Two NCAC teams in the Mideast regional championship. Wooster and Wabash.
I am torn. I think Woosterbwould go farther in the next round, however I have trouble rooting for the Scots, being a Bishop fan. I also like the head coach at Wabash, Jake Martin. So I guess I will be rooting for the Little Giants.
I just hope I did not jinx them.
mid-atlantic final game...misericordia vs. babson...mis has to win two in a row...going to be tough.
phillyinNJ posted:mid-atlantic final game...misericordia vs. babson...mis has to win two in a row...going to be tough.
Quality work by the boys from Misericordia, as best as I could tell there was one weak team in that bracket and Mis didn't play them. So many games decided late, one swing or one play can change a season.
Follow up from earlier in the thread - Swarthmore wins NY going undefeated and earns trip to the WS. Well done.
Great news for Swarthmore. Quite a feat.
BishopLeftiesDad posted:Great news for Swarthmore. Quite a feat.
"The region’s top three seeds have a combined 74 NCAA tournament appearances, 27 trips to the Division III World Series and three national championships."
Swarthmore had one previous Regional appearance. Pretty cool.
Yes it is. They used to struggle quite a bit.
My son tells he felt that Swarthmore was the best team they faced this year, that includes 2 teams still fighting for WS berth today, and 5 or 6 more that were playing in the regionals this past weekend...Including 2 who were ranked top 10 this season.
Opinions are what they are but it seems clear to me that Swarthmore was flying to far under the radar.
Concordia-Chicago beat UW-Oshkosh and now there are zero Wisconsin teams at the last D3 World Series in Wisconsin! That's too bad, but it is also OK, of course. Congrats to the winners, and congrats to those who finished up their season on a successful run but didn't quite make it.
old_school posted:My son tells he felt that Swarthmore was the best team they faced this year, that includes 2 teams still fighting for WS berth today, and 5 or 6 more that were playing in the regionals this past weekend...Including 2 who were ranked top 10 this season.
Opinions are what they are but it seems clear to me that Swarthmore was flying to far under the radar.
It looks like the majority of their starters come from baseball hotbeds (CA, TX, FL, NC).
old_school posted:My son tells he felt that Swarthmore was the best team they faced this year, that includes 2 teams still fighting for WS berth today, and 5 or 6 more that were playing in the regionals this past weekend...Including 2 who were ranked top 10 this season.
Opinions are what they are but it seems clear to me that Swarthmore was flying to far under the radar.
Oh, I am sure they are. As has been pointed out before. A team has to be good for a long time before getting the benefit of the doubt.
Historically they are a bottom to a middle feeder in the Centennial Conference. A few more seasons like this and they wont fly under the radar so much.
BishopLeftiesDad posted:old_school posted:My son tells he felt that Swarthmore was the best team they faced this year, that includes 2 teams still fighting for WS berth today, and 5 or 6 more that were playing in the regionals this past weekend...Including 2 who were ranked top 10 this season.
Opinions are what they are but it seems clear to me that Swarthmore was flying to far under the radar.
Oh, I am sure they are. As has been pointed out before. A team has to be good for a long time before getting the benefit of the doubt.
Historically they are a bottom to a middle feeder in the Centennial Conference. A few more seasons like this and they wont fly under the radar so much.
Funny thing is they beat us in walk off. Some of our parents were stunned, me being freshman parent who doesn't know a damn thing was dumb enough to say "I thought they were pretty damn tough" one of the SR dads just smiled at me and said I would learn.
We were both right, he was correct in I would learn a lot this spring and I was correct in that they were pretty damn good!
The ride is over for the Willamette Bearcats. Started the season 9-11. Finished third in NWC conference but was hot at the end and won the tournament bid. Shows up as a 6 seed in the West region. Made it all the way to the 10th inning of the Championship game, but fell short of CWS losing to #6 Texas Lutheran. One of final 16 teams standing on Sunday afternoon. Best team in the history of Willamette. Even though we have some great Seniors that we are proud of and will graduate, we return every pitcher but 1 reliever and have some great young talent. Watch out for some hungry Bearcats next year as well
Swarthmore can be difficult to recruit to. Many D3 schools recruit students from all over the country. They are more National than a regional school. The Administration's at these schools, many times want the Diversity of the athletes to match the Diversity of the general population of the schools. This can require large coaching staffs and large recruiting budgets to see enough players who have the academic chops and are the proper level of athlete to play well at the D3 level. Then you have to convince the student to come to your schools over another that may have similar Academics, however has not performed as well on the baseball field.
