Clearing the Bases – Tournament Preview 1
Apr
2008
In the next two weeks my staff and I will be previewing the playoff implications that the tournament season will bring. This week we look at the West and South regions.
The West Regional will be coming to Abilene, TX and McMurry University’s Walt Driggers Field after a five-year stint at W. O. Hart Park in Orange CA. Chapman has enjoyed the friendly confines of its home field, but is not a stranger to Driggers Field. The South Regional moves around and is in a new location this year. Hosted by USA South Athletic Conference/ODAC the rtegiuonal will be played at American Legion Memorial Post 325 Stadium-Dan Daniel Park in Danville, Virginia.
Chapman has done well in the West Regionals over these last five years, having put back-to-back-to-back regional titles in its trophy box joining the 2003 National Championship Walnut and Bronze. The Panthers look to be a lock as a Pool B teams and probably the #1 seed. Key wins this season include taking two of three from McMurry, Redlands and Pomona-Pitzer and two wins over Kean to go 28-3. Coach Tom Tereschuk has seven games remaining including West Region games versus Cal State East Bay, Menlo and University of Dallas.
The SCIAC does not have a post-season tourney so the Pool A (Automatic Qualifier) bid is on the line going into the last two weekends. Pomona-Pitzer (26-5 overall/ 13-2 conference) has 3-game series with Cal Lutheran and La Verne and control their destiny. Redlands is currently in second place at 13-4 and 25-11 overall, but with two losses to Pomona-Pitzer. Redlands won the series with La Verne in early March and finish with the three game series with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The La Verne Leopards are still in contention for the SCIAC crown, but need help from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. La Verne is 10-4 on the season, plus a suspended game with Cal Lutheran from March. The Leopards need to sweep both Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer series.
The Northwest Conference also does not have a post-season tourney. Conference leaders Linfield (23-4 in conference) and George Fox (20-5 in conference) meet in Linfield for a 4-game series next weekend for the Pool A bid. The “national media story line” is watching former New York Yankee and Head Coach Scott Brosius to see if he can return Linfield to the throne room.
The American Southwest Conference is a gigantic mess. This 15-team conference determines it Pool a bid by a post-season tourney. Next weekend, the #1 and #2 seeds in the East (Texas-Tyler and Mississippi College) and the West (McMurry and Concordia-Texas in Austin) host the #3 and #4 teams in best 2-of-3 crossover play. Those winners will play at McMurry, the #1 West Seed, in a double elimination format. Texas-Tyler won the East with a 15-3 record, but the West saw a four-way tie among McMurry, Concordia-Texas, Hardin-Simmons and Mary Hardin-Baylor at 14-7.
The SCAC held their 8-team crossover tourney in Millington, TN this weekend. Only SCAC-East #1 DePauw survived from the East, taking 2 of 3 from SCAC-West #4 Austin. SCAC-West #1 Trinity and #2 Southwestern swept Oglethorpe and Centre, while #3 Millsaps beat Rhodes (East #2) 2 of 3. The SCAC tourney will be double elimination at Centre in Danville, KY next weekend.
The CAC will not get an automatic bid but Salisbury (36-2) is all but confirmed with a pool B bid with the CAC regular season and tournament title. Mary Washington (24-12) and Wesley (24-11) will have an outside shot at a bid. Mary Washington has the better conference record and a win against Salisbury than Wesley and if a second CAC team is in the playoffs, they should be it.
The USA South has completed their season and Christopher Newport in as the Captains won both the regular season and the tournament, Second place in both the regular season and the tournament is N.C. Wesleyan (27-13-1). They will be looking for a pool C bid. Greensboro and Methodist, with 25 win seasons could find themselves at home come playoff season.
The GSAC has not sent a team to the playoffs before and this seems to be the year if Piedmont (29-9) can make a statement and win their conference tournament. Starting Friday, the match-ups are: #4 Maryville vs. #1 Piedmont and #3 LaGrange vs. #2 Huntingdon.
In the ODAC, Lynchburg clinched the regular season title this week and with the tournament in Lynchburg, the Hornets should have the edge for the ODAC’s automatic bid. Starting Thursday, the schedule of this double elimination tournament will be: GAME 1: #1 Lynchburg vs. #6 Hampden-Sydney; GAME 2: #2 Virginia Wesleyan vs. #5 Washington and Lee ; GAME 3: #3 Randolph-Macon vs. #4 Bridgewater. To advance to the playoffs, a win is needed this weekend. Lynchburg might have a record good enough to get them in without with a Pol C bid, but for all the others is is win or stay home.
