?

Luther is now 9-9 in the IIAC.

Looks like it was a tough one at times in Storm Lake.  Dekker walks 8 in the B.V. loss and Simpson has 5 errors even though they won. 

Simpson had to lose the game for Luther to have any shot of catching them in the standings.  Congrats to the Storm on a solid regular season heading into the tourney.

Congrats to Wartburg as well for winning another IIAC baseball title after they beat Dubuque tonight.

Wasn't pretty here in SL today for sure.  Made it to the game and Dekker looked better than what it sounds by the box score until the 4th inning where something seem to get lost after striking out 2 and hitting one.  Definitely not characteristic of him to walk 8 like that.  Overheard one of the parents in the stands say that his forearm has really been bothering him since right before Wartburg, hopefully its nothing serious.  The relievers came in and did a great job shutting the storm down.  Home plate ump definitely was not making calls that should have been made, and seemed to get heckled pretty well.

I just wish BV would hit as well with runners on as they do with bases empty.  It appears that they press with runners on and take bad cuts in drive them in situations.  It's seriously time to step it up if the young Beavers are going to make the conference tournament.  They need at least 2 from Loras it appears.  We'll see how the rain holds out.

Congrats to the Storm.

Over and out from the City Beautiful

Wartburg did not let clinching the IIAC title interfere with winning games.  Pretty impressive that they were able to sweep Coe after already clinching against Dubuque.

I wasn't surprised, but I was a little disappointed that Luther did not throw Nathan Todd against Cornell in the 9-7 loss yesterday.  I know the conference tourney is the bigger thing at this point (in terms of getting pitchers ready), but I still care whether the Norse would have finished 3rd or 4th based on the outcome of the game against the Rams.  Starting pitchers Hyland and Flaig must be considered question marks going into the IIAC tourney as Hyland gave up 8 runs yesterday.

Here is my version of the Norse rotation for this week:
#1            Adam Kohls - 5-1, 2.29 ERA in 59 innings (43 hits allowed, 54 Ks)
#2            Nate Todd - 2-3, 3.89 ERA in 39 innings
#3            Joe Nelson - 4-2, 3.38 ERA in 45 innings (33 hits allowed, 35 Ks)
#4/Relief  Paul Pichelmann - 2-2, 2.83 ERA in 35 innings

Kohls, Jeff Hiatt, and Jake Waddle would be my choices for all-IIAC.  Kohls and Waddle were 1st team selections last year and have performed very well again this year (Waddle finished at .425 with 13 2Bs, 4 3Bs, 2 HRs, 31 runs, and 28 RBIs in 33 games).

Hiatt was a 2nd team selection last year, but has upped his batting average this year as he is hitting .392 with 10 2Bs, 1 3B, 1 HR, and 33 RBIs in 33 games.

Nate Todd was a 2nd team pitcher last year, but his numbers aren't as good this year.

Saw the Coe v Wartburg series this weekend.  Heartbreaking/embarassing losses for Coe and imressive wins for the Knights.  Saeugling took a liner off the hand and then gave up a three run homer in the second innning of game one and didn't come back out.  Done for the day actually.  A solo shot by Smith made it 6-3 Coe after 5 and a half.  Wartburg answers with 4 in the bottom and hold on to win 7-6.

Game two saw Coe explode offensively early on.  Scored 7 in the 3rd 2 more in the 4th and it was 9-0.  Wartburg then puts up and 11 spot in the bottom of the 4th with no help from errors.  The Knights pounded out 16 hits in game two.  Coe had opportunities in both games to win, but didn't pitch well enough to win. 

Sucks for BV to put up 27 and not get in.  Really nice season for Pietryzk (sp??)

Luther loses to Coe this morning and is the first team to be knocked out of the Iowa Conference tourney.  There were some strange things this season, but I would think most associated with the program see 17-18 and 11-10 in the IIAC as a tough year based on last year and preseason expectations.

They lost a bunch of close games and were entertaining at times, but at the end of the day they had an average season as the record shows.

Congrats to senior SS Jeff Hiatt on having a very good career in a Norse uniform.  There were two other seniors P Joe Nelson and OF Alex Ross that also need to be replaced, but Jeff was clearly one of the anchors of the position players.  Joe and Alex had productive careers.

Going into next season, Luther needs to have 3-5 pitchers that really are dependable when it is there turn.  Kohls, Todd, and Pichelmann are all great candidates again if they are healthy, but Hyland, Flaig, and someone else need to step up as well.

The position lineup had good numbers overall, but the HRs were down this year as well as the clutch hits that took the lead late in games.  Hopefully they can average over 6 runs a game next year with more power.  Ben Schott had a good year this year, but can he be more consistent next year with a little more power as a junior?

Hopefully the weather cooperates next year so I can see more than 8 games in person.

Good luck to whoever gets to be in the NCAA tourney.  Hopefully the IIAC team or teams in regionals are peaking at the right time.

Congrats to Wartburg for winning the conference tourney.  Good luck in the regional.  I assume this Knight squad is fairly young and should be together for another season or two.

It was a good run by Loras in the league tourney.

Waddle, Hiatt, and Kohls make 1st team all-conference:

http://sports.luther.edu/men/baseball/season%20-%202008/news/all-conference.html (http://sports.luther.edu/men/baseball/season%20-%202008/news/all-conference.html)

The entire list of the IIAC all-conference teams:

http://www.iowaconference.com/men/baseball/all_conference/2008.htm (http://www.iowaconference.com/men/baseball/all_conference/2008.htm)

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http://www.midwestconference.org/MWC_Book_OF.pdf

Heard a rumor while in Storm Lake the other day that Dekker has left BV to pitch at Northwest Missouri State.  Can anyone confirm this?  Also heard that Eddie has lost some of his other guys due to being kicked out of school because of grades.  It's a shame that some don't see grades as essential in college....

Quote from: BVer10 on June 19, 2008, 06:20:49 PM
Heard a rumor while in Storm Lake the other day that Dekker has left BV to pitch at Northwest Missouri State.  Can anyone confirm this?  Also heard that Eddie has lost some of his other guys due to being kicked out of school because of grades.  It's a shame that some don't see grades as essential in college....

A very reliable source told me that he was transfering to Northwest Missouri State as well.  It is my understanding that he pitched against and beat them early in the season.  From that point forward he assumed he was better than BV and was packing his bags.

My source also said there were some other questions about Dekker regarding his mental toughness and his own self image.  As it might have been a bit inflated.

Sad to hear that they might be loosing other players as well.  I seemed as if Coach Eddie had built a group of good young talent. 

Quote from: Klopenhiemer on June 21, 2008, 09:55:05 AM

Quote from: BVer10 on June 19, 2008, 06:20:49 PM
Heard a rumor while in Storm Lake the other day that Dekker has left BV to pitch at Northwest Missouri State.  Can anyone confirm this?  Also heard that Eddie has lost some of his other guys due to being kicked out of school because of grades.  It's a shame that some don't see grades as essential in college....

A very reliable source told me that he was transfering to Northwest Missouri State as well.  It is my understanding that he pitched against and beat them early in the season.  From that point forward he assumed he was better than BV and was packing his bags.

My source also said there were some other questions about Dekker regarding his mental toughness and his own self image.  As it might have been a bit inflated.

Sad to hear that they might be loosing other players as well.  I seemed as if Coach Eddie had built a group of good young talent. 

I spoke with an old coach of his yesterday.  To my understanding is that he honored his commitment to BV his senior year of high school since he had already given his word when larger schools started coming after him and offering money.  I guess they were kind of let down when he went D3, thought that he should have gone to a larger school for his own sake and future.  Coach also said he was never entirely happy while at BV when they spoke, just got to be to small of a place for him and was costing too much money, but that he felt bad for having let down the team.

I've never heard anything about him having a inflated self image.  When I watched him in high school he was never outspoken on the field, or seemed to act like he was the best thing on the field.  Just looked like a kid that loved to play the game.  Mental toughness is something that he will need to continue to improve, but if he does, he's got a future ahead of him.

On another note, I heard Coe picked up a few transfers as well for this season.  Any of you Kohawk faithful know who it was that they picked up?

Quote from: Klopenhiemer on July 28, 2008, 10:49:59 PM

Quote from: BVer10 on June 24, 2008, 04:38:28 PM

Quote from: Klopenhiemer on June 21, 2008, 09:55:05 AM

Quote from: BVer10 on June 19, 2008, 06:20:49 PM
Heard a rumor while in Storm Lake the other day that Dekker has left BV to pitch at Northwest Missouri State.  Can anyone confirm this?  Also heard that Eddie has lost some of his other guys due to being kicked out of school because of grades.  It's a shame that some don't see grades as essential in college....

A very reliable source told me that he was transfering to Northwest Missouri State as well.  It is my understanding that he pitched against and beat them early in the season.  From that point forward he assumed he was better than BV and was packing his bags.

My source also said there were some other questions about Dekker regarding his mental toughness and his own self image.  As it might have been a bit inflated.

Sad to hear that they might be loosing other players as well.  I seemed as if Coach Eddie had built a group of good young talent. 

I spoke with an old coach of his yesterday.  To my understanding is that he honored his commitment to BV his senior year of high school since he had already given his word when larger schools started coming after him and offering money.  I guess they were kind of let down when he went D3, thought that he should have gone to a larger school for his own sake and future.  Coach also said he was never entirely happy while at BV when they spoke, just got to be to small of a place for him and was costing too much money, but that he felt bad for having let down the team.

I've never heard anything about him having a inflated self image.  When I watched him in high school he was never outspoken on the field, or seemed to act like he was the best thing on the field.  Just looked like a kid that loved to play the game.  Mental toughness is something that he will need to continue to improve, but if he does, he's got a future ahead of him.

On another note, I heard Coe picked up a few transfers as well for this season.  Any of you Kohawk faithful know who it was that they picked up?

If you are saying that you spoke with Denny Barton or Mike Cook, then I would not trust them as far as I could throw either of them.  I played against them in high school and needless to say and mixed emotions regarding their principals. 

So your telling me that a coach with 630+ wins, 10+ state tournament trips with 2 championships, and a coach that was up for national high school coach of the year this year doesn't have good principals?  Where did you go to high school then if you don't mind me asking?

I saw Dekker throw a couple of times this summer and the kid can definately throw the baseball.  Him going to Northwest was also influenced (IMO) by playing with the Northwest pitching coach this summer. 

Now, while Dekker can throw the crap out of the ball, he has no future in baseball without learning how to mix in some legitimate offspeed stuff.  For him to say/think he is above D3 because he can throw 90 should be a slap in the face to anyone that knows anything about D3 baseball.  If he was such a dominant force in the Iowa Conference he should put up better numbers than:

3-3,  3.22 ERA, 36.1 IP, 36 Hits, 25 BB, 43 Ks, .248 BAA, 1.68 WHIP

Look, the kid is really good, but not a super stud.

1. Wartburg
2. Simpson
3. Coe
4. Loras
Who cares about Luther.... and who ever else is in the conference... lets be honest the other teams dont even have a chance.... i mean 2-4 dont even have a chance this year because Wartburg is just too dominate in every category... with them returning 13 seniors i believe every IIAC team should be worried about them.  Anybody else have any other predictions..  We all know that the whoever does the preseason predictions for the IIAC hates WArtburg because of their tradition and wont have them predicted to win conference but who cares what they think... Wartburg has proved them wrong for the past 12 years soon to be 13.

Quote from: Knights#1 on November 13, 2008, 10:46:59 PM
1. Wartburg
2. Simpson
3. Coe
4. Loras
Who cares about Luther.... and who ever else is in the conference... lets be honest the other teams dont even have a chance.... i mean 2-4 dont even have a chance this year because Wartburg is just too dominate in every category... with them returning 13 seniors i believe every IIAC team should be worried about them.  Anybody else have any other predictions..  We all know that the whoever does the preseason predictions for the IIAC hates WArtburg because of their tradition and wont have them predicted to win conference but who cares what they think... Wartburg has proved them wrong for the past 12 years soon to be 13.

Knight- Welcome to the board and quit being so arrogant . Wartburg is good and no one disputes that, but being the top dog in a conference that is relatively weak (with one or two exceptions) is nothing to brag about when the goal is to be one of the big dogs on a national level.

Yes Wartburg has been a perennial leader in the IIAC.  But "dominate in every category" is a little strong.  I believe that Wartburg has been picked ( pre-season) to win the conference every year for awhile now.  But here are just a few facts for ya.  In the past 7 years Wartburg has 2 dominant teams, 2005 and 2008. With 2005 by far being their best.  In fact 2002, 2003, and 2004 they only won the league by 1 game.  2006 and 2007 they finished in a 3 way and 2 way tie respectively.  In 2006 it took a Simpson loss to 5th place Loras on the final day of the season to earn Wartburg a tie.  And in 2007 it took a Luther loss to 8th place Coe on the final day of the season to force a tie as well.  They only won the tourney 4 of 7 years, and had quick exits in the regional in all but 2005.  As far as 2009 I think it will be a very competitive league again. Having top pitchers is always a key and Saeugling is a huge loss.   The team with a best top 3 will win this league. 

Losing Sauegling is a huge loss.  Keep in mind they have every returning position starter back except their DH ( Sauegling).  As far as my first post goes.... maybe i was being a little arrogant.  Just a big Wartburg baseball fan.  I have unanimous sources who think this 2009 team could be just as good if not better than 2005 team.  2008 Wartburg baseball team didn't have a quick exit from regionals.  If I remember correctly ( not sure if i'm right) they were 1 of 3 teams left losing to Linfield, who went onto world series after beating Augustana twice Saturday, who beat Wartburg by 1 run.  I also agree with IIAC being a weak conference.  But winning 12 conference championships doesn't just happen.  Obviously, you need a little luck and the Wartburg knights have had some of that in the past.  For the teams that have helped Wartburg win it in the past thank you.  But there is a key saying your teams were obviously missing "It's not how you start, it's how you finish."  But you still just don't win 12 conference championships.  It will be a very interesting season to follow.  Also, I agree with the team with the top 3 starting pitchers will win it.  But you can't win it without offense as well obviously.

Sorry Wartburg won 1 game in the regional against Webster 2-0. 

Top Pitching
Luther        Sr.  Kohls    and    Sr.  Todd
Warturg     Jr. Schmitt  and    Sr. Martijn
Simpson     Sr. Sass
Coe            Jr. Lewis    and    Sr. Nicholson
Loras         So. Moriarity

And we dont know about newcomers 

Any others I need to add to the list? 

Quote from: Knights#1 on November 29, 2008, 11:11:13 PM
Losing Sauegling is a huge loss.   I have unanimous sources who think this 2009 team could be just as good if not better than 2005 team.    But winning 12 conference championships doesn't just happen.  Obviously, you need a little luck and the Wartburg knights have had some of that in the past.   It will be a very interesting season to follow.  Also, I agree with the team with the top 3 starting pitchers will win it.  But you can't win it without offense as well obviously.

Welcome to the board Knight#1........

Maybe it is my non-Wartburg education, but can you please let expand on your "unanimous" sources?  I am not following what that means. 

Also, although the final conferece record last year was impressive, the Knights were not a steamroller by any means.  They won the conference because they went 9-1 in one run ball games.  That is the mark of a good team that knows how to win.  But, the conference was still up for grabs heading into the last series of the year.

Top Returning Pitchers in the Iowa Conference:

                                             w-l    ERA      IP      BB     SO     BAA     SV
BV - Kyle Dupic So (L)           4-2   35.0    35.0   13     27     .275     2

CEN - Adam Squires Sr (R)    1-5    3.90    55.1   28     42     .312     6
         Dayton Glasgow So(R) 6-1    4.53    49.2   16    33     .322      1

COE - Ryan Nicholson Sr (L)  6-5    4.08     79.1   38    61     .275     2
          Alec Lewis Jr (R)          6-3    4.30     69.0   16     59    .284     2

COR - Casey Korn Sr (R)       2-5    4.67      54.0   18    30     .330    1
          Adam Butler So (R)     2-4    4.59      33.1    20   20     .301    0

Dubuque - NONE

LOR - Kevin Moriarity So (R)  6-5    4.85      68.2     22   56     .276   1
         Kyler Laurie Jr (R)        4-1    3.55      38.0     16   16     .268   0

LUT - Adam Kohls Sr (R)       5-2     2.86      63.0     17   57    .229   1
         Nathan Todd Sr (R)     2-3     3.74      43.1     8     20    .313   0
         Paul Pichelman ?(R)     2-2      2.45     40.1      13   20    .232   0
         Cody Hyland Jr (L)       3-3      5.46     31.1      21   27    .211   1

SIM - Jared Sass Sr (R)         7-1     3.15      65.2     14   41    .234   1

WAR - Jerrold Martijn Sr (L)  4-4     3.58      50.1      24  42    .245    2
          Billy Schmidt Jr (R)      6-1     3.90      64.2      20   56   .203    0

So maybe my Wartburg Degree didn't help me out. But honestly at Wartburg I thought of Athletics being more important. I meant Anonymous source. Everyone makes mistakes even including Albert Einstein... one of the smartest persons to ever live. So my bad.

Its okay Knights.......I was just playing around.  You know, hazing the new guy. 

Anyone know of any younger guys that might make an impact this season?

Quote from: youcantseemestill on December 02, 2008, 12:12:03 PM
Top Returning Pitchers in the Iowa Conference:

                                             w-l    ERA      IP      BB     SO     BAA     SV
BV - Kyle Dupic So (L)           4-2   35.0    35.0   13     27     .275     2

CEN - Adam Squires Sr (R)    1-5    3.90    55.1   28     42     .312     6
         Dayton Glasgow So(R) 6-1    4.53    49.2   16    33     .322      1

COE - Ryan Nicholson Sr (L)  6-5    4.08     79.1   38    61     .275     2
          Alec Lewis Jr (R)          6-3    4.30     69.0   16     59    .284     2

COR - Casey Korn Sr (R)       2-5    4.67      54.0   18    30     .330    1
          Adam Butler So (R)     2-4    4.59      33.1    20   20     .301    0

Dubuque - NONE

LOR - Kevin Moriarity So (R)  6-5    4.85      68.2     22   56     .276   1
         Kyler Laurie Jr (R)        4-1    3.55      38.0     16   16     .268   0

LUT - Adam Kohls Sr (R)       5-2     2.86      63.0     17   57    .229   1
         Nathan Todd Sr (R)     2-3     3.74      43.1     8     20    .313   0
         Paul Pichelman ?(R)     2-2      2.45     40.1      13   20    .232   0
         Cody Hyland Jr (L)       3-3      5.46     31.1      21   27    .211   1

SIM - Jared Sass Sr (R)         7-1     3.15      65.2     14   41    .234   1

WAR - Jerrold Martijn Sr (L)  4-4     3.58      50.1      24  42    .245    2
          Billy Schmidt Jr (R)      6-1     3.90      64.2      20   56   .203    0

Pitchers Kohls (16 career wins) and Todd (14 career wins) were very good for the Norse in 2006 and 2007.  Kohls had another very good year in 2008, but Todd fell back to being solid.  My hope is that both of them pitch as well in 2009 as they ever have (they both had 8 wins and an ERA below 3.00 in 2007).  If they are both healthy and throwing well, the Norse should be a contender again.

Max Flaig had a great freshman year in 2007 (6-2 3.43 ERA) while Hyland was strong the first part of 2008.  It would be great if they both bounced back so that Pichelmann could go back to closing.  I have no idea what kind of fall camp they had or what guys have been added.

With the position players the Norse need to replace Hiatt in the lineup and at SS.  Waddle and Schott should have good years again to lead the offense.

Wartburg won all of the close games last year while Luther was just awful in them (11 losses by 1 or 2 runs, only outscored the opposition 187 runs to 142 in 35 games).  It was a tough year to watch.

Hopefully the Norse get back to the 2007 version where they won 31 games and many of them were won by a nice margin (331 runs to 189 for the opposition in 42 games).

Luther also is going on a spring trip this year after missing one last year for the first time in many years.  Last year if I remember the spring break on campus was in between the first conference series against B.V. and the 2nd one against Wartburg, so the team stayed in Iowa and Minnesota.  The B.V. series was made up later in the year after being weathered out originally.

The Norse had a bunch of Metrodome games scattered around early in the season.  They also were juggling the pitching rotation during some of those non-conference games to be prepared for the conference games.

This year they get the normal routine of preseason games on a southern trip just like everyone else.  I would like to see the starters get into a rhythm before coming back and facing Cornell at the end of March.

May the weather and injuries situations be favorable for everyone this year!  Rainouts and injuries are part of it, but it is always fun to see the championship decided when the contenders are healthy and everyone was able to get the games in.

Saw the 2009 D3baseball.com Preseason All American team as well as the collegiate baseball DIII players and teams to watch.  Not one IIAC player or team to be found.  Is this a slap in the face or a reality check?

Quote from: UPandIN on January 13, 2009, 01:07:28 AM
Saw the 2009 D3baseball.com Preseason All American team as well as the collegiate baseball DIII players and teams to watch.  Not one IIAC player or team to be found.  Is this a slap in the face or a reality check?

Reality check. While the IIAC is a solid conference, they are not the only conference that was left out of the pre-season honors.

Hey ya'll! New guy to the board! Just wanted to see what you all think about the upcoming IIAC competition. Looks like each team only lost a few key parts and they all have several returners (except UD which seemed to lose quite a bit). Who do you expect to be front runners this year and what players you expect to stand out?

http://sports.luther.edu/men/baseball/season%20-%202009/schedule/schedule.html (http://sports.luther.edu/men/baseball/season%20-%202009/schedule/schedule.html)

The 2009 Norse schedule

http://sports.luther.edu/men/baseball/season%20-%202009/roster/MeettheNorse.html (http://sports.luther.edu/men/baseball/season%20-%202009/roster/MeettheNorse.html)

Meet the Norse

Just wondering why Knights#1 is saying why Wartburg's team has a chance to be as good as 2005 squad.  As a fellow Wartburg alum I have to wonder if he is just being a "homer" or not.  When I saw them play last year (@ Simpson) I was a bit underwhelmed with where their level of play was at.  The "05 team will be a hard one to beat.  Let me know what I should be looking for with their team this year.

I was going through the rosters and stuff from the conference site and notice that Loras and Wartburg have still yet to update rosters.  Does anyone have a clue about this?  Loras is usally pretty good and the Knights are usually really deliberate with their roster posting.

Many schools are just getting back into second semester right now so I would give it a few more days or weeks. Snowbelt schools are still weeks away from games (except those starting in the MetroDome this weekend).

Not really buying that Big Poppa.  7 of the 9 conference schools already have their rosters up and and 6 of those 7 have been up for two weeks or more.  First day of official practice for most schools is Feb 1, so everyone should be well underway with their season.

Anyone know about these two brothers that transfer to Coe. Heard they could be legit

Quote from: youcantseemestill on February 03, 2009, 03:04:30 PM
Not really buying that Big Poppa.  7 of the 9 conference schools already have their rosters up and and 6 of those 7 have been up for two weeks or more.  First day of official practice for most schools is Feb 1, so everyone should be well underway with their season.

Practicing and being under way with their season are two VERY different things. I know many schools have a second "cut" to determine which players make the travel roster for the southern trip and wait to post rosters until then.

You mean school's rosters that are posted on the sites aren't their entire roster?

I heard that there are three big losses for the Dutch baseball team this year.  Senior Jake Jadlowski, Anthony Bazant, and Jr. Chris Ozga all have left the program and the school.  These are big losses for an already young team.

Transfer? Academics? Coach?

Any insight as to why the three of them have left?

Quote from: Swing4theFences on February 04, 2009, 03:55:38 PM
Anyone know about these two brothers that transfer to Coe. Heard they could be legit

Sounds like you may be one of them haha!

Still no roster from Wartburg.......big surprise!

Dubuque will definitely be tough to beat this year.  Blayke Conway and Andrew Denton should both challenge for Pitcher of the Year in the IIAC.  They set up a very nice 1-2 punch.

If Dubuque is a contender in the Iowa Conference, they will be the biggest surprise team in the country.  They finished last in 2008 and graduated ( oops! I mean lost ) every good player they had.  Dubuque will surly be picked to finish last in the conference in 2009. 
Spartan baseball over the past  7 seasons:  only 2 conference tournament appearances,  only 1 winning season ( 2005 19-18), 4 times the worst team in the league, 1 time the 2nd worst team in the league, best finish... 5th place (2003).   
As for Dubuque's unknown freshman pitching class, welcome to college baseball.  Just a note, in the past 8 years there has been 1 freshman pitcher to even make 1st team all conference.  To think a unknown freshman would compete for IIAC pitcher of the year...................... All I can say is I appreciate your spirit.   I think BigToughGuy, Momma Conway, and Momma Denton are the only 3 people in the country that think this could happen. 

Quote from: UPandIN on February 24, 2009, 12:16:13 AM
If Dubuque is a contender in the Iowa Conference, they will be the biggest surprise team in the country.  They finished last in 2008 and graduated ( oops! I mean lost ) every good player they had.  Dubuque will surly be picked to finish last in the conference in 2009. 
Spartan baseball over the past  7 seasons:  only 2 conference tournament appearances,  only 1 winning season ( 2005 19-18), 4 times the worst team in the league, 1 time the 2nd worst team in the league, best finish... 5th place (2003).   
As for Dubuque's unknown freshman pitching class, welcome to college baseball.  Just a note, in the past 8 years there has been 1 freshman pitcher to even make 1st team all conference.  To think a unknown freshman would compete for IIAC pitcher of the year...................... All I can say is I appreciate your spirit.   I think BigToughGuy, Momma Conway, and Momma Denton are the only 3 people in the country that think this could happen. 

Agreed! If Dubuque wins the conference, I will retire from my posting days. Dubuque does not have a history of producing top-notch pitchers and I do not see that changing this season.

I would pick UD to finish last in the IIAC this year.  Their top returning starter threw a grand total of 14 innings last year.  Even with the best possible class of pitchers they could get, they don't develop kids at UD and their best kids rarely can win games by themselves.......see Doonan last year. 

Aside from the pitching worries, they are not returning much offensively either.  They are only bringing back Duran and Manthe that saw really significant time last year.  These kids are good, but not world beaters and haven't shown themselves to being able to carry an offensive load. 

SEASON STARTS TODAY WITH THE KNIGHTS AND THE OLES IN THE METRODOME!  HERE WE GO!

You guys are all correct......I've actually never seen or even heard of Conway or Denton.  I did drive through Dubuque once......they have a good dog track. 

Wartburg loses a couple of close ones (6-4 & 5-4) in their season opener.  Hopefully they will bounce back when they get down to AZ.

The Norse are 2-0 after winning in the Dome against Carleton late Sunday night and into Monday morning.  They will soon be heading South for the spring trip so they can take on more MIAC schools like Gustavus, Hamline, and Concordia.

http://sports.luther.edu/men/baseball/season%20-%202009/recaps/carleton.html (http://sports.luther.edu/men/baseball/season%20-%202009/recaps/carleton.html)

Nathan Todd threw the ball very well in game 2 and looked as though his arm is feeling pretty well.  Hopefully he has the kind of season like he did in 2006 and 2007.  If all the pitchers are healthy, this team is going to have some good mound depth again.  I like Pichelman coming out of the bullpen to close games, but he might also be the #3 starter.

Freshman Chris Reynolds (starting QB for the Norse Football team) looked very good leading off and playing 2B. 

Even though they lost Jeff Hiatt to graduation, the infield looked good with Schott at 1B, Reynolds at 2B, Beckman at SS and Neis at 3B.  Neis might be the biggest question defensively, but he has the talent to play 3B.

Beckman had a very good night in the field and at the plate.  Weber needs to be in the lineup as much as possible and looked very good at the plate.

The game 2 lineup looked like something that could be successful this year:

Reynolds 2B
Neis 3B
Waddle C
Schott 1B
Weber LF
Thompson RF
Topping DH
Beckman SS
Thomas CF

Beckman and Topping swung the bat like they could both move up a spot in the order, but I am not around the practices.  I do think this team can have a deeper batting order with a little more pop.  I don't know if they can do what they did on offense in 2007, but it can be much more than what they did at times last year.

Has anyone watched Wartburg play this year?  I did not know that they were playing Gustavus in the Dome on Sunday or I would have shown up early before the Luther games.

The Knights are now 6-6, but I don't know what to read into it since they did not play to past standards during the preseason last year (were they 6-9 at one point before the Luther series?) and still had a great conference season.

The team statistics looked solid to good overall, except perhaps some of the pitching numbers.  The top two starters look good on paper again while the hitters look good.

Knowing that they will be the team to beat in the Iowa Conference, I wish that they would get back to old form and play well against non-IIAC schools as well.  The potential IIAC champion should be better than 1-5 against the MIAC no matter how many of the MIAC teams are upper division teams from that league.  It just makes the league look better.

I couldnt agree more.  I am not sure what to make of Wartburg's team just yet.  I know that they are needing to fill some holes in their pitching rotation. 

As far as their less that stellar win/loss record early in the season; Wartburg has taken an approach the last few years to try and develop and see as many arms on the mound as possible prior to conference season starting.  As a grad and former player for the Knights I see both the benefit and downfall of this.  Saves arms, develop new guys but also hurts come tourny time for an at-large bid and as you said, makes the IIAC tend to look weak.

I would guess that they will have resolved some of the pitching rotation issues come conference season time.

IIAC teams sit 2 games abouve .500 overall on the season (25-23).  To me it sounds like either a slow start or the league is down this year.  Any thoughts?

*I know the IIAC is not a real powerhouse, but it seems in past years they have taken a better overall record into conference play.

Big Games in featuring the Central Region this weekend:

March 13
Illinois Wesleyan vs. Wartburg at Webster, 4 p.m.


March 14
Illinois Wesleyan at Webster, 10 a.m.
Wartburg at Webster
Beloit vs St. Joes (NY)
Concordia Chicago vs. Illinois Wesleyan


March 15
Augustana (Ill.) vs. Central in Fort Myers, Fla., 9 a.m., EDT
Wartburg vs Concordia-Chicago
Concordia Chicago vs. Webster

Quote from: wartburgalum on March 12, 2009, 04:40:06 PM
IIAC teams sit 2 games abouve .500 overall on the season (25-23).  To me it sounds like either a slow start or the league is down this year.  Any thoughts?

*I know the IIAC is not a real powerhouse, but it seems in past years they have taken a better overall record into conference play.

I think the IIAC is down this year. I think the Central Region as a whole is down this year.

Quote from: wartburgalum on March 11, 2009, 03:03:48 PM
I couldnt agree more.  I am not sure what to make of Wartburg's team just yet.  I know that they are needing to fill some holes in their pitching rotation. 

As far as their less that stellar win/loss record early in the season; Wartburg has taken an approach the last few years to try and develop and see as many arms on the mound as possible prior to conference season starting.  As a grad and former player for the Knights I see both the benefit and downfall of this.  Saves arms, develop new guys but also hurts come tourny time for an at-large bid and as you said, makes the IIAC tend to look weak.

I would guess that they will have resolved some of the pitching rotation issues come conference season time.

Is this preseason attitude different than the seasons earlier in the decade when the Knights seemed to be a power from the start to the end of the season?  I have seen them whipping MIAC schools in the preseason in the Dome in past seasons.  Is it also about the fact that the overall depth (especially pitching) has been down a little lately?

The Knights still have horses and still will be tough when the run the best pitchers out there for a conference series.

I don't know how down the IIAC is so far.  Coe and Wartburg are around .500, but I expect both of them to be there at the end.  Luther has only played two games so far.  I don't know who Loras has played, but 7-1 is good for them no matter who they have played.

BV is now 5-1 on the year with a sweep of the Gustavus today.  A walk off 3 run bomb by catcher Kloewer in game one for the 7-4 win.  In the second game it took 10 runs in the 5th and 6th inning for the beavers to pull off a 11-8 victory. 

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on March 14, 2009, 02:07:11 AM

Quote from: wartburgalum on March 11, 2009, 03:03:48 PM
I couldnt agree more.  I am not sure what to make of Wartburg's team just yet.  I know that they are needing to fill some holes in their pitching rotation. 

As far as their less that stellar win/loss record early in the season; Wartburg has taken an approach the last few years to try and develop and see as many arms on the mound as possible prior to conference season starting.  As a grad and former player for the Knights I see both the benefit and downfall of this.  Saves arms, develop new guys but also hurts come tourny time for an at-large bid and as you said, makes the IIAC tend to look weak.

I would guess that they will have resolved some of the pitching rotation issues come conference season time.

Is this preseason attitude different than the seasons earlier in the decade when the Knights seemed to be a power from the start to the end of the season?  I have seen them whipping MIAC schools in the preseason in the Dome in past seasons.  Is it also about the fact that the overall depth (especially pitching) has been down a little lately?

The Knights still have horses and still will be tough when the run the best pitchers out there for a conference series.

I don't know how down the IIAC is so far.  Coe and Wartburg are around .500, but I expect both of them to be there at the end.  Luther has only played two games so far.  I don't know who Loras has played, but 7-1 is good for them no matter who they have played.

I would have to say that this has started within the past 5 years or so.  Don't get me wrong, Wartburg goes into every game wanting to win, but there has been an emphasis on saving arms early in the season as well as trying to get a look at guys who have not been seen yet (freshman/transfers/etc.).

I know that WC is still trying to solidify their rotation as well as bullpen but I think that if they can get 1 or 2 guys to step up, they should be fine.  It is looking as if their offense could carry them this year.

Winning a pair from Gustavus is very solid for the Beavers and good for the league!  I see the Gusties are only 3-3 so far (thanks to B.V.), but I always think of them as an upper half of the MIAC program.

Luther will play them when they go down to Arizona.

How was the field conditions in Storm Lake?

Quote from: BigPoppa on March 13, 2009, 01:01:56 PM

Quote from: wartburgalum on March 12, 2009, 04:40:06 PM
IIAC teams sit 2 games abouve .500 overall on the season (25-23).  To me it sounds like either a slow start or the league is down this year.  Any thoughts?

*I know the IIAC is not a real powerhouse, but it seems in past years they have taken a better overall record into conference play.

I think the IIAC is down this year. I think the Central Region as a whole is down this year.

BigPoppa-who do you expect to come out of the Central this year?

Quote from: wartburgalum on March 16, 2009, 01:20:26 PM

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on March 14, 2009, 02:07:11 AM

Quote from: wartburgalum on March 11, 2009, 03:03:48 PM
I couldnt agree more.  I am not sure what to make of Wartburg's team just yet.  I know that they are needing to fill some holes in their pitching rotation. 

As far as their less that stellar win/loss record early in the season; Wartburg has taken an approach the last few years to try and develop and see as many arms on the mound as possible prior to conference season starting.  As a grad and former player for the Knights I see both the benefit and downfall of this.  Saves arms, develop new guys but also hurts come tourny time for an at-large bid and as you said, makes the IIAC tend to look weak.

I would guess that they will have resolved some of the pitching rotation issues come conference season time.

Is this preseason attitude different than the seasons earlier in the decade when the Knights seemed to be a power from the start to the end of the season?  I have seen them whipping MIAC schools in the preseason in the Dome in past seasons.  Is it also about the fact that the overall depth (especially pitching) has been down a little lately?

The Knights still have horses and still will be tough when the run the best pitchers out there for a conference series.

I don't know how down the IIAC is so far.  Coe and Wartburg are around .500, but I expect both of them to be there at the end.  Luther has only played two games so far.  I don't know who Loras has played, but 7-1 is good for them no matter who they have played.

I would have to say that this has started within the past 5 years or so.  Don't get me wrong, Wartburg goes into every game wanting to win, but there has been an emphasis on saving arms early in the season as well as trying to get a look at guys who have not been seen yet (freshman/transfers/etc.).

I know that WC is still trying to solidify their rotation as well as bullpen but I think that if they can get 1 or 2 guys to step up, they should be fine.  It is looking as if their offense could carry them this year.

I expect nothing less from the Knights!  I wish the Norse and Knights played near the end of the season like two years ago.  Those were fun games to watch (with a ton on the line) even if the outcome wasn't always what I wanted.

