Quote from: Jack Parkman on February 20, 2017, 08:56:48 AM

Pomona has now lost 5 in a row after a hot start, which is exactly what happened last year.  Nishioka is off to a great start with 8 bombs in the first 10 games.

I see all the rain that hit the SoCal area in recent weeks hasn't been enough to cool off Nishioka's hot bat. He's putting up some insane numbers thus far (haven't seen power numbers like that since the bat change back in 2011).

Disappointing opening weekend in conference play for the Cats. Tough to see the bullpen lose it following Cunningham's gem for the first 6 innings in Game 2.

The pitching staff has struggled mightily with command early on here in 2016 (very unusual for a Carnahan pitching staff). Through 7 games, the staff is allowing 5.57 BB/Games, which is a big increase from previous years (3.17 BB/Game in 2016, 2.91 BB/Game in 2015, 2.56 BB/Game in 2014, and 2.34 BB/Game in 2013). Command has been a hallmark of Carney's pitching staffs over the years so I expect this issue to be resolved, but hopefully we see an improvement soon before the Cats give away more conference games.

Quote from: Bishopleftiesdad on February 19, 2017, 12:48:45 AM

Quote from: wildcat11 on February 19, 2017, 12:04:04 AM
Ugh....

Sorry to hear it.

Quote from: Westside on May 20, 2016, 12:28:51 PM

Quote from: 108 Stitches on May 20, 2016, 09:41:18 AM
Predictions for today's games

PLU vs Whitworth: PLU's pitching depth carries them through in a close but higher scoring game.

If anything, PLU's lack of pitching depth should make this a high scoring game! I mean... PLU literally brought their closer in in the 3rd inning yesterday, he threw seven innings! I think Whitworth's starter is better than PLU's, but, on paper, this will be a slugfest.

PLU's staff is looking pretty depleted after 2 games of starters failing to get through the 3rd inning. Originally, I thought WU would throw Kingma yesterday against TT so I'm guessing he gets the nod today and the Lutes throw Donahou. PLU doesn't have much else to offer with Rossman injured unless Nelson pitches off a day's rest since he only lasted 2 1/3 on Wednesday.

Tale of the tape for both guys:
Kingma (8-3, 4.39 ERA, 69.2 IP, 27 K's, 17 BB's)
Donahou (5-3, 4.14 ERA, 50 IP, 32 K's, 19 BB's)

Stat lines for each guy when teams faced off head to head this season:
Kingma - 1st Game (7 1/3 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 hits, 4 K's, 7-3 win for WU), 2nd Game (3 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 11 hits, 2 K's, 7-3 win for PLU)
Donahou - 1st Game (6 IP, 2 ER, 10 hits, 5 K's, 3-1 win for WU), 2nd Game (7 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 2 K's, 6-5 win for PLU)

I went back and forth on this one, but the lucky coin I flipped gave the nod to PLU.

In other action today, I'm going with Trinity over TT. CWRU got ran out of the ballpark yesterday against TU, which I think is more of a result of TU's depth/skill than it is CWRU's lack thereof.

Bittersweet conclusions in the past 4 seasons for Cal Lutheran after losing a 5-run lead this afternoon to PLU.

Keep in mind they have now won 4 straight "regular season" SCIAC titles...

2016: 0-2 (run differential = 3)
2015: No appearance (dropped 2 games to LV in SCIAC tourney)
2014: 2-2 (both losses to UWSP who was a very talented ball club that year)
2013: 1-2 (lost both games by 1 run)

They might be taking over the "Can't get over the hump" role that Trinity left vacant after finally punching a ticket to Appleton last season.

2/3 right on the 1st day isn't too shabby for me. At this rate I'll be a 1st ballot Hall of Famer for the D3 Messaage Boards. 

Day 2 Predictions:

CLU over PLU - I wanted to stick with the NW on this one, but the Lutes' pitching depth is a concern here. CLU swung it well yesterday, but were unable to capitalize with runners on and I'm guessing that today will be a different story.

Trinity over CWRU - Crossing my fingers that the team shipped in is the first team eliminated this weekend.

TT over Whitworth - I'm going to try a little reverse psychology on this one. I give TT the nod simply because they are facing a freshman lefty and as a team they are hitting .333 against LHP this season...but technically I'm rooting for WU in this one

Quote from: NWBaseballFan10 on May 18, 2016, 11:25:00 AM
My predictions heading into today's first slate of games:

Trinity over PLU - I'm not convinced that PLU's #1, Nelson, has the stuff nor command to get by TU's lineup (he also hasn't been very impressive over his last few starts).

Ahh yes! 1 for 1 so far on my predictions! That must move my career accuracy percentage up to about 25%. Trying to get it above .300 so I can earn a spot in the D3 Message Boards HOF

Just got a chance to check out the video feed for the CLU/TT game. I hope nobody suffers from acrophobia! I feel like we are watching this one from the rooftoop of the stadium.

Quote from: Purple Heys on May 18, 2016, 12:55:55 PM
As long as CWRU goes 2 and a BBQ, I am happy.

