Thursday, May 18
10 a.m. Game 1 - St. Scholastica (32-8) vs. UW-La Crosse (28-17)
1:15 p.m. Game 2 - UW-Whitewater (35-7) vs. St. Norbert (30-11)
4:30 p.m. Game 3 - Adrian (33-11) vs. St. Thomas (26-16)
7:45 p.m. Game 4 - Concordia Chicago (29-11) vs. Macalester (26-15)
Edit -- Only link you need: http://www.d3baseball.com/playoffs/2017/previews/midwest-regional-playoff-preview :)
So is it 10:00 yet?!?!?!? ;D
It will be Rindal vs Boushley in the opener....
Rindal did not pitch in the DH against La Crosse in the regular season, while St. Scholastica tagged Boushley for five runs in seven innings of a 6-5 12-inning victory for the Saints. It was arguably Boushley's worst start of the season, as he didn't give up more than four runs in any other start.
St. Scholastica loads the bases in the second on a single, hit batter and a walk, however Boushley gets back-to-back strikeouts to get out of the jam and keep it a scoreless game as they head to the third inning.
It appears La Crosse has chosen to be ultra-aggressive when they get base-runners against St. Scholastica, as they have already stolen three bases in four attempts through three innings. (La Crosse was 6 for 6 in stolen base attempts in the regular season DH against the Saints earlier this year.) The three out of four number is practically equal to La Crosse's 69/91 stolen base success rate AND St. Scholastica's 13/52 stolen base prevention number from the regular season.
Thanks to one of those stolen bases, and a error by the catcher on a pick-off attempt, the Eagles had taken a 1-0 lead, however St. Scholastica SS Tyler Duex answered with a solo HR in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game up again, 1-1....
EDIT-Make that three out of five on stolen base attempts, as La Crosse has a runner thrown out trying to steal second base in the Top of the 4th inning. Eric Pearson hits a two out solo HR in the Bottom of the 4th inning to give St. Scholastica a 2-1 lead after four complete innings.
Pearson (a freshman) hits a solo in the bottom of 4 to make it 2-1 CSS. Looks like this will be a close one. I'm guessing this will be coming down to which team executes out of the bullpen.
Quote from: therocket21 on May 18, 2017, 12:09:00 PM
Pearson (a freshman) hits a solo in the bottom of 4 to make it 2-1 CSS. Looks like this will be a close one. I'm guessing this will be coming down to which team executes out of the bullpen.
As it should be.
Quote from: BigPoppa on May 18, 2017, 12:14:31 PM
Quote from: therocket21 on May 18, 2017, 12:09:00 PM
Pearson (a freshman) hits a solo in the bottom of 4 to make it 2-1 CSS. Looks like this will be a close one. I'm guessing this will be coming down to which team executes out of the bullpen.
As it should be.
Maybe for CSS, but I'd be willing to wager Boushley will stay on the mound for La Crosse until the game is decided one way or the other...
After seeing a second runner gunned down trying to steal in the 4th inning, La Crosse changes their approach and has their #3 hitter lay down a sacrifice bunt with nobody out in the 6th inning. After a single, a fielding error, and a squeeze bunt, La Crosse takes the lead, 3-2. Still only one out in the 6th inning.
St. Scholastica goes to their best relief pitcher, Gonrowski, with the bases loaded and one out following another infield error.... Gonrowski enters the game with a 0.29 ERA and .150 batting average against in 31 innings of work.
Roethle greets Gonrowski with an RBI single, and following a strikeout of Schmitt, a Zyhowski two-run single and Heili RBI single have chased Gonrowski as Thompson is now on in relief as La Crosse has blown things open and made it 7-2.
Other than the pair of solo HR's, Boushley was about as dominant as it gets, allowing just one other hit as La Crosse wins going away 11-2.
St. Scholastica had a chance to get to Boushley in the second inning, but squandered a bases-loaded one out scoring opportunity. From that point forward, Boushley retired 19 out of the next 22 hitters (the two solo HR's and Boushley error on bunt) and St. Scholastica never mounted another scoring threat. It's the exact type of performance you would expect from an All American in the postseason!!!
La Crosse moves on and will face the winner of Whitewater vs St. Norbert, while St. Scholastica will get the loser.
McMahon vs WIAC Pitcher of the Year Heath Renz in Game #2...