Quote from: wartburgalum on March 16, 2009, 01:22:19 PM

Quote from: BigPoppa on March 13, 2009, 01:01:56 PM

Quote from: wartburgalum on March 12, 2009, 04:40:06 PM
IIAC teams sit 2 games abouve .500 overall on the season (25-23).  To me it sounds like either a slow start or the league is down this year.  Any thoughts?

*I know the IIAC is not a real powerhouse, but it seems in past years they have taken a better overall record into conference play.

I think the IIAC is down this year. I think the Central Region as a whole is down this year.

BigPoppa-who do you expect to come out of the Central this year?

That is a tough question. I see either Augustana or Carthage coming out of the region right now (IWU is full of injuries and internal issues which are a recipe for disaster on the field). If the IIAC is to make a dent it needs to be with Wartburg as I feel they oer the only team that can give the CCIW teams a run in the region. I can also see an out-of-region team being shipped in for the NCAAs and winning the regional title (with the region down, I think their will be fewer Pool C bids handed to the Central). The SLIAC is a disaster so far and the Midwest, while new to the Central Region, does not have a lot to offer to the region this year. Ripon is not as good as usual.

Yeah Wartburg got swept by GAC while Loras split so a sweep was good for BV.  The field condition was pretty good for this early in season.  The new turf infield is good and the players love it but the outfield grass has that nice dead brown look to it currently but playable.

BV swept Martin Luther today with a 9-2 win in the first and and a 25-1 slugfest in the second one.  We had 2 grand slams in the first 2 innings and a 16-0 lead after those 2.  We had 5 home runs in the second game and at least one in the first game.  I believe that gives them 9 home runs through 7 games.  Sophomore SS Brad Blum has been on a tear with 13 for 24 (.541) with 4 triples and at least 10 RBIs so far.  They travel to Dubuque on friday so we will see where they are at so far this year but they have been hitting very well so far.  I think the team batting average will be over .350 so far.

Sounds like it could be a real slugfest in the IIAC this year.  It will be interesting to see what pitchers step up and become the real stoppers for their club.

Quote from: SLP-O-8 on March 16, 2009, 07:54:34 PM
Yeah Wartburg got swept by GAC while Loras split so a sweep was good for BV.  The field condition was pretty good for this early in season.  The new turf infield is good and the players love it but the outfield grass has that nice dead brown look to it currently but playable.

BV swept Martin Luther today with a 9-2 win in the first and and a 25-1 slugfest in the second one.  We had 2 grand slams in the first 2 innings and a 16-0 lead after those 2.  We had 5 home runs in the second game and at least one in the first game.  I believe that gives them 9 home runs through 7 games.  Sophomore SS Brad Blum has been on a tear with 13 for 24 (.541) with 4 triples and at least 10 RBIs so far.  They travel to Dubuque on friday so we will see where they are at so far this year but they have been hitting very well so far.  I think the team batting average will be over .350 so far.

Good start for the Beavers!

Not only did B.V. hammer Martin Luther, but fellow league member Minnesota-Morris was beaten by Central, 18-4 and 18-1.  It sounds like the UMAC might be a fun league to be a hitter in this year.

The spring trip games in Arizona start for the Norse on Friday.  With the timing of the school spring break, at least the Norse have a bye on the first weekend of conference play.

Good luck to all IIAC teams this weekend.  I would think B.V., Wartburg, Coe, and Simpson would be considered the favorites in the weekend series openers.  Hopefully everyone gets the games in and the weather is decent for this time of year.

BV sweeps a 3 game Friday/Saturday series at UD this weekend.  There were some dramatic moments but overall the Beavers came through in fine fashion. 

They are now 10-1 on the year and 3-0 in conference play.  They head down to Chandler, Arizona for the spring break where they will play some good games.  I will be excited to see how they fare down there in the warmer temps and against different teams. 

I hope things continue to go well for this squad and that they can make some noise in the IIAC this season. 

Go Beavers!

Wartburg loses 2 of 3 to Loras.  At 9-9 so far I am not real impressed.  It sounds like they have defensive and ppitching issues.

Quote from: Klopenhiemer on March 21, 2009, 09:51:38 PM
BV sweeps a 3 game Friday/Saturday series at UD this weekend.  There were some dramatic moments but overall the Beavers came through in fine fashion. 

They are now 10-1 on the year and 3-0 in conference play.  They head down to Chandler, Arizona for the spring break where they will play some good games.  I will be excited to see how they fare down there in the warmer temps and against different teams. 

I hope things continue to go well for this squad and that they can make some noise in the IIAC this season. 

Go Beavers!

Congrats again on the start!  Getting those conference series sweeps is huge.

Coe plays Iowa tomorrow (weather permitting as usual in the spring).  Luther used to play the Hawks all the time over the years, but the games weren't very close from the mid-1980s and on.  For people like me it was huge to get a chance at playing Iowa.

I would have loved to have seen those games before WWII when Luther used to beat Iowa and Iowa State quite often.  I know they beat Northwestern 10 years in a row just before the War.

Luther is down in Arizona right now and are 5-3 on the season after splitting with Gustavus, 11-5 and 15-16.  The Norse were down 13-0 in the 2nd game before rallying to fall short 15-16.  They swept Hamline the day before that, 6-1 and 13-1.

The Norse bats have gotten off to a very good start overall.  They have not been hitting at the #9 slot in the order and Waddle has been off to a slow start for his standards, but the numbers are great so far for almost everyone else.  Schott (1B) has 4 HRs already and five other regulars are hitting over .435.  I really think the additions to the regular lineup of Topping, Weber, and Reynolds are going to make this a deeper batting order with more pop.

The Norse pitchers have been all right so far as a group, but they will be pretty good if healthy.  Nate Todd looks to be back to being a healthy #2 starter again.  Cody Hyland could be a very good #3 if he continues to pound the strike zone.

http://sports.luther.edu/stats/men/baseball/2009/teamstat.htm (http://sports.luther.edu/stats/men/baseball/2009/teamstat.htm)

BV is now 15-2 with their last game in Arizona later this morning.   They have put up 74 runs in 6 games in AZ so far.  They lost a 7-6 game to current #1 Eastern Connecticut State after tying the game up in the top of the 9th.   They have been playing pretty good baseball this year and swept dubuque as said before.  They have swept 5 teams so far which is much better than last year with 0.  Freshman Ryan Wuebker has pitched the most innings so far and done a great job.  They have already stole 49 bases in 57 attempts.  The rest of the season should be exciting for the beavers.  Coach Eddie also recorded his 150th win in AZ so congrats to him. 

In all honesty I was thinking that Wartburg, Luther, Simpson, and Coe would be the teams that might make the most noise early in the year, but I never really put too much into any preseason talk.  This is why they play the games.

B.V. has only played 3 conference games and the league season is long, but I see no reason why they can't be a serious contender.  Wartburg is still the team to beat, but I would assume the interest in baseball in Storm Lake will be up a little this spring.

It is good for the IIAC to see a team actually get off to a red hot start!

This past weekend was tough for me as a fan of Iowa Conference Baseball.  Most of the games for Saturday were postponed on Friday before the Friday games were done, yet the Hawks played Michigan and got the game in on Saturday.  I know the Iowa situation as far as resources can be different than many smaller college programs, but the Hawks moved the time of the game up on Saturday and also moved the time of the game on Sunday back so they could get both games in.  Did the IIAC teams try to be this flexible?  Does the conference allow them to?

Luther played at Cornell on Friday in one nine-inning game.  I would love the IIAC and the rules to be flexible enough that Luther and Cornell could play a doubleheader on Friday in case a snowstorm hit on Saturday.  I would also love to see the teams make games up later in the year (if they can) because this rule about having to make up a game the next day is just too rigid (if the rule does still exist).

I know Wartburg got hammered by Simpson yesterday, but at least the Knights and the Storm actually played the games.

Decorah and Mt. Vernon are not that far apart, yet the Norse and Rams only play one game of the three that were scheduled and cancelled the other two?

It is hard to take the conference championship in baseball quite as seriously as the other sports like football and basketball when the conference and the teams do not always do everything they can to play all the conference games.

Luther moved to 3-0 in Iowa Conference games and 11-4 overall as they swept Central, 6-3 and 3-1 in Decorah.  Adam Kohls got the win in game 1 to move to 3-1 on the season while Cody Hyland got the win in game 2 to move to 3-0 on the season.  Nate Todd got the save in game 1 and will take his 3-1 record into a probable start on Friday.

7 regulars are hitting over .385 heading into the tough series this weekend with Wartburg.  Mark Weber has been among the most consistent as he tied Ben Schott in the team lead today with his 19th RBI.  Seven guys have driven in 12 or more runs.

Much of the offensive production has taken place even though C Jake Waddle is hitting .269 with 9 RBIs after a tough doubleheader today.  He should be fine as long as he is healthy, as he has hit .421 and .395 the previous two years.

Is any team more disappointing than Wartburg this season? I am shocked at their level of play. I really expected more from them in 2009.

Big Poppa-

I could not agree more.  It is a huge disappointment thus far.  As a former player I had the chance to talk to a few people close to the program and they did not have real high hopes for this season (they lost 3 or 4 of their top recruits at semester), but they are just not getting it done. 

I have not counted them out at this point, but with how the IIAC runs their conference you can never count on being able to get all of your games in (therefore you better not fall too far behind in the standings). 

Lets hope not only for my personal health but also for the IIAC that Wartburg gets things going.  Lets face it, Wartburg is the only IIAC team with any national clout at this time and we all want the IIAC to start getting some national run.

Quote from: wartburgalum on April 03, 2009, 10:38:23 AM
Big Poppa-

I could not agree more.  It is a huge disappointment thus far.  As a former player I had the chance to talk to a few people close to the program and they did not have real high hopes for this season (they lost 3 or 4 of their top recruits at semester), but they are just not getting it done. 

Any idea why the recruits left at semester? That makes me think that there might be a program issue if kids are leaving in the middle of a school year.

Wartburgalum,

I do hope for your personal health and for everyone else that may be fighting for it right now!

As far as the IIAC, I want to see a team or multiple teams play like a legit regional qualifier.  In my mind that doesn't mean getting hot at the end of the season but rather fairly consistent ball all season.  Wartburg and Luther both had that two years ago as both teams had both the pitching and the lineups to make noise in NCAA play.  Wartburg has had many other good teams in recent memory, but most of them clearly played consistent ball throughout the season.

B.V. still has a lot to prove, but they have gotten off to the type of start that the IIAC hasn't had as much of during this or last season.  If they have the pitching to go along with the offense to win the conference regular season, I have no problems with them being the team to represent the IIAC.


 

Congrats to Wartburg for pulling themselves off the mat (for now) after starting 2-4 in the conference.  5-4 gives them a chance to get back into it as they still play the Beavers.

Very disappointing weekend for Luther!  I can think of some tougher words than that, but they had a chance to really make a move this weekend and just did nothing.  This weekend was last year all over again where the team wasn't good enough or tough enough to get it done against Wartburg.  Let's see if it snowballs into an up and down season like last year as well.

The Norse are now 3-3 and 11-7 overall.  Good teams bury struggling teams when they get the chance, not lose a couple close ones and get buried.  Where is the team from two years ago that got after everyone?

Where has this been from the Knights all year to this point?

Bv pulled out another sweep of cornell with 14-10 and 4-1 wins.  They jumped out to 10-1 and let the rams crawl back into the game in game 1.  Game 2 the Rams starter pitched really well until the bottom of the 6 when Bv scored all 4 runs in the win.  BV just keeps finding ways to win their games.  They get all 3 games vs wartburg and home and 2 of 3 from luther at home.  They also get Simpson for 3 at home but have to travel to coe for 3.  They are able to control their own destiny the rest of the season and have been crushing the ball all year besides game 2 of cornell.  Catcher Kevin Kloewer has been off to a great start hitting 8 HRs so far.  BV tends to play smart baseball and steal lots of baseball so they should be in almost every game.  They have one relief pitcher and one that starts pretty often in RF that our seniors.  Everybody but those 2 will be back next year and they will be very tough the rest of the year and next year.  I think that beavers baseball is on the ride and coach Eddie is a great coach.

After a rough start on Friday, Coe did a nice job in the Saturday doubleheader, sweeping the Duhawks.  Was quite an interesting day with a Loras fan jawing with a Coe pitcher and Loras' coach getting ejected in the second game.

Either way, it was a much needed series win for the Kohawks!

It looks like it is going to get interesting.  Wartburg finally remembers who they are (12 time defending IIAC champs), Luther remembers who they are (Wartburgs whipping boy, haha had to get that little jab in) and the boys at the top of the IIAC right now are playing really good baseball.  I look forward to seeing how this one plays out.  Lets all hope that this is all able to be decided on the field and not by the weather.

Quote from: BigPoppa on April 03, 2009, 10:55:29 AM

Quote from: wartburgalum on April 03, 2009, 10:38:23 AM
Big Poppa-

I could not agree more.  It is a huge disappointment thus far.  As a former player I had the chance to talk to a few people close to the program and they did not have real high hopes for this season (they lost 3 or 4 of their top recruits at semester), but they are just not getting it done. 

Any idea why the recruits left at semester? That makes me think that there might be a program issue if kids are leaving in the middle of a school year.

Well I know that Wartburg only kept 3 freshman on its roster and cut everyone else.  The feeling is that it was driven by budget, but there is also a strong reassurance that their numbers will be back up for next year.  Still, Coach Holst recruited a lot of kids for this season, and then only kept 3.....that might be a pretty good indicator of some hard feelings amongst the team.

Quote from: SLP-O-8 on April 04, 2009, 11:28:13 PM
Bv pulled out another sweep of cornell with 14-10 and 4-1 wins.  They jumped out to 10-1 and let the rams crawl back into the game in game 1.  Game 2 the Rams starter pitched really well until the bottom of the 6 when Bv scored all 4 runs in the win.  BV just keeps finding ways to win their games.  They get all 3 games vs wartburg and home and 2 of 3 from luther at home.  They also get Simpson for 3 at home but have to travel to coe for 3.  They are able to control their own destiny the rest of the season and have been crushing the ball all year besides game 2 of cornell.  Catcher Kevin Kloewer has been off to a great start hitting 8 HRs so far.  BV tends to play smart baseball and steal lots of baseball so they should be in almost every game.  They have one relief pitcher and one that starts pretty often in RF that our seniors.  Everybody but those 2 will be back next year and they will be very tough the rest of the year and next year.  I think that beavers baseball is on the ride and coach Eddie is a great coach.

BV is off to a GREAT start!  This weekend will be a big test for them because for whatever reason, Coe seems to always be tough on the Beavers.  What is the story on this Kloewer kid?  I have never heard of him.  I do know that Kloewer is a very big baseball name in western Iowa (pronounced Clay-ver there).  Any relation?  Kloewer, Pietrzyk, and Blum are putting up all-american calibur numbers through the first half. 

Two big series coming up this weekend with Simpson @ Luther and BV @ Coe. Wonder if anyone can stop the Beavers....

Kloewer is from Millard South outside of Omaha.  He started 28 games last year for the beavers behind the plate but the improvement so far this year is outstanding.  You have the pronunciation right so there is a great possibility there is a relation especially him being from Omaha.  BV picked of the win in game 1 11-9 in the 10th inning.   From the looks of things it was an uncharacteristic game for the beavers even with the 11 runs. 

BV only had one extra base hit which was a double.  They only attempted one steal which they got caught.  They are normally an extremely aggressive team.  They probably scouted the Coe catcher pretty well but I don't know. 

Congrats to the Norse for bouncing back and sweeping Simpson this weekend.  Luther is now 14-7 overall and 6-3 in the Iowa Conference.  Schott (1B) hit a big HR to win the game in the 11th on Friday, and Kohls, Todd, and Hyland all did enough as starting pitchers in the games.  Topping (DH) and Beckman (SS) both had good weekends for the Norse as did Neis (3B) and Reynolds (2B).  It was a perfect day to see some baseball in Decorah!

Simpson is now 7-7 in the league, but they could still make some noise before this is all done.

Congrats to Wartburg for getting the sweep of Cornell.  They are now 8-4 in the league.  I wish Luther could still play those two games that were cancelled against the Rams.  It would have also been great if the Knights would not have gotten right against Luther, but unlike the Cornell series the Norse could have done something about Wartburg. 

Congrats as well for B.V. as they won another series to move to 8-2 in league play.

Besides a Norse sweep of Simpson, the other part of the weekend that caught my attention was that Dubuque swept the doubleheader today over Central to win the series.  Dubuque was 0-7 going into the games today.

Shaping up to be a weird year in the IIAC.  Anxious to see if Wartburg can get through this coming week to set up a very meaningful series with BV in Storm Lake. 

The Norse moved to 7-3 against the MIAC as they swept St. Mary's in Decorah today.  What is crazy to me is that they don't play St. Olaf anymore, but they have played Gustavus, Concordia, Hamline, Carleton, and St. Mary's.

Luther is now 16-7 on the year going into the Central game tomorrow down in Pella.  With the way B.V. is playing, every game is huge for the rest of the hopeful contenders.

BV lost a tough one to Loras again and lost their first season series to the duhawks 2-1.  BV had 3 errors that resulted in 3 unearned runs.  4 relief pitchers were needed in the 7th as Loras hit 2 home runs off these relievers.  BV had a chance with 2 runners on and one out in the 9th.  Hoffman lined a ball deep to left field which everyone in the ball park thought was fair except the home plate ump.  Both runs were easily going to score to tie it up.  The ump took his sweet time making the call as the runner at second was almost crossing the plate when he made the call.  It surely looked fair but thats how the game goes.  For Loras being the worst team batting average in the league they surely hit well posting 11 hits.  BV didnt play their best baseball and it cost them.

The next weekend and a half will pretty much decided the conference.  3 at Central this weekend followed by 2 at home with luther and 3 with wartburg.  BV needs to play their best baseball the rest of the way out if they want to take home the conference title.  It is an extremely tough stretch and lets hope they are up to the big task.

OF/P Pietrzyk is having an amazing year.  He has recorded a hit in 21 straight games i believe.  He is hitting .485 with 40 RBIS, 40 Runs, 8 doubles, 4 triples and 5 HRs.  He is a perfect 20-20 on stole bases as well.  To add to that he is 4-0 on the mound with 5.4 ERA and 19 ks.  He is having a fantastic year. 

Best of luck to everyone the rest of the season.

Wartburg gains control of the IIAC.  A crucial week coming up with Coe and BV.  This is exactly how the conference season should go.  Coe has always played Wartburg tough and with how BV has been playing it will be crucial for Wartburg to win both of those series. 

Any insight as to who Wartburg will be seeing on the mound this weekend against BV?

Quote from: wartburgalum on April 20, 2009, 03:57:15 PM
Any insight as to who Wartburg will be seeing on the mound this weekend against BV?

They should probably worry about who they are facing from Coe tomorrow first.

I don't think that they will be looking past Coe (and neither am I, look at one of my previous post).  I was just curious as to who BV would be throwing against Wartburg.  But then again, a response like this from a Kohawk shouldnt surprise anybody, I mean you guys are like the red-headed step child of the IIAC that is always trying to fight for some respect.

Congrats to both Wartburg and Loras for having a good week last week.

Winning 9 in a row if great for anybody, but 9 conference wins in a row for Wartburg is very impressive given how they were playing in the preseason and how they started 2-4 in the league.

Loras had lost 3 in a row before winning against B.V. and taking 2 of 3 against Luther.

This is a big week for Iowa Conference baseball.  Coe, Wartburg, B.V., and Luther all are playing each other during the week and this weekend.  If some teams want to stay in the race with Wartburg they are going to have to do something about it this week.

Hopefully a couple pitchers for the Norse feel pretty healthy this week and a hitter or two in the Luther lineup can really get hot.

Quote from: wartburgalum on April 21, 2009, 09:53:26 AM
I don't think that they will be looking past Coe (and neither am I, look at one of my previous post).  I was just curious as to who BV would be throwing against Wartburg.  But then again, a response like this from a Kohawk shouldnt surprise anybody, I mean you guys are like the red-headed step child of the IIAC that is always trying to fight for some respect.

Looks like we got that respect today by handing Martijn his first loss of the season in a 7-2 game that wasn't even as close as the score indicates. 

Coe got down 4-0 in the second game and came back for a 12-11 win.  Pretty sure that means they won the season series against the Knights.

Quote from: wartburgalum on April 21, 2009, 09:53:26 AM
I don't think that they will be looking past Coe (and neither am I, look at one of my previous post).  I was just curious as to who BV would be throwing against Wartburg.  But then again, a response like this from a Kohawk shouldnt surprise anybody, I mean you guys are like the red-headed step child of the IIAC that is always trying to fight for some respect.

......and a response like this shouldn't surprise anyone either.  Nothing like a Wartburg alumnus to bring some extra class to a discussion thread that has been entirely positive up to this point.

That was very interesting double header at Daniel's Park yesterday afternoon.  Coe completely dominated the Knights in game one.  Nicholson was really on his game.  Martijn pitched pretty well too........he really has a great change-up!  He gave up the homer to Velvick which gave the Kohawks a 1-0 in the 4th and he seemed extremely rattled after that and the wheels came off a little bit.  Not sure why, but he didn't play in the second game at all.  Seems a little weird for the reigning MVP to be out of the line-up in their biggest game of the year to this point.

The second gave was very exciting!  Wartburg came out with some real intensity and punched Coe right in the mouth.  Their dugout was VERY vocal in the second game including some disparaging comments such as "YOU"RE STILL COE!" and things of that nature.  The Kohawks did a good job of not settling with the split and punched right back with the 3-run homer.  Back and forth they went trading blows and Coe's pitcher, Lewis settled down before Kuennen could and Coe pushed ahead.  Really, Coe could have ran off with the second game, but a terrible defensive inning by the Kohawks gave Watrburg 4 unearned runs in the 5th to tie the game.  Once the Knights took the lead in the top of the 7th, the past Coe teams would have folded, but a clean single followed by a pinch hit double that deflected off of Grau's glove in right center field put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position.  For the first time that I remember, the Wartburg Knights made critical mistakes that cost them the game.  A wild pitch/passed ball allowed the tying run to score and then a 0-1 pitch was left over the plate which Coe's right fielder lined into left center for the win.  Both teams made mistakes that led to runs.  Pitching on the day - aside from Nicholson - was average at best for both teams, but the weather conditions (wind blowing from right to left field at 15-30 mph all games long) were a real factor with balls dropping that usually would get caught for both teams and well struck balls to left turning from long doubles into long home runs.  Coe's fans were a little pretty voacl at the end in response to the earlier comments from the KNights.....could have been worse, but the game administration seemed to have real good control on the environment.

Great games and Coe has brought Wartburg back to the pack and there is now a logjam at the top.    This is going to be as exciting of a finish as I can remember in the Iowa Conference!

Quote from: youcantseemestill on April 22, 2009, 12:06:08 PM

Quote from: wartburgalum on April 21, 2009, 09:53:26 AM
I don't think that they will be looking past Coe (and neither am I, look at one of my previous post).  I was just curious as to who BV would be throwing against Wartburg.  But then again, a response like this from a Kohawk shouldnt surprise anybody, I mean you guys are like the red-headed step child of the IIAC that is always trying to fight for some respect.

......and a response like this shouldn't surprise anyone either.  Nothing like a Wartburg alumnus to bring some extra class to a discussion thread that has been entirely positive up to this point.

That was very interesting double header at Daniel's Park yesterday afternoon.  Coe completely dominated the Knights in game one.  Nicholson was really on his game.  Martijn pitched pretty well too........he really has a great change-up!  He gave up the homer to Velvick which gave the Kohawks a 1-0 in the 4th and he seemed extremely rattled after that and the wheels came off a little bit.  Not sure why, but he didn't play in the second game at all.  Seems a little weird for the reigning MVP to be out of the line-up in their biggest game of the year to this point.

The second gave was very exciting!  Wartburg came out with some real intensity and punched Coe right in the mouth.  Their dugout was VERY vocal in the second game including some disparaging comments such as "YOU"RE STILL COE!" and things of that nature.  The Kohawks did a good job of not settling with the split and punched right back with the 3-run homer.  Back and forth they went trading blows and Coe's pitcher, Lewis settled down before Kuennen could and Coe pushed ahead.  Really, Coe could have ran off with the second game, but a terrible defensive inning by the Kohawks gave Watrburg 4 unearned runs in the 5th to tie the game.  Once the Knights took the lead in the top of the 7th, the past Coe teams would have folded, but a clean single followed by a pinch hit double that deflected off of Grau's glove in right center field put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position.  For the first time that I remember, the Wartburg Knights made critical mistakes that cost them the game.  A wild pitch/passed ball allowed the tying run to score and then a 0-1 pitch was left over the plate which Coe's right fielder lined into left center for the win.  Both teams made mistakes that led to runs.  Pitching on the day - aside from Nicholson - was average at best for both teams, but the weather conditions (wind blowing from right to left field at 15-30 mph all games long) were a real factor with balls dropping that usually would get caught for both teams and well struck balls to left turning from long doubles into long home runs.  Coe's fans were a little pretty voacl at the end in response to the earlier comments from the KNights.....could have been worse, but the game administration seemed to have real good control on the environment.

Great games and Coe has brought Wartburg back to the pack and there is now a logjam at the top.    This is going to be as exciting of a finish as I can remember in the Iowa Conference!

I guess I didnt realize that a little good humored ribbing was off limits.  I understand that everyone who is not a Wartburg alum will try to come at us that are for whatever petty reason they can find.  One of those cases of hating on those that have been and continue to sit atop the IIAC in almost every athletic event.

That said, great analysis of the game.  I wish I could have made the trip over to CR.  Wartburg has its work cut out for them now, but this is not a new position for them to be in, although I wish they could have went into the weekend series with BV with a little more momentum.  I guess we will just have to wait and see how all of this plays out.

Regarding your comments about Martijn, I do not know him personally but I have seen him play a few times and spoke with those close to the program about him.  He is in need of some maturing and mental toughness so to hear that he imploded on the mound does not come as a surprise.

Hey good natured ribbing goes both ways here   ;)

I wanted to clear up one of my comments about Martijn........he didn't really implode on the mound, just lost a little bit of composure after the homer.  He had Velvick down 1-2 and the kid hammered a pitch that was prolly up out of the zone a little.  Mike Johnson was working REAL hard to try and keep his head up, but he never really got his rhythm back.   

I really like Mike Johnson.  Kid is tough and it seems to me that he is the unquestioned leader of that squad.  Although, I do think that Coe's 1st baseman, Pat Richmond, will end up being 1st Team All-Conference at first base.   

Quote from: wartburgalum on April 22, 2009, 12:18:26 PM

Quote from: youcantseemestill on April 22, 2009, 12:06:08 PM

Quote from: wartburgalum on April 21, 2009, 09:53:26 AM
I don't think that they will be looking past Coe (and neither am I, look at one of my previous post).  I was just curious as to who BV would be throwing against Wartburg.  But then again, a response like this from a Kohawk shouldnt surprise anybody, I mean you guys are like the red-headed step child of the IIAC that is always trying to fight for some respect.

......and a response like this shouldn't surprise anyone either.  Nothing like a Wartburg alumnus to bring some extra class to a discussion thread that has been entirely positive up to this point.

I guess I didnt realize that a little good humored ribbing was off limits.  I understand that everyone who is not a Wartburg alum will try to come at us that are for whatever petty reason they can find.  One of those cases of hating on those that have been and continue to sit atop the IIAC in almost every athletic event.

That said, great analysis of the game.  I wish I could have made the trip over to CR.  Wartburg has its work cut out for them now, but this is not a new position for them to be in, although I wish they could have went into the weekend series with BV with a little more momentum.  I guess we will just have to wait and see how all of this plays out.

Regarding your comments about Martijn, I do not know him personally but I have seen him play a few times and spoke with those close to the program about him.  He is in need of some maturing and mental toughness so to hear that he imploded on the mound does not come as a surprise.

I know Wartburg has been the clear all-sport champion for many years, but in the last few years they haven't exactly owned the league in men's or women's cross country, football, men's soccer, women's soccer, women's tennis, volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's golf, and men's tennis.  Have I missed anything? :)  There are a couple of sports like softball or women's cross country where they have won the title, but so have other teams.

Wartburg has had a great athletic department since the 1990s, and currently have historic runs going with great baseball, wrestling, and track programs.  They are very good in other sports like football and cross country, but other programs have had better tradition and as much or better recent success.

As far as Martijn, he has thrown some big games in his career in Waverly.  It seems strange to hear that about a senior who has played as much as he has at Wartburg and at JUCO.

Don't get me wrong, I like the Martjin kid, I think he is a solid player.  But, from what I have seen and heard about him, he tends to get in his head at times.  If he is able to work through some of those issues he should be fine the rest of the way out.

I didnt want to take this thread on a journey down Wartburg vs. the rest of the IIAC.  Wartburg is a great school with a great all-around athletic department.  I think that you would have a tough time saying they are not the best all-around athletic school in the IIAC (if not the state being that we keep losing our D-I baseball programs).  Lets just agree to let this one reside in the area of Religion, politics, abortion, the economy and war and realize that we probably wont be able to resolve this on a discussion board. HAHA. ;D

I'd be curious to hear from any fans that were at the games, but in addition to Coe-Wartburg it sounds like B.V.-Luther had quite the games in Storm Lake.  The Beavers won game 1 in extra innings and looked like they were going to sneak out a win in game 2 until Jake Waddle hit a 2-run bomb in the 7th to help the Norse win 2-1.

It was like old times as Waddle broke out of his slump to hit the bomb with 2 outs in the 7th.  Adam Kohls had perhaps his best game of the year on paper as he limited the strong Beaver lineup to 5 hits and 1 run in his complete game performance.  He is now 5-3 on the season and fanned 8 Beavers.

Both teams were played so close that both teams have to be asking what if.  The Norse had a long ride home to think about it.

Luther is trailing in the mix of 4 teams that are at the top of the standings (21-10 on the season, 9-6 in the Iowa Conference), but salvaging the split at least gives them a shot to stay in this thing going into the weekend against Coe.

If the games this weekend are at all like last night, it should be interesting to be at Storm Lake or at Decorah.  Which pitching staffs will be able to bounce back and throw well this weekend?

BV was able to sit back on Todds very good curveballs and drive them hard into the outfield.  They out hit luther 15-5 and honestly should have won by a couple runs in the regular time.  They had base loaded one inning with no outs and a ball was hit hard down the third baseline and luther was able to step on third and easily get the runner out at the plate.  They drove the ball deep multiple times and luther ran down some balls that were extra bases.  Any other day in Storm Lake with the wind blowing to left rather than right field and BV could have had a few home runs on warning track shots.  Game 2 was a good pitching battle.  Kohl pitched a great game as said limiting BV to just 5 hits.  George pitched an excellent game as well not giving up any runs through 6 innings. Dupic gave up the 2 run bomb to Waddle with 2 outs in the 7th.  Im not sure the reason for taking george out but i think he could have stayed in the game. 

BV pitched 3 freshman and a sophomore in this series.  Hopefully they can play really well this weekend and take the series from wartburg because its crunch time.  You got to love the top 4 teams battling it out against each other in the last 2 weeks.  Should be fun.

Thanks SLP-O-8!

Anybody got any insight as to who will be on the mound for BV this weekend against Wartburg?

I would say friday would probably be wuebker to start the game.  Saturday game one i think will be pietzyk.  Game 3 im not really sure about but could be probasco.  These are just my predictions.  Friday and Saturday should be some great baseball in Storm lake. 

I heard there was a brawl between U of Dubuque and Clark last night.  Can anyone confirm or deny this?

Live stats should be available through the athletic section of bvu.edu for all games this weekend with wartburg.  DH moved to tonight at 5 with one 9 inning tomorrow at 1 pm

Wartburg takes 2 of 3 from the Beavers, moving them into 2nd place in the IIAC behind Loras.  Where the hell did Loras come from?  They must really have things turning around down there.  Looking at the schedule, Wartburg definitely has a tougher road with 1 left against Coe and a series with Central (who always plays Wartburg tough) while Loras has Dubuque and Cornell left.

What a great IIAC race!! Four teams with a shot to take home the #1 seed. WOW! It is going to be a fantastic finish.

BigPoppa,

It is actually Five teams that are currently within a game of 1st place.  I agree that Loras is not only the leader right now by a slight margin, but they have the best path to the title.  As we have seen almost all season though, things can change quickly.  Congrats to the Duhawks on putting themselves in position to win this.

It would seem that whoever wants to win the league better win at least 2/3 of the league games.  With the slightest difference in winning percentage potentially choosing the champion, the Norse need to win all 4 this week to finish 15-7. 

I went to the last two games of the Coe-Luther series after seeing parts of the Friday game on the website.  Even though Luther lost in extra innings on Friday and had a good shot to win the game late, Coe outplayed the Norse for the most part.  Saturday was just the opposite as Coe made late runs after the Norse had been leading for the most part.  Kohls and Todd did not finish as strong as they started the games, but it was fun to see them both win as they wind down their senior years.  Kohls is now 6-3 while Todd is 5-3.

Waddle has been showing signs of life lately at the plate and might be a factor in this last week of games.  It would be great to see him and Schott hitting well at the same time as the rest of the lineup.  Luther has had a good offensive year overall this year, but they have not hit enough in some of these conference games.  Time to put it all back together this week!

I hope these teams realize how much fun this is that they get a chance to win the conference title if they can finish the season strong.  I hope the pitchers can find a little more in the tank.

 >:(Looks like Wartburg Baseball waited too long to put on the heat

Still a lot of baseball left to play.  Granted, Loras has a much easier road but for a team that has not been sitting at the top and looking down it may be too much, Crazier things have happened.  Lets see how it all plays out.

Can anyone shed some insight to how it works with the standings when some teams fail to play all their games and others get all their games in.

Depends on the conference, but most will use winning percentage for conference games at that point if all else fails. It could be a likely scenario in both the IIAC and CCIW this year.

Quote from: baseballfans4life on April 28, 2009, 02:01:57 PM
Can anyone shed some insight to how it works with the standings when some teams fail to play all their games and others get all their games in.

If there are any ties in this conference the first tie-breaker is head to head if the teams in question played the same number of games.  If they nave NOT played the same amount of games, winning percentage ranks the teams.  If the teams are tied and they SPLIT their head-to-head games, the tie breaker goes by how the teams did against the other teams in the standings........for example: (can't actually happen this year)
Loras and BVU tie for first place......they split their season series........Coe sits in 3rd place.......BVU went 2-1 against Coe, Loras went 1-2 against Coe........BVU wins the tie breaker.

Make sense?

Loras actually took the 3rd game in the series against the beavers to win the series.  BV owns the series against everyone but Wartburg and Loras.   Having to cancel the 3rd game with cornell is probably going to come back to screw the beavers over.  That was the day they expected huge amounts of storms and canceled it early for it not to snow until way after the game would have been completed.  Oh well thats how things go sometimes but shaping up for a wild tuesday and weekend to say the least.

Quote from: SLP-O-8 on April 28, 2009, 03:47:17 PM
Loras actually took the 3rd game in the series against the beavers to win the series.  BV owns the series against everyone but Wartburg and Loras.   Having to cancel the 3rd game with cornell is probably going to come back to screw the beavers over.  That was the day they expected huge amounts of storms and canceled it early for it not to snow until way after the game would have been completed.  Oh well thats how things go sometimes but shaping up for a wild tuesday and weekend to say the least.

Same way that Coe not getting to play two games against Dubuque, who they beat 13-1 in the first game, could change things.  We'll never know...

Congrats to the Norse for winning the B.V. series in Decorah this afternoon.  They may not end up winning the league as there are so many others in the same shape, but it was a big win against a very good team this year.  Luther is now 24-11 and 12-7 in the IIAC going into the series against Dubuque this weekend.

Congrats to St. Thomas for beating Minnesota and showing that anything can happen on a given day and that good Division III teams are good baseball teams!

I was lucky enough to play on a team that beat UNI and Creighton, but there is something special to someone like me to play the Big Ten schools.  We were supposed to play Iowa my senior year but it was rained/snowed out.  That had to feel great for those Minnesota natives on the St. Thomas roster to beat the Big Ten state school that most of them grew up following.

In my opinion, BV has played themselves out of the NCAA tourney.

