INDIANAPOLIS—The NCAA Division III Baseball Committee has announced the 54 teams that will compete in the 2008 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship. Six teams will compete at five first-round sites; eight teams will compete at three first-round sites. All first rounds will use a double-elimination format. Thirty-four conference champions qualified automatically. Winners of the eight first-round tournaments will qualify for the double-elimination championship at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wisconsin, May 23-27.

DATES/SITES/SEEDINGS:

May 14-18
Hosted by Eastern College Athletic Conference, Harwich, Massachusetts
1. Trinity (Connecticut) (37-0)
2. Wheaton (Massachusetts) (32-8)
3. Keene State (33-9)
4. Southern Maine (32-12)
5. Western New England (31-11)
6. St. Joseph’s (Maine) (28-16)
7. Worcester State (23-16)
8. Castleton State (20-10)

Hosted by USA South and Old Dominion, Danville, Virginia
1. Salisbury (38-2)
2. Johns Hopkins (34-5)
3. Piedmont (33-12)
4. Lynchburg (30-11)
5. Christopher Newport (28-12)
6. Randolph-Macon (25-15)

Hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana
1. Heidelberg (37-8)
2. Wooster (34-9)
3. Calvin (32-8)
4. Rose-Hulman (31-13)
5. Adrian (30-10)
6. Transylvania (31-12)

Hosted by Kean University, Newark, New Jersey
1. Kean (35-9)
2. Rowan (30-12)
3. The College of New Jersey (28-10)
4. Penn State-Behrend (34-10)
5. Messiah (27-16)
6. DeSales (24-18-1)
7. Keystone (30-10)
8. Gwynedd-Mercy (21-18)

Hosted by Ithaca College, Auburn, New York
1. Cortland State (38-3)
2. Ithaca (28-11)
3. Rensselaer (30-10)
4. Montclair State (26-18)
5. Eastern Connecticut State (29-13)
6. Farmingdale (23-13)
7. Ohio Wesleyan (28-17)
8. Grove City (18-16)

Hosted by Augustana College (Illinois), Moline, Illinois
1. Illinois Wesleyan (33-9)
2. Wisconsin-Stevens Point (28-14)
3. Augustana (Illinois) (32-11)
4. Wartburg (26-13)
5. Linfield (30-10)
6. Webster (28-13)

Hosted by McMurry University, Abilene, Texas
1. Chapman (35-3)
2. George Fox (28-12)
3. McMurry (29-17)
4. Cal State East Bay (26-14)
5. Trinity (Texas) (32-13)
6. La Verne (25-14-1)

Hosted by University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
1. St. Thomas (Minnesota) (31-7)
2. Wisconsin-Whitewater (35-8)
3. Carthage (35-8)
4. Wisconsin-Oshkosh (29-9)
5. St. Scholastica (32-4)
6. Knox (15-23)

First round matchups for the championship site will be as follows:

McMurry regional winner vs. Kean regional winner
Rose-Hulman regional winner vs. USA South/Old Dominion regional winner
Wisconsin-Oshkosh regional winner vs. Augustana (Illinois) regional winner
Ithaca regional winner vs. Eastern College Athletic Conference regional winner

CONFERENCES RECEIVING AUTOMATIC QUALIFICATION BERTHS:

Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference - Penn State-Behrend
American Southwest Conference - McMurry
Centennial Conference - Johns Hopkins
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin - Illinois Wesleyan
Commonwealth Coast Conference - Western New England
Commonwealth Conference - Messiah
Freedom Conference - DeSales
Great Northeast Athletic Conference - St. Joseph’s (Maine)
Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference - Transylvania
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - Wartburg
Liberty League - Rensselaer
Little East Conference - Keene State
Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference - Worcester State
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association - Calvin
Midwest Conference - Knox
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - St. Thomas (Minnesota)
New England Small College Athletic Conference - Trinity (Connecticut)
New England Women’s and Men’s Athletics Conference - Wheaton (Massachusetts)
New Jersey Athletic Conference - Kean
North Atlantic Conference - Castleton State
North Coast Athletic Conference - Ohio Wesleyan
North Eastern Athletic Conference - Keystone
Northwest Conference - Linfield
Ohio Athletic Conference - Heidelberg
Old Dominion Athletic Conference - Randolph-Macon
Pennsylvania Athletic Conference - Gwynedd-Mercy
President’s Athletic Conference - Grove City
Skyline Conference - Farmingdale
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - La Verne
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference - Trinity (Texas)
St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - Webster
State University of New York Athletic Conference - Cortland State
USA South Athletic Conference - Christopher Newport
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - Wisconsin-Stevens Point