If you look at Swarthmore's coaching staff it was 3 coaches a few years ago. There is just not enough time in the recruiting year to see the players you need to that can get into your school. This year they are up to 6. Midkiff has done a good job there considering the challenges. I have not taken the time to look. However I wonder how there other sports are doing. If the other sports are performing well, it may also indicate that the Administration has seen the benefit of having a vibrant and competitive Athletic department. They may have spent more time building athletics.
My 2017 was recruited by Swarthmore. Frankly, they dropped out when they got his grades, which were good enough to get him into similar schools but not that one. I think it's hard to understate how difficult it is for coaches at a school like Swarthmore to have successful recruiting seasons year after year when its players are held to very lofty academic standards, especially as compared to other schools in conference, and they have to face fierce competition in recruiting top talent not just from other D3's but Ivy's as well.
JCG, you are spot on.
Wooster moves on in the Mid East region. Looks like I did Jinx Wabash. Good Luck to Wooster.
South #1 Randolph-Macon
New England #2 Oswego
New York #5 Swarthmore
West #4 Texas Lutheran
Midwest #1 Concordia-Chicago
Mideast #1 Wooster
Central #3 Texas-Tyler
Mid-Atlantic #5 Misericordia
5 teams swept their Regional tournaments in four games.
MidAtlanticDad posted:old_school posted:My son tells he felt that Swarthmore was the best team they faced this year, that includes 2 teams still fighting for WS berth today, and 5 or 6 more that were playing in the regionals this past weekend...Including 2 who were ranked top 10 this season.
Opinions are what they are but it seems clear to me that Swarthmore was flying to far under the radar.
It looks like the majority of their starters come from baseball hotbeds (CA, TX, FL, NC).
Right you are! If you want to get good those are the states to recruit in.
My 2018 was recruited to, and offered, at Swarthmore. He ultimately chose another school. Swat wasn't on our radar, at all, so when they contacted him he had to do some research. If he had any connection in the area he might've gone- great school- but he had a couple of other D3's that were also attractive, and more known to him. Quite a feat for such a rigorous school like that to compete. I know that in my neck of the woods, Carleton, which has similar tough academic standards, has a hard time being competitive.
They are re-doing the field and the buildings around it. The dorms look right over the field. Nice.
Lets keep this going, D3 World Series starts in a couple days. Anybody got a dog in the fight:
https://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/baseball/d3
I will probably be rooting for Swarthmore. If Wooster goes very far, they will be insufferable in the NCAC. Who am I kidding they are already Insufferable.
For the first time in a very long time, no dog that I know of, so I'm with you with the underdog.
BishopLeftiesDad posted:I will probably be rooting for Swarthmore. If Wooster goes very far, they will be insufferable in the NCAC. Who am I kidding they are already Insufferable.
This is a great post and worthy of repeating! The MAC Freedom teams feel the same about Misericordia!! Swarthmore has plenty yappers on that squad as well...however there are very few innocents in the dugouts of college baseball teams.
College baseball is about 9 on the field and 26 in the dugouts, doin their thing. As long as it is in good sportsmanship manner, that is the way it is played. That is one of the reasons the game is more enjoyable than MLB. No taunting just rowdiness and occasional jabs. Willamette, I must say has one of the loudest dugouts in the NWC. I think the team feeds off that energy. They have rituals, don Glamm glasses after a home run, idiotic/stupid sayings but they just are trying to come up with some type of noise during the game. Some people dont like Monmouth basketball's bench shenanigans, I think it is great.
Yes agree with above, we found Swat to be absolutely insufferable. Noise and fun and even chirping is all in good fun but they went way beyond that. Not very sportsmanlike. They are on a powerful run however so it seems to be working. Lets see if their pitching can stand up in Appleton, as they can hit.
2018 is headed to Misericordia in the fall to play ball...this is their first trip, so we are hopeful it will be a successful one. Watched every regional game on our phones, so hoping to check out the series the same way as well.
First round CWS games start at 11:00am EDT today. As per usual, weather in Appleton could be an issue.
Watching the first game right now... dialed into swings, speed, gloves, and throwing mechanics of all the players. First time I've seen a D3 game.
My 2018 looked at Swarthmore as well...super nice HC.
I'm in Northern IL, I thought Appleton was closer, just looked at google maps, not happening.
watching it now as well...would be nice to see a radar gun display though...a much needed addition to any game
Thanks for linking to the webcam. I haven't seen much DIII baseball and was interested to see the level of play, size of the players, etc... to compare to what I have seen in our area (DI, DII and HS). Watching the Texas-Tyler/Oswego game, the hitting looked pretty strong, but hard to tell about the pitching without knowing MPH. Anyone know what MPH the pitcher's were sitting at or the average for a DIII pitcher's FB? Also, I'm not sure if it was due to the video quality, but the players appeared to be smaller (height and weight) than most of the college players I have seen in our area. If this is true, is it due to the type of player typically recruited to the DIII schools or a product of the strength/conditioning programs available at the different NCAA levels? BTW, congrats to all of the forum members that have kids playing in college. I would love to see my 2022 out there someday.