Congrats as well to Coe for bouncing back from the Luther series to sweep the Wartburg series today, 9-6.  Coe is now 14-8 in the Iowa Conference while Wartburg is 13-8.

Loras just missed a walkoff HR just now against Dubuque in the bottom of the 11th.  The game is tied 7-7.  I have been following the last couple of innings of the Duhawk broadcast on the website.

Loras just won 8-7.  They swept Dubuque and moved to 13-6 in the Iowa Conference.  They have three at Cornell this weekend.

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on April 29, 2009, 10:26:22 PM
Loras just won 8-7.  They swept Dubuque and moved to 13-6 in the Iowa Conference.  They have three at Cornell this weekend.

Loras certainly has the inside track on the #1 seed in tourney. Getting an extra day game off is always a plus in the post-season.

Luther defeated Dubuque 16-1 in 7 innings.

Wartburg loses to Central 14-5

Buena Vista loses to Simpson 9-2

Unless Loras loses 2 of 3 to Cornell this weekend, and Luther wins at least one of two against Dubuque tomorrow.......IIAC seeds will be

#1 Loras
#2 Luther
#3 Coe
#4 Buena Vista/Wartburg
#5 Buena Vista/Wartburg
#6 Simpson/Central

That includes tiebreakers.......I believe everything adds up.

More than the seedings for Cedar Rapids, Loras, Luther, and possibly Coe have to still be thinking about the regular season title.  A large Friday night loss does not mean that Cornell is going to mail it in tomorrow, but Loras is on quite the roll right now.

Congrats to Central and Simpson for getting a win today as both teams are just fighting to keep playing baseball past this weekend.

Loras won the Iowa Conference North Division title in 1952 when there was no playoff that year with South Division winner Simpson to see who the league champion would be.  From what I can tell, that is the only Iowa Conference championship-type season that the Duhawks have had in baseball since 1947.

Tomorrow is a very big and potentially historic day down in Mount Vernon. 

Loras won 12-8 tonight against the Rams.  Cornell tied the game up at 7-7 in the 7th, but Loras scored 5 in the 8th.  Like the midweek game against Dubuque, the Loras bats continue to score tons of runs as they have now won 11 of their last 12 games.  They have scored 117 runs in those 12 games.

Cornell tonight threw the best starting pitcher they have statistically in Casey Korn, so the Rams are going to need some luck to get one or two games tomorrow.

Loras will be throwing Austin Safranski (7-0 record) and maybe even Kyler Laurie (8-1 record).

When was the last time someone got hot at the end of the season like this to come out of the middle of the standings to potentially win the conference title?

Luther won 7-0 and 9-1 today to sweep the series against Dubuque.  The Norse are now 27-11 overall and 15-7 in the Iowa Conference.

I don't know about the 2nd game in Mount Vernon, but supposedly Cornell won the 1st game 18-17!  If that is true, wow!

Whether the Norse win the league outright or share with Loras, congrats to the Norse for winning a 2nd league title in the last 3 seasons (tied with Wartburg in the great race in 2007)!

Here is the Iowa Conference co-champion article from the Luther website:

http://sports.luther.edu/men/baseball/season/2009/recaps/dubuquedaytwo.htm (http://sports.luther.edu/men/baseball/season/2009/recaps/dubuquedaytwo.htm)

Cornell scored 10 runs in the bottom of the 7th to win game 1 over Loras, 18-17.  From a Norse perspective, Thank You Rams!

Loras wins its first conference title in baseball since 1952, or perhaps ever if you don't count division winners as co-champs, so congrats Duhawks on coming back to win the final game against the Rams, 10-4.

Here are the final standings on the IIAC website:

http://www.iowaconference.com/men/baseball/2008-09/standings.htm (http://www.iowaconference.com/men/baseball/2008-09/standings.htm)

I am very happy that the Norse got a piece of the conference title, but I still wish they had made up the two games against the Rams.  The Wartburg and Luther co-championship in 2007 seemed very legit in that both schools ran away from the other 7 teams in the league, and both schools played the same exact amount of conference games against the same opponents.  Both Wartburg and Luther played everyone in the league 3 times that year except that both played Central twice.

Bad weather is part of the game, but I wish IIAC baseball was more open about making games up.  IIAC softball seems more open about making games up.

So congrats to both Luther and Loras!  Congrats also to Coe for a good league race this year.  Coe sweeping Wartburg was history in itself in that the Knights regular season run of winning or being co-champs ended.

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on May 01, 2009, 10:55:51 PM
Loras won 12-8 tonight against the Rams.  Cornell tied the game up at 7-7 in the 7th, but Loras scored 5 in the 8th.  Like the midweek game against Dubuque, the Loras bats continue to score tons of runs as they have now won 11 of their last 12 games.  They have scored 117 runs in those 12 games.

Cornell tonight threw the best starting pitcher they have statistically in Casey Korn, so the Rams are going to need some luck to get one or two games tomorrow.

Loras will be throwing Austin Safranski (7-0 record) and maybe even Kyler Laurie (8-1 record).

When was the last time someone got hot at the end of the season like this to come out of the middle of the standings to potentially win the conference title?

The Duhawks scored 27 runs today, so the bats got it done.  Cornell did not really get any pitching, but those Ram players are always going to remember scoring 10 in the 7th to steal that game.

Disappointing season for the Knights.  They did not play the kind of baseball that conference champs play, especially in the home stretch of the season.  Congrats to Loras and Luther (man that hurts to say) for their very successful seasons. Hopefully Wartburg can make a run through the tourny and play their way into a regional birth.

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090505/SPORTS/705059873/1008 (http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090505/SPORTS/705059873/1008)

Another article on the horrible situation at UNI.  They have cut so many men's sports in recent years, and now they drop the 103-year old baseball program.  This is not the athletic department that I remember from the late 1980s when Eldon Miller, Terry Allen, Dr. Victory, and others were around.

There will be one struggling Division I baseball program left in Iowa next year.  There will still be four Division I softball programs.

Baseball is in a bad way in the state of Iowa.  Now with only 1 DI program left the opportunities for the upper tier players from the state of Iowa have even fewer options (Ju-Co, out of state, or play at a lower level). 

Quote from: wartburgalum on May 06, 2009, 10:38:16 AM
Baseball is in a bad way in the state of Iowa.  Now with only 1 DI program left the opportunities for the upper tier players from the state of Iowa have even fewer options (Ju-Co, out of state, or play at a lower level). 

That is actually good news for the D3 programs. I know whn University of WI dropped their baseball program in 1991, many D3s got kickback players from Wisconsin and had great teams as a result.

How has the Badgers dropping baseball 20 years ago changed the high school game in that state?  Is high school baseball in Wisconsin in the same place that it was back then?

I have always thought that high school wrestling in Iowa has fed off of some of the success that Gable had at Iowa.  The reason that there are so many good college wrestling programs is also because of how good Iowa high school wrestling has been, but when both have been successful I have thought that they feed off of each other a little.

Without the Division I chances for potential players or programs for fans to follow, how many families are going to be playing lots of baseball when the kids are like 5-10 years old.  Iowa also does not have that Major League team for people to follow (although there are enough Cubs fans to go around), so I just worry about baseball taking even more of a back seat to other sports like football and wrestling (as examples) where families follow the state universities in person and on TV.

I like football and wrestling a lot, but I want baseball to stay popular as well.

In all fairness Floyd, losing UNI does exactly nothing to the "viewership" of baseball in this state.  Its hard enough to take some of these programs seriously when the D3 schools in this state outdraw Iowa and UNI for home games.  I am as sad as anyone that we are going to lose the better of the two D1 baseball programs in this state, but it is not going to be a big deal once it is gone.  For example, there was a pretty decent initial outcry when ISU lost its program and now, 8 years later, no one cares.  Its a tough pill to swallow now, but in the grand scheme of things its not that big of a deal.

Predictions for the tourney??????

Quote from: youcantseemestill on May 06, 2009, 12:09:07 PM
Predictions for the tourney??????

I will stick with my pre-season prediction of Wartburg.

I'm a wartburg fan all the way.. but seems as the way things are going this year with injuries amoung other problems I just dont see them pulling it off.  I think coe is going to take it.

Big Poppa- I initially was thinking along the same line as you with regards to the kickback that D3 programs could receive from diminishing DI programs in the state, but I just have a hard time believing that a DI recruit would be willing to pay upwards of $30,000 per year when they could go to a Juco and move on from there.  If anything this only benefits the Juco schools in the state and D1 and D2 schools in neighboring states.  Just my thoughts.

Youcantseemestill-

I think that you may be off on your assessment of losing yet another baseball program in the state.  It is a big deal.  Iowa already has a difficult time keeping college grads (in all areas) in the state when they are done with school.  Now you are talking about the possible export of more Iowans to other states at an even earlier time.  I realize that we are probably only talking about 10-15 kids a year but it would be nice to see our state hold onto, what I consider, a valuable resource in our communities (baseball programs and young student athletes).

Quote from: youcantseemestill on May 06, 2009, 12:08:46 PM
In all fairness Floyd, losing UNI does exactly nothing to the "viewership" of baseball in this state.  Its hard enough to take some of these programs seriously when the D3 schools in this state outdraw Iowa and UNI for home games.  I am as sad as anyone that we are going to lose the better of the two D1 baseball programs in this state, but it is not going to be a big deal once it is gone.  For example, there was a pretty decent initial outcry when ISU lost its program and now, 8 years later, no one cares.  Its a tough pill to swallow now, but in the grand scheme of things its not that big of a deal.

I know what you are saying, but does UNI consistently draw that well for anything besides football, men's basketball, and maybe volleyball (I haven't been around the UNI campus much in the last few years)?

Growing up in NE Iowa, even if I wasn't going to that many college baseball games before junior high, I remember reading the Waterloo Courier to see how Iowa, UNI, and the Iowa Conference was doing in baseball, football, basketball, and wrestling.  Maybe all that it was for the most part was box scores and some notes in the news and notes section, but for a kid that loved sports and followed the Iowa Conference and state schools besides ISU, it was something.

Back in the pre-website days, I remember how big it was when the Big Ten or Iowa Conference standings were in the newspaper.  Maybe I would have loved baseball anyway, but I guess my point was that following the game as a kid meant something to me.  Iowa was better back then in baseball though, so perhaps that was part of it as well.

My son is about to enter elementary school next year.  It is sad that he is not going to have the same local opportunities that we had to play college baseball.  I am hopeful that we can afford to send him to an Iowa Conference school, but who knows what that will cost in a decade.

Baseball was the oldest sport UNI had.  People I know still talk about how ISU and Wisconsin dropped baseball.  I played with two guys that were on the Wisconsin team when the Big Ten school dropped the sport.  It may seem like no one cares because most people realize that dropped men's programs are not coming back at Division I.  It also may be that the popularity of college baseball in the Midwest is dropping even more, and that should bother anyone that follows the game.

I agree with wartburgalum that it might help non-Iowa state schools and JUCOs the most.  I did not grow up following the JUCO standings.

Iowa Conference tourney scores so far:

Wartburg 12, BV 4

BV committed 7 errors and only had 3 hits themselves.  Wartburg pulled away in the 6th and 7th innings.  Martijn only gave up 3 hits to BV, but walked 7 guys.  However, he did get the win and is now 9-1.

Coe 10, Simpson 3

Coe jumped out of the gate with 8 runs in the first three innings.  They pounded out 16 hits as well for the game.  Nicholson kept Simpson at bay by giving up 6 hits and walking three.

Luther 3, Coe 2

Wartburg is up 1-0 in the 3rd.

Looks like a great showing for IIAC Softball teams today.

I didn't see how Central did in softball, but I did see the other three teams won.  Luther won 1-0 over Washington University in 10 innings.

Loras is up 9-8 over Wartburg in the bottom of the 7th.  The Duhawk Offense has shown itself again.

Bottom of 9th .. Wartburg up 10-9

Wartburg beats Loras

Good day for the Knights.

Tomorrow is BV and Simpson at 10
Coe and Loras at 1
and Luther vs. Wartburg at 4.

Will the Norse throw Hyland (6-0) tomorrow or try to bring Todd (6-3 2.80 ERA) back for some innings even though he threw two today to get the save against Coe?  Big game tomorrow!

Whoever is going to win the tourney better be ready to hit as these nine innings tourney games are going to thin out many of the pitching staffs.

BV won the early game today beating Simpson, 9-4.

Nice work Kohawks!

Great season for Loras even though they went 0-2 in the tournament.  They came out of nowhere at midseason to go on a run and win the first conference title of any kind since the 1950s.

They kept hitting, but they gave up 18, 12, and 10 runs in the last three losses.

Luther wins a huge game against Wartburg tonight, 9-2.  The actual game took less than 2 hours to play, but rain delays pushed it around 4 hours.

Cody Hyland really came through for the Norse!  He moved to 7-0 on the season as he limited the Knights to 2 runs over 8 innings.  The Norse were leading 5-1 after 3 innings, but I was ticked/worried when the long rain delay hit when everything was going well.  Not only did Luther outscore the Knights 4-1 after the delay, but Hyland was able to stay loose enough to continue to pitch 8 innings and keep the Norse pitching in great shape.  Great job.

Alex Thomas hit the first HR of his college career.  Jake Waddle got a couple big hits as well.

Todd (6-3 2.80 ERA) hopefully will be physically ready to go to take on the winner of the Coe/BV/Wartburg games tomorrow.

Buena Vista defeated Simpson 8-4 (Simpson eliminated)
Coe defeated Loras 12-7 (Loras eliminated)

Luther defeated Wartburg 9-2

Tomorrow's Sched

Coe Vs. Buena Vista ..........10 AM

Wartburg Vs. Winner .........1 PM

Luther Vs. Winner ..............4 PM

Should Luther lose they will play Sunday again for the championship.

Wartburg leads Luther 5-4 in the top of the 6th.  Wartburg batting.

---

Wartburg leads Luther 5-4 in the top of the 7th.  Wartburg batting... now 12-4 Knights

---

Luther in the bottom of the 7th...Wartburg 12-5, going to the 8th in the Finals.

Luther has 6 outs left.

---

Luther got 2 in the bottom of the 8th.

Going to the 9th, Wartburg leading 12-7.

---

12-7 going to the bottom of the 9th for Luther.

Final  #4 seed Wartburg wins 12-7; earns the AQ by winning 3 games today.

What are the chances of two IIAC's teams getting in the tournament?  If a second gets in, who is it?  Luther or Coe?  Coe ranked higher in the latest regional rankings and went 3-2 in the tourney, while Luther went 2-2 with a bye?

Thoughts?

Quote from: Kohawk Krazy on May 10, 2009, 12:13:28 AM
What are the chances of two IIAC's teams getting in the tournament?  If a second gets in, who is it?  Luther or Coe?  Coe ranked higher in the latest regional rankings and went 3-2 in the tourney, while Luther went 2-2 with a bye?

Thoughts?

I think that most people think that the Central is so average/balanced/unstellar that the Central might be passed over for a bid?

The #4 seed won the tourney from the loser's bracket?

Quote from: Ralph Turner on May 10, 2009, 12:19:53 AM

Quote from: Kohawk Krazy on May 10, 2009, 12:13:28 AM
What are the chances of two IIAC's teams getting in the tournament?  If a second gets in, who is it?  Luther or Coe?  Coe ranked higher in the latest regional rankings and went 3-2 in the tourney, while Luther went 2-2 with a bye?

Thoughts?

I think that most people think that the Central is so average/balanced/unstellar that the Central might be passed over for a bid?

The #4 seed won the tourney from the loser's bracket?

Yea that stinks. I thought Luther was a great team this year and could have made some noise in regionals. I think they had the credentials to deserve a Pool C bid, but the Mideast I think is going to take a couple/

Congrats to Wartburg as the Knights got it done on Saturday.  The Knight pitchers did a great job of coming back and finding a way when the arms had to be dead in a couple of cases.

I am not sure why Coe would be the next team from the Iowa Conference that deserves an at-large bid.  They did not win the regular season title like Loras and Luther, they did not win the postseason title like Wartburg did, and they lost three of four to Luther and did not have the conference or overall record of Luther.

Coe had a good season and I enjoyed talking to a few of the parents during the series in Decorah.  However, I would think either of the co-champs has a stronger case for postseason play.

Sounds like St. Olaf took a page from the Wartburg playbook in the MIAC tourney.  St. Thomas had won the MIAC regular season title, had reached the title game of the tourney without a loss, had already beaten St. Olaf in the tourney, but the Oles clearly won the last two games to take the MIAC tourney title.

Another proud baseball program that got it done to make sure they get to play more baseball.

Unlike Luther, St. Thomas could take the losses and still get an NCAA at-large bid.  The Norse are going to be on the edge of getting in IMO.

It sounds like Luther has a 50-50 shot at getting in......I think that they will get in unless a team from another region gets in (mideast or south most likely).

Luther has a better shot than Illinois Wesleyan in my opinion.

I'd be shocked if Luther got a bid.

Kohawk softball is going to the World Series.

Great work ladies!

Two times in  four years.

IIAC, as expected, gets shut out of a Pool C bid.  Congrats to the Knights for taking it to the Norse twice Saturday night.  Show the region that the IIAC deserved to get two teams in!

Now, in regards to what I have been reading on this page and the Regional rankings page.  In my opinion, Coe was more deserving than any of the other IIAC schools of an at large bid than Luther, Loras or Wartburg (if they had not won the conference tourney).  The reason for this is strength of schedule within the region.  There was no other team in this conference that played a better schedule than the Kohawks and I think that fact is the primary reason behind their standing in the final regional rankings.  A 20-12 record within the region and an outstanding out of region schedule with Wash U, Webster, Aurora, U of Iowa, Western Illinois, Husson, and Rhode Island only boosted their scrength of schedule.  Now, in contrast, Wartburg and Luther both played pretty weak out of conference schedules and their rankings showed that.  But ultimately, the banter proved pointless with the upsets of St. Norbert and Whitewaters run.  Luther, Coe and Loras all had their shot to make it moot if they could have beated Wartburg in the tourney.

Luther 29-13 overall
Coe 25-19 overall

Luther 15-7 IIAC record, conference co-champs
Coe 14-8 IIAC record

Coe played a tough non-conference schedule, but they also only had a .500 record in non-conference games.  I am a big fan of playing some tough teams, and I wish Iowa and Luther could get back to playing again, but losing a lot of games against good teams should not merit a high regional ranking IMO.

The MIAC got two teams in like many other seasons.  Luther went 7-3 against that league with a 4-0 record against the two teams that tied for 3rd.  The Norse also went 14-6 against the non-conference, not .500.  Luther lost some close games against good teams in non-conference play last year, but the 2009 IIAC co-champs had a better case to make postseason play than the 2008 Norse.

2009 Coe-Luther scores:

Coe 8, Luther 4 (10 innings)
Luther 8, Coe 4
Luther 5, Coe 4
Luther 3, Coe 2

Every IIAC school knew that the conference tourney was by far the best way to make NCAA play in baseball.  Unlike softball where four IIAC schools made the field, Iowa Conference Baseball has not been seen as strong for some time now.  Wartburg got it done and obtained one of the big goals that all IIAC schools have going into the season.

Luther and Loras missed on this goal.  However, they both will look back on this season and feel very good about winning the conference title.  It was the first time Loras had won since 1952 and it was the 2nd for the Norse in the last three years. 

Coe will have to just feel good that they had a good team and the memories of getting to play Iowa.  They were right there with Loras, Luther, Wartburg, and BV this year.

Now that the season is over for everyone except the Knights, congrats to the Norse seniors for getting a part of a 2nd Iowa Conference title!  They did not win the Iowa Conference tourney and a couple of regional games this time like they did in 2007, but guys like Kohls, Waddle, Todd, and Neis can look back on their time in Luther and be pretty happy with their Norse careers.

Adam Kohls won 24 career games in Decorah.  Nate Todd won career 20 games.  Junior Cody Hyland was 7-0 this year and many Norse regulars return next year, but Kohls and Todd will be missed.

The Norse seniors in baseball not only captured two conference titles, but they also helped to reconnect the program to championship level baseball as the program had not won a title previously since 1985.

The school has now won 13 baseball titles since 1947 (when the Iowa Conference decided to reorganize how they recognize baseball champions) and 26 overall since the current Iowa Conference started in 1922.  Wartburg has won 19 titles since 1947 and none before that, while BV has won 14 titles since 1947 and 16 overall since 1922.

I know BV faded and Loras does not have many fans on here, but both programs also had very good seasons.  Ditto for Coe as although I have argued on a couple of points related to them on here, that program and Cornell helped the Norse win the title. 

Good luck to the Knights this week!  I am not expecting them to make the World Series, but I am expecting at least a win or two in regionals. 

Conference Coaches will meet this week to name the All-Conference teams.  Predictions?  
Here are mine:

Pitcher of the Year: Raisch - Coe
Offensive Player of the Year - Olberding - Loras, Richmond - Coe

C - Kloewer - BVU
1B - Johnson - Wartburg
2B - Furlong - Central
SS - McAllister - Coe
3B - Schisler - Coe
OF - Pietrzyk - BVU
OF - Grau - Wartburg
OF - Brown - Loras
OF - Velvick - Coe
DH - Knutson - Central
Utl - Martijn - Wartburg

P- Kohls - Luther
P- Watson - Wartburg
P- Todd - Luther
P- Laurie - Loras

** special note: much like the all-conference team, I will not put my players of the year on the list as they will not be on the all-conference team.  Toughest ones to leave off:
2B: Reynolds - Luther
OF: Nisenson - Coe
SS/OF: Rasmussen - Simpson
 

Pitcher of the year is going to be tough.  Does the voting take in to account the tourney games?  If so, Martijn really helped himself with winning twice showing a rubber arm.  Raisch might have had my vote for pitcher of the year before the tourney.

The Loras pitchers won lots of conference games, but the Duhawk Offense was the biggest reason for that.  I am not saying that Laurie should not be given all-conference recognition, but to me he is a little like Cody Hyland of Luther in that he had a great record but may have been a 2nd team pitcher.

Kohls, Todd, and Hyland of Luther were three of the top pitchers this year.  Kohls may be the only 1st team pitcher, but all three should be on the 1st or 2nd team.  Luther will probably have no 1st team position players this year even though they won the league, but Reynolds and Beckman would be among the candidates for 2nd team.

Olberding is my offensive player of the year since he not only had a great year but also led an unreal offense during much of the league season.  BV had a couple of candidates for a good part of the year.

I would give coach of the year to Loras head coach Carl Tebon since the Duhawks did something for the first time since 1952.  Loras also was only picked 5th by the coaches in the preseason while Wartburg, Luther, and Coe were picked 1, 2, and 3.

Another interesting season in the IIAC.  Wartburg's season was saved with a run through the tourny (but still slightly disappointing as the streak of conference championships will end at 13).  I am interested to see if Wartburg can make any sort of run through regionals.  I don't think anybody would expect them to do anything spectacular but maybe it is 2005 all over again.  (Tho I am not making any predictions at this point).

Not sure how far Wartburg will go in the regionals...but it was sure fun to watch them come alive at the iiac tourny  ;D...If they play as well as they did in the iiac tourny anything is possible...They need their bats and pitching hot at the same time.  They have the talent as long as they can keep everyone healthy and play as a team.

That is the best and worst thing about a short tourny like conference/regionals.  Any team can get hot at just the right time and make some noise.  Looking through Wartburg's stats for the season the only number that really jumps out at you is the team ERA at 3.83 which has them at 27th in the country.  Other than that their offensive numbers are middle of the road and their defense is average.  They will have to play their best ball of the year to have a chance.

An FYI:  Millsaps will webcast all of their games at the regionals and they will have a Coach's show this evening at 6 Central.  More information at:  http://www.gomajors.com/news/2009/5/12/BB_0512090021.aspx

Thanx for the info Frank

IIAC Baseball All-Conference selections:

http://www.iowaconference.com/men/baseball/all_conference/2009.htm (http://www.iowaconference.com/men/baseball/all_conference/2009.htm)

Pitcher of the Year
Jerrold Martijn, Wartburg
(Orangestad, Aruba/Kirkwood C.C.)

Position Player of the Year
Nick Olberding, SS, Loras
(Dyersville, Iowa/Beckman)

Coach of the Year - Carl Tebon, Loras

First Team School  Year  Pos  Hometown/High School 
Adam Kohls % $ ^ Luther Sr. SP Hampton, Iowa/Hampton-Dumont
Nate Todd & Luther Sr. SP Fort Madison, Iowa/Fort Madison
Cody Raisch Coe Jr. SP Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale
Austin Safranski Loras Fr. SP Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North
Kyle Dupic # Buena Vista So. RP Emmetsburg, Iowa/Emmetsburg
Kevin Kloewer Buena Vista So. C Omaha, Neb./Millard South
Mike Johnson Wartburg Sr. 1B West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley
Pat Richmond Coe Jr. 1B Algonquin, Ill./Dundee-Crown
Mike Furlong Central Fr. 2B Davenport, Iowa/Assumption
Ben Kuebel Loras Jr. 3B Fulton, Ill./Fulton
Tyler McAllister % Coe Sr. SS Ursa, Ill./Mendon-Unity
Brandon Pietrzyk % Buena Vista Jr. OF Portland, Ore./Marshall
Adam Gross $ Loras Sr. OF Dubuque, Iowa/Hempstead
Caleb Rangel @ Central So. OF Rock Island, Ill./Alleman
Patrick Grau Wartburg So. OF Elkader, Iowa/Central
Cory Dawson # & Simpson Sr. DH Altoona, Iowa/Southeast Polk
Casey Korn @ $ Cornell Sr. UT High Ridge, Mo./Northwest

From a Luther perspective I can't complain at all about who the big awards went to.  I was happy to see Kohls and Todd made 1st team all league as they anchored the team for most of the season.  I was also happy to see Reynolds and Hyland make 2nd team as they had very good years as well.  There are other Norse players who could have made one of the teams, but no terrible gaffes as far as a Norse player not making it.

All games involving UW-Whitewater in the Augustana Regional will be broadcast LIVE on KOOL 106.5.
The games will be streamed at:  http://www.uwwsports.com/sports/gen/2007/followthewarhawks_09202007.asp

The broadcast begins 15 minutes prior to game-time

MAY MADNESS PICKS NEED TO BE IN BY MIDNIGHT TONIGHT.....IF YOU WANT TO PLAY...

Email prediction for Winner and runner-up for each regional:  basefrk2@aol.com

Several oddities to me on the all-conference team:

Coaches decide to give lifetime achievement awards to three players: Korn, Gross, and Waddle..........all very good players (and Waddle is a great player), but there is no way that Gross and Korn deserved 1st team honors and Waddle on the team at all is a joke this year. 

Olberding was the right choice at POY, but Raisch seemed like a no brainer to me as the Pitcher of the Year.  Biggest snubs to be were Velvick from Coe, and Beckman from Luther.  SS was a very tough position this year however, so I can see Beckman being a tough one to get on.  Velvick has no reason not being on. 

Glad both Johnson and Richmond both made the 1st team at 1B.  Good work on that one coaches.

Haha, very funny .  Lifetime achievement awards.  You know how it goes, every year a school will really push for one or two of their guys for one reason or another. 

It is interesting to see how Gross turned out.  He transferred from Wartburg because he knew he didnt have a chance at even sniffing the field.  It looks like he made the right decision, I am glad he had some success.

Now that is just a silly thing to say about Adam Gross.  WHile I amy strongly question his status as a 1st-team all conference player, he would have started FOR SURE the last two seasons at Wartburg.  The kid is probably the best defensive outfielder in this conference and is pretty much unstoppable on the bases. 

No, don't take me the wrong way.  He has turned out to be a good ball player.  But when he was at Wartburg (his freshmen year) he knew he was not going to be on the field for at least a couple of years.  He has a had a good career and it looks like he made the right choice by transferring.  I am honestly not knocking him at all, I think he is a nice guy and a decent player.

Anyone have any idea who Cornell might hire as their new baseball coach?

I was surprised also to see that Velvick and Beckman didn't make it onto the All-Conference teams. But Gross did have a pretty solid year.
Any one know when all-region teams come out?

Coe wins first game at softball world series

1-0 over the steaks of Salisbury

Playing Tufts tomorrow.

Beat those Jumbos!!!

Kohawk Softball beats #7 Tufts 1-0 in the World Series.  Coe now 2-0 in the tournament!

Quote from: Kohawk Krazy on May 16, 2009, 09:51:04 PM
Kohawk Softball beats #7 Tufts 1-0 in the World Series.  Coe now 2-0 in the tournament!

Get 'er done! ;)

Since I really thought my Titans would do well in the WS :'(, any team that beats them twice on the final day of the regional is my pick to win it all.

Coe plays Gustavus Adolphus tomorrow in an elimination game tomorrow.

Lost to Messiah 2-0

Coe 4 Gustavus Adolphus 2

Play Messiah later today.

Messiah 2, Coe 0

Messiah wins DIII championship

Kohawks place higher nationally than any other Coe team in Kohawk history.

Excellent work Ladies!

Great job by Coe Softball!  The Iowa Conference in Softball, like they also do in Wrestling, showed once again why the NCAA thinks so highly of the league in terms of bids (or qualifiers in wrestling).  Regular season champ Central went 0-2, but everyone else had a strong showing in NCAA play.  The Iowa Conference has four really good softball programs right now, and Simpson has been pretty good as well in recent years.

As far as Coe goes, I know they have some other successful sports like Tennis and Swimming, but when I think of Coe for sports I think of Football, Softball, and now Wrestling.  Wrestling has just recently taken a big jump, but Timmons and the Softball program has been in a great place since he jumped from Mount Mercy in the late 1990s or whenever he came over.

As for Iowa Conference Baseball, the league did not make a strong showing or case for why two IIAC schools should have been selected to the NCAAs.  Wartburg did not go 0-2 or anything like that, but I did not have a good vibe that they would bring the level of ball that they showed on Saturday at the IIAC Tourney.

Here is the last four years of how the IIAC has done in NCAA play since the 2005 Wartburg team made the Division III World Series:

2006 - Coe went 1-2 (won first game)
2007 - Luther went 2-2 (won first two games)
2008 - Wartburg went 1-2
2009 - Wartburg went 1-2

I thought Luther could have done all right had they made it this year, just like I thought Wartburg would have been a solid team had they made it in 2007.  However until the league gets back to winning 2-3 games in NCAA play or making it to the World Series, the snubs will continue.

I overall enjoyed another year of Iowa Conference Baseball though.

It's been a couple weeks and I still haven't heard anything about the Cornell job.  It is listed as being open on the Cornell web page, but it's not in any other listing that I have seen, including the NCAA Job Market page which I thought usually posted all openings.  It makes me wonder if they're going to try to stay in house?  I don't see any current assistants getting the job, but perhaps someone who was an assistant in the past that has a little more experience than the current assistants?  Although, I'm not sure why they'd want to do that.  Fishler was an assistant and the program has slowly declined under his leadership, I'm not sure that hiring an assistant is the answer.  But, it may be a cheap way to fill the hole if they hire one of those young assistants... but I think that would be a monumental mistake, but one that Cornell will almost certainly entertain, if only for a little while.

Congrats to St. Thomas for making a serious run in the CWS.  They might or might not end up winning the whole thing, but it is good to see a Midwest school make a run at it. 

Can someone please tell me who Chris Handke is (from Cornell).  I see that he got drafted in the 40th round by the Angels as a RHP (as reported on D3baseball.com).  His stats for his career are 10.12 ERA, 0-1 win/loss record, 21.1 IP, 24 Earned runs, with 11 strikeouts and 25 walks. 

How does something like this happen?  Please explain this to me before my head explodes.  For the life of me I don't think I will ever understand the MLB draft.

Quote from: wartburgalum on June 11, 2009, 04:55:59 PM
Can someone please tell me who Chris Handke is (from Cornell).  I see that he got drafted in the 40th round by the Angels as a RHP (as reported on D3baseball.com).  His stats for his career are 10.12 ERA, 0-1 win/loss record, 21.1 IP, 24 Earned runs, with 11 strikeouts and 25 walks. 

How does something like this happen?  Please explain this to me before my head explodes.  For the life of me I don't think I will ever understand the MLB draft.

This conversation is going on at the National Topics board.

Quote from: wartburgalum on June 11, 2009, 04:55:59 PM
Can someone please tell me who Chris Handke is (from Cornell).  I see that he got drafted in the 40th round by the Angels as a RHP (as reported on D3baseball.com).  His stats for his career are 10.12 ERA, 0-1 win/loss record, 21.1 IP, 24 Earned runs, with 11 strikeouts and 25 walks. 

How does something like this happen?  Please explain this to me before my head explodes.  For the life of me I don't think I will ever understand the MLB draft.

By the way, the kid's 6'11" and knows how to pitch.  Maybe they see something worth taking a chance on and giving him a little bit of coaching.

Quote from: wartburgalum on June 11, 2009, 04:55:59 PM
Can someone please tell me who Chris Handke is (from Cornell).  I see that he got drafted in the 40th round by the Angels as a RHP (as reported on D3baseball.com).  His stats for his career are 10.12 ERA, 0-1 win/loss record, 21.1 IP, 24 Earned runs, with 11 strikeouts and 25 walks. 

How does something like this happen?  Please explain this to me before my head explodes.  For the life of me I don't think I will ever understand the MLB draft.

Whoa.  And he went to Cornell as a catcher.  The kid's probably got some skills.

Quote from: wartburgalum on June 11, 2009, 04:55:59 PM
Can someone please tell me who Chris Handke is (from Cornell).  I see that he got drafted in the 40th round by the Angels as a RHP (as reported on D3baseball.com).  His stats for his career are 10.12 ERA, 0-1 win/loss record, 21.1 IP, 24 Earned runs, with 11 strikeouts and 25 walks. 

How does something like this happen?  Please explain this to me before my head explodes.  For the life of me I don't think I will ever understand the MLB draft.

It was the 41st round and by the Dodgers.  I heard he threw pretty well at the Perfect Game outing.

Thanks everyone for the info on this kid, I did not have the time to do the research myself.  Best of luck to him.

BigPoppa's Preaseason IIAC Poll:


1. Wartburg
2. Loras
3. Buena Vista
4. Coe
5. Luther
6. Simpson
7. Central
8. Cornell
9. Dubuque

Preseason Poll:
1. BV
2. Coe
3. Wartburg
4. Luther
5. Loras
6. Central
7. Cornell
8. Simpson
9. Dubuque

Quote from: Maverick4004 on January 31, 2010, 09:52:38 PM
Preseason Poll:
1. BV
2. Coe
3. Wartburg
4. Luther
5. Loras
6. Central
7. Cornell
8. Simpson
9. Dubuque

Is this your own poll or the IIAC coaches poll?

Are all teams starting practice today?

Quote from: BigPoppa on January 29, 2010, 02:26:49 PM
BigPoppa's Preaseason IIAC Poll:


1. Wartburg
2. Loras
3. Buena Vista
4. Coe
5. Luther
6. Simpson
7. Central
8. Cornell
9. Dubuque

I thought this would generate some chatter. Where are all the IIAC supporters?

Thats my predictions. Cali...all teams started official practices on Monday. Apparently it is a little early to be talking about the season but I'm always up for some discussing Poppa

Some more posters will drift over here eventually.  Most are still on the football and basketball boards this time of year. 

I'm just hoping Dubuque can climb their way out of the conference cellar this year.  They are seeing more success in football, soccer, and basketball recently than they have in the past.  So hopefully that will start to translate onto the baseball diamond. 

I myself don't see that happening any time soon haha. Sorry. Any predictions on what players will step up this year? Plenty of returning all-region players and an all-american in Pietryk from BV

I haven't really followed IIAC baseball that close. And it's a shame since I'm a quick drive away from catching a Cornell or Coe game. I don't know which players to look out for but I hear some Coe chatter talking about Raisch and Richmond.

Doolittledog, do you travel for Dubuque baseball games? We'll have a group of young alums chillin and grillin during the weekend series at Cornell in March. Let me know if you're making the drive down and I'll save you a plate... and maybe a cold one.