In the 2007 Division III championship game, Kean defeated Emory 5-4 in 10 innings.
The 2008 NCAA Spring Seasonal Show will air on CBS at 2 p.m. Eastern time, Sunday, June 22, and will include highlights from the championship.

Pool A bids are automatic. See Playoff Central for a list of Pool A bids awarded.

——— POOL B ———

The D3baseball.com selection committee looks at the Pool B bids intently and sees the first five teams easily are deserving of a Pool B bid.

Salisbury, Chapman, Ithaca, Piedmont, St Scholastica.

Remaining in Pool B are Emory (South #4) CSU-East Bay (West #6), Concordia IL (Central #6) and Juniata (Mid-Atlantic #9), Rochester Tech New York #6).

Emory is 25-11-1/23-9-1. (In-region percentage is .671) Records versus In-region ranked teams: Adrian 0-1, Methodist 1-0-1, and Piedmont 1-2. Emory’s in-region record is 2-3-1

Juniata is 26-12/ 25-9 (.735) (They have 2 losses to St Scholastica in Pool B, and went 1-0 vs. Elizabethtown in Mid-Atlantic Region.)

Concordia IL, 32-13/ 28-12 (.700), has in-region win over Wartburg and Carthage and losses to Augustana and IWU to give an in-region record versus ranked teams of 2-2. However they went 3-2 in the Northern Athletics Conference tourney and lost to Rockford. The 2 losses in the last week did not help Concordia IL in Pool B consideration.

CSU-East Bay is 26-14/ 20-10 (.667). Results versus In-Region ranked teams, 0-4 versus Chapman, GFU 2-1. CSU-EB also is 2-1 versus SCIAC Pool A LaVerne and 2-1 versus NWC Pool A Linfield. Since we don’t know the final West Region Rankings, CSU-EB may be 2-5 versus ranked teams or as good as 6-7. In common opponents, CSU-EB is 2-0 versus Washington U/St. Louis, whereas Emory is only 1-1.

Emory was the highest ranked team in the third Regional Rankings at 4th in the South. We think that the committee will determine that the criteria favor Emory, which gets the 6th Pool B bid.

After the committee has decided the six Pool B schools, they return CSU-East Bay, Juniata, Concordia-IL and RIT back to Pool C for re-consideration.

——— POOL C ———

The D3baseball.com selection Committee began looking at the best teams from the various regions. The best Pool C candidates by region were

Central: Carthage; Mid-Atlantic: Rowan; Mideast: Wooster; Midwest: UW-Whitewater; New England: Eastern Connecticut State; New York: Rochester, but barely; South: Lynchburg: West: George Fox. Those 8 bids were easily given.

With 6 bids remaining, the Committee saw these schools by region.

Central: Augustana; Simpson; Concordia IL
Mid-Atlantic: New Jersey (TCNJ); Montclair State; Manhattenville, Juniata
Mideast: Adrian; Thomas More
Midwest: UW-Oshkosh; Ripon
New England: Suffolk; Southern Maine
New York: Brockport
South: Methodist
West: Concordia-Austin; UT-Tyler; CSU-East Bay.

They looked at the regional criteria and gave the next Pool C bid to Augustana. They moved Simpson to the table and re-evaluated. Adrian got a Pool C bid. (Thomas More moved up.) TCNJ got the eleventh. UW-Oshkosh got the twelfth .