Interesting that St. Norbert had the Midwest Conference-North Division Pitcher of the Year (Malkowski) yet chose not to start him....
St. Norbert leads off game with back-to-back singles, however Renz retires the next three hitters to squash the threat. Whitewater wastes little time putting up a crooked number, as three of the first four Warhawks to bat double as they take an early 3-0 lead at the end of one inning.
After trading scoreless second innings, St. Norbert pushes across an unearned run in the third inning to chip away at Whitewater's lead and make it 3-1 after three complete innings.
A solo HR from St. Norbert catcher Robbie Dombrowski in the fourth inning cuts Whitewater's lead to 3-2 after four complete innings....
Renz with his shortest start of the season, as Whitewater goes to the bullpen and brings on Wuethrich in relief to start the 5th inning...
Wuethrich retires St. Norbert in order, 1-2-3 which included a pair of strikeouts, and then Whitewater pushes across a run with two outs to extend their lead to 4-2.
St. Norbert strands a runner in the sixth inning after getting him to third with just one out, as Wuethrich strikes out both Dombrowski and Grant to end the threat.
Outside of that, neither team has put a runner on third with less than two outs in the 7th or 8th innings...
Headed to the 9th inning, Whitewater still leads 4-2....
Kind of surprised to see Coach Vodenlich go to Nompleggi to start the 9th inning with how well Wuethrich was throwing.... He must feel better about having Nompleggi start the inning "fresh" instead of having him come in with runners on.
St. Norbert gets the tying run to the plate with one out on the 9th inning, however Nompleggi gets a strikeout and groundout to end it, as the Warhawks win 4-2.
Sets up a Whitewater vs La Crosse match-up in one Winner's Bracket game tomorrow. Guessing we will see a Jones vs McMahon match-up on the mound.
It also gives us St. Scholastica vs St. Norbert in an elimination game tomorrow.
Quote from: cubs on May 18, 2017, 04:47:41 PM
Kind of surprised to see Coach Vodenlich go to Nompleggi to start the 9th inning with how well Wuethrich was throwing.... He must feel better about having Nompleggi start the inning "fresh" instead of having him come in with runners on.
I wonder if his plan may have been to limit Renz and Wuethrich to four innings apiece to keep them fresher for Saturday or Sunday. Maybe he just stuck to his plan. To get the W without using either of them more than four innings positions Whitewater well for pitching depth the rest of the regional.
Quote from: bleedpurple on May 19, 2017, 07:11:27 AM
Quote from: cubs on May 18, 2017, 04:47:41 PM
Kind of surprised to see Coach Vodenlich go to Nompleggi to start the 9th inning with how well Wuethrich was throwing.... He must feel better about having Nompleggi start the inning "fresh" instead of having him come in with runners on.
I wonder if his plan may have been to limit Renz and Wuethrich to four innings apiece to keep them fresher for Saturday or Sunday. Maybe he just stuck to his plan. To get the W without using either of them more than four innings positions Whitewater well for pitching depth the rest of the regional.
My thought exactly
In the rest of yesterday's action, Adrian defeated St. Thomas 5-2 and Concordia Chicago topped Macalester 8-3.
St. Scholastica sends St. Norbert packing with a 2-0 victory in the opener today. Alcoverde with a masterful performance, striking out 13 on his way to a five-hit shutout to keep CSS alive.
Quote from: Ryan Stoppable on May 19, 2017, 01:16:06 PM
In the rest of yesterday's action, Adrian defeated St. Thomas 5-2 and Concordia Chicago topped Macalester 8-3.
St. Scholastica sends St. Norbert packing with a 2-0 victory in the opener today. Alcoverde with a masterful performance, striking out 13 on his way to a five-hit shutout to keep CSS alive.
It's too bad for the Green Knights. They played very competitive baseball and were good in two phases of the game. They made one error in two games and limited their opponents to only six runs total. Those are numbers are good enough to often get at least one win. But offensively they may have been over-matched getting only 5 hits in each game and striking out 24 times in the two games.