Quote from: CaliRamRL6 on February 03, 2010, 05:35:18 PM
Doolittledog, do you travel for Dubuque baseball games? We'll have a group of young alums chillin and grillin during the weekend series at Cornell in March. Let me know if you're making the drive down and I'll save you a plate... and maybe a cold one.

I've never travelled for a DBQ baseball game in the past...but if dogs and a cold one are offered I think I could find a way to make a trip down to Mt. Vernon.  Thanks for the offer!!!

Coe has a solid group of returners with Richmond returning as an all-region first baseman, Cody Raisch (there is another Raisch there too) as an all-region pitcher, and Ryan Velvick as an all-region player as well. Both player of the year and pitcher of the year have graduated so we will see who steps up this spring

I see Richmond and Velvick (Coe), Grau (Wartburg), Reynolds and Schott (Luther), Pietrykz, Blum and Kloewer (BV) to step up and be the big offensive guys this year

Finally! Some baseball talk! 

Based on who is coming back BV and Coe have to be the favorites.  BV did not graduate a single player last year and Coe returns all but two out of their line-up and lost only one pitcher of real significance. 

Coe does also return the top offensive and defensive players from last season.  Richmond was the second leading vote-getter for conference MVP and Cody Raisch was the second leading voter getter for Pitcher of the Year.........although I would throw Mr. Pietrykz, Grau, Mike Furlong and Chris Reynolds into the offensive player talk.

The interesting thing, as always, will be what new faces spark different teams.  I have heard that the Knights have retooled big time with more than a couple transfers, and that Simpson and Central have brought in big classes as well.

My opinion on Dubuque is that they are not going to really make a step forward until they are able to recruit some local kids for baseball.  Their team has way too many kids with warm climate home states.  The formula hasn't worked so far...........

Loras is my sleeper team (if you can be a sleeper after winning the conference).  They have all of their pitching back and that can minimize the loss of Olberding, Egdorf,  Gross and Miklo.

Other opinions are welcome!

What are some of the other reports from around the IIAC preseason?  Who are some of the freshmen impact players or transfers from around the conference?  Which team will be most benefited from their freshmen?

I'm interested in hearing what is going on around the league!  Seems like a pretty balanced year in the IIAC with a couple teams capable of being great.

Thanks for the post youcantseemestill............Very interested in hearing from others!

Only 9 days from the IIAC season opener (Simpson @ University of the Ozarks)

Quote from: youcantseemestill on February 11, 2010, 11:11:57 AM
Finally! Some baseball talk!  

My opinion on Dubuque is that they are not going to really make a step forward until they are able to recruit some local kids for baseball.  Their team has way too many kids with warm climate home states.  The formula hasn't worked so far...........

Other opinions are welcome!

Dubuque roster...
11 - Iowa
9   - Illinois
5   - Wisconsin
4   - California
2   - Colorado
1   - Ohio
1   - Texas
1   - Puerto Rico
1   - Germany

35 man roster.  

25 from Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin.  25 of 35 are local kids.  

4 from Cali, 1 from Texas, 1 from Puerto Rico.  6 of 35 from warm weather locales.  

The 4 Cali kids include 3 seniors and 1 junior. 

Apparently the UD coaches listened to you and changed their recruiting practices ;)

Its interesting you pointed that out because that is something I noticed when I looked at the updated rosters yesterday.  I think you can agree Doolittle, that this is a nice change in the roster for UD. 

5 of the 9 conference teams already have their 2010 rosters up with the exceptions being Central, Luther, Simpson and Wartburg. 

Quote from: youcantseemestill on February 12, 2010, 08:30:30 AM
Its interesting you pointed that out because that is something I noticed when I looked at the updated rosters yesterday.  I think you can agree Doolittle, that this is a nice change in the roster for UD. 

5 of the 9 conference teams already have their 2010 rosters up with the exceptions being Central, Luther, Simpson and Wartburg. 

Yes it is, and it is something you are seeing across the board at UD.  Though, I am not against UD finding kids from wherever they can.  It's just nice to find local kids.  Not only are they prepared for our weather, it just puts UD more into the minds of the local population. 

Right!  And no offense intended to any of the kids, but the retention rate of those individuals from way out of state has been bad...........making it hard to have a consistent level of success.

The problem is not recruiting out of state kids the problem is recruiting quality out of state kids.  There are plenty of kids from out of state that are very successful at schools in the Midwest.  Recruiting ONLY Iowa kids will not win you any national titles. 

2009 All IIAC honors  23 Iowa Natives, 19 out of state players

By the way UD had no players earn All IIAC honors, in or out of state.

youcantseemestill   you gave a very good preview to the season! seems like you know your players. I have the same opinions as you do with Coe and BV being outfront. I think that that will be a heck of a battle this spring when the two meet at BV's place.

We are soooooo close to the start of the season (2 days!).  I am going to go on record with some picks and stuff.  Feel free to join in anytime!

1. Coe
2. BVU
3. Wartburg
4. Loras
5. Central
6. Luther
7. Simpson
8. Cornell
9. Dubuque

Offensive Player of the year:  Brandon Pietzryk, BVU
Pitcher of the year: Cody Raisch, Coe

Players to watch from each team:
BVU - Pietzryk, Kloewer, Weubker
Central - Rangel, Lackey, Furlong
Coe - Richmond, C. Raisch, Velvick
Cornell - Clausen, Shimanovsky, Butler
Dubuque - Mejia, Larson, Hennessy
Loras - Safranski, Moriarty, Juergens
Luther - Reynolds, Topping, Hyland
Simpson - Johnson, Rassmussen, Rhodes
Wartburg - Grau, Schmitt, Watson

I think the top four are pretty solid and I can easily see any of the four winning the IIAC title. Loras is loaded with arms and BV has a top-notch offense back. Wartburg has traditionally fared well in league and could do so again this year while Coe is an emergin power in the region.. will be very fun to watch.

Quote from: BigPoppa on February 18, 2010, 09:14:52 AM
I think the top four are pretty solid and I can easily see any of the four winning the IIAC title. Loras is loaded with arms and BV has a top-notch offense back. Wartburg has traditionally fared well in league and could do so again this year while Coe is an emergin power in the region.. will be very fun to watch.

Why are people talking about the Loras "Arms"?  People must have gone to the Loras website and read the article their coaching staff wrote.  Last year in conference play Loras was 6th in the conference in ERA, 7th in hits allowed, 8th in HR and 2B allowed as well as 8th in K's.  They didn't have an "arm" in the top 10.  Their top "arm" in conference had a 4.88 era(12th). Their overall stats were just as bad.  Their top "arm" had a 4.95 era(14th).  Loras's run to the top last year was on the "arms" of their offense led by IIAC offensive player of the year Olberding.  If Loras is "loaded with arms" then the IIAC is the best pitching conference in america.

While your point about Loras's arms is valid, you have to look a little deeper into their roster and stats than just what they did last year.  Safranski was a freshman last year, Moriarty and Laurie and Bogge were all sophs.  Most would assume that they would be better this year than the year before.  Their numbers were not great last year, but they didn't have to be because of their offense.  Loras's numbers are based a lot on promise and potential.  No different than most people assuming that Wartburg will have a potent offense despite the fact that they lost 6 starters from their line-up.......

I question the fact that based only on the fact that players have a year or two under their belt they will surely be better.  I agree that Loras has a pitching staff that can be relied on, but for them it will come down to their hitting because the fact is their pitchers aren't good enough to shut teams down consistently.

If you look at their pitchers:

NOTE:  Last year there were 30 IIAC pitchers that met innings qualifications.

Kyler Laurie (Jr.)............4.88 ERA (12th).........(.266) OPP AVG (4th)
Kevin Moriarity (Jr.)........6.48 ERA (23rd)........(.315) OPP AVG (19th)
Cole Boge (Jr.)...............7.39 ERA (25th)........(.357) OPP AVG (27th)
Austin Safranski (So.)....5.53 ERA (19th)........(.320) OPP AVG (20th)

It's not like those are amazing numbers!  And just to finish off the argument, here are the juniors numbers from their freshmen year.

NOTE: 28 IIAC pitchers met innings qualifications.

Kyler Laurie...........DIDN'T THROW ENOUGH INNINGS TO QUALIFY:  22.1 IP, 5.64 ERA, .297 OPP AVG
Kevin Moriarity.......3.52 ERA (12th)........(.261) OPP AVG (8th)
Cole Boge..............DIDN'T THROW ENOUGH INNINGS TO QUALIFY: 1.2 IP, 16.20 ERA, .500 OPP AVG

In conclusion, these pitchers are capable of pitching in the conference and are not a reliability, but I just don't see how they are the best pitching staff in the conference based on the fact that they are the most experienced (according to most).  Moriarity had a worse sophomore season than freshmen season, Boge was a non-factor in either year, Laurie improved towards sophomore year but was by no means a shut down player and Safranski put up very average numbers in his first year.

Again, all good points.  I just think that their starting pitching depth, with another year of experience, will be better than it was before and one of the more complete staffs in the conference.  For the record, I never said that Loras would have a great staff, and especially not one that is the best in the conference.   

In my opinion, Wartburg and Coe have the two best returning group of pitchers.  Wartburg with Schmitt, Watson, and Rost.  Coe with C. Raisch, Lewis, and S. Raisch.

You can look at the high ERA from Laurie and Safranski and Opp. Avg. being very high but you have to see that they found ways to win. Laurie was 9-1 and Safranski was 7-1. Given they did have a fairly strong offense last year they were winners which is something that will carry over to this season in my opinion.

I'll stick with my picks though....
1. BV - returning their entire offense...tough to beat
2. Coe - should be strong with Raisch and Richmond as seniors
3. Wartburg - still have Schmidt as well as a pretty strong offense with Grau
4. Luther - lost their two top pitchers, return Reynolds, Topping, Schott for offense
5. Loras - Olberding is gone so hitters need to step up
6. Central - returning Furlong and Rangel but still not a very strong team
7. Cornell - Shimanovsky is all they have coming back
8. Simpson - lost way to many starters
9. Dubuque - once again at the bottom

Pitcher of the Year- Cody Raisch, Coe
Player of the Year- Pietryzk, BV/ Richmond, Coe

Pietryzk has better hitters in front of him which will help boost his stats but if Coe can get some good hitters in the top of their lineup Richmond could have a stellar year. Both will be All-Region maybe even All-Americans

Great analysis, guys. This is the most traffic we have ever had on the IIAC board. I really feel like everyone that reads this will have a solid insight into the conference as it approaches.

Maverick - nice takes!  I really do think you are selling Central a little short and giving Luther a little too much.  Central returns a very nice core of offensive talent as well as a young staff that fared quite well last year.  I could see them vaulting Loras into the 4 position if they catch a few breaks.  Furlong, Lackey, Tressel and Rangel make for a very tough top of the order. 

Luther lost almost all of its impact innings from last year in Kohls, Todd and Pichelman.  They also lost Waddle, Nies, and Beckman which consisted of their 1,3,6 hitters.  Schott needs to have his senior year be his first great year for them to compete offensively.

My prediction

1. BVU  (17-7)= Everyone back, went on a late season slide to finish year. Experience could be the difference.
2. Coe (16-8)= Good core of offense, Raisch and Lewis proven success. 
3. Wartburg (15-9)= Wont just go away.  Young, but some new faces will be impact. Schmitt and Watson are tuff.
4. Central (13-11)= Strong offense last year. Young pitchers much like Loras.
5. Loras (12-12) = Lost 5 of top 10 hitters. Pitchers will have to get better to keep them over .500
6. Luther (12-12)= Also lost some top players. Reynolds is a player but can't carry them.
7. Simpson (11-13)= A lot of unknowns but might be a case that graduation makes them a better team. Wouldn't be surprised to see them make top 6.
8 /9. Dubuque or Cornell (4-20)= Toss up,  it seem they battle for this spot every year.

Player of the year:  Brandon Pietzryk, BVU
Pitcher of the year: Cody Raisch, Coe

Its going to be interesting... Simpson starts us off tomorrow... good luck to them!

Simpson got a split yesterday

Quote from: youcantseemestill on February 18, 2010, 03:58:39 PM
Maverick - nice takes!  I really do think you are selling Central a little short and giving Luther a little too much.  Central returns a very nice core of offensive talent as well as a young staff that fared quite well last year.  I could see them vaulting Loras into the 4 position if they catch a few breaks.  Furlong, Lackey, Tressel and Rangel make for a very tough top of the order. 

Luther lost almost all of its impact innings from last year in Kohls, Todd and Pichelman.  They also lost Waddle, Nies, and Beckman which consisted of their 1,3,6 hitters.  Schott needs to have his senior year be his first great year for them to compete offensively.

I enjoyed watching Paul Pichelman in his freshman and junior seasons, but he hardly appeared in any conference games for the Norse in 2009.  Maybe you are thinking of Cody Hyland (7-0 record, 3.56 ERA, 2nd team all-IIAC) who will be a senior this spring.  It is important that he has another big year this season.

Kohls and Todd were studs though and will be hard to replace for any team.  I want to see some games in the pre-conference before I guess how tough it will be for the Norse this year.

I haven't seen a Norse roster yet, but SS Steve Beckman (.368 with 23 RBIs) should be only a junior since 2008 was his first year in the program.  He should combine with guys like Schott (.290 with 33 RBIs), Zach Topping (.417 with 34 RBIs, 2nd team all-IIAC), Mark Weber (.348 with 34 RBIs) and Reynolds (.385 with 36 RBIs) to form the heart of the batting order.  Regular OF Joe Thompson (.303 with 19 RBIs) also returns.  I will miss watching Jake Waddle a ton, but last year was not the offensive season for him that his sophomore and juniors years were.

The Norse have some holes to fill, but until I see otherwise it appears as they might not be ready to slide out of the top half of the league.  Replacing Todd and Kohls will be tough, but the Norse have tied for the Iowa Conference title in two of the last three years (2007, 2009).

Good to see some interest in the baseball board!

St. Olaf (MIAC) swept B.V. yesterday in the Metrodome, 4-2 and 5-3.  Tough start for the Beavers, but the Oles were ranked 21st in the preseason poll.

I miss the days of the Oles and Norse getting together for baseball, especially back when both programs were on solid footing at the same time.

The Oles play Wartburg next Wednesday.

It will be slightly interesting to see what happens with Wartburg this year.  After years of dominating most of the Iowa Conference and much of the non-conference parts of their schedule, the Knights have struggled in non-conference action the previous two seasons.  To their credit, they did bounce back and have great Iowa Conference campaigns finishing 1st and 4th the past two seasons, but for the good of the league I wish they would get off to a better start in non-league games in 2010.

They were swept by Macalester last week, 6-1 and 5-1 to start 0-2.  They play the Oles on Wednesday.  You won't hear this much from Luther fans but I am hoping the Knights get themselves right in a hurry since they will be tough in league play no matter what happened in preseason games.

Congrats to Coe and Cornell for getting off to 2-1 starts.  B.V. and Coe do look like the frontrunners this year until proven otherwise (Wartburg will have a say).

Iowa Baseball is 3-2 so far, so to me that is worthy of mention while they are still over .500.  I have no hopes for them having a consistent season until I see some consistent starting pitching, but I guess it is a small victory for the Hawks that they were able to take 2 of 3 against Big East teams.

There is not much left to follow in college baseball for me outside of the Iowa Conference in Iowa now that UNI dropped baseball and the struggling Hawkeye program is the only Division I program left in the state.

They do have a better record than the Gophers right now!

Just happen to catch Wartburg vs. Macalester late Friday night.  I was highly disappointed by the Macalesters players and fans.  A little heckling by the opposing team and fans is baseball but they took it a bit far by attacking Wartburgs young players to no end.  After stumbling over all their beer cans it was obvious why they were so verbal.  I hope the Metrodome staff could patrol alcohol being consumed at college games.  I wouldn't count Wartburg out yet, they just have a few mental errors they need to overcome.   

So the Macalester players were stumbling over beer cans in the dugout too? Must have made losing to a middle-of-the-pack MIAC team even more embarrassing for Wartburg.

Quote from: baseballfans4ever on March 01, 2010, 12:36:48 PM
Just happen to catch Wartburg vs. Macalester late Friday night.  I was highly disappointed by the Macalesters players and fans.  A little heckling by the opposing team and fans is baseball but they took it a bit far by attacking Wartburgs young players to no end.  After stumbling over all their beer cans it was obvious why they were so verbal.  I hope the Metrodome staff could patrol alcohol being consumed at college games.  I wouldn't count Wartburg out yet, they just have a few mental errors they need to overcome.   

What kind of team or school could even think of acting like this!!!!!!  It is crime and a shame that anyone would disrespect a team like Wartburg. Wartburg is the model of class and respect.  HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.  Funny to hear a warthog cry about being disrespected and heckled.  Now that is what I call karma.

Not sure I would call myself a wartburg super fan but the fact remains I am not a fan of drinking at college games of anykind.  I dont really know the rich history of wartburg but sounds like there may of been some heckling in the past that I was not aware of and never have witnessed yet.  Too bad that the fans can't cheer on their favorite teams without the critisim.  Go IIAC!

 There is no NCAA policy against alcohol sales at any NCAA regular season events on or off campus.  NCAA policy only covers post season play, excluding DI football. Bowl games can sell if they choose.  Individual schools and conferences make the rules for regular season games.

Wartburg split with the Oles this week to move to 1-3, but getting a split with a top-25 program is a solid step ahead from the opening doubleheader.

Congrat to Central so far for starting 4-0!

Any predictions changed at this point?  I am a bit concerned about the Knight's slow start.  They have never been known for their stellar pre-conference performances but I would like to see them string together some wins to build some momentum before "nut-cuttin' time."

Wartburg's Billy Schmitt chucked a no-no against Concordia (MN) today.

Interesting first quarter of the season.  For most teams, coming back to Iowa and playing will show their true colors.  I have been very impressed with Central offensively.  To me, they look a lot like this year's version of Loras.  They are hitting the crap out of the ball and with power, however, so far their pitching hasn't been as strong as most would have thought it would be.

Wartburg is young!  We all knew that going in, but assumed that they would overcome like they always do.  I think they will get untracked at the plate, but I see a post season berth as unlikely at this point. 

Loras got jobbed by the weather in Florida losing 4 or 5 games.  Its going to be hard to make those up.  I don't see a lot of changes in my predictions except thinking that Central is going to make a run........

Congradulations to Schmitt!  He's got to be one of the toughest on the mound.

Looking over all the stats.. Schmitt is a four year starter for Wartburg putting up some good numbers!

Quote from: baseballfans4ever on March 22, 2010, 12:01:04 PM
Looking over all the stats.. Schmitt is a four year starter for Wartburg putting up some good numbers!

I'm confused.  Are you going somewhere with this?  Or just making a statement?

ohh.. just a statement.  Just not alot said about him.  I'd also have to say Dave Johnson for Simpson has a hot bat in pre season.  It will be interesting n seeing whos going to jump out on top in iiac confrence play. 

Quote from: baseballfans4ever on March 22, 2010, 12:01:04 PM
Looking over all the stats.. Schmitt is a four year starter for Wartburg putting up some good numbers!

My guess is that Schmitt is his son.

Quote from: BigPoppa on March 22, 2010, 01:04:47 PM

Quote from: baseballfans4ever on March 22, 2010, 12:01:04 PM
Looking over all the stats.. Schmitt is a four year starter for Wartburg putting up some good numbers!

My guess is that Schmitt is his son.

Ha.. not quite.. just an alumn.. Just missing playing the game.  I wasn't talented enough to play college baseball!

Welcome aboard. Are you a Wartburg fan or another school? Always nice to have more eyes and opinions on here.

I'm also very impressed with Johnson's numbers. Kid has 5 homers already and they haven't even entered conference play! Central is also playing good ball putting up some big offensive stats.
Preseason favorite Coe will take on defending champs Loras this weekend. Should be a good series!

Congrats to Schmitt no no's don't come around often.  Anyone remember other no no's from IIAC pithers  that have happen in recent years?  Schmitt is tuff.....but from what I can see and have been told he is a jeckle and hyde.  He can be real good some days and real bad others.  IIAC teams just hope he shows up bad on their weekend, if he is pitching well he is not going to loose often. I saw that Coe played Cornell last night, (Coe won 13-2) what is that about?  Was this a schedule change? Or do IIAC schools play non conference games against each other?

Welcome to conference play!!!! We are going to find some things out in week one. 

Coe at Loras............Coe picked to win IIAC VS Loras the defending champ.....Last year Coe won 3 of 4 including knocking Loras out of conference tournament.  We will see if Coe is deserving of the votes. Looks like it might be a pitching duel.

Dubuque at Cornell........Who will finish last this year???.....Cornell swept them last year...UD finished last...They have a real rivalry going here...Based on playing at Cornell it might just come down to all the bad hops.

Luther at Simpson.......great match up!!...Simpson has Johnson and Ethell swinging it right now. And Im sure Luther is not happy about their poor showing in the preseason voting.....Luther swept Simpson last year.

Wartburg at Central.......Central is 9-4 off to a good start at the plate but are they ready to sit at the big boy table?...well high hopes has Wartburg coming to town to kick it off....Wartburg has played some tuff teams early and always brings it to conference play.  Central took 2 of 3 last year can they do it again?

Great matchups should be fun to see what happens.

And o by the way.....BV is taking on Augustana (CCIW) , Monmouth (MWC) ,  Illinois College (MWC) ,  and  MacMurray (SLIAC).  Some central region play.  Hopefully they represent the IIAC and come back 4-0.

Quote from: upandin on March 23, 2010, 10:52:13 AM

Dubuque at Cornell........Who will finish last this year???.....Cornell swept them last year...UD finished last...They have a real rivalry going here...Based on playing at Cornell it might just come down to all the bad hops.

Hey, is there still going to be some Cornell alums tailgating and eating some dogs and drinking some brew for this game on friday?  I have an inspection scheduled for just a bit north of there.  I might be able to procrastinate my drive home and make it to that game if there will some people around. 

upandin, we played Coe a few times for non-conference games when I went to Cornell. I think it was just two teams trying to get a game in. The campuses are only 20-25 minutes from each other so it's pretty easy to do that.

doolittledog, there will be some of us there on Saturday. I'm not sure who will be going to the Friday game.

Quote from: CaliRamRL6 on March 24, 2010, 11:19:17 AM
upandin, we played Coe a few times for non-conference games when I went to Cornell. I think it was just two teams trying to get a game in. The campuses are only 20-25 minutes from each other so it's pretty easy to do that.

doolittledog, there will be some of us there on Saturday. I'm not sure who will be going to the Friday game.

Saturday is a no go for me.  Something about celebrating my 10th anniversary with my wife.  She doesn't think spending it in Mt. Vernon watching baseball will do ;D

Nice write-up for Schmitt and his no hitter in the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald today.

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=277388

Predictions for the weekend.......

Wartburg @ Central - this is the most intriguing match-up for me of the first weekend.  Central has been killing the ball offensively.  Wartburg is strong on the mound.  This will be a real litmus test for the fast start of Central and their guys off to a blazing start like Furlong and Lackey.  Wartburg can make a statement with their youth if they can take this series on the road.  I say Central takes two of three because they are home.

Coe @ Loras - these games will be battles.  Coe and Loras have played some very spirited games the last couple of years with ejections, confrontations, and dramatic finishes.  Loras has some revenge to exact on the Kohawks, who took 3 of 4 last year and ended the Duhawks season.  Coe's top three are off to a really nice start and should have the edge on the mound.  Both Loras and Coe got nice midweek non-conference tune-ups and this might end up being the most well played series of the weekend.  I think Coe takes two of the three with experience advantage offensively.

Luther @ Simpson - I am concerned with Luther's starting pitching and their pitching depth in general.  I need to see Schott hit in conference before I will think his start is for real.  He really swang the bat well in the preseason.  Simpson has been a surprise to me with their offense.  Their pitching held their own down south and will give them a nice lift if it continues.  I feel like Luther will struggle, especially until they settle their rotation.  Simpson take 2 of 3.

Dubuque @ Cornell - honestly, this will probably be a tough series to watch.  Both teams are down and probably clearly on the bottom of the conference.  I like the young Midwest-based roster for the Spartans and I think that Cornell is REALLY going to miss Casey Korn's leadership.  Dubuque surprises and takes the series 2-1.

Good weekend of games!  Some surprises.........observations from me, knee-jerk reactions.........

1.  Cody Raisch was apparently not good against Loras.  That is a lot of hits and runs for the big guy in one game.  Interesting that the Duhawks could only manage 6 hits in the double header Saturday. 

2.  I've heard that there was more than one instance of unruly behavior from several Loras participants.  I don't know anything for sure, just word of mouth.  I wasn't there.  Any insight?

3.  Watson is really good!  Now, I think that Central might have been exposed by some great performances, but Brad Watson carved a team up that was hitting the crap out of the ball up to this weekend.

4.  Simpson is the best team in the conference, and have been for a while, at executing a pitching game plan.  No one throws more strikes, more consistently, than the Storm pitchers.  They do not overpower anyone with their arms, but throw three pitches for strikes all the time.  That was a very nice sweep this weekend.

5.  Luther is in trouble.  I know they started slow last year too, but I have major concerns with their pitching and their depth.  I think they will still compete every time out, but I don't see how that staff can make a run at another championship.

6.  I like the youth movement by Wartburg and Dubuque. 

4.  Simpson is the best team in the conference, and have been for a while, at executing a pitching game plan.  No one throws more strikes, more consistently, than the Storm pitchers.  They do not overpower anyone with their arms, but throw three pitches for strikes all the time.  That was a very nice sweep this weekend.

[/quote]
I agree Simpson does a great job of throwing strikes you can look at stats and see that.  They are consistently one of the conferences best at not allowing walks and wild pitches.  If simply throwing strikes was the name of the game, they would be one of the conference best.  Problem is they are also one of the conference worst in Batting average against, K's, runs allowed, Hits and EB hits allowed, . If that is the "game plan"  they are trying to execute?     Maybe they need a new one. 

Even with that any sweep in the IIAC is a good sweep.

This weekend Luther out hit Simpson but couldn't get the big hit. They also made some costly errors.  Bad start for the Norse.

I did not go to the Norse series with Simpson, but starting 0-3 in the league is always going to raise questions no matter what kind of team you return.  I was very concerned/angry last year when Wartburg swept Luther last year early to drop the Norse to 3-3, but the Norse got it going last year to tie for the IIAC title.

The pitching issue does seem bigger to me now than when we were talking about this in the preseason.  Hyland did not throw against Carleton in the Dome when I saw that preseason doubleheader, and given that the Norse had some time off before the trip to Florida there had to be an injury or some other reason why he did not pitch.  That is a real concern.

Hyland was the #3 last year, but he was a very good #3 who went 7-0 with a 3.56 ERA.  Any team would miss the loss of studs Kohls and Todd, but a healthy and mechanically clean Hyland should be one of the better pitchers in the league again this year.  It is different when you are the ace and everyone is hoping you lead the way, but he is capable if healthy.  So far he is 1-1 with an 4.85 ERA, so he can raise his level.

Flaig and Riddle looked solid against Carleton, but those are the only games that I saw in person so far this year.  Flaig had a very good freshman year, but has not been more than solid at any point since then.  Riddle has decent stuff or even above average stuff as far as velocity, but he impresses me more as a hitter who can run the bases.

There is a kid from Edina, MN who looks like he has some talent when I saw him throwing a bullpen session (Danny Smith, 1-1 with a 3.56 ERA) but I would agree on the point that the Norse pitching staff is not as young (talented) or deep as I would have hoped to this point.  I would have thought recruiting a couple stud pitchers would have been easier this year after Kohls and Todd graduated just like it was when Jaeger and Paulsrud graduated in 2005.

The hitting lineup may not be as good as 2004 or 2007, but it should be good enough to be like the 2009 version.  I also want to see Schott produce in league games like he has done in preseason games as he was hitting around .500 with some pop.  In my mind the lineup should be 7-8 deep in legit bats.  Topping and Weber can also provide the pop that Schott has shown so far this year, but perhaps there won't be a slugger like the Simpson kid so far this year or what Schroeder or Jaeger have done for Norse teams in the past.

The pitching is a concern, but I didn't feel that bad about things until Saturday.  This team has won 2 league titles in the past 3 years, so hopefully they can rebound this week.  They are going to have to score more than 9 runs to win a 3-game set.

Quote from: upandin on March 29, 2010, 02:27:55 PM

4.  Simpson is the best team in the conference, and have been for a while, at executing a pitching game plan.  No one throws more strikes, more consistently, than the Storm pitchers.  They do not overpower anyone with their arms, but throw three pitches for strikes all the time.  That was a very nice sweep this weekend.

I agree Simpson does a great job of throwing strikes you can look at stats and see that.  They are consistently one of the conferences best at not allowing walks and wild pitches.  If simply throwing strikes was the name of the game, they would be one of the conference best.  Problem is they are also one of the conference worst in Batting average against, K's, runs allowed, Hits and EB hits allowed, . If that is the "game plan"  they are trying to execute?     Maybe they need a new one. 

Even with that any sweep in the IIAC is a good sweep.

This weekend Luther out hit Simpson but couldn't get the big hit. They also made some costly errors.  Bad start for the Norse.
[/quote]

What Simpson does, and it makes sense with your points, is throw strike and force teams to get three hits to get a run.  You have to be able to string multiple hit innings together to score on them.  With their offense, the can give up single runs at a time and not allow a ton of big innings.   

Maybe you should go look at the conference archives at team pitching before you throw out some of the stuff that you did.

I did look at the archives and I saw Simpson finish 9th in hits allowed 3 out of last 5 years. One of the worst teams in total extra base hits 4 of the last 5 years. In the bottom ½ of the league in strike outs 4 of the last 5 years.  In the bottom ½ of league in ERA 3 out of 5 years.  And in the bottom 3 in the league in Opp BA 3 of last 5 years.   In 2008 and 2006 they were ok but not the top team in any stat outside of BB's.  Like I said if the "game plan" is to not walk people they do a great job of that.  Really what you are saying is that the teams in the league that actually have solid pitching every year (Wartburg, Coe, Luther) have poor coaches that don't have a game plan or don't execute them well.  From my point of view they must be doing something right?

The last word on this ridiculous argument.  IN conference stats from the last 5 years........

Year and finish        ERA     H Allowed     ER Allowed      BB      SO      EB Hits      BAA
2009 (6th place)      4th         8th                5th            2nd     2nd       4th          7th
2008 (2nd Place)     2nd         3rd                2nd           3rd      1st        3rd          2nd
2007 (6th Place)      8th          6th               6th            2nd      7th       6th          8th
2006 (1st Place)      3rd          4th                1st            5th      2nd       1st          5th
2005 (5th place)      2nd         4th                2nd           2nd      1st       2nd         4th

Ben Schott was 4-4 in the first game and Ryan Bahnemann was 3-3 with 4 RBIs in the 2nd game as the Norse won 15-0 and 13-1 over Martin Luther.

The Norse are now 10-6 while Martin Luther is 0-10.

Schott hit 2 HRs and is hitting .500 right now.  Big series with B.V. this weekend!

Dubuque Telegraph-Herald with a bit on Loras...

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=278106

I saw the Duhawks dropped a pair of one-run games to UW-P in some real shootouts (15-14 and 11-10).  Tough that they could not find a way to at least split that.

It is still early for everyone though.

Frontline starting pitching struggled again today for the Norse as B.V. beat Luther 13-9.  Luther had 23 baserunners but were playing from behind almost the whole time.

The defending co-champs are 0-4 now in league play and 10-7 overall.  B.V. is 1-0 and 6-6.

Dubuque Telegraph-Herald story of the Central/Dubuque game...

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=278467

Interesting start so far to the season.  A little disappointed that the talk has slowed on here so much.  Lets try and pick it back up gentlemen!    ;D

Okay, Luther is really struggling through two series.  They are 0-6 and its on their pitching.  7.51 ERA through 6 games in conference is just not going to get it done.  Add 15 errors on top of that and you have a recipe for disaster. 

Coe and Simpson played the best series of the year so far splitting two, one-run ballgames over the weekend and then Coe takes the series on Monday with a 5-2 decision.  Both teams are 4-2.  Coe's defense in the infield has to get better if they want to compete for a championship.  Offensively, Simpson is a 3 man line-up in Rasmussen, Johnson and Ethell.  The rest of the guys are all pretty much role players (but they serve their role pretty well).  For Coe, Schisler is swinging the bat really well right now and Lewis and Baranowski are dominating on the mound.  If Cody Raisch figures it out, this team's top three are going to be REALLY tough!

Wartburg is killing the ball right now.  13 home runs through 6 games is amazing!  9 of those 13 have come in two games.  The Knights have been really hot and cold on the mound as I never would have seen Cornell scoring as much as they did against Watson and company over the weekend.  Pat Grau is definitely the early season favorite for POY.  4 homers already coupled with his .470 batting average is a great start!

Some good match-ups over the next week.
mid-week series: (top 4 battle each other early on at the same time which might give us a little clearer view of where teams are right now)
Wartburg and BV   
Coe and Central
Loras and Luther
Cornell and Simpson

This weekends series:
Central @ Cornell
Coe @ BV - - This one is easily the big one of the weekend!
Loras and Simpson
Wartburg @ UD

Thoughts??

It does look like Luther is struggling but 0-6 is nothing that can't be overcome by two sweeps of Dubuque and Cornell.
Coe and Simpson series was a very good one and you are right that the infield for Coe has to clean it up if they want to win. That team has the bats and arms to win a championship but everyone knows defense is what wins it.

Looking into the series this weekend I see...
Central over Cornell for a sweep of 3
Simpson taking 2 of 3 from Loras
Wartburg sweeping UD....too much firepower

And finally the matchup of the weekend between Coe and BV. I see Coe taking 2 of the games from BV with strong pitching to shut down Pietryk and BV's offense. Schisler has been swinging the bat well and with the middle of that lineup (Schisler, Richmond, Velvick) if they can get enough runs for Lewis/ Baranowski I see them winning two and maybe even getting one if Cody Raisch pitches well. They really need him to start up

Even sweeps over Dubuque and Cornell does not do a lot for Luther, at this point they basically have to sweep the rest of the conference season.

I have been seriously impressed with Wartburg's offense to this point.  I don't know if all of the homeruns are a result of poor pitching/timely hitting or a change in philosophy with the guys that they have now.  Used to be string together hits, steal bases and put pressure on the defense.  Now it would appear that they can sit back and wait for that big inning.

Wartubrg's pitching is still a concern for me.  Shut down a offensively good Central team, then give up a whole lot of runs against Cornell. Should be interesting to see how the Wartbug starters do once they start facing some of the tougher lineups in the conference.

Luther finally got the first conference of 2010 with a 4-1 win over fellow 2009 co-champ Loras.  Cody Hyland had his best statistical game of the year giving up 1 run over 8 innings, and freshman Danny Smith picked up the save.

This does not solve the pitching issues in league play, but it gives some hope that the Norse could still play their way out of dead last.

I thought there had to be a good reason Smith did not start the 2nd game against St. Mary's on Monday (the Norse lost that game to split the doubleheader), but maybe he is going to be the bullpen stopper (or the closest thing to it).

Mark Weber is having a nice year in the Norse lineup, but the offense has not been the overall issue this year.

Two years ago Luther was 3-5 to start conference play, but that year the pitching was not the issue to a bad start.

For those that have been impressed with the Wartburg offense, and especially those who follow the Knights, why did the team struggle both on offense and defense for decent chunks of the preseason?  Was it just youth/experience issues?  It seems like this is the 3rd year in a row that they have not had been the Wartburg of the Holst era during the preseason.

Coe-B.V. should be a fun series to take in.

The Beavers have been scoring runs pretty well in league play as well as they beat Wartburg yesterday, 11-4.

Looked like an exciting game in Cedar Rapids yesterday.  Coe beats Central 4-3.  Definitely a pitcher's duel though.  9 total hits and 6 of the 7 runs coming in the last 2 and a half innings.  Schisler hits a game winning homerun.  A complete no doubter from what I was told.  Cody Raisch pitched a lot better giving up one run in 7.1.  Corey Eisenman matched him though only giving up 2 earned runs in 7 innings. 

So for the big series of the weekend, it look like we won't see Wuebker from BV or C. Raisch from Coe.   Maybe an offensive series?