The teams at the table looked like this:

Central: Simpson
Mid-Atlantic: Montclair State, Manhattanville
Mideast: Thomas More
Midwest: Ripon
New England: Suffolk, Southern Maine
New York: Brockport
South: Methodist
West: Concordia-Austin; UT-Tyler

Montclair State got #13, although Rochester may have been the 12th or 13th best Pool C team.
We project that the last Pool C bid came between ultimately came between Concordia-Austin and Suffolk. Suffolk is 29-12, 26-11 (In-region percentage .711.) Suffolk lost 2 games to St Joseph’s ME this last weekend. Whether that hurts their Pool C chances versus given them 2 more results versus in-region ranked teams is a concern. Versus in-region ranked teams, Suffolk is 2-4 versus St. Joe’s Maine, 1-0 vs. Western New England, 2-0 vs. Southern Maine, 0-1 vs. TCNJ, and 0-1 vs. ECSU, 5-6 on the season.

Concordia-TX is 30-16/ 27-13 (..675) in-region. (CTX is 1-4 versus McMurry, 3-2 versus UT-Tyler or 4-6 versus West Region ranked teams. Concordia also split a DH with Trinity TX.)

Ripon was 27-10/19-7 (.730) but only played UW-Stevens Point among Regionally ranked teams, with whom they split a DH.

Selecting Concordia-Texas makes the 6th team in the West. Chapman and LaVerne fly to Texas and probably fly NWC Champion Linfield to Texas. Trinity TX and Concordia-Austin would bus to Abilene. Pool C George Fox gets flown to either Wisconsin or to Rock Island to complete a bracket. Selecting Suffolk would mean that both NWC teams Linfield and George Fox would be flown to Texas, and Suffolk or another team might be sent out of New England. If Suffolk and Concordia-Texas were listed in the baseball standings, Suffolk would have a half-game lead over Concordia-Texas. What would switching one outcome in a season do for Concordia-Texas? What about that loss to Texas Lutheran or to Howard Payne in ASC-West Division play? If Concordia-Texas wins either of those games, then they host the ASC Post-season tournament. It is probably that close, for everyone left on the table!

We think that Suffolk gets #14.

I’m finally getting settled back in at the home office after covering just one game of the MIAC Championship and play-in. St. Olaf exploited every single opportunity Gustavus Adolphus gave them in their 15-6 victory. St. Olaf was supposed to face St. Thomas 30 minutes after they shuttered the Gusties’ 2008 season.

But Mother Nature showed up in the 3rd inning of the play-in and never left. Rain was expected, the start of the first game was moved from 1pm to 11am in an attempt to get both games in before the field was unplayable. However, that was not the case. MIAC Executive Director Dan McKane, Asst. Executive Director

The grounds crew tends to the home plate area following the completion of the Gustavus/St. Olaf game.

Matt Ten Haken, St. Olaf head coach Matt MacDonald and St. Thomas’ Dennis Denning met just off the third base line at 2pm. It didn’t take long for them to make the postponement official and it was no surprise to the fans in the stands — the grounds crew, comprising the head coaches from Bethel, Carleton, Augsburg and two more, had already tarped, drained and staked both the pitching mound and the home plate area.

A photographer came up to me and asked the question I have heard posed each of the last three years: What happens if they don’t get the game(s) in tomorrow? The NCAA requires that Pool A conferences submit their auto qualifier at 6pm Eastern tomorrow. Most conferences want to have their auto qualifier to come from a tournament but they are allowed to determine it in whatever manner they wish.

Dan McKane shed some light on this particular situation for me this evening explaining that all games will be 9 innings in the MIAC tournament, they have no intention of slimming either games tomorrow down to 7 innings to fit them in before the deadline. In addition to that, he added that the committee is willing to let the MIAC complete their games a bit late.

But that brings up the question of what if the field is unplayable? St. Thomas gets the AQ for the MIAC having won the regular season title with an 18-2 conference record.

Gustavus right fielder Spencer Campion makes a catch in the fifth inning

St. Olaf turned four double plays in the game.