Will Emory (25-10-1) get a pool B bid? They have put themselves into position but remain on the bubble. They are probably the 6th best team in nation playing in a conference without an automatic bid. I expect to see the Eagle in the playoffs to see if they can better their second place finish last year.
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April 23rd, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Forget Mary Washington, really. Salisbury is the only rep team there this year.
Look for Lynchburg, Christopher Newport, Trinity University, Texas-Tyler in post season. Not sure about SCIAC – Redlands or Pomona. Emory for sure. Chapman of course.
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:57 pm
There are a lot of teams with 20-25 wins and 10-15 losses in the South. Christopher Newport is in. I expect Lynchburg to be in with the automatic bid. If they get upset in the conference tourney, they would still be alive for a Pool C bid. Salisbury and Peidmont should get Pool B bids and probably Emory also. Throw in NC Wesleyan and you have a nice 6 team south regional. A Lynchburg win in the ODAC tourney makes things look nice. I suspect you could end up with a seven team regional if some other ODAC team wins the tourney.
So much depends on which SCAC team gets in and I favor DePauw at this time for the automatic bid going somewhere other than the South region. Millsaps might also make a run.
This leaves Mary Washington (and Wesley) outside looking in as you mention.
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:04 pm
In the West you have Chapman the SCIAC bid (likely Pomona-Pitzer), the NWC bid (Linfield or George Fox), and probably 2 teams from the ASC. Trinity (Texas) could slip in with a SCAC bid and I would not be surprised to see the second place NWC team with a Pool C bid.
Cal State East Bay and Menlo probably have too many losses to squeeze in but there is quite a competition for the sixth Pool B bid.
Of course you can have a team come out of nowhere like Austin last year which would essentailly take away a Pool C bid from someone, somewhere.
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:37 pm
You mentioned a possible 7 team South Regional? I was under the impression that with 54 teams, that all the regionals would be either 6 or 8.
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:10 pm
You are right. The 2008 Division III baseball championship will feature 54 teams (33 Pool A, 7 Pool B, 14 Pool C) divided into eight regional tournaments. Of the eight regional tournaments, three will feature eight teams while five will consist of six teams.
I must have been flashing back to the 7-team regionals last year.
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Correction: The newly released handbook shows 34 Pool A, 6 Pool B, 14 Pool C Bids.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:11 pm
I am surprised that some people seem to think that the two coasts are the only places where “good baseball” happens in D3. I have seen some great baseball without ever leaving my 4 state area. Millsaps, for example, is much better than you might think from their stats. I’ve seen them play a couple of times this year. Last week’s series against Rhodes is a good example.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:32 pm
It is great to have the Handbook out, altho’ my server (Firefox Mozilla) is not picking it up for some reason.
The Landmark Conference and Juniata is one more team who might make some noise in Pool B.
Next year, the NAthCon (Northern Athletics Conference) should receive its Pool A, and the Landmark should get its Pool A bid in 2010.
The addition of Villa Julie and Wesley to the Capital AC minus the departure of Catholic gives the CAC 7 teams. They might get their Pool A bid in 2010, too.
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Where would a school like Catholic fit into the South picture if they win the Landmark tourney and finish with around 25 wins?
I think probably just on the outside looking in, but what are the chances of them wrapping up a Pool C?
Catholic does have wins against Mary Washington and Wesley, as well as Randolph-Macon, Bridgewater, and Shenandoah, and dropped a close one to Johns Hopkins 7-6.
Landmark gets its Pool A in 2010 as does the CAC, both are in year one of their two year waiting period.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:12 pm
The Handbook says that the Regional Rankings Conference Calls occur on 24 April, 1 May and 8 May. The Selection Call occurs on 11 May (Mother’s Day).
Jim Dixon will blog the Regional Rankings as they are released.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Dixon: You mentioned that CSU East Bay and Menlo probably have too many losses to advance. What are their chances considering they both have games coming up against each other AND Chapman? I live in that area and go to some of those games, and would like to know if you have any information on the VERY CONFUSING playoff system.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Major Texan.. obviously you did’t see the millsaps and Rhodes game because Rhodes got their u know what handed to them the first game like 13-2 and then rhodes gave away the second game by the Rhodes catcher throwing the ball into the outfield allowing 2 runs to score and win the game… when Millsaps should have been 2 and done… and only won the 3rd game by 2.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
With the regional rankings now released, Cal State East Bay is 6th in the west region. Wins against Chapman and Menlo will factor big in their playoff chances.
I am not sure they are in line for a pool B bid but they might get a Pool C bid. I’ll have to look at the regional rankings just released.