BB: OAC: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Dr. Acula]

Plus if you have a turf field you can make money all summer letting travel tournaments rent your field Thu-Sun.  I was talking with a HS coach last summer and he said turf was the best thing they ever did because not only can they be on their field more days, but also in the summer he doesn't need two guys to line the field, drag it, etc.  He just shows up and unlocks the gates and leaves and they get paid for field rental.  No supplies, no labor, etc.

[Dr. Acula]

BW beat Wilm 18-0 in a shortened game.  Etta beat Ott 14-1 in a 1 hitter by Ziance.  Woof.

[Dr. Acula]

BW, Etta and Mount sweep yesterday.  The first two were expected against Wilm and Ott, respectively.  Mount sweeping Cap on the road was a solid start.  Any time you play a team that can hit you're always a little nervous.  Depending on what lineup they run out there Cap has 6 or 7 legit bats in their lineup.  Pitching is still not great, but in the current state of the OAC they're going to win games just by out slugging some teams.

Berg and Muskie split each winning a game 4-3.  Wilm is at Berg next Saturday.  Maybe that will tell us a little more about Berg.  Right now my default is to say both of these teams are middle of the pack.

After one weekend my OAC tourney field thoughts are BW for sure, Mount pretty much for sure, ONU very likely and after that?  You could easily talk me into a few teams at this point.

[Dr. Acula]

Mount split with CWRU today.  Won the opener 8-5.  Bullpen couldn't hold the lead the last couple innings of game 2 and dropped it 7-6.  Not completely unexpected when you're into the last couple innings of your 4th game in 2 days.  They just don't have the depth right now to navigate 36 innings in 2 days without some bumps.  Good news was a couple freshmen, Jung (4.1 IP, 0 R) and Roberts (6.1 IP, 2 ER), both threw well against a good Case lineup.  Another freshman, Logan Ellis, closed the 2nd game against Cap yesterday so Mount is building up some young arms for the future letting the kids pitch in big spots.

Looks like the only other action was Kenyon beating Wilm 8-1.  The Quakers are 0-14 and I'm not sure where their first win is going to be.  Witt will probably drum them on Tue.  Then they have Bluffton Wed.  I hope they get in the win column soon, but it may not be until April.

[BobcatQB]

Doesn't make sense to have back-to-back DH.  Was one a make up?  Still doesn't make sense, especially since the schools are so close.  You could still play twice during the season, just split the days.

Heidelberg pitching ins't great but Muskingum can't hit so low scoring games.  Muskies left 16 on base in game 2 including bases loaded in 8th and 9th.  Berg's top 3-4 guys in the lineup are pretty solid. Hell, Tucker is at .442 from the bottom of the lineup.

If Ziance gets any help, he's not going to get beat much. Cards are going to continue to struggle..21-1 in a DH w/ 18  K.  Ziance's only hit came from a kid I coached in HS so I'll take credit.

ONU lost series to Alma.  Saw Alma at Muskingum last weekend..they are solid.  Stechschulte led the Polar Bears offensively, going 6-7 at the plate with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs on Sat.

[Dr. Acula]

It wasn't a makeup.  Mount has done this before.  I don't hate it this early in the conference schedule because it keeps your #3 and 4 SP getting consistent work before you hit the midweek OAC DH.  They could have just played a single 9 and had their starters split the game, but they need IP for the freshmen because those guys are going to have to pitch in OAC games at some point so despite the loss it accomplished what they needed. 

[BobcatQB]

Like 2021 when OAC had DH every Sat and Sun...that was rough.