Central Region
Rank Team Overall In-Region
1 Illinois Wesleyan 29-8 28-3
2 Carthage 32-5 26-5
3 Augustana 31-9 24-7
4 Wartburg 23-12 21-9
5 Simpson 25-14 22-9
6 Concordia (Ill.) 28-11 24-10

Mid-Atlantic Region
Rank Team Overall In-Region
1 Kean 34-9 28-7 (NJAC Pool A)
2 Johns Hopkins 34-5 31-4 (CC Pool A)
3 Rowan 30-12 26-10
4 TCNJ 28-10 26-10
5 Montclair State 26-16 24-11
6 Penn State-Behrend 31-9 29-6
7 Manhattanville 28-13 24-12
8 Elizabethtown 26-12 22-11
9 Juniata 26-12 25-9

Mideast Region
Rank Team Overall In-Region
1 Heidelberg 33-7 27-7
2 Wooster 34-9 28-8
3 Adrian 29-9 24-9
4 Calvin 28-8 20-5
5 Thomas More 25-11 19-5
6 Mount St. Joseph 24-15 20-6
7 Rose-Hulman 28-11 23-9

Midwest Region

Rank Team Overall In-Region
1 UW-Whitewater 33-6 30-6
2 UW-Oshkosh 28-7 28-7
3 St. Thomas 27-7 19-5
4 St. Scholastica 29-4 21-3
5 UW-Stevens Point 25-14 22-10

New England Region
Rank Team Overall In-Region
1 Trinity (Conn.) 34-0 25-0
2 Wheaton (Mass.) 32-8 29-6 (NEWMAC Pool A)
3 Keene State 28-8 25-7
4 Eastern Connecticut State 27-11-1 23-8-1
5 Suffolk 28-10 25-9
6 Western New England 31-11 28-11 (TCCC Pool A)
7 Southern Maine 29-10 24-10
8 Amherst 22-10-1 17-7-1
9 Williams 24-10 21-8

New York Region
Rank Team Overall In-Region
1 Cortland State 36-3 27-0 (SUNYAC Pool A)
2 Ithaca 27-11 23-5
3 Rochester 27-11 26-11
4 Rensselaer 30-10 26-9
5 Brockport State 23-17-1 19-10-1
6 RIT 22-12 20-9

South Region
Rank Team Overall In-Region
1 Salisbury 38-2 34-2
2 Lynchburg 30-11 24-8
3 Piedmont 33-12 31-12
4 Emory 25-11-1 23-9-1
5 Christopher Newport 28-12 21-11 (USAC Pool A)
6 Methodist 28-15-1 22-12-1

West Region
Rank Team Overall In-Region
1 Chapman 35-3 28-3
2 George Fox 28-12 27-11
3 McMurry 29-17 28-16 (ASC Pool A)
4 Concordia-Austin 30-16 26-13
5 Texas-Tyler 36-9 33-9
6 Cal State-East Bay 26-14 20-10

Posted: 5/8/2008
Revised: 5/9/2008 (West Region correction)

The Mideast Regional will be hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology at Art Nehf Field, Terre Haute, Indiana.

The Central Regional will be hosted by Augustana College at Brunner Field at Duane R. Stadium in Rock Island, Illinois.

The Midwest Regional will be hosted by UW-Oshkosh at E.J. Schneider Field, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Number one seeded Mount St. Joseph will host the HCAC tournament that starts this Thursday as the Mount gets Transylvania for the first game. Transylvania came out of the blocks quickly and faded towards the end of the season. but still has the best overall winning percentage of the tournament field. Game two will feature Rose-Hulman and Franklin. The incentive for Rose-Hulman is that if they can advance, their regional will be a home series as they host the Mideast regional on their own field. All four teams had nearly the same record with just 1.5 game separating Transylvania for Mount St Joseph. Anyone can win and to advance but you have to do just that - win the tournament as Pool C hopes are slim for all.

There is no tournament for the MIAA so the regular season winner advances to the playoffs. Adrian has a single game advantage over Calvin with the end of the season just few days away. Adrian could clinch a playoff spot today, otherwise the playoff spot will be decided on Thursday, the last day of the regular season. The Pool C hopes for both Adrian and Calvin are as good as the teams in the HCAC so the automatic bid is important for either team so they can continue their fine seasons.

The NCAC will get two teams in the playoffs. Wooster, losers to Ohio Wesleyan last weekend will slip in with a Pool C bid and Denison will host Ohio Wesleyan as the two teams battle it out for conference playoff spot. Ohio Wesleyan split the series meeting between the two teams but Denison had the better record of these two west division teams.