Today's La Crosse Tribune reports that UWL coach Schwarz thought that the favored Warhawks had seen pitcher Jameson Lavery too many times over the years, and that another pitcher might fare better. It seems to have been a good call as Mason McMahon held the talented WW lineup to 2 runs over 6 innings. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Despite going 1-6 against Whitewater during the regular season/WIAC Tournament, La Crosse took a 3-2 lead in the third inning off of Austin Jones and never looked back as they move on to the Winner's Bracket final with a 5-2 victory. Sophomore Mason McMahon gave La Crosse a quality start, and the Eagles bats were able to finally get to Jones after being shut-down by him two different times this season, including just last weekend.
Whitewater will now need their well-publicized pitching depth to come through with five straight victories if they hope to return to Appleton for the College World Series this season. Their first game will be an elimination game this morning against St. Thomas, who rallied with a run in the 9th inning to tie the game and then pushed across the eventual winning run in the 11th inning to rally and defeat MIAC rival Macalester 3-2 in an elimination game Friday.
La Crosse will now face Concordia-Chicago today with the winner advancing to the Regional Championship on Sunday. The Eagles will likely look to senior Jameson Lavery to give them another quality start in order to avoid falling into the loser's bracket.
Quote from: Brian R. Carroll on May 20, 2017, 10:19:36 AM
Today's La Crosse Tribune reports that UWL coach Schwarz thought that the favored Warhawks had seen pitcher Jameson Lavery too many times over the years, and that another pitcher might fare better. It seems to have been a good call as Mason McMahon held the talented WW lineup to 2 runs over 6 innings. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Can't say I am surprised.... I even alluded to it in my post yesterday afternoon, as McMahon had a nice start against the Warhawks back in April, while the Warhawks had already roughed Lavery up on two different occasions this season, including just last weekend.
In my opinion, I still think that La Crosse will need to beat Whitewater again at the Regionals, whether it be in the Loser's Bracket should they get knocked off by Concordia-Chicago today, or in the Regional Championship Sunday/Monday. When Whitewater can go with Kaska, Shah, Wuethrich and Renz yet, I believe they actually have the pitching to dig themselves out of the Loser's Bracket compared to other teams.
Schedule adjusted today due to the weather, and there will be only three games instead of the scheduled four. Whitewater vs St. Thomas will kick off the day at 2:30, instead of 11:00.
Good call, Cubs. You are on top of the situation.
Quote from: cubs on May 20, 2017, 11:59:25 AM
Schedule adjusted today due to the weather, and there will be only three games instead of the scheduled four. Whitewater vs St. Thomas will kick off the day at 2:30, instead of 11:00.
Adjusted again. Warhawks play in the first game at 4:00. Updated schedule posted here
http://uwwsports.com/sports/2017/4/26/2017-ncaa-division-iii-baseball-championship-midwest-regional.aspx?id=1005 (http://uwwsports.com/sports/2017/4/26/2017-ncaa-division-iii-baseball-championship-midwest-regional.aspx?id=1005)
Kaska vs Zimmerman for Whitewater and St. Thomas in the first elimination game of the day.... Whitewater touched up Zimmerman for five runs in just four innings back in March in Minneapolis.
The error bug that Whitewater was able to overcome in the WIAC Tournament Championship game has reared it's head again today in an elimination game against St. Thomas. A two out error by Aldridge which would have ended the in the sixth inning put St. Thomas ahead 3-0. After Whitewater cut into the deficit, another Whitewater error in the seventh inning helped St. Thomas extend lead to 5-1...
Whitewater sees their season come to an end, falling 7-2 to St. Thomas....
St. Scholastica and Adrian will meet shortly in the second elimination game of the day.
The Winner's Bracket final that sees La Crosse square off with Concordia-Chicago has been moved from tonight to 11:00 am Sunday morning.
Big game for La Crosse tomorrow morning!!!!
Should the Eagles manage to knock off Concordia, they would likely be able to bring Boushley back on three days of rest to start the Regional Championship game with a berth to the World Series on the line.
Exciting finish to the St. Scholastica vs Adrian game....
St. Scholastica scores three runs in the top of the 8th inning to turn a 5-4 deficit into a 7-5 lead. Adrian answers with three runs of their own in the bottom of the 8th inning to take an 8-7 lead. Down to their final two outs, St. Scholastica strings together five straight hits to score four runs and regain the lead 11-8.
With that said, not sure why Adrian decided to pull Healy after he struck out the lead-off hitter in the 9th inning.... While he gave up some runs in the 8th inning, once he was sent back out for the 9th inning and got the leadoff batter out, why not leave him in as he had retired Minks and Neutzling the first time he faced them in the 7th and 8th innings respectively. Instead, Dunn came in and gave up four straight hits, and by the time he left, St. Scholastica had regained the lead.
