Second regional rankings
May
2008
The NCAA released its second set of Division III baseball regional rankings today. Please note, they are listed with overall record, followed by regional record. Teams in bold are already in the playoffs with a pool A bid.
Central Region
1 Illinois Wesleyan 26-6 25-2
2 Carthage 29-2 23-2
3 Augustana 26-9 19-7
4 Wartburg 19-12 17-9
5 Rockford 21-11 19-6
6 Concordia (Ill.) 27-10 23-9
Mid-Atlantic Region
1 TCNJ 28-8 26-8
2 Kean 30-9 24-7
3 Johns Hopkins 30-5 27-4
4 Rowan 28-10 24-8
5 Montclair State 22-14 20-9
6 Penn State-Behrend 28-8 26-5
7 Juniata 25-10 24-7
8 Alvernia 30-10 24-7
9 Elizabethtown 23-10 19-9
Mideast Region
1 Wooster 31-7 25-6
2 Heidelberg 29-7 23-7
3 Mount St. Joseph 20-15 16-6
4 Adrian 23-8 18-8
5 Rose-Hulman 26-9 21-7
6 Calvin 23-7 15-5
7 Thomas More 22-11 16-5
Midwest Region
1 UW-Oshkosh 23-6 23-6
2 UW-Whitewater 28-5 25-5
3 St. Thomas 21-7 13-5
4 UW-Stevens Point 23-10 20-6
5 St. Scholastica 25-4 17-3
New England Region
1 Trinity (Conn.) 32-0 23-0
2 Wheaton (Mass.) 31-7 28-5
3 Keene State 26-7 23-6
4 Eastern Connecticut State 24-11-1 20-8-1
5 Suffolk 25-10 22-9
6 Amherst 19-9-1 14-6-1
7 Roger Williams 29-10 26-7
8 Southern Maine 25-10 20-10
9 Western New England 27-11 24-11
New York Region
1 Cortland State 32-3 23-0
2 Ithaca 25-9 21-3
3 Rochester 27-9 26-9
4 RPI 27-8 21-7
5 Brockport State 21-15-1 17-8-1
6 St. John Fisher 21-9-1 17-8-1
6 St. Joseph’s (L.I.) 25-12-1 24-11-1
South Region
1 Salisbury 37-2 33-2
2 Piedmont 33-10 31-10
3 Lynchburg 30-11 24-8
4 Emory 25-11-1 23-9-1
5 Millsaps 29-18 27-14
6 Mary Washington 25-12 22-11
West Region
1 Chapman 32-3 25-3
2 George Fox 28-12 27-11
3 Texas-Tyler 35-7 32-7
4 Concordia-Austin 28-14 24-11
5 Pomona-Pitzer 27-10 18-9
6 Redlands 26-11 19-6
Updated: 5/1/2008
May 1st, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Those looking for a Poll B bid:
Central Region
5 Rockford 21-11 19-6
6 Concordia (Ill.) 27-10 23-9
Mid-Atlantic Region
7 Juniata 25-10 24-7
Mideast Region
Midwest Region
5 St. Scholastica 25-4 17-3
New England Region
New York Region
2 Ithaca 25-9 21-3
6 St. John Fisher 21-9-1 17-8-1
South Region
1 Salisbury 37-2 33-2
2 Piedmont 33-10 31-10
4 Emory 25-11-1 23-9-1
6 Mary Washington 25-12 22-11
West Region
1 Chapman 32-3 25-3
May 1st, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Poll B’s by winning %
Salisbury .971
Chapman .957
Ithaca .938
St. Scholastica .925
Juniata .887
Rockford .880
—————————
Piedmont .878
Concordia (Ill.) .859
Emory .883
Mary Washington .883
St John Fisher .808
I expect the top four are looking pretty good now. Spots 5,6 are up for grabs.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Jim, lots of stuff happening in the Regional Rankings.
GFU’s winning 3 of 4 at Linfield gave them a boost.
Concordia-TX moved back into West.
I still think that Cal State-East Bay is lurking in the “West #7″ position. We need to see what the SCIAC does this weekend.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Rockford is 1 of 3 this week and has a game versus North Park (CCIW) tonight, a DH versus Benedictine (NATHC) on Saturday, then UChicago and Carthage on Sunday.