Marietta was the favorite going into the 2008 OAC season. The Pioneers stumbled early and but are playing as well as anyone now. The story for this season is Heidelberg. Heidelberg will host the 2008 OAC Baseball Tournament Thursday-Saturday May 8-10 at Peaceful Valley in Tiffin, Ohio. Heidelberg finished the season at the top of the standings with a 15-3 mark to become the regular-season champions. Heidelberg gets Mount Union, whom they swept this season, in the opening round while Marietta will play Otterbein. Heidelberg should be relaxed as they are a possible Pool C candidate if they lose the tournament, although they still need a good showing to impress the committee. For all others winning is all that remains of their seasons.

The 2008 PAC Baseball Tournament will be at Thomas More College where on Thursday #4 Grove City will play #1 Thomas More and #3 Thiel gets #2 Westminster in the late game. This is the first year for the PAC to have an automatic bid and all four teams need to know this is their only way into the playoffs.

Illinois Wesleyan, the 12th ranked team in the D3baseball.com poll, earned the right to host the CCIW tournament for the second straight season after taking two of three from seventh-ranked Carthage in the final series of the year to win the regular season championship. Home field advantage did not help the Titans a year ago as they were eliminated at home in the conference and regional tournaments. The Titans will get surprise Wheaton in the opener. After beginning the season with 29 straight wins, Carthage closed with three losses in its final four conference games and is 3-4 in the last seven games. Augustana, ranked 14th, is vying for a Pool C slot and the right to play at home in the NCAA Tournament and meets Carthage in the opener. Wheaton has had a surprising season, winning 12 conference games to place fourth. The Thunder are making their first ever tournament in appearance and took a game in the regular season from both Augustana and Illinois Wesleyan. Winning the tournament is the only chance for Wheaton. Otherwise Augustana, Carthage, and Illinois Wersleyan all are sitting pretty for a Pol A and two Pool C bids.

The six-team IIAC conference tournament will be played on a neutral field at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium, the home of the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Wartburg ran away with the regular season IIAC crown. The Knights won 17 games en route to their 12th straight title. Wartburg overcame a 6-9 start to finish 23-12. Simpson improved in their second season under Ben Blake to finish second by a game over Coe. Wartburg and Simpson receive a first round bye. Wartburg gets the winner of Luther and Loras while Simpson faces the Coe-Central victor. With no teams in the regional rankings and neighboring conference CCIW doing well, a tournament win is what is needed to play past next weekend.

The NATHC is going to wait one more season for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but there is more than one team vying for a potential Pool B bid at the tournament this weekend played at Rockford’s home field, Road Ranger Stadium. Benedictine and Rockford shared the regular season crown, but Concordia (Ill.) also won 20 games in addition to the top two seeds. Benedictine is the top seed by virtue of their sweep over Rockford. The Eagles will face Concordia (Ill.), who just weeks ago was in the Top 25. Benedictine swept a pair of 9-8 decisions from Concordia earlier this year. Rockford faced Marian, who won the tie-break with Aurora for the final slot in the tournament. With so many Pool B teams on the bubble, tournament wins will be key to advancing.

It was a new year but the same story in the SLIAC as Webster captured its second straight title. The Gorloks finished 21-3 in conference and are looking for their fourth straight NCAA berth. They made some noise last season with an upset of Illinois Wesleyan in regional play. Webster opens with fourth seeded Greenville while Westminster (Mo.) takes on Maryville in the other semifinal. The path to the playoffs clearly sits with a tournemant win.

In the MIAC, No. 1 seed St. Thomas (29-7) appears to be in good shape for at least a Pool C bid, barring a two-and-done effort in the tourney to be held May 9-11. Even in that worst-case scenario, the Tommies, could limp in. No. 2 St. Olaf (25-10), which still has one regular-season game to play on Wedneday, has some work to do. Although not in the current regional rankings, the Oles are 19-6 in-region heading into today’s game and could move into the last published rankings in Stevens Point’s place. St. Olaf and St. Thomas both received NCAA bids the past two seasons, but the Oles may need to at least make the MIAC finals to continue that streak, although they may need to win. Longshots Hamline (23-16) and Gustavus (20-16) round out the 2008 MIAC field.