To Floyd:

I am not sure what was/is going on with them.  Could be that they did not see much practice time in the preseason, but you would certainly hope that was not an issue with the new Rec Center.

My guess is that it has a lot to do with experience/youth.  It seems as though they are still searching for their identity; are they a power team, are they a small-ball team, etc.?

The fact still remains that their offense won't matter much if they continue to give up double digit runs to everyone.  I am afraid to even go look at what their team ERA is at this point.  When I was at Wartburg our team ERA was a source of pride for us on the pitching staff and we wanted to make sure we were on top of the conference (though did not always happen). 

Quote from: youcantseemestill on April 09, 2010, 08:27:31 AM
Looked like an exciting game in Cedar Rapids yesterday.  Coe beats Central 4-3.  Definitely a pitcher's duel though.  9 total hits and 6 of the 7 runs coming in the last 2 and a half innings.  Schisler hits a game winning homerun.  A complete no doubter from what I was told.  Cody Raisch pitched a lot better giving up one run in 7.1.  Corey Eisenman matched him though only giving up 2 earned runs in 7 innings. 

So for the big series of the weekend, it look like we won't see Wuebker from BV or C. Raisch from Coe.   Maybe an offensive series?

I wasn't as sure about Central going into the season as some others, but they have been solid to this point in the season.  They may not have the conference record right now that they had from 2004-2006, but they seem to be playing like a team near that level.  It is still a little hard to tell what to think of them as the league opponents have been very mixed.  A couple of the past Central teams had very good offensive numbers though.

I have not seen anything of Coe yet, but it looks like they are starting to play like the team that many predicted in the preseason.  Makes that B.V. series even more fun this weekend in that they both took care of business during the week.

Quote from: wartburgalum on April 09, 2010, 11:44:42 AM
To Floyd:

I am not sure what was/is going on with them.  Could be that they did not see much practice time in the preseason, but you would certainly hope that was not an issue with the new Rec Center.

My guess is that it has a lot to do with experience/youth.  It seems as though they are still searching for their identity; are they a power team, are they a small-ball team, etc.?

The fact still remains that their offense won't matter much if they continue to give up double digit runs to everyone.  I am afraid to even go look at what their team ERA is at this point.  When I was at Wartburg our team ERA was a source of pride for us on the pitching staff and we wanted to make sure we were on top of the conference (though did not always happen).  

In the new "W" Center does the Baseball team practice on a fake grass/turf surface that perhaps football also uses?  I have no idea what great perks there are for the time the teams actually practice for baseball or football.  Is it a big upgrade over the old Center for sports like baseball, or is it just the overall size of the space/practice time issues?  I used to talk to old Wartburg players quite often, but not so much in the last couple of years.

I never had any issues with Luther practice or any other facilities other than the sharing time during the winter.  In reality I think the sharing stuff gets overblown during recruiting as practicing at staggered times during the winter did not hinder my skill development.  Good facilities and a good campus are not supposed to mean as much as the people you work with, but they do matter.

Wartburg seemed to reload much better for years under Holst than they have been lately.  The results are still great, but I didn't know if there some things with the coaching staff, player retention, or recruiting that have changed in recent years compared to some of the truly dominant seasons.  I don't want to make too much of it as the Knights might be back to dominating both league and non-league teams next year.

Looks like the B.V. bats are still going pretty good as they beat Coe tonight, 17-12.  Lots of fun knowing that you are part of a lineup like the one in Storm Lake that has a pretty good chance of hitting double digits in runs every time you play a league 9-inning game!

The Coe pitching should fare better in the doubleheader format.

It also looks like Simpson beat Loras, 20-15! :o  Maybe all the hitters look ahead to the Friday 9-inning games!  The Storm are now 6-2 going into tomorrow.

Am I in the minority that thinks 20-15 games are an abomination?  I like offense, but there has to be a point where pitching and defense comes into play.  How much difference would getting rid of aluminum bats make in bringing down scores? 

20-15 games are usually a little high for most fans, but the bigger issue to me is how well the game was played and whether lots of walks and errors led to the high score (or crazy wind conditions).

I don't mind a high scoring game when both teams are really hitting the ball at a high level and are earning the runs.

B.V. swept the series today from Coe to move to 7-0 in the league.  Coe dropped to 5-5 with the losses.

The Beavers get Wartburg (7-2 in the league as I type) this week for another huge doubleheader.  B.V. won the opener against the Knights already this past week and needs to just split the doubleheader to win the series.

Congrats B.V.

To Floyd:

Sorry it took so long to get back to you.  I am not sure what type of surface they practice on now.  I do know however the new center is a huge upgrade over the old one.  The amount of space is probably the biggest difference as well as being able to have more than one team in there practicing at the same time (not a huge deal, but it sure beats practicing from 9pm-midnight).

I wish I knew what was going on with Wartburg's recruiting/reloading situation.  When I was there (2003-2006) it seemed as if there was never a drop off in talent level. Now it seems to be fluctuating a bit.  Could be that everyone is just catching up to the Knights.  But it does seem to me that Wartburg would benefit from expanding their recruiting area a bit, maybe shoot for some CIML guys versus sticking to the Northeast/Eastern part of the state (I may be a bit biased as I am from Central Iowa).  Just some thoughts tho.

Thanks!

One of my high school teammates played baseball at Simpson and used to say the opposite in that he thought the Storm recruited the CIML well but needed to get outside of Central Iowa.

Another big day of doubleheaders with B.V.-Wartburg, Coe-Central, etc.

Luther worked its way from last to 6th in the standings in a week as they swept the 3-game set from Loras today with a pair of 3-2 wins.  The Norse are now 14-10 and 3-6 in the IIAC going into the Central series this weekend.  Cody Hyland moved to 3-2 with a 3.09 ERA with the complete game win in game 1 today.  Can the Norse pitching staff throw this well against someone in the league not named Loras?

In bigger news, B.V. won the Wartburg series but the Knights kept their hopes alive as the teams split today, 11-2 for B.V. and 3-2 in 10 innings for the Knights.  B.V. is now 8-1 in the league while Wartburg and Simpson are 9-3 and 8-3.

B.V. and Simpson go at it this weekend.  The Beavers after this weekend will have played Luther, Coe, Wartburg, and Simpson.  It doesn't mean they role over everyone the rest of the way, but they will have played the toughest schedule so far.

Floyd, sounds like a case of "the grass is always greener."  I would just like to see Wartburg expand their recruiting to some of the bigger schools around the state.  Wartburg has always lived off of small school talent (nothing wrong with that) but while I was there, the majority of the starters/all-conference guys came from 4A/3A schools (Davenport, Mason City, Burlington, Des Moines, etc.).

B.V. is looking like the have a pretty good stranglehold on the conference at this point, especially if they make it through this weekend.  The Knights are going to have to get a few sweeps and hope that Simpson and most likely Loras can help them out.  Gotta love this time of year with seeing how the conference season is shaping up.

To me, it seems like the race is for second place.  BVU is really good offensively.  After seeing them knock around Coe's pitching, and then hit the crap out of the ball in two of the three games against Wartburg, I have no doubts that they will finish this season by winning the conference by a 3 game margin at least.  The battle is for second and then bye in the tourney.  I think Wartburg, Simpson, Central and Coe all have shots.  I really feel like 7 or 8 losses will take second place.  Wartburg has taken 2 of 3 from Central, Coe has taken 2 of 3 from Central and Simpson.  The Knights have Simpson, Luther, Loras, and Coe.  The Kohawks have Wartburg, Luther, Cornell and Dubuque. 

The Beavers are really tough.   A couple of notes though:
1.  They are not built to make a deep run in the tourneys they get into with their lack of depth on the mound. 
2.  They are the best defensive team that I have seen so far this year without a doubt.  Their defense has the ability to make up for their average pitching.
3.  They are the best all-around offensive team that I have seen in the conference for the past decade.  They are built to win this year, and they are.
4.  Their home field, is a joke.  After seeing it for the first time this year, I came away with nothing good to say about it.  The turf is nice on the infield, but the mound is an absolute travesty to baseball.  Also, the lights are stupid.  They are way too low and way to weak.  Finally, the outfield played like concrete with holes in it. 

How bad are UD and Cornell?  They are playing a huge roll in shaping this conference race due to their poor play.  Not only are they affecting the standings but the individuals and teams who have faced them are racking up statistics.  Why are they sooooo bad, does anyone know?   This whole race might just come down to if someone slips up and looses to one of these two teams.    Central and Wartburg are already 6-0 in those games.  Simpson is 3-0.  If you look at the conference standings that is #2(wartburg), #3(simpson), and #4(central). Coe, Luther, and Loras have to hold serve to stay in it.

Sigh, UD is still bringing up the rear in baseball and softball.  UD has improved in football, mens and womens soccer, mens and womens basketball.  Hopefully baseball and softball are next on their lists for making improvements. 

Quote from: upandin on April 15, 2010, 10:14:48 AM
How bad are UD and Cornell?  They are playing a huge roll in shaping this conference race due to their poor play.  Not only are they affecting the standings but the individuals and teams who have faced them are racking up statistics.  Why are they sooooo bad, does anyone know?   This whole race might just come down to if someone slips up and looses to one of these two teams.    Central and Wartburg are already 6-0 in those games.  Simpson is 3-0.  If you look at the conference standings that is #2(wartburg), #3(simpson), and #4(central). Coe, Luther, and Loras have to hold serve to stay in it.

upandin......you're a fart licker!  That's like saying one American league team is at a disadvantage because they play the Kansas City Royals in August instead of April.  It doesn't matter.....everybody plays everybody you f'ing idiot!

I am appreciative of the fact that Central had a live feed on the computer of the Norse loss down in Pella today, but that was an ugly game IMO.  The Norse lost 14-12 in a game in which from a small (and non-detailed) video feed it appeared as if I was watching bad defense, really bad pitching, and some good hitting on a windy day.

Luther was up 9-6 until they gave up 8 runs in the 7th inning.  Central walked 10 times :-[

It is hard to watch when an offense scores a couple runs and the pitching just blows it without even challenging the Dutch hitters. 

I know there are a bunch of teams who seem to struggle to pitch in the 9-inning games, but I was not really prepared for the huge falloff from last year to this year.

The good news for the Norse is that Hyland goes tomorrow, but Luther has not won a series when they have lost the first game.

1B Ben Schott is now hitting .451 on the year with 10 doubles, 5 HRs, and 27 RBIs on the year.  The Norse have to recruit much better this offseason as they have some big seniors to replace even though the team is only 14-11 and 3-7.

Congrats to the Dutch for moving to 9-4 and putting themselves in a position to win another series.

Quote from: BigToughGuy on April 16, 2010, 01:32:21 PM

Quote from: upandin on April 15, 2010, 10:14:48 AM
How bad are UD and Cornell?  They are playing a huge roll in shaping this conference race due to their poor play.  Not only are they affecting the standings but the individuals and teams who have faced them are racking up statistics.  Why are they sooooo bad, does anyone know?   This whole race might just come down to if someone slips up and looses to one of these two teams.    Central and Wartburg are already 6-0 in those games.  Simpson is 3-0.  If you look at the conference standings that is #2(wartburg), #3(simpson), and #4(central). Coe, Luther, and Loras have to hold serve to stay in it.

upandin......you're a fart licker!  That's like saying one American league team is at a disadvantage because they play the Kansas City Royals in August instead of April.  It doesn't matter.....everybody plays everybody you f'ing idiot!

Tough Guy..... what can I say your girl has a little gas every once in awhile. But she goes crazy for that ship.   Being that you are a STL guy you should know that MLB does not have a balanced schedule.  The Cardinals don't play the same schedule as the Cubs. So that analogy is crap.  Also coming from the SLIAC area you should be familiar with how much bad teams effect conference play.  But then again when 8 of the 9 teams suck how can one tell.   You tell Loras and Coe that playing Cornell and UD doesn't help.  They both won by run rule Friday.  Loras had 13 runs on 16 hits, while Coe had 24 runs on 23 hits.  My point exactly!!!   I just might be a "f'ing idiot", but looks as though you don't know what the "f" your talking about. 

Quote from: upandin on April 17, 2010, 02:11:36 AM

Quote from: BigToughGuy on April 16, 2010, 01:32:21 PM

Quote from: upandin on April 15, 2010, 10:14:48 AM
How bad are UD and Cornell?  They are playing a huge roll in shaping this conference race due to their poor play.  Not only are they affecting the standings but the individuals and teams who have faced them are racking up statistics.  Why are they sooooo bad, does anyone know?   This whole race might just come down to if someone slips up and looses to one of these two teams.    Central and Wartburg are already 6-0 in those games.  Simpson is 3-0.  If you look at the conference standings that is #2(wartburg), #3(simpson), and #4(central). Coe, Luther, and Loras have to hold serve to stay in it.

upandin......you're a fart licker!  That's like saying one American league team is at a disadvantage because they play the Kansas City Royals in August instead of April.  It doesn't matter.....everybody plays everybody you f'ing idiot!

Tough Guy..... what can I say your girl has a little gas every once in awhile. But she goes crazy for that ship.   Being that you are a STL guy you should know that MLB does not have a balanced schedule.  The Cardinals don't play the same schedule as the Cubs. So that analogy is crap.  Also coming from the SLIAC area you should be familiar with how much bad teams effect conference play.  But then again when 8 of the 9 teams suck how can one tell.   You tell Loras and Coe that playing Cornell and UD doesn't help.  They both won by run rule Friday.  Loras had 13 runs on 16 hits, while Coe had 24 runs on 23 hits.  My point exactly!!!   I just might be a "f'ing idiot", but looks as though you don't know what the "f" your talking about. 

Tell me which teams in the IIAC DO NOT get to play against Cornell and Dubuque this year.

Every team plays the exact same schedule in the Iowa Conference.  Every team plays each other member of the conference in a three game series.  Now, you could argue that there is advantage to playing the lower end teams early or maybe playing them later is better.  Bottom line is, you have to win those games that you are supposed to win.  Its that way in any sport.  The Yankees have to beat up on the Orioles every time they play them or the Red Sox or Rays might take advantage. 

Dubuque is bad......very bad.  Cornell is not much better, but I definitely think that Cornell is the better team based on seeing them both this year.  Dubuque cannot hit at all and their defense is awful.  I like some of their pitchers a little bit, but they have a long way to go to be competitive. 

Well hopefully every team plays all the teams in the conference, but that doesn't always happen, due to weather.  My point was not that the in-conference schedules were not balanced.  What I said was: IF teams want to stay in the race, they absolutely have to win the games vs the poor teams.  If UD or Cornell win IIAC games they will be playing a huge spoiler roll.  To act like it doesn't play such a roll is just stupid.

Last year one weekend of weather changed the conference standings.  Luther who tied for 1st didn't get to play Cornell in 2 games.  Coe who was finished 1 game out of a share of the conference championship didn't get to play Dubuque in 2 games.  Central and Loras didn't play 2 of their 3 scheduled games that resulted in Loras sharing the title with Luther, and Central being 1 game out to the conference tournament. (By the way, Central beat Loras 9-2 in the one game they played.)  Better yet to prove my point, Loras wins the IIAC championship outright last year if they don't blow a 9th inning, 17-8 lead to CORNELL, on the last day of the season. 

My point is the IIAC is a dogfight between 7 of the 9 teams every year.  1 win, 1 loss, or 1 game not played against UD or Cornell, can and has decided this conference champion. 

So ToughGuy before you call anyone an "f'in idiot" and a "fart licker", know what the hell you're talking about.  In this case, you obviously don't know a "f'in" thing.

Quote from: upandin on April 19, 2010, 12:52:32 PM
Well hopefully every team plays all the teams in the conference, but that doesn't always happen, due to weather.  My point was not that the in-conference schedules were not balanced.  What I said was: IF teams want to stay in the race, they absolutely have to win the games vs the poor teams.  If UD or Cornell win IIAC games they will be playing a huge spoiler roll.  To act like it doesn't play such a roll is just stupid.

Last year one weekend of weather changed the conference standings.  Luther who tied for 1st didn't get to play Cornell in 2 games.  Coe who was finished 1 game out of a share of the conference championship didn't get to play Dubuque in 2 games.  Central and Loras didn't play 2 of their 3 scheduled games that resulted in Loras sharing the title with Luther, and Central being 1 game out to the conference tournament. (By the way, Central beat Loras 9-2 in the one game they played.)  Better yet to prove my point, Loras wins the IIAC championship outright last year if they don't blow a 9th inning, 17-8 lead to CORNELL, on the last day of the season.  

My point is the IIAC is a dogfight between 7 of the 9 teams every year.  1 win, 1 loss, or 1 game not played against UD or Cornell, can and has decided this conference champion.  

So ToughGuy before you call anyone an "f'in idiot" and a "fart licker", know what the hell you're talking about.  In this case, you obviously don't know a "f'in" thing.

Haha.....he said "fart licker".  Sounds to me like the conference bylaws are f-ucked up.  

Not to pile on the Spartans and Rams after the conversation above, but Luther today finished the sweep of Dubuque this weekend, 9-4.  The Norse are now 18-13 on the season and 6-9 in the Iowa Conference.  They are tied with Loras for 6th.

Ben Schott hit three HRs this weekend to tie the modern (post-1960, it seems) record for HRs in a Luther season with 9.  He is now tied with two stud hitters from recent seasons (John Jaeger in 2005, Kyle Schroeder in 2007) for the record.  Why people can't look back and put stats together from the 1920s bugs me, but congrats to Ben for putting his name on the record.

Schott is hitting .486 on the year with the 9 HRs, 12 2Bs, 2 3Bs, and 37 RBIs.  He has had a good career in Decorah but is having a big senior year to this point.

Luther gets Wartburg and Cornell this week.  Both series may depend on who wins the first game as Luther has either swept or been swept in each conference series so far this year.  That is bizarre to me, but I guess the Norse are swimming upstream on the mound other than when Hyland is pitching.

Congrats to Loras for taking one from B.V. today.  That made things more interesting for the conference title (and the race for 6th).

With Hyland on the mound, the Norse can still play some ball as they beat Wartburg today in game 1 of the doubleheader, 3-1.  The win moved them to 19-13 overall and 7-9 in the IIAC.

However, it is already 5-1 in the 2nd inning in favor of Wartburg in game 2.  Time for the Norse Defense and Pitching to step up without Hyland on the mound.

Ben Schott drove in a run in game 1 and hit a HR in game 2 already.  That is 10 HRs on the year for Ben.  He hit the bomb to tie the game at 1-1 going in the 2nd, but the pitching couldn't keep the momentum going.

Coe and Wartburg played shootouts and a low scoring game this weekend.  I want to see if the Norse can mix it up in a shootout after winning the low scoring game.

Since UD doesn't win all that often I thought I would put a link up.

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=280986

The Spartans get their 2nd conference win of the season over cross town rival Loras 7-3

Congratulations to BV for winning the 2010 regular season title. ( with UD and Cornell left to play)  Looks like that all important #2 seed will come down to Wartburg or Central.  Wartburg has the tie breaker winning 2 of 3 over Central.  As most IIAC followers know, being a #1 or #2 in the tournament is a huge advantage.  Even more so this year when nobody in the IIAC has more than 3, and some teams 2, legitimate starters.  That said all 6 of the top teams have at least one shut down starter.  Could be a crazy IIAC tournament. 

Congrats to UD for winning a game outside the Cornell series.  Its going to be a battle for last years Co-Champs to get that # 6 seed.  Like I once said.....1 win, 1 loss, or one no-play, with UD or Cornell could make the difference.  That just might be the case for Loras getting in the tournament or not. 

As a former Wartburg player it is strange to see BV or anybody else claiming the regular season championship.  When I was there it was not only our goal, but it was just expected that we would find a way to win the thing.  That said, Congrats to BV and lets hope that whomever goes on to represent the IIAC (hopefully Wartburg) in the regional tourny, will do us all proud.  Can't wait to see how the conference tourny plays out, lets all pray for bright blue skies and temps in the 70's.

As a former Luther player from the mid-1990s it was bizarre to see Wartburg go on the long run they did after I finished up. :)  I knew a lot of the Knight players and played summer ball with a bunch of them, but they seemed a long ways away from going on a great run.

My IIAC Baseball world in 1995 was seeing Wartburg finish dead last (by far), Coach Holst at Loras, and the Norse being tied for 3rd with Simpson looking up at Upper Iowa in the standings that year.  A lot changed in the Iowa Conference in the years right after that.  Oh, and Billy Penn was an upper division baseball school that was a bottom feeder in almost every other sport.

They were good baseball schools at the end of their time in the league, but I still don't miss Upper Iowa or Billy Penn except perhaps in a few sports for Upper Iowa.  The IIAC is more consistently deeper today as a league.  I still have a bunch of Billy Penn and Upper Iowa stories though!

I played William Penn in the 1993 Central Regional! They were a great team, but not nearly as good as the Upper Iowa team we beat to go to the series in 1994. Their shortstop/pitcher (David Schrank?) was the real deal. In fact, I think most of that team was literally from Miami.

I hear ya Floyd, but you are talking 15+ years ago.  Just 5 years ago (man time flies) I was pitching in Appleton for the Knights.  I suppose all good things (if you are a Wartburg fan) must come to an end. 

I still expect them to get back to their dominant ways though, maybe not to the extent of 11 in a row. 

You are right though, the IIAC is a pretty balance conference (with the exception of UD and Cornell) and it definitely makes for an exciting season.

Quote from: wartburgalum on April 30, 2010, 02:36:53 PM
I hear ya Floyd, but you are talking 15+ years ago.  Just 5 years ago (man time flies) I was pitching in Appleton for the Knights.  I suppose all good things (if you are a Wartburg fan) must come to an end.  

I still expect them to get back to their dominant ways though, maybe not to the extent of 11 in a row.  

You are right though, the IIAC is a pretty balance conference (with the exception of UD and Cornell) and it definitely makes for an exciting season.

Cornell has had a tough go of it in many sports like I remember from the days of Upper Iowa and Billy Penn, but they are a more respected member of the conference in many ways (including the overall athletic department).  Besides didn't the Rams almost win the league over Wartburg earlier this decade in baseball when Reasland was coaching?

Upper Iowa and Penn both were schools that it felt like had huge financial and other campus/town disadvantages compared to other IIAC schools.  Both schools were good in baseball in part from bringing players in from warmer climate areas and not maybe as much Midwest recruiting.  

Upper Iowa and Penn sometimes gave the vibe that they didn't even want to field a team in some sports.

Quote from: BigPoppa on April 30, 2010, 02:26:13 PM
I played William Penn in the 1993 Central Regional! They were a great team, but not nearly as good as the Upper Iowa team we beat to go to the series in 1994. Their shortstop/pitcher (David Schrank?) was the real deal. In fact, I think most of that team was literally from Miami.

It seems like William Penn had a great team one year in the early 1990s that dominated both in the league and outside the league, but I remember a Des Moines Register article on how the senior California kids on the team left and went back home after graduation ceremonies instead of playing in NCAA Regionals.

I thought that was the craziest thing I had ever heard as you know the main reason guys came across the country to go to school on that campus was to play ball.  To have a great team and play in regionals should have been the high point of the season.  Instead they got destroyed.

Maybe they were too used to it as they had 5 outright or shared IIAC regular season league titles between 1986-1992.

Floyd, you can probably speak more to Upper Iowa and Will Penn.  I believe I only played against UI once as a freshmen. 

Luther showed that game 1 of each IIAC series still means a ton to how they will do as they beat Wartburg today to win the series, 14-4.  Cody Hyland got the win to move to 7-3 and a 2.87 ERA on the season.  Ben Schott drove in 6 RBIs today and now has 49 on the season (to with 10 HRs, 15 2Bs, and a .472 batting average).

The Norse are now 23-14 on the year and 11-10 in the Iowa Conference going into the last series of the year against Coe.

In IIAC series opening games for the Norse:

Simpson (L) - lost the series 0-3
B.V. (L) - lost the series 0-3
Loras (W) - won the series 3-0
Central (L) - lost the series 0-3
Dubuque (W) - won the series 3-0
Wartburg (W) - won the series 2-1
Cornell (W) - won the series 3-0
Coe ??

Congrats to B.V. on winning the Iowa Conference for the first time since 1981.  They lost to Central today, 5-4, but won at least a share of the league title since Luther beat Wartburg.

B.V. plays Cornell this weekend, so chances are good that they will not share the title with anyone.

The Beavers have now won 15 IIAC titles and are right at the top of the list with Wartburg and Luther for titles won all-time.

Quote from: youcantseemestill on April 15, 2010, 08:21:45 AM
To me, it seems like the race is for second place.  BVU is really good offensively.  After seeing them knock around Coe's pitching, and then hit the crap out of the ball in two of the three games against Wartburg, I have no doubts that they will finish this season by winning the conference by a 3 game margin at least.  The battle is for second and then bye in the tourney.  I think Wartburg, Simpson, Central and Coe all have shots.  I really feel like 7 or 8 losses will take second place.  Wartburg has taken 2 of 3 from Central, Coe has taken 2 of 3 from Central and Simpson.  The Knights have Simpson, Luther, Loras, and Coe.  The Kohawks have Wartburg, Luther, Cornell and Dubuque. 

The Beavers are really tough.   A couple of notes though:
1.  They are not built to make a deep run in the tourneys they get into with their lack of depth on the mound. 
2.  They are the best defensive team that I have seen so far this year without a doubt.  Their defense has the ability to make up for their average pitching.
3.  They are the best all-around offensive team that I have seen in the conference for the past decade.  They are built to win this year, and they are.
4.  Their home field, is a joke.  After seeing it for the first time this year, I came away with nothing good to say about it.  The turf is nice on the infield, but the mound is an absolute travesty to baseball.  Also, the lights are stupid.  They are way too low and way to weak.  Finally, the outfield played like concrete with holes in it. 

This still looks pretty accurate on B.V. a few weeks later!

Quote from: doolittledog on April 28, 2010, 06:52:51 PM
Since UD doesn't win all that often I thought I would put a link up.

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=280986

The Spartans get their 2nd conference win of the season over cross town rival Loras 7-3

Dubuque split with Loras last night to win the season series with the rival Duhawks.  Congrats to the Spartans for moving out of last place and the series win.

The Spartans fared better than Cornell did last night in losing 19-6 to Coe.  The Rams also lost last week in in a doubleheader against the rivals from Cedar Rapids, 7-0 and 7-0.

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on May 06, 2010, 02:24:25 PM

Quote from: youcantseemestill on April 15, 2010, 08:21:45 AM
To me, it seems like the race is for second place.  BVU is really good offensively.  After seeing them knock around Coe's pitching, and then hit the crap out of the ball in two of the three games against Wartburg, I have no doubts that they will finish this season by winning the conference by a 3 game margin at least.  The battle is for second and then bye in the tourney.  I think Wartburg, Simpson, Central and Coe all have shots.  I really feel like 7 or 8 losses will take second place.  Wartburg has taken 2 of 3 from Central, Coe has taken 2 of 3 from Central and Simpson.  The Knights have Simpson, Luther, Loras, and Coe.  The Kohawks have Wartburg, Luther, Cornell and Dubuque. 

The Beavers are really tough.   A couple of notes though:
1.  They are not built to make a deep run in the tourneys they get into with their lack of depth on the mound. 
2.  They are the best defensive team that I have seen so far this year without a doubt.  Their defense has the ability to make up for their average pitching.
3.  They are the best all-around offensive team that I have seen in the conference for the past decade.  They are built to win this year, and they are.
4.  Their home field, is a joke.  After seeing it for the first time this year, I came away with nothing good to say about it.  The turf is nice on the infield, but the mound is an absolute travesty to baseball.  Also, the lights are stupid.  They are way too low and way to weak.  Finally, the outfield played like concrete with holes in it. 

This still looks pretty accurate on B.V. a few weeks later!

Haha thanks!  It will be interesting this weekend for Coe and Luther.  Coe controls its own destiny for 3rd place.  If they sweep, its theirs. Also, Coe has an outside shot at the 2 seed still.  If Loras, who has a lot to play for, can take two from Watburg, and Coe sweeps, 2nd goes to the Kohawks.   Luther can move all the way to the 3rd spot as well.  Luther could also fall out of the tourney and watch Loras pass them.  Central, being done, should be rooting hard for Luther and Loras to win.  Loras needs to win two from Wartburg and Luther one from Coe to give the Dutch 2nd place.  Here is my prediction for the weekend........

- BVU sweeps Cornell - duh!  Cornell is maybe the worst team I have seen in this conference.  BVU finishes their impressive conference season, only to see their regional ranking slip due to losing 75 games in the SoS department. 
- Wartburg wins 2 of 3 from Loras to secure the two seed.  Loras, last year's co-champs miss the tourney.
- Simpson sweeps UD.  Dubuque has battled this year, but they are still not very good. 
- Coe takes 2 of 3 from Luther.  If this series was in Decorah, I'd probably switch my picks, but Coe has been tough at home this year and I don't think Hyland will throw game one after pitching Wednesday.  Without Hyland, Luther doesn't beat Coe which mean they lose the series.......right Floyd?  ;)

Final Predicted standings:
Buena Vista - -  20-4
Wartburg    - -  16-8
Cental        - -  15-8
Coe            - -  15-9
Simpson     - -  14-9
Luther        - -  12-12
Loras         - -  10-14
Dubuque    - -  3-21
Cornell       - -  2-22

How about another one of those Friday rains so that the 9-inning game is moved to Sunday? ;D

Luther has done well in those situations as Hyland then leads off for the Norse and wins game 1.

If you are the Norse do you go with Riddle in game 1 on Friday even though most of his success has been against weaker teams in 7-inning games?  Or do you hope to outscore Coe on Friday with staff by committee and have Riddle go after Hyland for a strong doubleheader on Saturday?

Coe has more pitching (2 good starters) and should win the series, but I guess it will come down to who wins game 1. :)  Both teams have good offensive numbers, but at least three Norse pitchers need to perform this weekend.

Besides the game 1 thing in league play for Luther, the other issue is how often can Hyland take the mound?

Luther has won 4 IIAC series (three by 3-0), but Hyland both started and won two midweek games against both Wartburg and Loras.  Hyland only started once and won in weekend sweeps against Cornell and Dubuque, but Coe is a little better than the 8th and 9th place teams in the league.

I remember a pitcher from Billy Penn throwing two great complete game performances in the IIAC tourney back in 1995 over two days, but that sort of thing doesn't happen often.  Did Wartburg have a pitcher do that last year in the conference tourney?

Quote from: youcantseemestill on May 06, 2010, 04:31:52 PM

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on May 06, 2010, 02:24:25 PM

Quote from: youcantseemestill on April 15, 2010, 08:21:45 AM
To me, it seems like the race is for second place.  BVU is really good offensively.  After seeing them knock around Coe's pitching, and then hit the crap out of the ball in two of the three games against Wartburg, I have no doubts that they will finish this season by winning the conference by a 3 game margin at least.  The battle is for second and then bye in the tourney.  I think Wartburg, Simpson, Central and Coe all have shots.  I really feel like 7 or 8 losses will take second place.  Wartburg has taken 2 of 3 from Central, Coe has taken 2 of 3 from Central and Simpson.  The Knights have Simpson, Luther, Loras, and Coe.  The Kohawks have Wartburg, Luther, Cornell and Dubuque. 

The Beavers are really tough.   A couple of notes though:
1.  They are not built to make a deep run in the tourneys they get into with their lack of depth on the mound. 
2.  They are the best defensive team that I have seen so far this year without a doubt.  Their defense has the ability to make up for their average pitching.
3.  They are the best all-around offensive team that I have seen in the conference for the past decade.  They are built to win this year, and they are.
4.  Their home field, is a joke.  After seeing it for the first time this year, I came away with nothing good to say about it.  The turf is nice on the infield, but the mound is an absolute travesty to baseball.  Also, the lights are stupid.  They are way too low and way to weak.  Finally, the outfield played like concrete with holes in it. 

This still looks pretty accurate on B.V. a few weeks later!

Haha thanks!  It will be interesting this weekend for Coe and Luther.  Coe controls its own destiny for 3rd place.  If they sweep, its theirs. Also, Coe has an outside shot at the 2 seed still.  If Loras, who has a lot to play for, can take two from Watburg, and Coe sweeps, 2nd goes to the Kohawks.   Luther can move all the way to the 3rd spot as well.  Luther could also fall out of the tourney and watch Loras pass them.  Central, being done, should be rooting hard for Luther and Loras to win.  Loras needs to win two from Wartburg and Luther one from Coe to give the Dutch 2nd place.  Here is my prediction for the weekend........

- BVU sweeps Cornell - duh!  Cornell is maybe the worst team I have seen in this conference.  BVU finishes their impressive conference season, only to see their regional ranking slip due to losing 75 games in the SoS department. 
- Wartburg wins 2 of 3 from Loras to secure the two seed.  Loras, last year's co-champs miss the tourney.
- Simpson sweeps UD.  Dubuque has battled this year, but they are still not very good. 
- Coe takes 2 of 3 from Luther.  If this series was in Decorah, I'd probably switch my picks, but Coe has been tough at home this year and I don't think Hyland will throw game one after pitching Wednesday.  Without Hyland, Luther doesn't beat Coe which mean they lose the series.......right Floyd?  ;)

Final Predicted standings:
Buena Vista - -  20-4
Wartburg    - -  16-8
Cental        - -  15-8
Coe            - -  15-9
Simpson     - -  14-9
Luther        - -  12-12
Loras         - -  10-14
Dubuque    - -  3-21
Cornell       - -  2-22

You could play Cornell 10 times and its in-region record would only count once when computing OWP and OOWP. Each opponent's record (sans results against the team for which you're computing) is averaged once, not each opponent times the number of games played.

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on May 06, 2010, 02:31:10 PM

Dubuque split with Loras last night to win the season series with the rival Duhawks.  Congrats to the Spartans for moving out of last place and the series win.

The Spartans fared better than Cornell did last night in losing 19-6 to Coe.  The Rams also lost last week in in a doubleheader against the rivals from Cedar Rapids, 7-0 and 7-0.

Here's a story from the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald.

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=281853

Dubuque has had games this year where they were starting 8 freshmen.  youcan'tseemestill mentioned earlier that Dubuque is bad, but has battled.  I think that speaks well for the future for UD.  It would have been easy for the UD kids to give up on this season but they continue to try hard.  Hopefully...at least for me...Dubuque will be a good team in a couple of years.

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on May 07, 2010, 01:03:09 AM
Besides the game 1 thing in league play for Luther, the other issue is how often can Hyland take the mound?

Luther has won 4 IIAC series (three by 3-0), but Hyland both started and won two midweek games against both Wartburg and Loras.  Hyland only started once and won in weekend sweeps against Cornell and Dubuque, but Coe is a little better than the 8th and 9th place teams in the league.

I remember a pitcher from Billy Penn throwing two great complete game performances in the IIAC tourney back in 1995 over two days, but that sort of thing doesn't happen often.  Did Wartburg have a pitcher do that last year in the conference tourney?

Coe won 19-8 today so based on this season that doesn't bode well for tomorrow.

Quote from: youcantseemestill on May 06, 2010, 04:31:52 PM

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on May 06, 2010, 02:24:25 PM

Quote from: youcantseemestill on April 15, 2010, 08:21:45 AM
To me, it seems like the race is for second place.  BVU is really good offensively.  After seeing them knock around Coe's pitching, and then hit the crap out of the ball in two of the three games against Wartburg, I have no doubts that they will finish this season by winning the conference by a 3 game margin at least.  The battle is for second and then bye in the tourney.  I think Wartburg, Simpson, Central and Coe all have shots.  I really feel like 7 or 8 losses will take second place.  Wartburg has taken 2 of 3 from Central, Coe has taken 2 of 3 from Central and Simpson.  The Knights have Simpson, Luther, Loras, and Coe.  The Kohawks have Wartburg, Luther, Cornell and Dubuque. 

The Beavers are really tough.   A couple of notes though:
1.  They are not built to make a deep run in the tourneys they get into with their lack of depth on the mound. 
2.  They are the best defensive team that I have seen so far this year without a doubt.  Their defense has the ability to make up for their average pitching.
3.  They are the best all-around offensive team that I have seen in the conference for the past decade.  They are built to win this year, and they are.
4.  Their home field, is a joke.  After seeing it for the first time this year, I came away with nothing good to say about it.  The turf is nice on the infield, but the mound is an absolute travesty to baseball.  Also, the lights are stupid.  They are way too low and way to weak.  Finally, the outfield played like concrete with holes in it. 