Make or break…
May 1st, 2008 at 5:42 pm
I think that the lose to Chapman was key in moving Cal State East Bay off the regional ranking list. If a 3-1 weekend lets you jump from unranked to second, there is a lot of volitility in the rankings. I expect this is something that Rhodes and Greensboro is looking for and the reason they have a late scheduled DH.
May 1st, 2008 at 8:46 pm
I am hoping the fact that Lynchburg did not drop in the South rankings bodes well for the Hornets.
May 1st, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Lynchburg seems to be the first one off the table in the Pool C deliberations. The question is what can Rhodes do next both for themselves and in the final (unseen) regional rankings.
May 2nd, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I think it would be a farse for NCWC not to make the regional tournament. If that team would play the best players more often, they would have won a ton more games. Justin Batts should be catching all the games and Justin Tuck should play first every game. Ted Williams should only DH.
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:29 pm
I cannot believe NCWC might not get a bid. The second best team in one of the best conferences in d3 playing the toughest region in d3. I think the regional tournament would only be further enhanced with a team like Wesleyan in it.
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:26 pm
NCWC has a huge chance to help itself in its DH hosting UMW on Sunday. One would have to figure that either team has to sweep to have any shot at getting in…and a split would hurt both.
May 3rd, 2008 at 10:40 pm
NCWC VS. UMW will be big …a split would obviously hurt the home team Bishops , and a sweep would be big for either team
May 4th, 2008 at 7:40 am
If UMW sweeps, I think they have to be in, no matter what happens against Hopkins for them. any thoughts?
May 4th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Texas-Tyler will end up with one of those Pool C bids and it looks like Wooster will join them.
May 4th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Where does Catholic stand?
26-13, Landmark Conference champs (not Juniata, us)
Wins over St. Joseph’s (Maine) (AQ), Mary Washington, Randolph-Macon (AQ), Bridgewater, Shenandoah, a split with Wesley and a win over Juniata with three close losses to them and a one run loss to Hopkins
May 5th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Just curious dixon,why do you think UT Tyler will get at large bid instead of Concordia-Austin?
May 5th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Where does Catholic stand?
Waiting on a Pool B bid. St Joe’s Maine is in-region. If the ODAC schools are within 200 miles of Catholic (msn.mappoint shortest distance), then those are in-region. Juniata and Wesley are, too.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:32 am
What about Concordia IL? Do they have a shot at a bid? Big game vs. Carthage today!!
May 6th, 2008 at 10:29 am
Concordia must beat Carthage
May 6th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Concordia must beat Carthage, but even then I don’t see them getting in. I don’t see more than two at-large bids coming out of the Central and those two bids are going to the two teams that don’t win the CCIW. Concordia although probably deserving, only way in is to win the conference tournament.
May 6th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Hello. I was just wondering anyones thoughts on why Emory and Ithaca are down the list so far for rankings on D3baseball, but much high in the ABCA poll. Ithaca seems to have had a much improved season, and Emory, if Im not mistaken, was second last year at the WS and both have a strong tradition. Thanks
May 6th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Remember to compare apples to apples — the ABCA poll only comes out every two weeks.
Emory is 27th in the current ABCA poll and has the 30th-most votes in the D3baseball.com Top 25. I’ll let someone with more baseball expertise speak to the Ithaca difference but I think the Emory difference is negligible.
May 6th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Ithaca had a long win streak that they followed with a fair number of losses. The ABCA caught Ithaca at the top, and I expect to see them drop in this weeks poll.
There are clearly 4 teams at the top and another set of 6-10 teams below them, followed by a third group.
Emory is having a season like UW-Stevens Point. Did very well last year, lots of talent, won a lot of games but lost more than expected. Both also never put together a long string of wins. I would like to see them in the playoffs but it is understandable how they could easily miss the field of 54.
May 6th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
If Penn State Behrend stumbles in the AMCC tourney does anyone think they would get a Pool C bid? They’ve had a pretty strong year with a 31-9 record and have a pretty solid regional record and a few quality wins. I expect because they play in the AMCC they might be overlooked for a bid if they dont win the conference tourney.
May 6th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I agree that it is negligible to some extent, and I am not sure who does the voting for either or what criteria are used. I guess I was just looking at potential Pool B bids..and thinking that the top 5 look like 1) Chapman 2) Salisbury 3-5) St. Scholastica, Ithaca, Emory. Then #6 will likely be a battle between 4 or 5 teams (Juniata, Rockforn, Mary Washington, Piedmont, Concordia). I was just thinking that it is tough to compare teams in different regions (ex. CSS vs Ithaca), but if I was number 3 on the list for a pool B bid, I would feel much better than being number 5 or 6. Thanks!
