BB: E8: Empire 8

[NYbaseballguy]

Very surprising to see Utica get Ithaca once, not alone twice.  But, that's the game sometimes.  Up until that series, looking at the scores, I thought Canton may have had the inside track on the four seed. Fisher looks like the class of the field and a contender to be regional club with the pitching to make a serious run.  I may be wrong but by looking at scores I don't see that from Stevens and Ithaca...but that's why they play the games.

[sjfcards]

Very surprising to see Utica get Ithaca once, not alone twice.  But, that's the game sometimes.  Up until that series, looking at the scores, I thought Canton may have had the inside track on the four seed. Fisher looks like the class of the field and a contender to be regional club with the pitching to make a serious run.  I may be wrong but by looking at scores I don't see that from Stevens and Ithaca...but that's why they play the games.

A lot of Fisher's chances to win the league will be decided this weekend when Stevens comes to Pittsford. Utica beat IC twice means that Fisher could really take control with 2 or 3 wins this weekend. It wouldn't be over by any stretch, but it would be hard for IC to catch them without a sweep if that happens. With Fisher's pitching it will be tough for any team to sweep them. The bad news for the other teams in the league is that Fisher's bats seem to be coming around. 58 runs in the last 3 games. With their pitching a little goes a long way, and if they hit I think they can make the regional. A lot to be decided over the next few weekends however, and without the automatic bid a promising season can slip away quickly.

[NYbaseballguy]

Agree....the winner of the series obviously has the driver seat for the regular season title which at the end of the day means very little.  I have seen Cortland, Fisher, Oswego, Ithaca, Union and a couple of others.  Honestly, Fisher has the most talent and the deepest staff.  They are every bit as good as Cortland and probably should have swept Oswego.  With that said, all three of those teams are capable of a long run in the post season...here is to all of them having that chance.

[sjfcards]

Agree....the winner of the series obviously has the driver seat for the regular season title which at the end of the day means very little.  I have seen Cortland, Fisher, Oswego, Ithaca, Union and a couple of others.  Honestly, Fisher has the most talent and the deepest staff.  They are every bit as good as Cortland and probably should have swept Oswego.  With that said, all three of those teams are capable of a long run in the post season...here is to all of them having that chance.

Hopefully the selection committee will acknowledge the level of talent if Fisher continues to play well. It seems crazy to me (admittedly I am a homer) that Cortland and Oswego are ranked 1 and 4 in the country, while Fisher with a similar record/schedule (for the most part) and in the same region is only receiving votes. Fisher split with Oswego and could have won both, and doesn't have a really bad loss on the resume (yet). Hopefully the committee doesn't hold the E8 conference against whoever ends up winning the thing. If Fisher keeps winning I think it is a non-issue, but if they finish somewhere around 30 wins I hope they are not dismissed out of hand.

[sjfcards]

Fisher and Stevens split their double dip today. Fisher won the first game 4-1 on the back of a no hitter by their starter, and Stevens throws a gem in game two and wins 3-1. Sets up a huge game tomorrow.

[NYbaseballguy]

Hey cards....question/observation.  It looks like Fisher is playing Stevens twice again today according to the Fisher site. All the other series have been three games and not four. It appears that the fourth game is not a conference game.  IF this is accurate I say good for these staffs playing tough games against their own league opponents.  You don't see that too much anymore.

[sjfcards]

Hey cards....question/observation.  It looks like Fisher is playing Stevens twice again today according to the Fisher site. All the other series have been three games and not four. It appears that the fourth game is not a conference game.  IF this is accurate I say good for these staffs playing tough games against their own league opponents.  You don't see that too much anymore.

Yes, Fisher won the first game, which was the league game, and lost the second. It does make some sense as Stevens was in town (obviously) and the weather would allow both to get in a game against a quality in region opponent. Stevens was a good team and this weekends split could have been 3 wins for either team. Lucky for Fisher they won game one today to take 2 of the 3 league games. They have really put themselves in good position to win the regular season going forward. Still work to do, but a major hurdle cleared in league. I was able to catch two games this weekend (both Fisher wins) and I was impressed with both teams.

[NYbaseballguy]

Looked like two really good pitching staffs going at it.  Fisher getting two of three goes a long way for the league.  Question, where is the tournament being held?  Does the highest seed get to host?

[jdex]

Looked like two really good pitching staffs going at it.  Fisher getting two of three goes a long way for the league.  Question, where is the tournament being held?  Does the highest seed get to host?

New York Regional in Auburn hosted by Cortland as in many times in the past. Regional sites already set, as in even had Cortland not qualified the site is still Auburn hosted by Cortland. Committee able to ship in and ship out teams ......

Fisher certainly making a case for a berth. Stevens a bit shaky IMO. Has an interesting regular season-ending game at Cortland

[NYbaseballguy]

My bad JDEX, I was interested in the Empire 8 tournament.  Not sure how they do their postseason tourny

[John McGraw]

My bad JDEX, I was interested in the Empire 8 tournament.  Not sure how they do their postseason tourny

Top seed hosts per the Empire 8 page.

http://empire8.com/sports/2016/2/22/BB_0222161851.aspx?path=baseball

[DucksBB]

I understand the E8 tourn host is supposed to be the #1 seed but it sounds like the top teams have requested to not host.  It will be interesting to see where it ends up.

This weekend's series between Stevens and SJF was very competitive.  Starting pitching was excellent on both sides and came down to timely hits.  Obviously, SJF is in the driver seat with another tough weekend ahead with Ithaca.  Stevens travels to Houghton and their post season may come down to their Cortland game and a finale against #17 Keystone.

[John McGraw]

I understand the E8 tourn host is supposed to be the #1 seed but it sounds like the top teams have requested to not host.  It will be interesting to see where it ends up.

This weekend's series between Stevens and SJF was very competitive.  Starting pitching was excellent on both sides and came down to timely hits.  Obviously, SJF is in the driver seat with another tough weekend ahead with Ithaca.  Stevens travels to Houghton and their post season may come down to their Cortland game and a finale against #17 Keystone.

Per D3baseball.com's SOS rankings, Stevens sits at 28 with a 21-13 record and St. John Fisher is 125 with a 23-8 record. There's not a lot of room for error at this point for either team. Potential Pool B teams nationally Emory (30-10), Case Western Reserve (25-13) and Wash. U. (25-13) are all in the top 10 nationally in strength of schedule. Emory's regular season is finished, CWRU has one game left and Wash. U has eight games left. Ithaca also lurking at 19-12 and could jump into the partial conversation with a positive result against Fisher this weekend.

[D3SportsFan]

Is the first Regional Ranking coming out next week?

[Jim Dixon]

Is the first Regional Ranking coming out next week?

The schedule for regional rankings starts on Thursday .  Two more days to see what the cvommittee thinks about the rankings.