This still looks pretty accurate on B.V. a few weeks later!

- Coe takes 2 of 3 from Luther.  If this series was in Decorah, I'd probably switch my picks, but Coe has been tough at home this year and I don't think Hyland will throw game one after pitching Wednesday.  Without Hyland, Luther doesn't beat Coe which mean they lose the series.......right Floyd?  ;)

Right. :(

Did Hyland even throw today?  I thought I saw Augie Lindmark got the complete game win in game 1 and Riddle took the loss in game 2.  Hopefully Hyland is healthy and they are gassing him up for the conference tourney.

What a season for Lewis from Coe!  I have thought that Hyland has been throwing like a 1st team all-conference pitcher for most of the season, but Lewis will clearly be one of the all-league pitchers.

Schott and Weber have had the best offensive years for the Norse with Reynolds and Riddle being a notch below, but Hyland is by far the only pitcher on the team worthy of all-legue votes.

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on May 08, 2010, 10:12:40 PM

Quote from: youcantseemestill on May 06, 2010, 04:31:52 PM

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on May 06, 2010, 02:24:25 PM

Quote from: youcantseemestill on April 15, 2010, 08:21:45 AM
To me, it seems like the race is for second place.  BVU is really good offensively.  After seeing them knock around Coe's pitching, and then hit the crap out of the ball in two of the three games against Wartburg, I have no doubts that they will finish this season by winning the conference by a 3 game margin at least.  The battle is for second and then bye in the tourney.  I think Wartburg, Simpson, Central and Coe all have shots.  I really feel like 7 or 8 losses will take second place.  Wartburg has taken 2 of 3 from Central, Coe has taken 2 of 3 from Central and Simpson.  The Knights have Simpson, Luther, Loras, and Coe.  The Kohawks have Wartburg, Luther, Cornell and Dubuque. 

The Beavers are really tough.   A couple of notes though:
1.  They are not built to make a deep run in the tourneys they get into with their lack of depth on the mound. 
2.  They are the best defensive team that I have seen so far this year without a doubt.  Their defense has the ability to make up for their average pitching.
3.  They are the best all-around offensive team that I have seen in the conference for the past decade.  They are built to win this year, and they are.
4.  Their home field, is a joke.  After seeing it for the first time this year, I came away with nothing good to say about it.  The turf is nice on the infield, but the mound is an absolute travesty to baseball.  Also, the lights are stupid.  They are way too low and way to weak.  Finally, the outfield played like concrete with holes in it. 

This still looks pretty accurate on B.V. a few weeks later!

- Coe takes 2 of 3 from Luther.  If this series was in Decorah, I'd probably switch my picks, but Coe has been tough at home this year and I don't think Hyland will throw game one after pitching Wednesday.  Without Hyland, Luther doesn't beat Coe which mean they lose the series.......right Floyd?  ;)

Right. :(

Did Hyland even throw today?  I thought I saw Augie Lindmark got the complete game win in game 1 and Riddle took the loss in game 2.  Hopefully Hyland is healthy and they are gassing him up for the conference tourney.

What a season for Lewis from Coe!  I have thought that Hyland has been throwing like a 1st team all-conference pitcher for most of the season, but Lewis will clearly be one of the all-league pitchers.

Schott and Weber have had the best offensive years for the Norse with Reynolds and Riddle being a notch below, but Hyland is by far the only pitcher on the team worthy of all-legue votes.

Schott and Weber were a combined 0 for 6 against Lewis today.  Schott struck out three times, while Weber struck out once.  Lewis just made them look silly up there. 

Lewis led the league in wins, strikeouts (24 more than anyone else!  Wow!), and innings pitched.  He was in top five for ERA and Opposing BAA.  If he isn't Pitcher of the Year, it's a crying shame.

I'm not so sure that Lewis is a lock to win Pitcher of the Year......keep in mind that only conference stats should be considered for Conference Pitcher of the year.

It looks to me to be a two-man race......Alec Lewis of Coe and Cody Hyland of Luther.

Lewis sits at a perfect 7-0 record while Hyland is 6-3.....but that is a very team dependent stat.....here is a numbers comparison

ERA
-----
Hyland........2.95
Lewis..........3.47

WHIP
--------
Hyland.......1.03
Lewis.........1.11

Opponent Batting Average
-----------------------------------
Hyland........(.236)
Lewis..........(.248)

Those three important numbers all favor Hyland, while Lewis controls Record and Strikeouts (Lewis 66, Hyland 39)

Note: Hyland's three losses were scores of 5-2, 3-1, 5-1......Hyland also won some low scoring games 4-1, 3-2, 3-1, 4-0

Just thought I would open up the conversation as this is clearly not a one-man race for Pitcher of the Year

It is a lock IMO.  He has the single best season in Coe history this season.

7-0 does matter.  Don't say its team dependent when 4 of those 7 wins came in complete game shutouts.  Also, in both of Lewis's no-decisions, he left the game leading. 

Highlights of his season.......

Coe records for:
Season IP w/  85.2
Season W w/   10
Season K's w/  82

Coe Career records:
Appearances:  56
Wins:   23
Strikeouts:  240
IP - (2nd w/ 281.1) will break the record with next start
Saves: (3rd w/ 5)
ERA: (3rd)

Aside from Lewis, there has been no other dominant pitcher over the course of the whole year.  If there ever was a year for a unanimous decision, this is the one.  Hyland has been very good this year and very deserving of a 1st team selection.  But, pitcher of the year should be a one man race.

Those numbers are clearly impressive.........but once again.......this is a conference award, not an overall award.......you can only consider Conference numbers.

Also, Remember that Lewis struggled mightily in two seperate outings:

Against Buena vista.........5.2 IP, 13 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 2 K (Left with an 11-10 lead, team lost 17-12, had plenty of run support)

Against Wartburg...........7.2 IP, 12 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 6 K (Left in 7-7 Tie, but his run scored to put them down 8-7, had Coe not came back with 2 in the ninth Lewis would have gotten the loss)

Those are two rough starts......Hyland's worst two starts:

Vs. Simpson- 5 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Vs. Central - 6 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 7 K

That Central start is not bad at all, and that is his 2nd worst.

Once again, no one would argue with Lewis winning this, but I don't see an argument against Hyland either.  Luther's struggles with other pitchers could play a factor too as Hyland started 9 games for the Norse to sneak them into the tourney (he didn't pitch in final weekend as they already qualified).......Coe on the other hand has a dominant 1-2 punch (despite Raisch's struggles at times)......Hyland is clearly more valuable to his team.

I agree 100 %, this is a one man race.  Hyland had a great year, along with Probasco and Wuebker (BV) and Eisenmann (Central),  but Lewis was the best from start to finish.  The tournament can still play a huge part.  Look at last year, Martijn locked it up with not 1, but 2 strong performances in the tournament.   In the end, the # 1 factor is how will the coaches vote?   I have it at 6 votes for Lewis, 2 votes for Hyland.  BV is a toss up. Coe didn't see Hyland, and Lewis dominated Luther.

                                    Hyland                          Lewis
BV=  TOSS UP              Loss ( 9H, 3R, 1BB, 1K)           No Decision ( 13H, 10R, 1BB, 2K)
Wartburg= HYLAND       Win x2  (11H, 5R, 1BB, 6K)     No Decision ( 12H, 8R, 3BB, 6K)
Central = LEWIS          Loss (7H, 5R, 0BB, 7K)            Win (3H, 2R, 3BB, 7K)
Coe =LEWIS                DID NOT PITCH   vs Coe      
Simpson=LEWIS          Loss ( 11H, 5R, 1BB, 5K)         Win (3H, 2R, 3BB, 7K)
Luther =HYLAND                                                         Win (2H, 0R, 0BB, 10K)
Loras =LEWIS              Win x 2 (10H, 3R, 5BB, 5K)      Win (3H, 0R, 2BB, 5K)
UD=LEWIS                   Win (4H, 1R, 0BB, 7K)              Win (6H, 0R, 1BB, 12K)
Cornell=LEWIS             Win (2H, 0R, 1BB, 6K)             Win x2 (11H, 5R, 1BB, 17K)

And O- by the way,  Lewis also tied a IIAC single season strike out record set in 1995 (66).

Sports fan I wouldn't say he "Struggled mightily"

The BV game:  Friday night in Storm Lake, wind blowing strait out, matchup vs Probasco ( he 2 best pitchers in conference at the time)  The two teams combined for 29 Runs, 38 Hits, 6 2B, and 7 HR.  Probasco and Lewis tried to keep the ball in the park for 5.1 and 5.2 innings.  The game was 11-10 when they both came out.  Considering the conditions both pitchers battled.

The Wartburg  game:  Friday night in Waverly, again wind blowing strait out only this time it was also raining and a muddy mess, matchup vs Watson ( two top strikeout pitchers in conference)  The two teams combined for 22 Runs, 27 Hits, 5 2B, 2HR, and 10 wet field errors resulting in 6 unearned runs.  Considering the conditions all pitchers battled.

Well, I was only considering numbers........if you want to consider conditions, Hyland gave up 3 home runs at Central in a tiny ballpark with ridiculous winds blowing out to center.  Hyland also threw a gem at Wartburg with winds blowing out.

You can't argue with the numbers, both Lewis and Hyland could make a case for this one.  Side note, Did Probasco really only walk two guys in 37.2 Innings!!!

Player of the Year?

Looks like a toss up between Pietrzyk and Grau.........

Another interesting question.........how much does a player's value on their team effect these awards?  Does it have any effect?

For instance, Pietrzyk has huge numbers, but Hoffman and Kloewer of BV also have huge numbers, Grau is slightly more a one-man show at Wartburg (Yoder and Schmitt did some decent things as well).

Tied the conference record for strikeouts in one season.  That statement alone makes this one the most dominating seasons in the history of the conference.  If you have one of the most dominating seasons in the history of the conference, have a 7-0 record, and pitch for a team going to the conference tourney.......you win the award.  I don't care about certain stats, the thing that matters the most to me is wins and losses.  If a pitcher hasn't lost, and has more wins that anyone he is the best pitcher. 

And for the record, Lewis dominated a Luther team that just got done lighting up Cody Raisch for the previous 2 hours. 

Here is where I think the argument is made for Lewis that is undeniable.  If we were talking about deciding on these two kids for one all-conference spot, there is room for some debate for Hyland.  However, when talking about the pitcher of the year.  An individual award based on individual accomplishments and domination, Lewis's numbers trump Hyland. 

In my opinion, how important one player is for his team should have no effect on the voting.  The voting is about the body of work / stats, and how each player played against each of the coaches teams.   If you took any of these top players off their team, it would make a huge difference in the conference standings.  This conference is just that tight.  Grau had a good year but Pietrzyk has a body of work that is just better.  He is the best player on the best team.  He is in the top 5 in every offensive category, except home runs.  The categories that Grau is better are HR ( by 6 ), and Total Bases ( by 3), Slug %, and OB%.  Not to mention Pietrzyk had 6 appearances on the mound (in conference) yielding a 0.00 ERA, 1 save, and a .053 batting average against.  Not many saves to be had the way his team pounded people all year.  In my opinion this is a one man race as well. 

So we are underway with the tourny and not much discussion.  I wouldn't mind hearing some predictions.

I am going to stick with my Knights.  I think they will come in swinging and hopefully get some timely pitching. 

Quote from: wartburgalum on May 14, 2010, 12:11:07 PM
So we are underway with the tourny and not much discussion.  I wouldn't mind hearing some predictions.

I am going to stick with my Knights.  I think they will come in swinging and hopefully get some timely pitching. 

I took Wartburg in the pre-season and I am not going to change now. I am too proud to admit I may have been wrong.

Luther won over Central 11-8 last night.  Hyland suprisingly was involved in a high scoring game.  He moved to 8-3 on the year.  Jeff Riddle and Steve Beckman both had 3 hits for the Norse.

Luther was up 9-0 going into the bottom of the 4th.

Today the Norse lost to Wartburg just now, 6-4.  The game was 2-2 in the 8th when Wartburg scored 4 runs on a couple of doubles.  Sophomore Augie Lindmark had pitched well up to that point, but he walked at least one and hit a batter in that inning.

Luther got 2 runs back in the 9th and had 2 guys on for Schott.  Ben hit a ball that the Wartburg pitcher tipped to slow down enough that the SS made the play at 2nd to end the game.  Schott was 2-5 but hit into 2 double plays and left 2 guys on base in the 9th.  Riddle also had a tough day at the plate even though Reynolds had 4 hits.

Hard to pick on Riddle and Schott when they have had very good years.  Besides, the bottom 6 hitters in the order for the Norse had 2 hits.  Lindmark rarely started this year, but his last two starts were pretty hopeful for the Norse going into next year.

It is about winning the tight games and having lots of pitching.  I don't know about the pitching, but I still think B.V. is the team to beat.  Luther does not have much pitching left at this point unless Riddle throws one of his better league games to string this out enough to get back to Hyland (if he can go).

Big wins for Wartburg and B.V. today.  They both took care of business after getting the bye as well.

Congrats to B.V. for winning both the regular season title and now the conference tourney and the automatic bid!  Have a good regional and let's get somebody to the World Series!

Congrats as well to Luther Softball for going undefeated in winning their NCAA Regional this past weekend!  The Norse are now 41-5 on the season going into their NCAA World Series and the only real blemish on their season is that they were 13-2 in the IIAC with one game that was never made up with Dubuque while Simpson was 14-2 and got to play all the games.  I would love to see rules altered in both baseball and softball to make the conference title as legit as possible.

Three IIAC softball teams made postseason appearances again this year.  I would love the IIAC to get back to the days of having two teams make the NCAA baseball field.

The IIAC will not get more than one team in the post season until ALL the baseball teams in the conference start playing and winning regional games outside of the IIAC.  UD and Cornell are killing the IIAC's sos.  And only 2 teams played a schedule ranked in the top 100 nationally.

Conference SOS             National Rank (of 368)
1.Wartburg                     41
2. BV                               95
3. Cornell                        112
4. Simpson                      140
5. Coe                             194
6. Central                        214
7. Luther                         231
8. Loras                          258
9. Dubuque                    300     

Conference win %   National Rank  (of 368)
1. BV                              26
2. Central                       78
3. Coe                            91
4. Simpson                     112
5. Wartburg                   137
6. Luther                        142
7. Loras                         258
8. Dubuque                    314
9. Cornell                       361

Congrat's to Coe's Alec Lewis for being named the IIAC Pitcher of the Year.

I say congrats to Lewis as well!

From a Norse perspective, I am very happy with the voting as Hyland and Schott were the only clear 1st team players in Decorah this year.  With them both being seniors who have contributed multiple years as main parts of the team, it is nice to see them finish their careers with 1st team honors.

Topping and Reynolds were both 2nd team players last year, but I actually thought the most consistent bat after Schott this year in Decorah was Mark Weber and then maybe Riddle.  Riddle and Reynolds ended up being 2nd team players this year, but Weber was on that level as well.

Reynolds has already had a good career at Luther, but next year as a junior I assume he might have to be the center of the lineup rather than hitting in the #2 slot.

Returning position players with starting experience for the Norse next year:

Reynolds               (2B) .367 with 11 doubles and 21 RBIs
Steve Beckman     (SS) .248 with 23 RBIs (.368 in 2009)
Ryan Bahnemann (3B) .324 with 13 doubles and 21 RBIs
Joe Thompson       (OF) .267 with 14 RBIs (.303 in 2009)
Mitchel Obey         (OF) .337 with 13 RBIs
Matthew Bruhn      (OF) .328 with 12 RBIs
Kevin Bradley        (C)   .220 with 17 RBIs

The hitting lineup needs to get better as a group or find a way to replace Schott with someone else having a huge year.

The pitching staff is a whole different issue as the mound staff hasn't looked this thin on paper going into the next season since 2006 (Todd and Kohls were the best pitchers as freshman that year).  Smith and Lindmark look like they will be fighting for starting roles next year, but who else?

The 2010 Baseball All-IIAC team

http://www.iowaconference.com/men/baseball/all_conference/2010.htm (http://www.iowaconference.com/men/baseball/all_conference/2010.htm)

Congrats to Coe's Ryan Schisler on being a First Team Academic All-American.  Pretty big honor.

2011 predictions anyone? I think UD will be much improved as they did make strides last year with many freshman starters.They have all returned as sophs and have some baseball players.

I put Dubuque in the bottom three in the IIAC.

Quote from: BigPoppa on January 31, 2011, 10:00:02 PM
I put Dubuque in the bottom three in the IIAC.

Based on ? Did you see them play at all last year? They have one of the best ,young middle infields arround (iiac).

Quote from: bbplayer on February 01, 2011, 06:24:51 AM

Quote from: BigPoppa on January 31, 2011, 10:00:02 PM
I put Dubuque in the bottom three in the IIAC.

Based on ? Did you see them play at all last year? They have one of the best ,young middle infields arround (iiac).

That's a start.  What about the rest of the team?

Quote from: bbplayer on February 01, 2011, 06:24:51 AM

Quote from: BigPoppa on January 31, 2011, 10:00:02 PM
I put Dubuque in the bottom three in the IIAC.

Based on ? Did you see them play at all last year? They have one of the best ,young middle infields arround (iiac).

Dubuque does not have any top-notch arms returning this season. Their pitching does not compare to the rest of the IIAC. Middle infielders are nice, but what can they do when liners are screaming into the gaps and over their heads?

Top notch no agreed but.....I personaly saw no lights out pitching from any team in this conference.They UD have suffered terrible defense for a while (long).Strong up the middle is the anchor to any defense, a well known fact. Center field is solid, 1st base is good and they picked up a legit 3rd baseman.

Agreed pitching did cost them quite a few woulda coulda shoulda wins last year.They did show good signs of developing young arms and a couple of upper classmen stepped up and matured.

Just my opinion but....UD will turn a few heads this year and, it wont be their own whip lash watchin balls scream over their heads.Cant wait.We shall see.

I hope you are right as the IIAC needs a third team to step up and match Wartburg and Buena Vista to give the conference more national exposure and credibility.

You cant be serious!  How about the fact that UD has finished 8th or 9th In the IIAC, eight out of the last ten years.  How about the fact that UD finished 8th or 9th in just about every statistical category in the IIAC in 2010.  Being young is a bad excuse for poor performance.  You won't be a better baseball player just because you are one year older.  You are talking about Danna as "one of the best young middle infielders around"?  I will give you that he can hit, but as a middle infielder?  His .850 fielding percentage with 27 errors doesn't even qualify him as an "average" middle infielder.  In fact if you compare him to every other starting SS in the IIAC (2010) he ranks last in most fielding statistics.  There were plenty of other freshmen that played well in 2010.

The IIAC with "no lights out pitchers"  held those fighting Spartans to a impressive .251 average and .360 slugging % in 2010

Talk to us at the end of the year if UD finishes above 8th or 9th.  

Quote from: upandin on February 01, 2011, 12:54:50 PM
You cant be serious!  How about the fact that UD has finished 8th or 9th In the IIAC, eight out of the last ten years.  How about the fact that UD finished 8th or 9th in just about every statistical category in the IIAC in 2010.  Being young is a bad excuse for poor performance.  You won't be a better baseball player just because you are one year older.  You are talking about Danna as "one of the best young middle infielders around"?  I will give you that he can hit, but as a middle infielder?  His .850 fielding percentage with 27 errors doesn't even qualify him as an "average" middle infielder.  In fact if you compare him to every other starting SS in the IIAC (2010) he ranks last in most fielding statistics.  There were plenty of other freshmen that played well in 2010.

The IIAC with "no lights out pitchers"  held those fighting Spartans to a impressive .251 average and .360 slugging % in 2010

Talk to us at the end of the year if UD finishes above 8th or 9th.  

:) Nothing fires up UPANDIN like a good IIAC discussion. Welcome back... I have missed you on this board.

Its early, but I couldn't hold out any longer after that UD post.  Pappa I liked the preview, it will be interesting to see how BV does with some of the key players they lost.  Could be a 2 team race with BV and Wartburg in the IIAC.  Trying to keep my ear to the ground on the newcomers to the league and region. 

Quote from: upandin on February 01, 2011, 12:54:50 PM
You cant be serious!  How about the fact that UD has finished 8th or 9th In the IIAC, eight out of the last ten years.  How about the fact that UD finished 8th or 9th in just about every statistical category in the IIAC in 2010.  Being young is a bad excuse for poor performance.  You won't be a better baseball player just because you are one year older.  You are talking about Danna as "one of the best young middle infielders around"?  I will give you that he can hit, but as a middle infielder?  His .850 fielding percentage with 27 errors doesn't even qualify him as an "average" middle infielder.  In fact if you compare him to every other starting SS in the IIAC (2010) he ranks last in most fielding statistics.  There were plenty of other freshmen that played well in 2010.

The IIAC with "no lights out pitchers"  held those fighting Spartans to a impressive .251 average and .360 slugging % in 2010

Talk to us at the end of the year if UD finishes above 8th or 9th.  

Will do uninformed and able to read stats without back up ass bag.

Quote from: upandin on February 01, 2011, 12:54:50 PM
You cant be serious!  How about the fact that UD has finished 8th or 9th In the IIAC, eight out of the last ten years.  How about the fact that UD finished 8th or 9th in just about every statistical category in the IIAC in 2010.  Being young is a bad excuse for poor performance.  You won't be a better baseball player just because you are one year older.  You are talking about Danna as "one of the best young middle infielders around"?  I will give you that he can hit, but as a middle infielder?  His .850 fielding percentage with 27 errors doesn't even qualify him as an "average" middle infielder.  In fact if you compare him to every other starting SS in the IIAC (2010) he ranks last in most fielding statistics.  There were plenty of other freshmen that played well in 2010.

The IIAC with "no lights out pitchers"  held those fighting Spartans to a impressive .251 average and .360 slugging % in 2010

Talk to us at the end of the year if UD finishes above 8th or 9th.  

Cany wait as u are not watchin and just readin into stats.Now lets wtachem play

Quote from: bbplayer on February 01, 2011, 08:24:59 PM

Quote from: upandin on February 01, 2011, 12:54:50 PM
You cant be serious!  How about the fact that UD has finished 8th or 9th In the IIAC, eight out of the last ten years.  How about the fact that UD finished 8th or 9th in just about every statistical category in the IIAC in 2010.  Being young is a bad excuse for poor performance.  You won't be a better baseball player just because you are one year older.  You are talking about Danna as "one of the best young middle infielders around"?  I will give you that he can hit, but as a middle infielder?  His .850 fielding percentage with 27 errors doesn't even qualify him as an "average" middle infielder.  In fact if you compare him to every other starting SS in the IIAC (2010) he ranks last in most fielding statistics.  There were plenty of other freshmen that played well in 2010.

The IIAC with "no lights out pitchers"  held those fighting Spartans to a impressive .251 average and .360 slugging % in 2010

Talk to us at the end of the year if UD finishes above 8th or 9th.  

Will do uninformed and able to read stats without back up ass bag.

bbplayer, you made some subjective statements about the team, which is fine; upandin raised some legitimate questions about your assertions based on objective data -- the stats.  It remains to be seen who will be right at the end of the season -- that's why they play the games.  Stooping to name calling will not build anyone's case, or credibility, on the boards.

Agreed sorry

I wont start name calling, what I can say is this......Aside from the obvious stats. Some friends and I saw your Spartans play last year in Cedar Rapids.  No... of course not in the IIAC tournament, but in a competitive 24-0 loss to Coe College.  I didn't have to stay long.  It was 17-0 in the second inning.  Your "best young middle infielder" was 0-3 at the plate and dropped 2 routine fly balls in the first inning.  It looked like a high school JV team.  I didn't come back for day 2 of the series I saw enough of that "head turning team".  Am I Uninformed?  Maybe...... Am I Wrong?  I guess we will see.  It would be good for the IIAC if Dubuque and Cornell could compete a little.  Maybe you can take this bulletin board material back to your teammates tomorrow at practice.  But I'm sure a few of them might agree with me.   

UPANDIN- I have Central as the third team in the IIAC. Could they be a legit darkhorse in the league? On paper, they bring a lot back from a team that was out front early last year, but faded down the stretch. They are a team that scares me a bit (and should scare others and not just in the IIAC). I see Central and the CCIW's North Park as two teams that may be on the verge of breaking through in 2011.

Thoughts on Central?

My guess:

1. BV
2. Wartburg
3. Central
4-7. Coe, Luther, Loras, Simpson
8-9. Dubuque, Cornell

I agree on Central.   They are a solid team.  If I had to pick one area they are good and not great, it's on the mound.  Their top guy (Eisenman) is tuff, but after that just ok.  Furlong might be the player of the year in the conference, and Lackey can be like a man playing with boys at times. They could definitely win this league. 

I see it like this:
1.Wartburg
2.BV
3.Central
4.Loras
5.Coe
6.Simpson
7.Luther
8.Dubuque
9.Cornell

Wartburg and BV is a toss up,  they play a midweek home and home
BV has a huge home field advantage on the turf
Central also plays BV midweek home and home 
Loras has veteran players, could be a rebound year for them
Coe has some good players still around, but lost some horses on the mound
Simpson will be in it and competitive
I think Luther is going to be the odd team out this year.  Not much going outside of Reynolds
UD will be better than Cornell

Wee shall see gentlman! WEEE shall see!

Quote from: bbplayer on February 01, 2011, 10:56:35 PM
Wee shall see gentlman! WEEE shall see!

All you are doing so far is showing what type of grammar is taught at Dubuque. Mix in a spell check here and there. It might make you a bit more credible. Clearly, you have insider knowledge of the Dubuque program, which has been lacking on this board for some time, but your methods are causing everyone to tune you out and not listen to your point of view.

Can you give us a projected line-up for Dubuque?

When looking at UD's defense, they have some serious issues. 101 errors last year of which 27 came from the shortstop position, which bbplayer claims is a strong defensive player. A .923 team fielding percentage is a massive red flag, especially when your pitching staff only had 159 Ks in 281 innings. That is a lot of balls put into play and with a suspect defense, that will enevitably lead to extra runners and ultimately extra runs.

Agreed on all pappa.My opinion was based on overall improvement as a team not just last years stats as picked apart by your buddy.They started 7 FRESHMAN! The middle infield can turn a dp with the best...Ive watched it.The short stop can RAKE as the stats show.He will be better on D as he settles in and does not have to cover 3rd base as much.The 2nd baseman is one of the best you will find in this div IMO. Steady and belongs at short but Danna cannot make the turns.If any of you have seen them turn the dp you will agree.

Starting line up???? LOL Besides Martin 2 Danna 3 your guess.....but it will be better!

Quote from: bbplayer on February 02, 2011, 05:51:00 PM
Agreed on all pappa.My opinion was based on overall improvement as a team not just last years stats as picked apart by your buddy.They started 7 FRESHMAN! The middle infield can turn a dp with the best...Ive watched it.The short stop can RAKE as the stats show.He will be better on D as he settles in and does not have to cover 3rd base as much.The 2nd baseman is one of the best you will find in this div IMO. Steady and belongs at short but Danna cannot make the turns.If any of you have seen them turn the dp you will agree.

Starting line up???? LOL Besides Martin 2 Danna 3 your guess.....but it will be better!

And which one are you?

How about a position-by-position listing?  That should be easier.

One month before many of the northern teams start their seasons... can't wait!  Let the games begin.

Hey Pappa, how many teams in the CCIW can turn a DP?  Because apparently the ability to turn a DP qualifies you as a team to watch out for in the IIAC.   I would love to know who that new 2B is.  I'm just assuming it's not the same player from last year.  The Martin kid had the most errors (11) from a 2B in the IIAC.  And he hit a whopping .246 with 23 K's.  Far from "one of the best you will find in this div".   Not even close to the best you will find in the IIAC.  Then again we have been told the inside scoop that he is still hitting in the two hole.  I guess it is a good thing to know at least one UD player has plenty of confidence in his game or at least "IMO".

Here is a stat for ya, UD turned 16 DP's in 24 IIAC games last year, surpassing only 3 teams.  Loras (10) who tied UD as the worst fielding team in league play, Simpson (12) who just didn't turn many, and Cornell (15) who turned just 1 less than UD.  I suppose Cornell has a chance to "make some noise" this year with their DP combo as well.

I am obviously just an "uninformed" bag of some sort, but I can't wrap my head around the idea that starting 7 freshmen is somehow a positive refection on a program.  Don't get me wrong I hope UD can find a way to compete.  The conference needs them to improve to help with regional rankings.  This is Cornell's last year in the IIAC so UD could be alone on an island in 2012.

For your record...I am so far removed from a player on this team,you need to all get a life.I thought I would sign on and bring some fresh blood to this board with hopes of some sort of civil banter (I was proven wrong) by the 2 resident "Pros" as to why places (forums) like this have little or no regulars.

You can now go back to your holes and wait......for the next decent person who dares to log in with their opinion and......jump on with your obvious professional experience that anyone with a computer has access to base your rebuttle.

I am a UD fan and hope these boys will prove me right! Go UD have a great year!

Good luck to you guys! Have a fun here on your forum....all 2 of you.

The IIAC doesn't really pick up until early March. By no means has anyone prevented others from joining the conversation on this board. At this point all we did was point out that you did not use anything to back your argument.

In fact, Upandin and I had some serious battles early last year until we put our differences aside once we realized that we both loved D3 baseball. Now... we are like brothers on here. While I would not beg anyone to stay on here, I enjoy hearing from UD supporters. In fact, I was only right on one of my four Central region conference champs last year... I took Wartburg(BV won it), Webster(yes), IWU (sort of won it, but North Central won the regular season) and Beloit (missed the MWC playoffs).

I really hope UD gets into the mix this season as they have seven sophs back in the line-up.

I am glad to hear that bbplayer is not in fact a player.  Players, coaches, ect, probably should not be on here, they might read something they don't want to hear.  I think things were civil prior to someone busting out "ass bag".   See this is how forums work..... give an opinion (hopefully a justified one), then people choose to agree or post a rebuttal.  No one should expect to be able to post some pretty far fetched opinions, with the expectation that no one would challenge them with the facts ("that anyone with a computer can find").  If you don't like when people disagree with you, don't give an opinion, and certainly don't post it on a forum.  If you're looking for someone to stroke your ego or tell you how good you are, you (or your team) have to earn that on the field.  As Pappa said, last year we had some heated banter, but I respect his opinions and his creditability.  It's the way forums should work, opinions and banter.  There will be more people here during the season, if bbplayer chooses to take his ball and go home, the forum will go on.  In fact there is another UD fan on here that has been invited to tailgates at road games, so its not just about putting down people or teams. 

Couple of thoughts.

1.  bbplayer couldn't be more wrong on his new opinions on the forums.  While it is true that there are a couple that post more often than others there is (likely) a decent slew of forum readers that keep up to date on recent D3 happenings.

2.  I have thoroughly enjoyed catching up and reading the preseason talk (even if most of it was ridiculous speculation into the state of Dubuque baseball).

3.  I have one main question from what I have read.  Where does the Wartburg hype come from?  I understand that they have unbelievable tradition, and seem to always find a way to be in the thick of things in the end.  However, I feel like their pre-season national votes are more on reputation than current personnel.  While I am not unbiased, I am capable of looking simply at what is on paper to formulate a legitimate opinion.  I had Wartburg finishing 4th or 5th in the conference before seeing all of the preseason speculation.  I will admit that all of my information excludes any incoming freshmen.

Why 4th or 5th?  Buena Vista is without a doubt the best team in this conference.  Very little weaknesses as they can pitch and hit with the best, and run the bases and can play small ball better than most teams.  They are not average at ANYTHING, and in my opinion, Blum is likely the best player in the conference.

I think that Central and Coe are both ahead of Wartburg (only by a game though).  Central returns SO MUCH on a team that learned how to win last year.  I understand that Coe lost two monster pitchers and a good bat, but still return one of the most well-rounded lineups in the Conf (maybe the best outside of BVU).

Problems with Wartburg - (1) the graduation of Danny Rose is so important....Rose had top-notch range, a quick release, and was in many ways the glue to their entire small ball capabilities.  The rotation is not bad, but far from deep.  Watson is a given, and (in my humble opinion) Benson is a very capable two should they decide to use him as a starter.  Rost would be a capable three, but no better than average.  After that, I'm not convinced with anyone else in the rotation or out of the pen.

My top 5:

1. BVU (without a doubt!!!!)
2. Central
3. Coe
4 - 5 Wartburg and Simpson

I look forward to hearing others' opinions!!! Thanks.

Quote from: TheSportsFan on February 04, 2011, 02:13:13 AM
Couple of thoughts.

1.  bbplayer couldn't be more wrong on his new opinions on the forums.  While it is true that there are a couple that post more often than others there is (likely) a decent slew of forum readers that keep up to date on recent D3 happenings.

2.  I have thoroughly enjoyed catching up and reading the preseason talk (even if most of it was ridiculous speculation into the state of Dubuque baseball).

3.  I have one main question from what I have read.  Where does the Wartburg hype come from?  I understand that they have unbelievable tradition, and seem to always find a way to be in the thick of things in the end.  However, I feel like their pre-season national votes are more on reputation than current personnel.  While I am not unbiased, I am capable of looking simply at what is on paper to formulate a legitimate opinion.  I had Wartburg finishing 4th or 5th in the conference before seeing all of the preseason speculation.  I will admit that all of my information excludes any incoming freshmen.

Why 4th or 5th?  Buena Vista is without a doubt the best team in this conference.  Very little weaknesses as they can pitch and hit with the best, and run the bases and can play small ball better than most teams.  They are not average at ANYTHING, and in my opinion, Blum is likely the best player in the conference.

I think that Central and Coe are both ahead of Wartburg (only by a game though).  Central returns SO MUCH on a team that learned how to win last year.  I understand that Coe lost two monster pitchers and a good bat, but still return one of the most well-rounded lineups in the Conf (maybe the best outside of BVU).

Problems with Wartburg - (1) the graduation of Danny Rose is so important....Rose had top-notch range, a quick release, and was in many ways the glue to their entire small ball capabilities.  The rotation is not bad, but far from deep.  Watson is a given, and (in my humble opinion) Benson is a very capable two should they decide to use him as a starter.  Rost would be a capable three, but no better than average.  After that, I'm not convinced with anyone else in the rotation or out of the pen.

My top 5:

1. BVU (without a doubt!!!!)
2. Central
3. Coe
4 - 5 Wartburg and Simpson

I look forward to hearing others' opinions!!! Thanks.

The more I look, the more I like Central as well. I may amend my thoughts to:
1. BV
2. Central
4. Wartburg
4. Coe

I would agree about Wartburg, I'm not sure where the national recognition is coming from.  My reason for having them as a contender in the IIAC is based on the fact that they have the majority of their roster back, from a team that finished 2nd in 2010.   Rose will be a tuff player to replace, it seems like he has been playing for about 6 years.  They will also be missing Schmitt on the mound, other than that, they have most of the team back.   They have an ace in Watson, and Rost is a solid # 3.  I definitely don't think Wartburg is a dominate team and they have some holes to fill if they expect to overtake BV.  But in 2010 they won every series in the league except BV and somehow Luther. 

I also would agree on BV having to be the favorite.  I guess the only question I can come up with is, how the loss of 4 starters will change them. You have to think that it will definitely change the team.  They lost the conferences best player in Pietrzyke, their spark plug in Stephenson, their first baseman M. Blum, and their DH Wilson.   Statistically that adds up to 40% of their Runs, Hits, Home Runs, and RBI's. As well as 50% of their doubles and Stolen Bases.  These players have started a tun of games for BV.  I still think they will be a very good team but I'm guessing that some teams in the IIAC will be able to keep pace with them.

You know my thoughts on Central and I just don't know what to make of Loras, Coe, and Simpson?