May 6th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Of note to regional rankings watchers: Game 1 of the Rhodes/Greensboro doubleheader is in the books with Rhodes winning 12-9.
The videocast of Game 2 will start around 5:30 p.m. ET:
http://www.gborocollege.edu/athletics/sports/pridenet.htm
May 6th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
I didn’t think that Concordia’s conference received an auto bid to the tourney.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
You have to believe the regional rankings as they give you a guide for the committee’s decision.
Piedmont is ranked above Emory and they should get a pool B bid before Emory. Certainly Mary Washington can improve their record since they have a game or two since the rankings came out so they might be able to play themselves above Emory.
I would be nervous if I was Emory at this time since they are on the fence for a Pool B bid and a Pool C bid.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Just checked Mary Washington’s games the last few days. 1-2 with losses to NC Wesleyan, Johns Hopkins will not look good in the rankings. Emory is just a little safer.
With Rhodes a loser to Salisbury and a winner at Grennsboro (losing the second game), their chances are slim. They made the attempt to get those three key in region wins which would have greatly increased their chances if they were able to get the three wins.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Dixon–
A few questions:
Is Wooster definitely a Lock as a Pool C?
Which NJAC teams do you think will get in besides Kean? Montclair had a strong finish and still has games against Salisbury and Ithaca and TCNJ (#1 in the regional rankings) has a strong resume with two wins over Cortland, two wins over Wheaton and wins over Messiah and Gwynedd-Mercy. Rowan also has a strong resume with wins over Cortland, Worchester and Gwynedd.
Does the NJAC really get four teams in? Seems a bit unfair to some of the other conferences, doesn’t it?
May 7th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Wooster should be in. They don’t have a lock like Salisbury but It would be shocking to see them left home. I listened to the Wooster broadcast last weekend and the announcer’s talk about the end of Wooster’s season was premature.
I can see how a team like Heidelberg could bump them off from the top spot in the region with the final round of regional rankings but they are well above the fourth place NJAC team.
Rowan, New Jersey are fine. They did well enough to be considered high in Pool C. Montclair, Suffolk, etc are on the bubble and more will be known on Thursday where their future lies.
Four teams from a conference is fair if they plated themselves in. The CCIW will get three and if Wheaton wins the conference does that mean four? I can imagine a senerio that this happens.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
What are the chances of Concordia-TX of a receiving a Pool C bid? They beat three ranked teams-Swept MHB in conference play,Ozarks in tournament crossover play and beat UT Tyler twice in the ASC Championship tournament.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
As of right now, I feel that does Millsaps get a Pool C bid. I think strength of schedule, alone, should be enough to throw Millsaps into the mix. Also, I think it’s a joke that Rhodes thinks that they deserve a bid.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
What about Methodist University? Plays one of the hardest schedules in the nation and buries Piedmont and should have split with Emory but the rains came. I do not think there are many teams who can beat Methodist as long as Methodist does not beat themselves.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Iliveforthis,
Strength of schedule is now considered by the committee in the OWP and the OOWP.
Strength of schedule is also considered in regionally ranked teams at a ratio of 1 regionally ranked team per 6.5 participants in the region…the top 15% to speak of.
Most fans do not realize how close their team is…kinda like being one minute slower in the New York Marathon than your best friend. (Yeah, great! 250 people finished the marathon between you and your friend in that minute.)
Atlas385, as for Concordia-TX, the sweep on UMHB is not as impressive now as it was. It does help in the in-region head-to-head and OWP and OOWP. Ozarks has never been a regionally ranked team. (The NCBWA/ D3Baseball.com poll has no impact on the selection criteria.) If UT-Tyler is not a regionally ranked team tomorrow, then those games will have lost some of their luster.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Playing yourself out of contention is one of the most common ways to eliminate one’s self. The art has been perfected by the finest of ball players.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/10/01/bp.collapses/1.html
May 8th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
What about considering Messiah College in the next Mid-Atlantic Region rankings? They are 27-16 overall and just won the Commonwealth Conference tournament with 2 wins over Elizabethtown. They also boast quality wins over Juniata and Mary Washington.