Quote from: cubs on May 20, 2017, 07:08:25 PM
The error bug that Whitewater was able to overcome in the WIAC Tournament Championship game has reared it's head again today in an elimination game against St. Thomas. A two out error by Aldridge which would have ended the in the sixth inning put St. Thomas ahead 3-0. After Whitewater cut into the deficit, another Whitewater error in the seventh inning helped St. Thomas extend lead to 5-1...
One of the great things about the game of baseball is that even a temporary lack of fundamentals will come and find you. Fielding, base running, and timely hitting were all a struggle in UW-W's final two games. It makes for a disappointing end to a really good year, but the Hawks were out-executed by teams playing well at the right time. As they say, "That's baseball." Good luck to all teams the rest of the way!
Quote from: cubs on May 20, 2017, 08:28:14 PM
Big game for La Crosse tomorrow morning!!!!
Should the Eagles manage to knock off Concordia, they would likely be able to bring Boushley back on three days of rest to start the Regional Championship game with a berth to the World Series on the line.
Disappointing start for Lavery, as he has already given up five hits and a pair of walks in just two innings of work as the Eagles trail 5-0 in the second inning.... Not sure the Eagles have the offense like they did last year to recover from such a large deficit despite it still being early.
La Crosse continues to trail Concordia, 6-0 in the 5th inning. The Eagles are on their third pitcher of the day, and have left a small village (6) on base through the first four innings, including leaving the bases loaded in the first inning.
The floodgates have opened. 14-0 Concordia. Ouch.
Quote from: Brian R. Carroll on May 21, 2017, 02:44:50 PM
The floodgates have opened. 14-0 Concordia. Ouch.
The lack of quality pitching depth for La Crosse shows itself in Game #3 of the Regional today.... Will be interesting to see who gets the start in the elimination game later today. Would guess it will likely be Stahulak, with Coach Schwartz having a VERY short leash!!!
Quote from: cubs on May 21, 2017, 02:49:38 PM
Quote from: Brian R. Carroll on May 21, 2017, 02:44:50 PM
The floodgates have opened. 14-0 Concordia. Ouch.
The lack of quality pitching depth for La Crosse shows itself in Game #3 of the Regional today.... Will be interesting to see who gets the start in the elimination game later today. Would guess it will likely be Stahulak, with Coach Schwartz having a VERY short leash!!!
Coach Schwartz goes with Connor Cook to start the elimination game, and Cook has promptly given up a run and loaded the bases with two outs in the Bottom of the 1st inning on a hit and three walks... Luckily, he gets out of it with a groundout to end the inning.
Quote from: cubs on May 21, 2017, 07:35:10 PM
Quote from: cubs on May 21, 2017, 02:49:38 PM
Quote from: Brian R. Carroll on May 21, 2017, 02:44:50 PM
The floodgates have opened. 14-0 Concordia. Ouch.
The lack of quality pitching depth for La Crosse shows itself in Game #3 of the Regional today.... Will be interesting to see who gets the start in the elimination game later today. Would guess it will likely be Stahulak, with Coach Schwartz having a VERY short leash!!!
Coach Schwartz goes with Connor Cook to start the elimination game, and Cook has promptly given up a run and loaded the bases with two outs in the Bottom of the 1st inning on a hit and three walks... Luckily, he gets out of it with a groundout to end the inning.
La Crosse rides momentum from getting out of potential disastrous inning into a five run inning of their own in the second inning to take a 6-1 lead. It could have been an even bigger inning, as the Eagles left the bases loaded to end the inning, and gave up two outs by popping a bunt up with nobody out and a sacrifice bunt with one out.
Let's hope it doesn't come back to bite us. 6-2 in the 5th.
Coach Schwartz has to be happy with what Cook gave him tonight.... Five innings of 2-run baseball, as he hands the ball to the bullpen with a 6-2 lead. While Cook flirted with danger a few times (6 hits and 6 BB's in five innings of work) his ability to get the strikeout (8 of them) when necessary limited the damage.
Caleb Willems, making his first appearance since the regular season finale against Platteville, took over in the 6th inning and allowed a run on a couple of hits, but La Crosse still leads 6-3 in the 7th inning.