Without sounding condescending, I think Wartburg in a "down year" has proven they are slightly above the middle of the pack teams in the IIAC. I had Wartburg nowhere in my preseason poll or even on my radar, but I still think they are #2 or #3 team in the IIAC. Take what you will from that comment: Would the IIAC's middle teams fare well against the middle teams in other regional conferences? I have no idea, but I'd guess that if we placed the #4-6 teams from the Central Region inot one league and let them battle it out the CCIW teams may rise to or near the top, with IIAC team near or just below them and the SLIAC and MWC teams at the bottom.

I get hammered for being a SLIAC basher, but in reality I am not. I just think the conference has only ONE quality team in Webster. The IIAC has 3-4 solid or better teams and drops off after that as does the CCIW. The MWC is terrible with the exception of Ripon and St. Norbert (and one season for Beloit).

I'd love a conference of : North Central, Wheaton, Augustana, Luther, Coe, Simpson, Loras, Beloit, Illinois, Grinnell, Blackburn, Greenville, etc... to sort all of this out.

I gather that the general consensus is that Buena Vista, Central and Wartburg will have no problem getting into the tournament.  The obvious question for all speculators is who will be left out of the tournament at the end of the year?

Dubuque and Cornell are both very much longshots, but one team (Coe, Simp, Luth, Loras) will be left out at the end of the year......it seems that you could make a case for any of those teams having struggles this year and missing the dance.

I just wanted to tell all who post here, thank you. As a father 1000 miles away, who's son plays in this conference, I am always interested in everyone's opinions. It gives me insight to the teams, players and coaches which I can not see. And I look foward to all involved having a great season and I am excited to see all of these fine young men having sucess on and off the field this season and beyond.

Just checked in with conference schedules.  It looks like most teams have found ways to get some early games in, even despite the metrodome being out of commission.

Curious for Dubuque (opening March 12) and Simpson and Luther (opening March 18)....wonder if their schedules will change at all to begin a little earlier.  Those opening March 18th are more than three weeks behind a lot of other teams in the area.

Second point of curiosity:  We never hear/see about any of the incoming freshmen until the season is well underway and they are making an impact in conference play.  While I understand most information would probably have to come from a knowledgeable source (and not just a fan), does anybody know of any first years that will likely make an impact this season?

Those do seem really late for teams to get started. Im sure that they will be going somewhere over their respective spring breaks in order to get some games in. Looks like the weather might allow for some good early season ball. Just wondering what others were thinking about the new bat regulations? With the new BBCOR bats it could come down to who has the best defense and staff this year. Not sure how these bats compare to the BESR models but what I've been hearing about them doesn't favor the hitters. May see some big reduction in home run totals this year...

Yah a bit of a late start for some.The "Dome" caving in did not help! It did look cool on film though  ;). UD is headed south next week to tune up for the season as Im sure are the rest of the "late" starters.With as many games as all have scheduled Im sure they all will be ready for the fierce confrence battle to begin.

Your question about the the new bat ruel is awsome! We will now see who the the Baseball players at all levels of college play are! Let the games begin. Can you say " Hit the opposite way or bunt for a single? Bunt at all! Those thugs brought up to swing for the fences with no clue how to play the game will be LONG GONE!!

bigpoppa and the rest JUMP ON! Cant wait!

I understand that it is still early, but it seems that the "new" bats have had a positive impact and not exceeded the objective.

While the game is now safer because of lowered exit speeds off of the bats, the offensive side of the ball has not disappeared and has actually become more normal in my opinion compared to the sometimes ridiculous numbers being put up in the past.

Others opinions on the weakened bats?

Dubuque Telegraph-Herald with some game recaps of UD and Loras.

https://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=315053

UD spring preview...

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=315316

and a recap of some of the Spartans and Duhawks recent games...

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=315160

And...

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=315317

31 Runs yesterday for the Kohawks at Monmouth?  WOW!

It appears that the top two-thirds of the IIAC is off and running. I am still not sure what to think of an 8-1 Dubuque squad. Two nice wins (St. Joeseph's and North Park), but also a handfull of wins against some average at best programs. Blackburn is currently 0-10 and a DH vs Crown today should easily be another pair of Ws for Dubuque. They could move to 10-1 without anyone noticing.

This could provide a great race for the six playoff spots in the IIAC.

Luther moved to 7-1 yesterday on the young season.  They still have 4 games left on the spring trip before the conference games this weekend at Cornell.  I have not seen the team yet this spring since they were not able to play those Metrodome games.  The pitching numbers look pretty strong so far, but I don't know if any of the teams that they have played will be strong teams this year.  I would rather be winning these games against unknown teams than losing them! ;D

They still have some hitters, but I want to see in conference action how the frontline Luther starting pitchers fare.  They lost the best hitter and pitcher from last year's team, and the 2010 Norse were not near as deep as 2009 or 2007.

I noticed only two teams that have played some games against traditionally strong competition so far.  Wartburg looks like they played the Oles four times already while Simpson played some of the UW schools.  Other than B.V. it appears as if everyone else has some questions to answer going into this weekend.

Good to see that Cornell already played some home games since the Norse go there this week.

Conference schedule starts up this weekend with the most compelling match-up being Wartburg vs Coe. We will also see if Dubuque is actually a good team when they take on some actual competition now that conference starts up.
My predictions:
Coe takes 2 of 3 from Wartburg -  hard to have the Coe losing that series in Cedar   Rapids when they are hitting .384 as a team
Luther sweeps Cornell - could be another rough year for the Rams
Central takes 2 of 3 from Loras - Central has lot coming back this year and will be tough down the road too
Simpson takes 2 of 3 from Dubuque - series is at Simpson and we will see how the Dubuque staff can do against Johnson and company

Any other opinions?!

Dubuque moves to 10-1 after taking a pair from Crown yesterday 11-4 and 6-3. If they can be a legitmate player in the IIAC, it could make things VERY interesting as the season progresses.

Quote from: BigPoppa on March 22, 2011, 10:58:16 AM
Dubuque moves to 10-1 after taking a pair from Crown yesterday 11-4 and 6-3. If they can be a ligitmate player in the IIAC, it could make things VERY interesting as the season progresses.

Here is a recap of the UD and Loras games from yesterday from the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald...http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=315596

I'm sure UD will now see some losses add up now that the conference season is starting.  But...the Spartans seem to have added some decent pitching for this year, and that was a major problem for them last season.  Add in that 33 of their 44 person roster is from Iowa/Wisconsin/Illinois...I think that will help in the cold spring season we play in.  Cali and Florida kids didn't seem to like playing baseball in our cold weather. 

I think UD will have a say this year in who wins the conference.  The Spartans won't be an automatic win this season and that could mess up another teams plans if they take a loss or two to UD. 

Dubuque kicks rear end!

Quote from: BigPoppa on March 21, 2011, 11:32:34 AM
It appears that the top two-thirds of the IIAC is off and running. I am still not sure what to think of an 8-1 Dubuque squad. Two nice wins (St. Joeseph's and North Park), but also a handfull of wins against some average at best programs. Blackburn is currently 0-10 and a DH vs Crown today should easily be another pair of Ws for Dubuque. They could move to 10-1 without anyone noticing.

This could provide a great race for the six playoff spots in the IIAC.

Don't leave out SUNY Plattsburg whom they disposed of in great fashion.How far will a little more experience take them....? Lets see.

Conference play is finally here.  Hope the weather allows everyone to play this weekend, early rain/snow outs have played a role in determining the championship in the past.  If the early results are any indication, this is shaping up to be a great race for the 2011 title.  My predictions:   
Luther 2 of 3 from Cornell. 
Central 2 of 3 from Loras.
Coe 2 of 3 from Wartburg
Simpson 2 of 3 from UD.
BV is off
I think everyone other than BBplayer is surprised about the UD start.  Even if they played bad teams, in the past they would still be .500 or lower in those games.  Very respectable start.  Wartburg also a surprise at 7-8, looks like they have played some tuff competition. But most would expect them to win a good amount of those tuff games. 

I agree on Dubuque as the team I saw last year might have been below .500 against any sort of college non-conference schedule.  However while Dubuque was 5-6 in the preseason last year, they did win three games by the score of 20-2, 20-2 and 19-5.  Simpson will be a nice test for the Spartans.  When I think of Dubuque I don't think of a good program, but they aren't in the basement every year either.

2006 (or maybe 2007) was probably the last time that Wartburg looked like a nationally ranked type program in the preseason.  It just hasn't been there early for the Knights in the last few years.  That doesn't mean that they won't be a contender in the conference, but 7-8 is not that much different than the last few preseasons to me.

B.V. still looks like the clear team to chase as the conference starts tomorrow.

Luther is now 9-3 with an extra inning win and two extra inning losses.  Getting off to a good start in conference and winning close games is a must for this year's version of the Norse.  Pitching and defense are going to be big this weekend if the weather is only around 40 or so.

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on March 24, 2011, 11:22:13 AM
I agree on Dubuque as the team I saw last year might have been below .500 against any sort of college non-conference schedule.  However while Dubuque was 5-6 in the preseason last year, they did win three games by the score of 20-2, 20-2 and 19-5.

Non-conference, not preseason. Those games played against teams from outside the IIAC still counted towards Dubuque's record.

Kohawks, Dutch and Norse all get 3-game sweeps this weekend.  Not sure I saw Coe and Central getting all three, but more like two.  I won't complain with the three though.

Opening weekend is complete with some very interesting results.

A few things to note:

Simpson-Dubuque

Simpson and Dubuque have already lost one of their 24 games in the conference season.  With the possibility of Simpson competing for the conference title this lost game against Dubuque could be a lossed opportunity.

Dubuque has had a great start to the season (10-1 heading into this last weekend), but could only muster one hit combined in the 15 innings against Simpson?  Understandably, it was cold, and early in the season, and a tough opponent, but one hit asks if this Dubuque team can honestly compete for a chance to get in the tournament.  This team is definitely capable of playing spoiler, but word has been that this could be the year they get back to the Tourney.

Wartburg-Coe

This sweep was somewhat of a surprise, but it's important to understand that Coe is a good ballclub.  While I've had my doubts about Wartburg, I still see them as a longshot to miss the tournament, don't let one weekend skew your opinion of a generally good team and a good program.

Luther-Cornell

The Norse scrambled to get the sweep of Cornell.  It was probably expected that Luther would win all three against a perennial seller dweller, but didn't get them as easily as they maybe could have.  Maybe Cornell is capable of beating someone other than Dubuque this year???  (Then again, most likely not).

Loras-Central

In my opinion, the most interesting of the weekend series.  Central sweeps all three and puts them in a good spot early on while Loras (missed the tournament last year) puts themselves in a hole to begin what is supposed to be a team that will get them back to the tournament.  The schedule remains tough for Loras as they play Simpson next weekend with a double header with Coe to follow.  Obviously they will get to play some of the worse competition just like everyone else, but if they start out 1-7 or 2-6, it would be a struggle to get back into the mix.

Lastly, BBCOR's have been a point of discussion this offseason.  While the temperatures in the 20's and 30's didn't help, I couldn't help but notice the conference hit just .253 this weekend.  Then again, Dubuque's 1 for 46 (.022) performance might skew those numbers.

It was cold for baseball, especially on Saturday.  I went to the Iowa-Western Illinois game on Saturday and the Luther-Cornell games on Sunday, and it was painful from an offensive standpoint to watch the Hawks and Leathernecks swing the bats on Saturday.  The wind was blowing in from RF, the newer bats did not sound good, and anyone with an above average fastball was working over a lot of hitters.

The Cornell ace threw on Saturday (which I did not see), but I thought one of the Cornell pitchers had a nice arm in the 1st game on Sunday.  Depth is still going to be an issue for Cornell, but some of the pitchers looked better to me than what I saw when the Norse and Rams played at the end of the season last year.

The weather was such a huge issue though.  The top three rotation starters have great numbers so far for the Norse, but how much of that is based on the competition and the weather?  Here are the numbers:

     Player                   ERA   W-L   APP GS  CG   IP     H   R    ER  BB  SO   B/Avg
23 Augie Lindmark...    1.71   2-1     4   3    2   21.0  19  11   4   4     18    .229

42 Danny Smith......    2.05   3-0      4   4   1    22.0  20   5    5   3    15     .241
21 Joel Martin......       2.00   3-0      4   3   1    18.0  17   5    4   3    12     .239   

The pitchers probably will not continue to have this kind of advantage next weekend if the temperature is up into the 50s.  More than the statistics, I was more impressed that Lindmark, Smith, and Martin combined to throw 23 innings against the Rams with Lindmark and Smith going the distance.

I am just happy that Luther is 12-3 overall and 3-0 in the IIAC.  They were picked 7th in the preseason poll and could have lost that 2-1 game, but I will take 3-0 in the league with hope that the bats will look better when it warms up.

Congrats to Coe as the sweep of Wartburg was probably the most surprising thing that I took from the weekend.  Wartburg's season is clearly not over :P, but the people at B.V. have to still be liking their chances this year.

Luther has Coe and B.V. the next two weekends.  A split of those 6 games might not be the worst thing of all time from a Norse perspective.

It seems like the Iowa Conference website has been a little slower this season as far as getting stats and scores posted.  On the Coe website the stats are up to date and have Coe with 4 HRs this year.  The Norse have only 1 HR from Reynolds.  Are HRs down nationally and around the conference so far this year?

Coe his hitting over .370 as a team going into this weekend.  I know they put a hurt on Monmouth to help the overall numbers, but it looks like they are reloading at a nice level so far this season.

Did Cornell actually get accepted back into their old conference and is there any new information about a timeline to moving back?  I haven't seen anything since football season.

http://www.tommiesports.com/bsbl/news/Announce_1-12.html
(http://www.tommiesports.com/bsbl/news/Announce_1-12.html)

I did not know that St. Thomas had changed baseball coaches.  Guess I have not been following MIAC sports enough lately.  I went to the MIAC website to see how the lack of a Dome was hurting teams, and saw a link to this.

St. Olaf is 12-3, but everyone else is around .500 or has barely played any games.  St. Thomas is 4-8 so far.

Luther split with St. John's today, winning 1-0 and losing 5-3.  I watched a little on the computer and it looked like the Johnnies threw both of the top starting pitchers.

The Norse saved the top three starting pitchers for the conference weekend.  The offense is going to have to get going again, but a split with a MIAC upper division team in recent years is not that bad.  The Norse are now 13-4.

Picks last week were pretty good so here we go again with the matchups for this weekend....
BV getting a sweep against Dubuque- Dubuque didn't show us much last week when they took on a real team and I really don't see any more success against the defending champs. BV wins all 3 easily

Central takes 2 of 3 from Wartburg- I see Wartburg bouncing back after getting swept at Coe and they will find a way to win one at Central. Central is a good team though and will manage to win 2

Simpson takes 2 of 3 vs Loras- Games will be played at Simpson and I see them being able to win 2 of them. Loras needs to come back and get a W after losing all 3 to Central.

Coe takes 2 of 3 games at Luther- Coe is now leading the nation in team batting average and they will take that offense into Decorah and win 2 of 3. I don't believe that the pitching numbers that Luther's staff will hold up after this weekend. Coe's defense looks real skeptical which will be their downside this year and if Luther can take advantage of their mistakes they could even win the series.

Whats everyone else thinking?

I think the Wartburg-Central series is huge.  The margin for error will probably be small for both teams if the goal is to compete with B.V. for the title.  Wartburg really needs a good weekend, while Central would show itself as a real contender if they won the series to move to 5-1 or 6-0 in the league.  My head says that Central wins this series, but my gut says that Wartburg finds a way to not be 1-5 when the weekend is over.

How good is Wartburg right now?  They are 0-7 against St. Olaf and Coe.

Simpson got a nice schedule start IMO to the season with with Dubuque and Loras, so they really need to take care of business now before they start playing Coe, B.V., Wartburg, and Central.

Coe has to be favored to win the Norse series.  Coe swept Wartburg and has a good record.  Luther has a good record, but I am not sure about the strength of the teams they beat.  St. John's rolled out a good pitcher and the Norse won that game with #4 starting, but they need to start scoring more.

I think that Wartburg will take 2 of 3 at home against Central.

I understand that Wartburg is not the same team as last year and that Central is pretty darn good, but Watson is still Watson and should find a way to win them one ballgame.  Also, it's hard to believe that Wartburg will drop as low as 1-5 in the IIAC.  Let's also not let that 0-3 deceive us into thinking they are not a good team.  They were in all 3 games against a very good (and potentially IIAC best) Kohawk squad.

You heard it here: I've fallen off of the BVU bandwagon and now lean towards Coe to win the IIAC this year ---curious if I am the only one to have switched over from the popular choice of BV.

Myguess on week two.
I see Wartburg taking 2 wins at home.  As always the wind will be blowing out to RF in Waverly and I would hope that last weekend should light a fire under the knights.  The game one pitching match up could be a good one if early season stats hold true.  (Watson vs. Pulliam)  Might be 10 K's for each team in that one. 

I see Loras taking 2 from Simpson at home, I just don't know what Simpson is after that UD double dip.  So Ill give the nod to the home team coming off getting swept.  If Loras doesn't show up this weekend it could be tuff for them to get back into the race. 

I see Coe taking 2 from Luther.  Again not sure what kind of team Luther is.  I thought they would finish 6th or 7th this year and a sweep of Cornell is almost a given for the top 7 teams in the league. Based on over all record this should be a good series.  I think both teams have something to prove.

BV will sweep Dubuque.  Enough said.

I'm looking forward to some better weather so I can actually go out and see a game or two

In January, I loved BV to win it, but as the season approached I start to fall in love with Central.

Quote from: upandin on March 31, 2011, 07:18:53 PM
Myguess on week two.
I see Wartburg taking 2 wins at home.  As always the wind will be blowing out to RF in Waverly and I would hope that last weekend should light a fire under the knights.  The game one pitching match up could be a good one if early season stats hold true.  (Watson vs. Pulliam)  Might be 10 K's for each team in that one. 

I see Loras taking 2 from Simpson at home, I just don't know what Simpson is after that UD double dip.  So Ill give the nod to the home team coming off getting swept.  If Loras doesn't show up this weekend it could be tuff for them to get back into the race. 

I see Coe taking 2 from Luther.  Again not sure what kind of team Luther is.  I thought they would finish 6th or 7th this year and a sweep of Cornell is almost a given for the top 7 teams in the league. Based on over all record this should be a good series.  I think both teams have something to prove.

BV will sweep Dubuque.  Enough said.

I'm looking forward to some better weather so I can actually go out and see a game or two

Guess enough NOT SAID! The mighty BV goes down to UD 11-10 !

BV was up 10-6 heading into the bottom of the 8th last I was able to see the live stats.  Way to go UD!!!  Just goes to show the worm can turn and the sun will shine on other teams from time to time.  I hope this can keep up for the Spartans.  They seem determined to bring all of their sports up a notch or two. 

It is just one game, but like I said earlier, there will be some more losses for UD now that the conference season has started, but UD will no longer be penciled in for a sweep and teams will have to work against them now. 

Wow, the nine-inning games can get pretty crazy with the pitching!  I wonder what the bullpen situation is for the Beavers?  Congrats to the Spartans though!

Cornell and Dubuque were swept a lot last year, but that isn't the norm for two teams to have that kind of conference season since the league expanded to 24 league games again in 2007.  Three game sweeps are usually very hard for most teams and not to be expected.

Congrats to Wartburg on righting the ship in league play like normal.  Watson looks like he pitched well in the 5-2 win over the Dutch.

Luther also got good pitching from Augie Lindmark as they beat Coe, 7-5.  I was only watching on the computer, but it looked like the wind was helping each offense.  Lindmark went 8 innings and gave up 1 earned run as the Norse kicked it around some today and still were able to win.  Lindmark also threw like 145 pitches or so!

The Norse are going to have to get better defense and keep swinging if they are going to win the series.

Big win Martin. Good to see UD mustard up more than one hit this series. Jokes and bad BV defense aside that is a good win for the Spartans. That Lindmark kid must be good. He held the kohawks bats down. Sounds like it was even a hitters day with the wind.

Quote from: upandin on April 01, 2011, 10:10:21 PM
Big win Martin. Good to see UD mustard up more than one hit this series. Jokes and bad BV defense aside that is a good win for the Spartans. That Lindmark kid must be good. He held the kohawks bats down. Sounds like it was even a hitters day with the wind.

[/quote

Hugh?

Quote from: upandin on April 01, 2011, 10:10:21 PM
Big win Martin. Good to see UD mustard up more than one hit this series. Jokes and bad BV defense aside that is a good win for the Spartans. That Lindmark kid must be good. He held the kohawks bats down. Sounds like it was even a hitters day with the wind.

[/quote

U sir seem to be callin out names without any clue as to whom you are typing to, shows NO CLASS! If you had a life congrats....you just may have proven it was all low.

I didn't call anyone out. I said nice win. That had to be the nicest thing I have ever said about UD.  I will always give credit when it is due.  Keep winning and you will get more love. I am sorry I should have addresses you by your screen name rather than your real one.  Go get em today vs BV.  bbplayer I hope you have a good game.

After beating Dominican 8-4 for their first win of the season on Monday, Carroll took two from Cornell today - 5-0 and 9-7.

After Drew Volkmann and Cale Ross combined for the shut out in the first game the second game turned pretty wild at the end.  Sam Mulkey got the win, throwing 6 innings in relief.  Carroll fell behind 7-1 before a wild bottom of the sixth gave them the lead.  With the score 7-4 and bases loaded PH Tyler Fitzsimmons hit a ball that the RF tried to dive and catch but missed.  The runners on 2nd and 3rd scored easily, but the runner from 1st stopped at 3rd.  Fitzsimmons wasn't aware of this and headed for 3rd.  With both runners off the base the throw to 3rd went wild and both runners scored making it 8-7.  The next batter was George Simons who had a pitch sail behind his back.  He took a couple of steps out and the umpire went out and talked to the pitcher.  Two pitches later Simons doublerd.  The pitcher moved toward him at second and was ultimately ejected.

Congrats to Coe today for winning the series against the Norse.  Game 1 of the doubleheader saw Coe hit the ball better than the Norse (there were a couple swing moments in the bottom of the 2nd and the top of the 3rd) and just deserved it.

Game 2 also saw Coe swinging the bats well in the 7-4 win, but it was painful to watch Luther leaving 13 on base while Coe left 1.

Coe is now 5-1 in the league and has to feel really good about where they are.  I did think Coe swung the bats as well over a weekend as anyone I have seen in league play against the Norse over the last 8-9 seasons, but I missed the B.V. fiasco last year.

Luther is now 4-2 and about where most had them to this point going into B.V. next week.  Luther needed to be 5-1 so that a B.V. series loss would leave them at something around 6-3.

Congrats to Wartburg.  Things don't change as they rebounded from last weekend to sweep the Central series.  Both teams are now 3-3 in the IIAC.  I said this series would be huge, and I think it really was as Central now has a more difficult road.

B.V. came back today to win the Dubuque series by sweeping the Saturday doubleheader.  The Beaver bats are going to be tough as the weather improves.

Simpson is now 5-0 in the league and Loras is now 0-6 after the series sweep.  The Storm and Coe really have to be happy with how league play has started.  Simpson's schedule will get harder, but you can't do better than 5-0 so far.

Cornell lost again today as was posted above.

Through two weekends:

Simpson has to be the feel-good story up to this point.  Predicted middle of the pack and leading the way at 5-0.  Nobody would have said they couldn't see it, but I'm sure they are feeling very good about themselves in Indianola.

Loras on the other hand must be scratching their heads sitting at 0-6.  While they have played Central and Simpson, two good teams, they still have Buena Vista, Coe, and Wartburg waiting in the wings and licking their chops.

-Dubuque gave BVU quite a run this weekend, is it fair to say that UD will give this tournament a run?

-Coe appears to be the best offensive team in the conference, hands down (yes, better than BVU).

Who is your pick to win the conference at this point?  I'll put my money on the Kohawks of Coe College.

Tuesdays matchups:

Central at Simpson
Loras at Coe
Wartburg at Buena Vista
Cornell at Dubuque
(Luther off until the weekend series at BVU)

From my point of view I don't know how I could possibly pick a winner at this point.  This topic could be argued in the regional boards, but I think the IIAC is as competitive as any league in this region.  Just look at the weeks matchups.  Midweek:  Central at Simpson Toss Up!  Wartburg at BV Toss Up!  Cornell at Dubuque Toss Up!  Loras at Coe is the only one that looks bad on paper and Im sure Loras will have something to prove being 0-6.   Then on the weekend:  Simpson goes to Wartburg Toss Up!    Luther takes their 4-2 record to BV.  Loras has some must wins on the road at Cornell.  Coe will travel to UD where BV just got a run for their money.  Man this is some good stuff.   At weeks end this is how I see it.  But I wouldn't bet on it. 

Coe 9-2
BV 6-2
Simpson 7-3
Wartburg 6-5
Central 4-4
Luther 4-5
Loras 4-7
UD 3-7
Cornell 0-8

Totally agree, it is tough to tell who is the best team in the conference right now. Wartburg came with a strong showing this past weekend as they took games from Central and we will see how they do tonight when they take on BV. Luther looks like a solid team with some good pitching after Lindmark was able to slow down Coe in game 1 of their series. Simpson with a strong start but still have Central, BV, Wartburg, and Coe to play. The clear cut best team is hard to tell right now! IMO it will come down to who is the hottest going into the tourny and can keep that momentum going. We could be set up to watch an exciting tournament if Coe, BV, Wartburg, Central, Simpson, and Luther were to make it!

Dubuque Telegraph-Herald with an article on Loras' split with Coe and UD sweeping Cornell yesterday.

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=317145

Simpson is now 7-0 after sweeping Central in the doubleheader yesterday.  With Coe losing one to Loras, the Storm are now the biggest positive surprise to me so far.

Congrats to Wartburg for getting the split with B.V. after losing 15-4 in game 1.

Central maybe needed the break from conference games this weekend as 3-5 is not the conference start that they were looking for.

Coe split with Loras and now gets to play Iowa today.  When was the last time Wartburg or some other Division III school not in the Cedar Rapids area played Iowa?  I have always thought Iowa should play whoever won the Iowa Conference the previous year.

Even rotating Iowa Conference schools each year with Iowa would at least get all the parents of the Iowa Conference team to drive down to Iowa City and help the crowd numbers.

I like your idea of Iowa playing an Iowa Conference school.  I think a rotation method would be better.  One reason I wouldn't want to see the defending champion get to play the Hawkeyes is that school could have been loaded with seniors the previous year, and the next year be rebuilding, but all you would hear is how Iowa steamrolled the Iowa Conference Champion.  Plus, you might find 1 school getting to play Iowa more often than others and it might be nice for each school to get a shot at the Hawks from time to time. 

Wasn't there a time when Luther played Iowa pretty regularly???

Never happen. Playing Iowa is not a charity event?  In other parts of the country DIII schools schedule DI schools as part of their normal schedule.  It is not that uncommon.  If I'm not mistaken I think Coe also had a run of years where they played Western Illinois.  I'm guessing it is just a scheduling relationship.  DI schools will rarely schedule non DI schools simply because of issues it could cause with RPI, much like DIII schools playing NAIA schools.

Back when Minnesota Gopher Baseball used to be more of a regional power around the last time they hosted regionals, I thought they used to rotate MIAC schools at one point as the one non-Division I opponent on the schedule.  There is always a strong MIAC following around the Twin Cities, and I remember being at a St. Thomas-Minnesota game that was pretty tight.

Back when the scheduling rules were different, Coach Banks and Iowa used to schedule multiple Iowa Conference schools.  In fact, one of his last games in the late 1990s was the infamous game in Decorah that helped send him into retirement.

Does it really matter that much for Division I RPI whether Iowa is playing Coe or Central?

Quote from: doolittledog on April 06, 2011, 04:23:34 PM
I like your idea of Iowa playing an Iowa Conference school.  I think a rotation method would be better.  One reason I wouldn't want to see the defending champion get to play the Hawkeyes is that school could have been loaded with seniors the previous year, and the next year be rebuilding, but all you would hear is how Iowa steamrolled the Iowa Conference Champion.  Plus, you might find 1 school getting to play Iowa more often than others and it might be nice for each school to get a shot at the Hawks from time to time. 

Wasn't there a time when Luther played Iowa pretty regularly???

Luther and Iowa have played 105 times, but the series really hasn't been anywhere close to even on the field since the mid-1980s.  Before WWII both Iowa and Luther had better programs than they have now, and the series was close.  Even into the late 1960s Luther was playing Iowa and Minnesota on a regular basis and those teams would play in Decorah.  Luther almost beat Iowa in the late 1990s, but you have to go back to the mid-1980s when Luther had two high draft choices both at pitcher and catcher and another stud pitcher that gave Iowa real problems.

The town of Decorah used to shut down in the 1920s and 1930s for Luther Baseball as the Norse would play teams like Notre Dame, LSU, and Michigan State in Decorah in addition to the regular Iowa Conference schedule and regular big schools like Iowa, Northwestern, and Minnesota.  Some of my relatives played on teams that had a 10-game winning streak against the Wildcats.

Sigurd Reque was the Norseman Baseball Coach during two decades of those pre-WWII years.  He was 202-107 with almost half of the games against major schools.  He was inducted into the NAIA Baseball Hall of Fame in 1960.

Besides Iowa Conference success, the last big noise that the Norse made nationally in baseball was winning the NCAA Division II regional in 1965.

Some Iowa non-Big Ten opponents with all-time games played against the Hawks:

ISU - 123 games
Luther - 105 games
UNI - 93 games
Cornell - 69 games
Coe - 68 games
Upper Iowa - 30 games
Drake - 24 games
Wartburg - 24 games
William Penn - 19 games
Loras - 14 games
Simpson - 10 games
Dubuque - 7 games

It's just a whole new world now.  Big schools in BCS conferences like Iowa have less budget constraints.  They don't have to fill their schedule with regional opponents anymore.  They are more likely to schedule games vs schools in areas where they would like to recruit.  Or playing in things like the big ten vs big east challenge.  I think the separation of talent between small school and Major DI has gotten much bigger over the years, even at a school like Iowa that has not had much national success over the recent years.  
I don't disagree with the idea of them playing different small schools around the state. I just don't think a school like Iowa would commit to something like that, there is no benefit for them.   I'm not sure why they have been playing Coe over the past couple years, the games have not been very competitive.  I know they played Kirkwood in the fall. And I think they played Mt. Mercy a few years back if I remember right.  Maybe it is just a Cedar Rapids thing?

Quote from: upandin on April 07, 2011, 01:36:36 PM
It's just a whole new world now.  Big schools in BCS conferences like Iowa have less budget constraints.  They don't have to fill their schedule with regional opponents anymore.  They are more likely to schedule games vs schools in areas where they would like to recruit.  Or playing in things like the big ten vs big east challenge.  I think the separation of talent between small school and Major DI has gotten much bigger over the years, even at a school like Iowa that has not had much national success over the recent years.  
I don't disagree with the idea of them playing different small schools around the state. I just don't think a school like Iowa would commit to something like that, there is no benefit for them.   I'm not sure why they have been playing Coe over the past couple years, the games have not been very competitive.  I know they played Kirkwood in the fall. And I think they played Mt. Mercy a few years back if I remember right.  Maybe it is just a Cedar Rapids thing?

The Big Ten-Big East Challenge probably comes from the fact that Division I schools in the North now have a harder time setting a schedule since the scheduling rules about non-Division I games counting as wins were put in place.  That challenge now gives those two leagues a chance to map out the schedule every year with some other Northern teams.

Who is Iowa going to play on the cheap and with little travel once that rule was changed and now ISU and UNI no longer have baseball?  The budgets had to grow to deal with the new reality.

Many schools (see UNI, ISU) have more budget issues than ever before.  I wish the baseball season started in April for college so the Northern schools wouldn't have to spend so much money on travel and could have real regional games again.

Title IX is part of this as well, but I would rather see more Division I baseball programs playing a range of schedules later in the season than the current setup.

It took Coe 10 innings to beat UD 7-3 today.  Double header tomorrow. 

Luther won the opening game in Storm Lake, 3-1.  Augie Lindmark went the distance as he is now 3-0 in IIAC series openers this year.  The Norse scored 2 in the 9th to take the lead.

Big win for the Norse as they are now 15-6 overall and 5-2 in the league.

Wartburg beat Simpson and Loras beat Cornell in lopsided wins.  Other than Cornell, the conference standings appear to be getting closer.

Simpson is still 7-1 in the league, but Coe is now 7-2.

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on April 08, 2011, 09:31:34 PM
Luther won the opening game in Storm Lake, 3-1.  Augie Lindmark went the distance as he is now 3-0 in IIAC series openers this year.  The Norse scored 2 in the 9th to take the lead.

Big win for the Norse as they are now 15-6 overall and 5-2 in the league.

Like the Coe series, Luther dropped the Saturday doubleheader to lose the series with B.V., 7-2 and 6-3.  I didn't see any of it, but it looks like the Norse bats couldn't hang with B.V.  The Norse are 15-8 and 5-4 while B.V. is 5-3.

Like last season when Hyland was on the mound, the Norse are doing very well with Lindmark on the mound this year.  5-4 isn't in horrible shape, but the bats and other pitchers are going to have to do better against Loras and Dubuque as you can't expect Lindmark to keep throwing 9-inning gems every week.

Dubuque split with Coe today.  Dubuque took the opening game 3-1 while Coe took the night cap 2-0

Yesterday Coe won 7-3 in 10 innings.  Great effort by the Spartans against a good Kohawk team.  I am optimistic for the Spartans the rest of the way. 

Dubuque is now 14-7 and 4-6 in the league, so I agree that things have changed this year.  They have played 2 against the bottom of the league, but they have played 8 against Coe, B.V., and Simpson.

Congrats as well to Loras and Wartburg for winning a series this weekend.  The race looks very fluid right now.

Big weekend series coming up with Coe and B.V. going after each other.

Check out the schedule for this week's conference games!  Looking at how tight things are right now, and the fact that there are games wednesday to go along with the weekend series, I think it's fair to call this MOVING WEEK!!!

Wednesday
Simpson @ Central
Coe @ Loras
Buana Vista @ Wartburg
Dubuque @ Cornell

Weekend Series
Cornell @ Simpson
Buena Vista @ Coe
Loras @ Luther
Dubuque @ Central

1 ) Great opportunity for Simpson to pull away as they have the weekend series against Cornell while the two other serious contenders play each other (BV vs. Coe)

2 ) It's been a couple of weeks now where people have complained about how this is such a tight conference and nobody seems to be pulling away.  Well, that trend might come to an end as Coe and BV play each other.  The other tell-tale series is Central vs. Dubuque on the weekend.  Both teams are hanging near the bottom and have a chance to put the other in serious trouble at the halfway point.

3 ) Teams 5-8........fighting for the tournament.  Coming into the season Luther, Dubuque, and Loras were expected to be in this spot....Central was predicted higher and has underperformed, while Luther has done better than many expected nabbing wins from Coe and BVU.  This is a key weekend for these teams as (previously mentioned) Central squares off against Dubuque and Loras takes there talents to Decroah to face the Norse.

This weekend could likely answer a lot of questions and start to spread teams out.  (On the other hand, it will probably be a bunch of 2-1 series that keep everybody within a couple of games).

TheSportsFan's predictions After April 16th

Simpson........12-2
Coe...............10-5
Buena Vista....8-4
Luther............7-5
Wartburg.......6-6
Dubuque........6-8
Central...........5-7
Loras..............5-10
Cornell............0 for Forever.

Don't let Simpson's 12-2 fool you......they end the season with 3 at BVU, 3 at Luther and 3 vs. Coe.

Dubuque Telegraph-Herald with a story about the new bats for the NCAA this year.  Interesting read.

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=317883

Central 12, Simpson 3
BVU 2, Wartburg 1
Cornell 5, Dubuque 2
Loras 10, Coe 4 (Bottom of the 8th)

if Loras can hold on......here are the updated standings........YES, somehow the top tier has gotten even tighter.

Simpson.8-3
Coe........8-4
BVU........6-3
Luther....5-4
Wartburg..6-6
Central.....4-5
Loras........5-7
Dubuque...4-7
Cornell......1-8

Notes:  Watson went 9 innings of 4 hit and 7 K without getting the win for Wartburg.