The MWC tournament will feature St. Norbert (24-9) and Ripon (25-8) from the North Division and Monmouth (9-22) and surprise host Knox (11-22) from the South for the MWC Pool A bid on May 9-10 in Galesburg, Ill. As the records indicate, Ripon and St. Norbert are the overwhelming favorites. Ripon has won the past four MWC tourneys and eight of the last 10. Ripon has also made eight NCAA appearances in the past nine seasons. St. Norbert won the 2003 MWC tourney and the last two regular-season titles, but the Green Knights have never made an NCAA appearance. A tournament winn will be needed to make the NCAA tournament since neither Ripon nor St. Norbert were in the latest regional rankings.

In the non-Pool A UMAC, all eyes are on St. Scholastica (29-4), which is in the Pool B hunt after winning the conference regular-season title for the 12th straight year. St. Scholastica, ranked No. 5 in the Midwest Region is looking for its 12th consecutive UMAC Tournament crown when it hosts on May 8-10 in Duluth, Minn. A three-game sweep at the UMAC tournament could be St. Scholastica’s ticket to the NCAA tournament. Anything less than a St. Scholastica three-game sweep of the UMAC tournament would be shocking considering CSS is the winningest D-III team in the 2000s with a 289-66 (.814) record. The Saints have also faired well against regionally ranked teams this season, registering wins over Oshkosh, St. Thomas, Juniata, Alvernia and Elizabethtown.

Like every year since 2000, the WIAC tournament has the usual suspects fighting for the Pool A bid: No.1 seed UW-Whitewater (33-6), No. 2 UWQ-Oshkosh (28-7) and No. 3 UW-Stevens Point (25-14). UW-La Crosse (19-18) is the fourth invitee to the annual heavyweight slugfest to be held May 9-10 in Wisconsin Rapids. The Big 3 are all in the region’s current top four, but the WIAC has not received three NCAA bids in the same season since 1998. History suggests that one of the perennial Big 3 may stay home this year, especially given Steven Point’s late-season struggles. If Whitewater or Oshkosh fail to make the finals, their postseason hopes could be in jeopardy despite high regional rankings. Stevens Point may fall from the regional rankings after losing four of its last six games and perhaps needs to make the finals for Pool C consideration. La Crosse must win it all.

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

Roger Williams and Curry are the favorites in the tournament that starts today. Roger Williams takes on Gordon in the first round and Curry gets Colby-Sawyer. A surprising team near the top of the standings is Wentworth who is enjoying their finest season. Roger Williams and Curry are both ranked in the regional rankings and need to win to keep their spots. The CCC might get two teams in the playoffs but the automatic bid being awarded this weekend is by far the easiest route.

In the GNAC tournament last weekend St Joseph (Maine) defeated Suffolk to take the automatic bid. Suffolk remains in the running for a Pool C bid with six more contest s to rack up in-region wins. Johnson and Wales is out of the playoffs.

Keene State leads Southern Maine and Eastern Connecticut by a game in the Little East standings followed by Rhode Island. When the conference tournament starts, any one of these teams will come out on top. Keene State and Eastern Connecticut are top four in the regional rankings and like for many teams the goal is in sight. Win, win, win is the theme to keep above the competition. Unless Keene State stumbles, they will make the playoffs and it is likely that another Little East team will be invited. The question will be decided in the next weeks.

In the MASCAC there is a log jam in the standings where five teams are within a game of each other. In the tournament starting tomorrow, Mass-Maritime was left out having lost the tie breakers. Westfield, the number one seed, plays Bridgewater State and Wocester State plays Salem State. The rules to advance are simple in the MASCAC. You must win this weekend’s tournament to advance to the playoffs.

The story in the NESCAC is Trinity’s undefeated run. They are a lock in the playoffs and have nothing to lose in the tournament. They continue to play each game one at a time as they try to be the first team to finish the season undefeated. Amherst and Williams are tied in the west division with the rest of the teams in the NESCAC .500 or lower. Amherst and Williams need the tournament win to get into the playoffs, although both have records that might get them a Pool C bid, especially Amherst who is raked in the regional rankings released last week.

Wheaton (Mass.) captured the automatic bid. Good news to those on the Pool C bubble since they probably would have received a Pool C bid if they did not earn the automatic bid. Babson, one of the best teams left out last year, might get that same treatment this year. The Beavers need for the favorites to capture their conference championships to allow a Pool C bid to be there for Babson on May 11.