Amen to that

It's been a while, but I'm showing up just in time for the party this weekend. Excited to see what and who comes out of this year's West Regional.

My predictions heading into today's first slate of games:

Trinity over PLU - Trinity is deep, experienced, and quite frankly (really) talented. For each regional that I've witnessed in-person, I've been impressed with their physicality and moxie. I'm not convinced that PLU's #1, Nelson, has the stuff nor command to get by TU's lineup (he also hasn't been very impressive over his last few starts).

CLU over TT - I watched every SCIAC team play this season (including CLU 4 times) and they easily boasted the most potential to make a run in the postseason. Offensively, there are no "holes" 1-9 and their guys do a nice job of being selective and balanced at the plate. Their ace, Saito, is what I describe as the "lull you to sleep" type on the mound. He mixes well and keeps the ball down (decent velo), but he's the one where hitters will think they got him and 2,3,4 innings later he is still in the game tossing 0's. My main concern for CLU is that the SCIAC's pitching talent is abysmal (sorry not going to sugarcoat it for any other SCIAC followers) so if TT's ace is on then it might give their lineup fits.

Whitworth over CWRU - I know nothing about Case Western, but I do know that I'm biased toward the NW  . It will be interesting to see how the Pirates' freshman ace handles CWRU. The Spartans SoS could pay dividends this weekend as well. Sticking with my NW roots on this one.

Let the fun begin

Quote from: 108 Stitches on April 28, 2016, 10:18:30 AM
I don't know the process, but I am sure the committee is looking at W/L the last 10 games of the year to see how the team is performing going into the tournament, and I agree with BigPoppa that you don't lose to a team like CMS heading into the conf tournament. I am sure there was a huge letdown from the CLU series the prior week-end but championship teams win those types of games. It will be interesting to see where Oxy is when the regional rankings come out.

That's why the games are played and decided on the field and not on paper

Quote from: Purple Heys on April 25, 2016, 08:06:43 PM

Quote from: 108 Stitches on April 25, 2016, 10:10:39 AM
I would agree with you. It will be interesting to see what the Regional rankings look like when they come out. As PLU showed, the most important thing is to get hot at the right time. I don't really like this whole round robin thing they do in the SCIAC as teams like CalTech should not be playing in it and are pretty much meaningless for a team like Oxy, actually it hurts them as their SOS drops and many times teams play down to their competition.

Presuming Oxy gets through the 4 game RR unscathed and they finish at least 2nd in the tourney, I have a hard time thinking they won't be in.  If Oxy does a 2 and a BBQ in the SCIAC tourney, it could be trouble for them.   A 2nd place Oxy tourney finish hurts Whitworth.

Otherwise I think this most hurts the second place SCIAC tourney team unless it's Oxy.

This afternoon provided a prime example of the RR games hindering a top team's Pool C chances. A loss for Oxy against CMS is just one more potential nail the selection committee can use against Oxy if they don't win the SCIAC tourney.

When are they publicizing the first regional rankings? I feel like this is about the time of the year when those rankings are released...

My two cents on the West at this point (pretty similar to the top 25 polls):

1) Trinity
2) Occidental
3) Whitworth
4) Texas Lutheran
5) Cal Lutheran
6) Centenary

Although we may not necessarily see 6 "West" teams in the West Regional this year. The SCAC won't get 3 teams in the Regional for one thing. I expect to see a lot of changes over these next few weeks as conference tourneys start up.

Linfield finished 5th in the NWC in 2012. Whitworth was co-champs that year with Pacific, but Whitworth received the Pool A bid and Pacific was left home.

Tough break yesterday for the Cats, but unfortunately that's what happens when you don't take care of business during conference play. The pitching staff has been "Jekyll and Hyde" for most of the season, but fortunately they only will lose 2 guys to graduation (80% of the innings thrown this year are going to be returners).

A walkoff grand slam heartbreaker for Caltech this afternoon I thought we were finally going to see that first SCIAC victory.

Quote from: Jack Parkman on March 13, 2016, 06:57:38 PM
Expectations from PLU and Linfield going into the year and both have been very underwhelming.

The whole West Coast has been underwhelming this spring 

Quote from: Purple Heys on March 11, 2016, 08:58:50 PM

Quote from: NWBaseballFan10 on March 11, 2016, 05:53:27 PM
I also wouldn't put too much stock into any results against Webster...They don't look as formidable as they did in 2013 and 2015 during their World Series runs.

#19 Webster beats #25 Linfield 7-1

Developing...hmmm   

Yeah Linfield looked flat. They ran themselves out of a few scoring opportunities and their starter Neely didn't look as efficient as he has at other points in the season. Linfield hit some pitches on the screws, but most were right at people. Webster's starter wasn't anything special. He was probably 80-83 with an average at best breaking ball. Unfortunately, it was all that was needed to keep the Cat's bats at bay. Hopefully, they can flip the script tomorrow.

Both teams appear to be down from where they've been in recent seasons.