Dubuque has to be questioning whether or not they can find a way to the tournament.  They fall to 4-7, and have no more games against Cornell.  It's just hard for me to imagine Dubuque sticking with the middle grouping of teams.

Loras has now won 5 conference games in a row, including two from Coe and 3 from Cornell to get to 5-7.  Just like that, the Duhawks are back in contention (assuming they don't blow the six run lead with an innning left to play).

Quote from: Floyd in Iowa City on April 07, 2011, 12:46:38 PM
Back when Minnesota Gopher Baseball used to be more of a regional power around the last time they hosted regionals, I thought they used to rotate MIAC schools at one point as the one non-Division I opponent on the schedule.  There is always a strong MIAC following around the Twin Cities, and I remember being at a St. Thomas-Minnesota game that was pretty tight.

Back when the scheduling rules were different, Coach Banks and Iowa used to schedule multiple Iowa Conference schools.  In fact, one of his last games in the late 1990s was the infamous game in Decorah that helped send him into retirement.

Does it really matter that much for Division I RPI whether Iowa is playing Coe or Central?

Maybe the Gophers should rotate MIAC schools again!  St. Thomas beat the Gophers 8-3 yesterday and never trailed.  They also beat the Gophers 6-3 in 2009 and lost in 12 innings last season, 5-4.

The Tommies were just 8-13 on the season going into the game yesterday and had just been swept by Hamline in a doubleheader on Tuesday.  They are 4-4 in the MIAC.

All-time records against Minnesota:

Iowa Conference schools
Luther 10-36-2 (before WWII the series was 8-11-2)
Upper Iowa 3-3 (this series was played between 1900-1906, the Peacock-Norse series was also tough back then)
Wartburg 0-4
Cornell 0-1

MIAC schools
Augsburg 1-43-1
Bethel 0-4
Carleton 7-35-2
Concordia 0-4
Gustavus 0-15
Macalester 1-16-1
St. John's 2-12
St. Mary's 0-2
St. Olaf 2-35
St. Thomas 12-63

Quote from: TheSportsFan on April 13, 2011, 09:15:16 PM
Central 12, Simpson 3
BVU 2, Wartburg 1
Cornell 5, Dubuque 2
Loras 10, Coe 4 (Bottom of the 8th)

if Loras can hold on......here are the updated standings........YES, somehow the top tier has gotten even tighter.

Simpson.8-3
Coe........8-4
BVU........6-3
Luther....5-4
Wartburg..6-6
Central.....4-5
Loras........5-7
Dubuque...4-7
Cornell......1-8

Notes:  Watson went 9 innings of 4 hit and 7 K without getting the win for Wartburg.

Dubuque has to be questioning whether or not they can find a way to the tournament.  They fall to 4-7, and have no more games against Cornell.  It's just hard for me to imagine Dubuque sticking with the middle grouping of teams.

Loras has now won 5 conference games in a row, including two from Coe and 3 from Cornell to get to 5-7.  Just like that, the Duhawks are back in contention (assuming they don't blow the six run lead with an innning left to play).

Congrats to the Duhawks as the pitching is really getting it done right now and the hitting has been coming on.  It should be a fun series in Decorah this weekend!

B.V. has themselves back in good position by winning the series against both Wartburg and Luther.

Central stopped the bleeding against the Storm.

Congrats as well to Cornell as that conference win must have seemed pretty big after how the season had been going for them.  Hopefully they can take down some other teams down the stretch.

Dubuque wins at Central 4-3 in what I believe is the 1st of a double header today...with tomorrow the two schools will play 1 game which is the make up from yesterdays postponed game.  But I'm never sure of much.

Congrats to the Spartans!

The Norse beat Loras, 2-0 in the 1st game of the series.  Augie Lindmark did it again as he had a complete game shutout to move to 4-0 in IIAC 9-inning games.  He gave up 2 hits and fanned 8.  What a year he has had to this point!

I will echo what others have said on here.  A lot of competitive balance from top to bottom this year.  Is it the bats???  Even Cornell with 1 conference win is hanging in games and keeping it close.  Dubuque loses to Cornell midweek and then goes to Pella and beats a Central team that just took it to league leader Simpson 12-3 earlier in the week.  Luther seems to be playing well.  It should be interesting to see how things play out the rest of the season. 

You do have to wonder about the bats as it seems like there are some pitchers having very good years.  Even the Hawkeyes, who are now only 12-19, seem to be built that the winning formula rests almost completely with the starting pitchers.

Luther is not hitting that well right now.  The Lindmark games have kept the team above water.  Loras also seems like the pitching is what drives that team.

This weekend and the first conference weekend were pretty cold as well.

Wartburg has not won the league title all by themselves in consecutive years since 2004 and 2005.  Is the fact that the league isn't being dominated by one team the way it was for more than 10 years when Wartburg was riding high part of this as well?

Congrats to Coe for winning against the Beavers today, 6-2.  The games tomorrow are huge for both teams as Coe has a chance to put some real distance between 2nd and 3rd place.  B.V. also plays Simpson next week.

B.V. can turn this around quickly, but they better start soon.  It will get really hard making up ground after these next five games.

Luther swept Loras as they won the doubleheader, 4-1 and 12-7.  The 2nd game today got interesting as the Norse were up 8-0 going into the 5th and then found themselves up only 8-7 going into the bottom of the 6th.  It was an interesting 1st choice to go to the bullpen, but a win is a win. ;D

The Norse are now 18-8 overall and 8-4 in the Iowa Conference.  It is only the halfway mark for Luther, but 8-4 is a pretty good mark for this group going into the Dubuque series on Friday.

Loras is now 12-16 and 5-10 in the league.  Loras has been up and down this year, but this was a good sweep as the Duhawks had won 5 IIAC games in a row.

Coe swept B.V. this weekend as they won both ends of the doubleheader today, 6-0 and 8-0. :o

Coe is now 19-8 and 11-4 in the IIAC while B.V. is now 6-6 in the league and 15-11 overall.  B.V. also plays Simpson this week.

The best team in the league might be the group from Cedar Rapids, but they have nine league games left.

Updated IIAC standings:

Simpson......11-3
Coe.............11-4
Luther...........8-4
Buena Vista...6-6
Central..........6-6
Wartburg.......6-6
Dubuque........5-9
Loras.............5-10
Cornell...........1-11

FINALLY a little bit of separation at the top with Simpson and Coe looking in good shape.  In addition Coe will be home against Central and split series with Cornell before having a week off to prepare for Simpson to close the season.  I like Coe to win this conference, at least at this point.  Probably with an 18-6 record.

Biggest surprise of the weekend:  Coe sweeps Buena Vista and holds them to just 2 runs on the weekend.  People knew Coe was good, but questioned whether or not their pitching could do the job.....I think that question has been answered.

In terms of the conference tournament (6 teams making it), it looks like Simpson and Coe are in good shape, but what a close race at the bottom with 5 teams at 5 or 6 wins, and 3 teams sitting at 6-6.

Don't count Loras out just yet, they still have 9 games to play, including series against Dubuque, BVU, and Wartburg, 3 teams that they are chasing.  Dubuque also still needs to play Wartburg.

Note:  Teams that have yet to play Cornell (sad we have to do this)....Wartburg, Coe, Central, Buena Vista.

With that in mind, Cornell, Loras and Dubuque are all in big trouble.  The three teams at 6-6 (Wart, BV and CENT) still play Cornell and will have a good chance for 2 or 3 easy victories.

Quote from: TheSportsFan on April 17, 2011, 10:39:27 PM

With that in mind, Cornell, Loras and Dubuque are all in big trouble.  The three teams at 6-6 (Wart, BV and CENT) still play Cornell and will have a good chance for 2 or 3 easy victories.

That's just it, looking at Cornell, Loras and UD scores.  All their games are close.  Dubuque at 5-9 is a couple of bad breaks from being 1-11 like Cornell...Dubuque is also a couple of good breaks away from being 9-5.  Same thing with Cornell.  15-3 losses last year have turned into 4-3 losses this year.  I agree it will be hard for the bottom 3 to dig out of the hole they have dug for themselves...but, BV-Central-Wart can't count on "easy" victories out of those games. 

Most years, in the IIAC, it takes a .500 record to get in the tournament.  That is 12 wins.  Looks like that is playing out once again.  This means: 
Cornell would have to go 11-1 vs. Wartburg – Coe – Central – BV 
Dubuque would have to go 7-2 vs. Luther – Loras – Wartburg
Loras would have to go 7 -2 vs. Dubuque – BV – Wartburg

Games, this year, have been much closer (score) across the board.  It seems the new bats have definitely changed the game.  All in all, things are playing out the same as always.   Midway through the IIAC schedule and 3 teams have played themselves out of contention, 3 teams are within striking distance of a title, and 3 teams are knocking on the door to make a late run. Should be a fun 3 weeks.

When do the regional rankings come out? I saw that last year's rankings came out around this time and was unsure if there was a set date for the release

Quote from: Swing4theFences on April 20, 2011, 07:29:52 PM
When do the regional rankings come out? I saw that last year's rankings came out around this time and was unsure if there was a set date for the release

April 28th...

doolittle,

Are you at the Luther-Dubuque game?  Are they in rain delay mode?  The live stats stopped at 9-1 Norse, bottom of the 9th, two Spartans on base with nobody out.

I wanted to watch this on the computer, but I am sure the bad weather stopped the video feed.

Augie Lindmark looked like he dealt with a lot of Dubuque baserunners, but went 8 innings and gave up only 1 run.

Chris Reynolds looked good hitting against Hamline at the Saints stadium yesterday.  Looked like he was hitting it pretty solid today as well.

Looks like the Luther-Dubuque game was called for rain, so the final score reverted back to 7-1 Luther, 8-inning game.

Congrats to B.V. for beating Simpson, 5-1.  Really big win for the Beavers in that they finally stopped the bleading.  They are now 7-6 while Simpson (and Coe) are now 11-4.

Floyd, I was a working stiff yesterday.  To my knowledge, Dubuque has just ran live stats for all their baseball games this year and there hasn't been any video.  Not sure why.  What I gathered from the live stats it was a 2-1 Luther lead from almost the get go, and then the Norse exploded for 6-7 runs in like the 6th or 7th inning and put the game away.  That's what good teams are supposed to do. 

Last year Dubuque got behind early in games.  This year the Spartans seem to hang in until the bitter end.  I hope to see some more wins from the this year, but am optimistic that next season tis the year we see some real improvement.  Would be REALLY nice to at least finish ahead of the Duhawks :D

Consider me impressed.  Dubuque takes 2 from Luther today.  5-2 in the opening game and 4-3 in the 2nd game.  Good job Spartans.  Impressive win!!!

Congrats Spartans as the Norse now have swept two schools (Cornell and Loras) and lost the series 2-1 to three schools (Dubuque, B.V., and Coe).  Luther did not from the stats look like they hit well enough nor did they play defense.

Losing the pair today put the Norse right back on the edge in the middle of the league.  Augie Lindmark so far has been the difference between the 7th place predicted finish and where they currently are.

Dubuque is also back in the mix for making the league tourney.

I did think I was going to watch this series on the computer as the Dubuque site earlier in the week made it seem like you could both watch and see live stats.  I was dissapointed in that the only school besides the Norse that I remember watching baseball online was when Luther was at Central last year.

Wow!  B.V. dropped the hammer on Simpson today, 5-0 and 15-1.  They swept the series and sent Simpson to 2nd place at 11-6.

Those Norse losses to the Spartans dropped them to 9-6 and tied with B.V. for 3rd (wins would have put them in 1st  :().

There are now four teams with six losses and Coe is in 1st place with five losses.

The IIAC and CCIW are in the same boat... tons of parity in the league and one more good team than playoff spots available. Both will be fun to watch in the next two weeks.

Luther lost to Wartburg today, 6-3 in 11 innings.  It was 1-1 at the middle of the 7th when I had to leave for an appointment.

Sounds like Luther scored two runs in the bottom of the 7th to lead 3-1, but the Norse blew the lead in the 9th with Lindmark on the mound.  Luther had 4 errors late in the game. :-[

Like B.V. last week, the Norse now need to stop the bleeding to avoid a free fall.  They are now only 9-7 with Simpson, Wartburg, and Central still ahead.  Worse, they played poorly with Lindmark throwing 4 innings.

The only good news from yesterday for the Norse was that Matt Reynolds pitched very well for 7 innings as he was leading when he left.  Watson looked good on the mound for the Knights when I was watching.

Bad defense late in the game in a key game is still bugging me.

In 6 days, all questions will be answered.

What we know right now is that Dubuque and Cornell have both been mathematically eliminated from the conference tournament.  Dubuque put up a better fight than most expected this year but just couldn't find a way to win many series.

Loras has scratched and clawed their way back into the picture and can very realistically find a way into the field of 6.

Here is how I see the seeding shaping up after the mid-week games and the weekend games.

1. Coe............(17-7)
2. Wartubrg...(16-8)
3. BVU............(15-9)
4. Simpson.....(14-9)
5. Central.......(14-10)
6. Luther........(12-12)

Loras misses the tournament at 11-13.

Just one man's opinions, looking at matchups this could turn in SO many different directions

Games to note

Tuesday
------------
BVU @ Central  (DH)

Weekend
-------------
Coe @ Simpson

I think tomorrow's Wartburg-Luther Doubleheader is right up there with the BV-Central doubleheader for tomorrow.

Quote from: Kohawk Krazy on May 02, 2011, 04:09:40 PM
I think tomorrow's Wartburg-Luther Doubleheader is right up there with the BV-Central doubleheader for tomorrow.

Agreed!  I am actually a little shocked not to see more Wartburg people around this board as they have gone from 6-6 to 13-6 in the Iowa Conference.  With five games left against Luther and Loras, they have to think they have a good shot at winning the last five games to put a lot of pressure on Coe.  Like many recent seasons the Knights haven't been that consistent overall (or that good early in the year), but they are a serious contender down the stretch. 

I know Wartburg's wins in the seven-game winning streak have mostly been against Cornell and Dubuque, but the Norse sure had problems with the Spartans this year.  In addition, the Knights also did not even throw Watson against Dubuque. 

I am sure the Norse will see Watson today for the 2nd time this year (I think Hyland beat the Knights twice last year in different midweek games).  Hopefully the Norse rotation (hopefully Lindmark) is ready to go for these next five games, but especially the doubleheader today as not only do the Norse want to get the taste of the extra inning game last week against the Knights out of them, but these games will help decide the league title.

Luther has swept a couple conference series and lost the rest of them.  It would good to win the Wartburg series to finally get one of those 2-1 series wins. ;D

Watson topped Luther's Danny Smith in the 1st game today, 1-0, but the Norse did at least come back to win the nightcap, 5-0.  Byom and Martin combined for the shutout in game two.  Martin has had a very nice freshman year.

Wartburg only scored 1 run in a doubleheader, but they still get the split.  You have to tip your hat to Watson as he has put together a very strong season.

Augie Lindmark did not pitch today for the Norse as I assume he is getting the Friday start against Central.  I have been happy to see the the top five pitchers for Luther are putting up strong numbers right now.

It must have been a night for pitching though as Liriano threw a no-hitter for the Twins. :o  I know the White Sox have played bad baseball overall like the Twins, but Liriano throwing a no-hitter against anyone right now is shocking (even with his potential).

Other scores:

B.V. 7 - Central 2
B.V. 5 - Central 2

Coe 14 - Cornell 3

Loras 4 - Dubuque 1
Dubuque 8 - Loras 1

Dubuque Telegraph-Herald write-up on the Loras/Dubuque double header and how Loras has a long road to hoe to try to make the conference tourney.

https://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=320211

Dubuque at 8-15 in conference play after going 5-19 last season.  Record might not show it, but Dubuque was much improved over last season. 

Coe, Wartburg, Buena Vista and Simpson have all clinched a tournament birth.

Both Central and Luther have the tie-break over Loras.  Loras can only get in by sweeping Wartburg and hoping for a sweep either way in the Central/Luther series.

I see this:

BV sweeps Cornell
Coe 2, Simpson 1
Luther 2, Central 1
Wartburg 2, Loras 1

Tournament Seeds:

1) Coe...............(17-7)........9-3.......clinches BYE with at least one win vs. Simpson
2) BVU...............(16-8).......10-5......
3) Wartburg......(16-8)........8-7.......clinches BYE with a sweep of Loras
4) Simpson........(14-9)........5-7.......
5) Luther...........(13-11)......4-8.......
6) Central..........(12-12)......3-9.......

Overall Record vs. other teams in the tournament (to this point) is the second record shown above.

Congrats to the Kohawks on winning their first Iowa Conference title in school history!

I just got back into town, but I also say congrats to Coe for winning the Iowa Conference!  They have had other good teams in recent years, so the team this year got something done that previous teams had a shot at.  This seems to be Coe's best all-around year in the Iowa Conference (all sports).

Coe had the best offense that I saw Luther play this year.  In a year that many teams saw the offensive numbers fall way back, Coe and B.V. still had nice offensive years.

I was dissapointed that Luther went from 9-4 to finishing 5th in the Iowa Conference (13-11), but at least they had a nice Saturday doubleheader sweep of Central for the few seniors on the team (OF Thompson and SS Beckman were the consistent starting seniors).

Danny Smith (5-4, 3.39 ERA in 61 innings) has been up and down, but he took a big step this year as a sophomore.  Matt Reynolds (3-1, 2.45 ERA in 51 innings) won the 2nd game and really came out of nowhere down the stretch this year.

Augie Lindmark (6-4, 1.62 ERA in 72 innings) is still the stud pitcher on the staff and among the top 2 or 3 in the league.  Chris Reynolds (.407 average, 13 2Bs, 24 RBIs, 41 runs) is the other Norse player who is clearly a 1st team all-IIAC player.

Good luck to everyone this week.  Coe will be the favorite, but 4-5 teams have real reasons to think that they have a shot.

Should be a great IIAC tournament with the amount of parity this league has had throughout the year.

Note that Loras and Dubuque were each one win away from this being a league with 8 teams winning 20 games!!!  What a huge step this year has been in the right direction for the IIAC.  The CCIW lovers will reinforce that the IIAC needs to show more consistent results in the Regional tournament before they will get the national attention.

Very curious for the Wartburg/Central matchup on Thursday:  Watson vs. Pulliam.  Last time they met, Watson/Wartburg won 5-2.  Watson went all 9 giving up just 5 hits and striking out 11.  Pulliam struggled with the Wartburg lineup going 7 innings, giving up 10 hits, and 7 k's.

I was more off on this conference than any of the other Central Region leagues. This was/is a VERY balanced league this year.

Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC): Buena Vista, Buena Vista, Buena Vista! The Beavers steamrolled through the IIAC last year and earned a #1 seed in the NCAA Central Regional where they ran into the buzz saw named Illinois Wesleyan, losing twice to the eventual national champion. Gone is the big bat of IIAC Player of the Year Brandon Pietrzyk, but seniors Brad Blum (.390, 24 SB) and Mike Hoffman (.383, 51 RBI) look to pick up the slack at the plate. The Beavers are the regional favorite based on their return of three all-IIAC arms. Luke Probasco (8-3, 3.32 ERA), Ryan Wuebker (10-2, 4.14 ERA), and James Stone (4-1, 3.32 ERA) give Buena Vista a chance against nearly anyone in the nation. Chasing the Beavers will be the Knights of Wartburg College who won twelve consecutive IIAC titles through the 2008 season. The Knights return four all-IIAC players with Brad Watson (7-5) and Nate Rost (4-1) leading the way on the bump. Patrick Grau and Drew Yoder need to provide a one-two punch for the offense if they plan to advance past the post-season tourney. The Central Dutch return seven second-team all-conference players so when looking for an upset surprise, you might want to speak "freaky-deaky Dutch". If even half of those players rise to another level, they will be a force to be reckoned with at playoff time. Coe, Loras, Luther and Simpson will battle for the final playoff spots in the IIAC which send its top six teams into the post-season tournament. On the outside looking will be Cornell and Dubuque.

Pappa you were not that far off.  I think most people agreed with your predictions, even the IIAC coaches.  Coe just crashed the party and was the surprise team you thought Central may be. 

Coe was picked to win the IIAC in 2010 and that just didn't pan out.  In 2011 everyone knew Coe had some solid players led by Nick Stien, Player of the year in my opinion.  The surprise was on the mound, with only one returning starter from 2010, they posted a 3.05 team ERA in conference play.  They went 12-3 vs the teams in the tournament. Very solid team in all phases. 

BV was not quite the offensive power they were in 2010 but still a very solid lineup.  They have been playing without one of those top arms (Wuebker) for most of the season.  One would think, he could have given them a 2 game swing to be neck in neck with Coe.  They were 10-5 vs teams in the tournament.  In the end being swept buy Coe was the difference. 

Wartburg opened the IIAC also being swept by Coe. Judging by the numbers, they rebounded quite well, leading the conference in both ERA and Batting Average to finish the regular season.  Watson was the Ace most of the IIAC thought he would be.  Pitcher of the year in my opinion.  They were 8-7 vs teams in the tournament.

Central has a stud on the mound in Pullium.  He is one of the best in the league, but they just didn't win games against the top teams.  They were 4 – 11 vs. the teams in the tournament.  Two of those wins were surprisingly vs conference champ Coe.  Maybe that is a sign of what is to come.  In the end you have to win series to be a contender. 

Luther was another surprise team.  Reynolds and Lindmark are in the running for player and pitcher of the year.  They were 6-9 vs teams in the tournament.

Simpson has a ton of upper classmen and some solid pitching.  I think they were probably underrated from the start.  Being swept by Coe last weekend dropped them from 2nd to 4th.  They were 5-10 vs teams in the tournament.

Loras and Dubuque just played down another level from the rest of the pack.  They were not bad teams, just stuck in a tuff conference battle. 

Cornell was just bad.   

Should be a great tournament, with some great matchups. 

My "Ballot" for IIAC Honors

Player of the Year

1A. Nick Stein - COE
1B. Chris Reynolds -LUTHER

This is without a doubt a two-man race.  I searched to add a 3 and possibly a 4 or 5 to  this list, but could not make a serious case for anybody else.  (Maybe the dangerous Kevin Kloewer from BVU, but he only hit .325 with a sub-.400 OBP).

Depending on what type of an approach is taken, you come up with one of these two guys as POTY.

Stein was the anchor to a solid lineup, and conference champion, Coe.  He led the league in Slugging, OBP, Runs, and RBI.  Hitting 3rd in that lineup is a great spot to be to put up very nice numbers.  He generally plays very good in Centerfield and is known for his solid range and plus arm.  Nobody would flinch if they saw Stein pull this award in.

Reynolds is also an intriguing option.  He absolutely carried a team that generally was below average offensively.  Reynolds led the league in hitting (.444) while no other Norse player broke .300 in conference play.  He also led the league in hits, and doubles.  His .518 OBP is second to only Stein.  Defensively, Reynolds was solid, posting a .983 Fld. percentage with only 4 errors in 24 games at second base.  This is a guy clearly capable of hitting 3rd in a lineup, but the Norse seemed to need Reynolds in the leadoff spot.  It's hard to punish the guy for his low numbers of RBI considering he often hit with nobody on base, and drew numerous intentional walks when first base was open.  If this was an MVP award there would be no doubt that he was the most valuable to his team.

I would not argue with either of the above options.  Like my good friend Charles Barkley once said, "Anything else would be uncivilized."

Pitcher of the Year

1. Brad Watson - WARTBURG
2. Augie Lindmark - LUTHER
Worth Mentioning: Wade Morris - COE, Kendall Paluch - LORAS, Joel Pulliam - CENTRAL

Brad Watson is the flashy favorite for this award.  His numbers are impressive, 4th in ERA (1.78), 2nd in Opp. Avg. (.189), 1st in strikeout (56).  Watson was 6-3 in 9 appearances.  He was the anchor for a pitching staff that desperately depended on him as he was frequently thrown out on short rest.

Augie Lindmark was a nice surprise this year.  Half way through the year it appeared that he was the front-runner until his last three appearances through him off pace.  His best statistic was that he was undefeated until a relief appearance against Wartburg (and some bad Norse defensive play) cost him the tough luck loss.  He followed this with a 2-1 loss to Simpson and left down just 3-2 vs. Central.  He finished at 5-3.  Lindmark covered all important statistics, finishing in the top 4 in the IIAC.  1.35 ERA (2nd), .212 Opp. Avg. (4th), 60 IP (2nd), 36 K (4th) and 5 wins (4th).  What hurts him most is his lack of flare as his 36 K's in 60 innings won't impress the voters.  Again, if this was an MVP category, this Norse player could likely nab the award.

Coach of the Year: A much deserving Steve Cook....Coe outscored opponents 161-88 over the 24-game IIAC season.  They were not swept all year, and only lost two series (Loras and Central).  Sweeping Buena Vista and Wartburg have got to be the two biggest highlights of the year.  Coe won 12 of their 18 conf. victories by at least 4 runs.  It's important to note that they accomplished all of this while being the most depleted pitching staff in the league after losing Lewis and C. Raisch last year.....nuff said.

I have had a lot of people ask me how much of an impact the new bats have had....here is a quick number analysis.  I understand that different personnel comes through every year, but these numbers still prove something.

These numbers are over the five year stretch that the IIAC has done  the 3-game series format (24 games).

Year.......Average.....2B.......3B.......HR......SAC BUNT

2011.......(.272).......286......42.......65.........170

2010.......(.309).......403......38......140.........120

2009.......(.315).......373......39......125........116

2008.......(.292).......303......27.......76.........144

2007.......(.287).......311......37.......71.........161

This year we saw the lowest total of doubles and home runs, the lowest batting average, and the most sacrifice bunts.  It has been clear that teams are going to play a little bit more small ball this year in hopes of scratching runs across, while not being able to rely on the long ball.

I grew up watching Whitey ball in St. Louis...aka small ball...consider me a fan of this developement in the game. 

Great post about the overall league offensive numbers!

Luther bounced back this morning to beat Central, 14-4.  The Norse got off to another bad start as they were down 3-0 in the 1st inning, but unlike yesterday got it together enough to get this game stopped after 7 innings.

Reynolds has thrown 7 innings while Martin and Lindmark threw 5 or less yesterday.  I wonder how Augie's arm feels as he has slowly been sliding as of late.

Luther gets B.V around 4:00 and the winner plays Simpson right after that.  They are going to need Smith and perhaps Byom to throw well today.

Congrats to Coe and Wartburg for taking care of business so far.

Congrats to B.V. for ending the Norse season.  I was hoping that the Norse pitching and defense would keep teams down in this tourney, but it didn't happen.

Congrats to Simpson for ending the B.V. season.

This morning I thought Simpson was about to end the Wartburg season, but the weather and the Knights put that thought on hold at least.

I am hoping Coe wins this thing since they had the best regular season, but they are sitting pretty waiting for whoever comes out of the Knight-Storm game.

Congrats to Luther for winning the Men's All-Sports Championship today! ;D  Wartburg had won the trophy for something like 13 years, so it is about time for someone else to claim it.  I thought Coe might come in 2nd and Wartburg 3rd, but Coe finished near the bottom in track this weekend.

Wartburg won the Women's All-Sports Championship by beating out Luther (thanks to that dominant Wartburg track program), but the Knights and Norse then will share the overall All-Sports Championship.  The overall championship is not very old, so I think this is the first year that Wartburg hasn't won it by themselves.

Good luck in regionals to whoever wins the IIAC tourney tomorrow.

Congrats to the Kohawks on winning their first Iowa Conference Tournament Championship!  Have to believe they'll be the #1 seed in the Central Region.

Could easily be seeded 2 or 3......could be below Carthage......plus there will likely be teams shipped in from farther east to be the top team in the Central......i.e. Heidelberg or Adrian

Quote from: Kohawk Krazy on May 15, 2011, 10:19:00 PM
Congrats to the Kohawks on winning their first Iowa Conference Tournament Championship!  Have to believe they'll be the #1 seed in the Central Region.

Congrats to Coe on putting together such a solid regular season and good postseason to this point.  Good luck in regionals!

Luther Softball won their NCAA Regional today by going 4-0 and taking St. Thomas down twice in the last two days.  Hopefully they will be joined by either Coe or Central at the Softball National Championships, but I don't know where things stand in Pella.

Someday I want to see Luther Baseball get to the NCAA Division III Championships.  They haven't won a regional since they won the Division II NCAA Regional in 1965.

This year I guess I will be happy to settle for Coe getting there!

So who does BV start against Carthage in the regional?  Probasco?

Quote from: mwunder on May 16, 2011, 10:31:57 AM
So who does BV start against Carthage in the regional?  Probasco?

The bigger question is who does Carthage start? After last weekend, I have no idea anymore of what Uncle Augie is going to do ;D

Great to see B.V. and Coe make it to NCAA Regionals! :)  I thought I saw somewhere that is was the first time two IIAC teams had made it to regionals since 1999.

I heard that three Luther players (all underclassmen) made 1st team all-IIAC while a Luther senior made 2nd team.  I wonder who they are?

1st team-?
2B Chris Reynolds
P Augie Lindmark
? (P Matt Reynolds or 3B Ryan Bahnemann)

2nd team-?
OF Joe Thompson (SS Steve Beckman was the only other senior starter)

Chris Reynolds...better 2B, or better QB???

I believe:

1st: Lindmark, C. Reynolds, and Bahnemann
2nd: Thompson

Chris Reynolds, doesn't matter which sport he's better at....he's easily Luther's best at both.

If he was going to choose a sport, I'd remind him that he can throw a baseball farther than he can throw a football.  ;D

I thought Chris had a solid year in baseball in 2010 but Schott was by far the anchor.  He had a very good year as a freshman in baseball in 2009, but I thought this was his best offensive year and he was the offensive anchor even though he was leading off.

Augie Lindmark was also a huge part of what Luther was able to do to get to 9-4 in the league at one point.  From what I could tell, he had one bad start all season (at the end).

In football, Chris Reynolds has been the most valuable offensive player and is a good dual threat QB.  I would love to see a strong supporting cast around him as a senior this fall.

LB Kyle McGivney has been pretty good in football as well! ;D

Quote from: TheSportsFan on May 18, 2011, 04:34:27 PM
I believe:

1st: Lindmark, C. Reynolds, and Bahnemann
2nd: Thompson

Chris Reynolds, doesn't matter which sport he's better at....he's easily Luther's best at both.

If he was going to choose a sport, I'd remind him that he can throw a baseball farther than he can throw a football.  ;D

You nailed the picks for Luther.

Here is the 2011 IIAC All-Conference Baseball Team:

http://www.iowaconference.com/sports/2011/5/18/BB_2011All_IIAC.aspx?id=470 (http://www.iowaconference.com/sports/2011/5/18/BB_2011All_IIAC.aspx?id=470)

Congrats to Watson and Stein as they both had very good seasons.  Besides B.V., lots of all-league players return next season.

Scores from B.V. and Coe NCAA Regional games:

http://www.iowaconference.com/news/2011/5/18/BB_0518113801.aspx (http://www.iowaconference.com/news/2011/5/18/BB_0518113801.aspx)

Congrats to #5 B.V. for beating #2 Carthage, 8-1.  :)

#1 Coe lost to #6 Ripon, 3-2. :(

The regional seeds said it would be a 1-1 day for the IIAC, but not 1-1 as planned.

Coe and Carthage are playing an elimination game right now.

Thanks for your updates, Floyd

http://www.midwestconference.org/custompages/Weekly%20Releases/2010-11/Conference%20News/MWC_Cornell_1011.pdf (http://www.midwestconference.org/custompages/Weekly%20Releases/2010-11/Conference%20News/MWC_Cornell_1011.pdf)

I know they weren't part of the league for very long in the grand scheme of things, but I will miss Cornell as they leave the Iowa Conference in 2012.  They had some disadvantages, but I have always respected a lot of things about the school and the history and traditions there.  Mount Vernon seems like a nice town as well.

Coe is doing well in the Iowa Conference, but I wonder how strange it will be when the two rivals aren't in the same league anymore?  I hope that they will still play each other in most sports.

Over the years that Cornell has been in the league, I have seen the Norse play Cornell quite often in football and baseball.  All Iowa Conference league games sound good to me, but over the last 15 years I have enjoyed the Luther-Central, Luther-Loras, and Luther-Cornell games from a general sense in those two sports.  Central beats Luther too often in football, but there have been some good games.  I am not counting Luther-Wartburg or Luther-Upper Iowa as those two series have a different feel for historic reasons.

I doubt it happens that often, but I would like Luther to continue to play Cornell in sports like baseball, wrestling, and football.

Carthage beat Coe today, 5-3.  Great season for Coe!  I was hoping that they were going to hit more than they did in the two games.

http://www.iowaconference.com/news/2011/5/19/IIAC_0519112601.aspx (http://www.iowaconference.com/news/2011/5/19/IIAC_0519112601.aspx)

Great to see Luther officially listed as the 2011 IIAC Men's All-Sports Champions as the Knights had won that award too many years in a row.  Luther has won the most titles all-time, but this was the first title in a long time.

The Luther Women finished 2nd right behind Wartburg in the IIAC Women's All-Sports Championship.  I think Luther and Wartburg are tied for the most titles all time on the women's side.

Luther and Wartburg then shared the overall all-sports title as both schools finished 1st or 2nd in each race.

Congrats to B.V. as they won again today to move to 2-0 in NCAA Regionals.  This time it was a 7-1 win over host school Illinois Wesleyan.

Big day tomorrow for the Beavers!

Another big win by B.V. as they move to 3-0 in the NCAA Regional after the 7-6 win today over IWU. :)  They were up 6-2, gave up 4 runs late, then bounced back and took the lead for good.

They get Carthage again tomorrow, but Carthage has to beat them twice.  Good luck Beavers!  Hopefully they have pitchers ready to go.

Congratulations to BV - all three wins are vs. the CCIW.  As a Titan fan, I admit I took BV as lightly as the selection committee did - I can't believe we lost to them twice on our own field. :(

Losing twice to a school that doesn't even know how to properly pronounce their own name! :o ;D

If Carthage can't pull off an IWU tomorrow (last year, IWU swept Carthage on the final day of the conference tourney to even reach the national tourney), I'll root for BV to be the IWU in Appleton this year.  No one gave us a snowball's chance either. :D

BV totally self-destructed in the first game today (SIX errors, including three errors on three consecutive batters in the 8th, giving Carthage five runs on NO hits! :o); Carthage returned the favor in the final, yielding the winning run on an error.

Congratulations to BV!  You will be among the least respected teams in Appleton, if not the least - so were my Titans last year!  As a CCIW guy, I rooted for Carthage today; as a Central Region guy, I'll root for you next week - go and pull an IWU! :o ;D

Well, BV, looks like you dodged the big one.  It would have been a total bummer to make the CWS for the first time, then have the world end before you got to go! :o ;D

Congrats to B.V. for the first baseball regional title for the school since an NAIA title in 1968.

They also are the first IIAC school to win a regional since Wartburg in 2005. :)

Two conference bids for the IIAC and a regional title!  This is the postseason that many of us have been hoping the see the last few years. :)

Congrats to BV for representing the IIAC well. 

Good job BV for the walk-off win against Whitewater!

Quote from: mr_b on May 27, 2011, 09:52:33 PM
Good job BV for the walk-off win against Whitewater!

Agreed!  I was on the Iowa Conference website looking for the score, but this game wasn't one of the headlines when I looked.

No 0-2 and barbeque!  Keep going B.V.!

Another win for the Beavers!  8-5 over Keystone in the winner's bracket. Next up, Marietta.

Keep going!  I am happy to deal with the idea that B.V. should recruit well from this postseason success as it should help the whole league overall.

Congratulations to BV! :)

Winning two games in your first trip ever to the d3 CWS is quite a feat!

And I suspect that single-handedly knocking out two reps from the CCIW is unprecedented (Carthage and IWU went 4-0 against everyone else, 1-4 against BV). :o ;)

A great, great season, despite it ending a couple of games short of where you wish it had.

3rd place in the NCAA national tourney is not bad at all for a team that did not win the IIAC regular season nor IIAC tourney.

They were expected to win the IIAC this year, but I am sure they are no longer too sad about that with how they did at nationals. :P

http://www.cornellrams.com/article/318.php

New guy in at Cornell