Willems finishes things off in pretty dominant fashion, as he goes four innings and allows just the one run on five hits, while striking out five as La Crosse advances to the Regional Championship tomorrow against Concordia-Chicago with an 8-3 victory.
Well, I gotta believe Coach Schwartz sends Boushley to the bump in Game #1 tomorrow, but the question will be is what strategy does Concordia-Chicago take?
Do they bring back their Game #1 starter (Cabellero) to square off against Boushley, or do they throw Meyers or Schmitt and have Cabellaro ready to go for the "if necessary" game against a depleted La Crosse pitching staff?
Quote from: cubs on May 21, 2017, 11:17:53 PM
Do they bring back their Game #1 starter (Cabellero) to square off against Boushley, or do they throw Meyers or Schmitt and have Cabellaro ready to go for the "if necessary" game against a depleted La Crosse pitching staff?
Schmitt will get the ball for CUC, Boushley is in fact on for UWL.
Quote from: Ryan Stoppable on May 22, 2017, 09:58:10 AM
Quote from: cubs on May 21, 2017, 11:17:53 PM
Do they bring back their Game #1 starter (Cabellero) to square off against Boushley, or do they throw Meyers or Schmitt and have Cabellaro ready to go for the "if necessary" game against a depleted La Crosse pitching staff?
Schmitt will get the ball for CUC, Boushley is in fact on for UWL.
Totally get it from a match-up standpoint.....
If you are Concordia you know you just need to win one game today so why not use your best available arm in a better match-up instead of against the All American Boushley? At the same time, if it gets to the "if necessary" game, all bets are off in regards to who takes the mound for La Crosse as Johnny Wholestaff will likely be used, including possibly even seeing Boushley again depending on his pitch count in Game #1.
2-1 Concordia Chicago after 2 1/2 on the strength of a pair of solo home runs. Schmitt employing the classic "bend but don't break" strategy as La Crosse has left the bases loaded twice in the first three innings.
Quote from: Ryan Stoppable on May 22, 2017, 11:53:42 AM
2-1 Concordia Chicago after 2 1/2 on the strength of a pair of solo home runs. Schmitt employing the classic "bend but don't break" strategy as La Crosse has left the bases loaded twice in the first three innings.
In addition to 2nd and 3rd in both the fourth and fifth innings.... La Crosse just not able to get that "clutch" hit with guys on base as of yet.
Concordia added an unearned run in the 4th inning while La Crosse answered with one run in the 5th inning to make it 3-2.
Anyone happen to know what happened to starting SS Nate Heili as he isn't in the starting line-up today? Heili is a combined 7x15 over the first four games of the Regional for the Eagles, including 3x4 last night against St. Thomas.
In case anyone is still looking for it
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/uww/
Stats: http://sidearmstats.com/uww/baseball/
Concordia scores a pair on a bases loaded wild pitch/error with two outs to make it 5-2, and then Wilson double to right-center to make it 6-2.
First real sign of trouble for Boushley since back-to-back outings against St. Scholastica and Whitewater at the beginning of April.
And it's now 7-2 in the bottom of the 6th as VanDuser drives in Garvey, who reached on La Crosse's 4th error of the contest.
Schmitt's day ended after 5 innings, scattering 8 hits and walking 4 but only allowing the two runs.
It's all fallen apart for UWL. 14-3 in the bottom of the 8th.
And it is all over! Concordia Chicago are the Midwest Regional champions with a 17-3 win over UW-La Crosse!
Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team
Martin Alcoverde, St. Scholastica
Ryan Dorow, Adrian
Tyler Duex, St. Scholastica
Mike Formella, Concordia Chicago (Most Outstanding Player)
Nate Heili, UW-La Crosse
Doug Matthews, Concordia Chicago
Ian Mikowski, Adrian
Nate Roethle, UW-La Crosse
Jake Smith, St. Thomas
Brian Van Duser, Concordia Chicago
Joel Zyhowski, UW-La Crosse
Congrats to Concordia, and good luck in the series.
All-Region Team http://www.d3baseball.com/awards/all-region/2017/midwest (http://www.d3baseball.com/awards/all-region/2017/midwest) Congrats to all!
Congratulations Concordia-Chicago. Very dominant regional performance! Good luck in the World Series!