Castleton is the only team without a losing record. Just like the MASCAC, win or go home as the only chance for a playoff bid is to capture the conference tournament and we expect Castleton to do just that.

Cortland State, undefeated in the SUNYAC, is the #1 seed in the SUNYAC tournament. They play Plattsburgh who has secured a fourth seed in the tournament. Second-seeded Oneonta will play third-seeded Brockport. Cortland is the favorite, but it is not a given that they will emerge with the title. For everyone but Cortland, it is win or go home as Cortland will end up in the playoffs by virtue of either a Poll A or C bid.

There is no Empire 8 tournament, and if there was it would be a large after-thought as Ithaca and its 15-1 conference record has run away from the field. The Bombers should have their bags packed for the playoffs as they have rebounded from a tough non-conference schedule to start the season and on May 11 is expected to be rewarded with a Pool B bid. Second place will be determined on the last weekend of conference play when St. John Fisher (regionally ranked in fifth place) visits RIT for a 4 game series. The Cardinals need to win to keep their playoff hopes alive as they are ninth in regional game winning percentage of the Pool B teams ranked regionally.

The site of the Liberty League tournament was determined last weekend when RPI visits Rochester won 3 of 4 from RPI. This conference tournament has been a real toss up in the last few years as the No. 1 seed has only won the title once in the last 4 years. It looks like RPI and Rochester will end up fighting it out for the title, but Skidmore and St. Lawrence will have something to say about it. Rochester and RPI might find themselves looking for a pool C bid that is not not there if either does not take the tournament championship and the automatic bid that comes with it.

Three of the teams for the Skyline tournament are set with St Joseph’s, Farmingdale and Mount St. Vincent’s having secured spots. That leaves Mount St. Mary and Old Westbury to battle for the final playoff spot. Once the field is set it looks like it will end up with St. Joseph’s playing against Farmingdale for the title. They split their two games during the regular season so it is a toss up as to who will win. To advance to the playoffs, any Skyline team needed the automatic bid. Only St Joseph’s has the outside chance of a pool C bid if they fail in the conference tournament.

The field is set for the CUNY AC tournament on 8-10 May with The College of Staten Island hosting Lehman, Mitchell and John Jay. With one more conference game on the schedule (Baruch at Mitchell) the field is set. With no automatic bid the conference championship is all there is left to play for.

In the AMCC tournament this weekend Penn St. Behrend has the edge. With just one conference loss, they are the favorites and with a No. 4 regional ranking, they might make the playoffs without winning the automatic bid but there will be a lot of competition from the NJAC for Pool C bids in this region. Frostburg State has surged into second place and might be getting hot at just the right time as they need the tournament win to advance to the playoffs.

Johns Hopkins, win or lose the CC tournament should be preparing for the playoffs. Ursinus was contending with Johns Hopkins earlier in the season and fell out of a tournament spot. If another CC team other than the Blue Jays expects to be playing after May 11th, they will need an upset win in the CC tournament this weekend.

In the sister conferences Mid-Atlantic Commonwealth and Freedom, the story is the same. The number one seeds in each, Elizabethtown and Manhattanville are at the bottom of the regional rankings. With four NJAC teams ahead of them, it means win or go home since it will be difficult to make up enough ground in the regional rankings to overcome three NJAC teams that are looking for Pool C bids.

Does the NJAC get four teams in the playoffs? Not out of the question but the teams on the bubble (Kean and Montclair State) have to hope for few tournament upsets. Richard Stockton or William Paterson need to win to advance but the top four in the conference (Kean, Rowan, New Jersey, and Montclair State) need to have a good showing to improve their chances. Expect at least two NJAC teams in the playoffs with a third possibly making the grade.

In the NEAC Cazenovia, Keystone, and Penn State-Berks will vie for the championship. PS-Berks has come on lately and will their late season surge get them a playoff berth? Probably not since Keystone and Cazenovia know they need to win the conference to advance to the playoffs. Keystone has the incentive after being shut out last year in their final year of provisional status. This year they can play in the playoffs and those players from last year’s team will want the chance. They will have to get past the conference leader Cazenovia who lost only one game in conference this year.