JDUBSDAD posted:Thanks for linking to the webcam. I haven't seen much DIII baseball and was interested to see the level of play, size of the players, etc... to compare to what I have seen in our area (DI, DII and HS). Watching the Texas-Tyler/Oswego game, the hitting looked pretty strong, but hard to tell about the pitching without knowing MPH. Anyone know what MPH the pitcher's were sitting at or the average for a DIII pitcher's FB? Also, I'm not sure if it was due to the video quality, but the players appeared to be smaller (height and weight) than most of the college players I have seen in our area. If this is true, is it due to the type of player typically recruited to the DIII schools or a product of the strength/conditioning programs available at the different NCAA levels? BTW, congrats to all of the forum members that have kids playing in college. I would love to see my 2022 out there someday.
Not sure about today's games, but I'm guessing that the majority of D3 pitching is in the 80-85 mph range (FB). I think there's a pretty close correlation between general athleticism and the college baseball hierarchy (top D1 through bottom D3). D1 guys are probably taller at most positions; taller corner OFs and corner IFs, taller pitchers. D1 guys in general probably weigh more, too. More muscular. You won't see many skinny position players in high level D1 baseball. I'm sure strength and condition programs plays a role, but I think it's mostly genetics. Most kids could spend 8 hrs/day in the gym and never develop a physique like Jonathan India.
Thanks for the reply MIDATLANTIC DAD. 80-85 looks about right based upon what I am seeing in the video broadcast. (Note: As a hitter's dad, I have been somewhat surprised by the seemingly large strike zone the plate umpire has in the latest game. I may need to change him into a pitcher. 
) Also, your thoughts regarding genetics make sense. My son is relatively early in the process (incoming HS freshman) and still growing so I'm not sure where he may fit in size-wise once things settle out. However, it is nice to know that there are options available at the various levels of competition if he keeps progressing skill-wise and wants to pursue college ball.
FWIW — The top four freshman at my son’s D3 are (RHP) 86-88, (RHP) 84-86 (RHP (85-87) and (LHP) 84-86. All have three pitches that can be thrown for strikes.
JDUBSDAD posted:Thanks for linking to the webcam. I haven't seen much DIII baseball and was interested to see the level of play, size of the players, etc... to compare to what I have seen in our area (DI, DII and HS). Watching the Texas-Tyler/Oswego game, the hitting looked pretty strong, but hard to tell about the pitching without knowing MPH. Anyone know what MPH the pitcher's were sitting at or the average for a DIII pitcher's FB? Also, I'm not sure if it was due to the video quality, but the players appeared to be smaller (height and weight) than most of the college players I have seen in our area. If this is true, is it due to the type of player typically recruited to the DIII schools or a product of the strength/conditioning programs available at the different NCAA levels? BTW, congrats to all of the forum members that have kids playing in college. I would love to see my 2022 out there someday.
My son's D3 team had a starting infield of 6'3, 6'4, 6'3 and 6'0 although it would be hard to tell from the streaming broadcast.
and also the 80-85 mph might be true for OVERALL average of D3 pitching but just not the case for son's team or league or schedule. I bet it is the same for these teams that made it to Appleton too. MAM said what the 4 freshman are throwing at their school and all 4 above 85. It is tough to get recruited to D3 nowadays at 80-85.
Almost every D3 team seems to have guys much higher - it is the depth that falls off for most schools. Son's team has several 90+ guys, and most guys are 85+.
My D3 kid says most teams in his conference have at least one starter and one reliever who throws 90. Sadly his team is not one of them!
You'll get some guys in D3 who were throwing 84 MPH when they were recruited as a rising HS senior, but by the time they are Juniors/seniors in college they are throwing high 80's. I would say that it is rare for a D3 pitcher in my neck of the woods to be touching 90's consistently, though.
I do see others at lesser D3's(baseball wise) who are still throwing around low 80's.
Great first-hand info from the DIII players regarding the make-up of their teams. The streaming video on my computer must have distorted the size of the players in today's games to make them look smaller. Good luck to all going forward.
Can’t speak to velocities with any authority but my son is 5’10” and he’s one of the two shortest players on his D3 team, a regional playoff participant. Almost everyone is over six feet tall with several players 6’3” or 6’4” and one pitcher who is 6’8”.
My D3 son is 5' 10" and also one of the shortest amoung the team. Also have a friend whose son is on a Mid tier D3 in So. Cal. Was told they have 3 guys throwing 88-90. Saw some D3 teams this year that could challenge some D1's i've seen