Alvernia is the only Penn AC team to have clinched a tournament spot this season and ifsthe favorite to take the tournament. They are ranked regionally but like Elizabethtown and Manhattanville, they have the NJAC teams blocking them from a possible Pool C bid. To advance, Alvernia must win the conference tournament.

Division III Regional Rankings

Central Region
Rank Team (Overall; In-Region)
1 Carthage* (26-1; 20-1)
2 Illinois Wesleyan (21-6; 20-2)
3 Augustana (23-7; 16-5)
4 Rockford (19-10; 17-5)
5 Simpson* (20-12; 17-7)
6 Concordia (Ill.) (23-8; 19-7)

Mid-Atlantic Region
Rank Team (Overall; In-Region)
1 TCNJ* (25-6; 23-6)
2 Johns Hopkins* (27-4; 24-3)
3 Rowan (25-8; 21-6)
4 Montclair State (19-11; 17-6)
5 Penn State-Behrend* (23-7; 21-4)
6 Kean (27-8; 21-6)
7 Alvernia* (28-8; 24-5)
8 Manhattanville* (21-10; 17-9)
9 Elizabethtown* (19-9; 15-8

Mideast Region
Rank Team (Overall; In-Region)
1 Wooster* ( 29-5; 23-4)
2 Thomas More* ( 18-8; 12-2)
3 Mount St. Joseph* ( 18-13; 14-4)
4 Adrian * (21-6; 16-6)
5 Calvin (19-6; 12-4)
6 Franklin (20-10; 19-8)
7 Heidelberg* (25-7; 19-7)

Midwest Region
Rank Team (Overall; In-Region)
1 UW-Oshkosh* (20-5; 20-5)
2 St. Thomas* (19-5; 11-3)
3 UW-Whitewater (23-4; 20-4)
4 UW-Stevens Point (19-8; 16-4)
5 Ripon* (18-13; 10-0)

New England Region
Rank Team (Overall; In-Region)
1 Trinity (Conn.)* (27-0; 18-0)
2 Wheaton (Mass.)* (27-7; 24-5)
3 Keene State* (24-5; 21-4)
4 Eastern Conn. St. ( 20-10-1; 16-7-1)
5 Roger Williams* (26-9; 23-6)
6 Amherst (16-7-1; 13-4-1)
7 Curry (20-4-1; 19-4-1)
8 Babson (25-8; 24-7)
9 Suffolk* (23-8; 20-7)

New York Region
Rank Team (Overall; In-Region)
1 Cortland State* (27-3; 18-0)
2 Ithaca (23-8; 19-2)
3 RPI* (25-4; 19-3)
4 Rochester (24-7; 23-7)
5 St. John Fisher (15-8-1; 11-7-1)
6 St. Joseph’s, L.I. (21-9-1; 20-8-1)

South Region
Rank Team (Overall; In-Region)
1 Salisbury (36-2; 32-2)
2 Piedmont (29-9; 27-9)
3 Lynchburg* (28-9; 22-6)
4 Emory (24-10-1; 22-8-1)
5 Christopher Newport* (27-9; 20-8)
6 N.C. Wesleyan (27-13-1; 22-11-1)

West Region
Rank Team (Overall; In-Region)
1 Chapman (28-3; 22-3)
2 Texas-Tyler* (33-7; 30-7)
3 Linfield* (29-7; 27-6)
4 Pomona-Pitzer* (27-7; 18-6)
5 Redlands (26-11; 19-6)
6 Cal State East Bay (20-13; 14-9)

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.

By this weekend, we will have two playoff teams identified one from the SCAC and the other from the USA South as they have their tournament this weekend. The CAC have started their tournament but the CAC does not have an automatic bid. Salisbury has all but punched their ticket and a tournament win for either Mary Washington or Wesley will be useful in getting a second CAC team into the playoffs.

The USA South tournament kicks off on Thursday with four games in the double elimination tournament. Christopher Newport is the number one seed and will play in the late game against the winner of Methodist and Shenadoah game. The USA South has good teams from top to bottom so if your near Burlington, N.C. you should try to see some of the games this weekend.

On Friday, the SCAC tournament kicks off with Rhodes playing Millsaps. Depauw, seeded first in from the east, plays Austin. The top seed from the west, Trinity (Texas) will play Oglethorpe.