NCAC Youth Movement
With the hiring of Mike Clark at Denison the NCAC West got some new, young blood. Clark comes to Granville from Emory University (GA). In his first head coaching stint, Clark inherits a good program with a track record of recent success.
Some may think it’s rare for a young head coach to be handed the reigns of an established program in his first job, but in the NCAC West it seems to be a trend.
We don’t need to look far to get an idea of what may be in store for the young Big Red skipper.
DIII Spring Trip Report Card: Week 1
It’s Sunday night. There’s nothing on TV. I don’t feel like writing my paper for grad school. All this adds up to me concocting something to write about regarding DIII baseball.
Tonight’s concoction? A report card.
I went back and reviewed the spring trips of the teams that wrapped up this weekend and assigned them grades.
One thing to mention is that I didn’t compare these team’s against each other, but rather against themselves (and the expectations for their 2010 season). So a team that received an ‘A’ didn’t necessarily have a better resume than a team that received a ‘C’. It just means that the former vastly exceeded what I expected from them.
3/5 DIII Recap and Preview: Cannon Ball!
As anyone who follows DIII baseball knows we tend to ease into the season.
To employ a Sunshine State analogy, this week was akin to wading into the pool from the shallow end. Just kind of easing our way into baseball.
Starting this weekend? Well, this weekend is the hyper kid sprinting across the cement and cannon-balling into the deep end.
While we had just four teams in full scale action this week, we can look forward to over a dozen teams taking the field this weekend. For all intents and purposes, this weekend is the Opening Day of DIII in Ohio.
So let’s gear up by recapping the action this week and previewing the big weekend ahead.
Just a quick DIII note…
While I settle into some sort of routine for posting about DIII games, please feel free to stop by the message board. I have set up threads for each conference’s spring trip. I will be posting results, comments and whatnot much more frequently over there since there simply aren’t enough games going on to warrant a full post. Basically I will post as I see stuff and throw in my two cents. Please stop by and discuss.
Heading to Florida to watch your team? Drop me a line as I’d love to get the scores faster from someone on site.
Once the season gets into full swing I will develop a set routine to do recaps and previews like my partner-in-crime Chris Webb does for DI. Unfortunately I’m already afraid he has set the bar too high. His first recap was unbelievable.
NAIA Preview: Malone University
School: Malone University
Location: Canton, Ohio
Head Coach: Tom Crank
2009 Record: 47-16, 26-6 AMC
Returning Starters: OF Marc Adams, OF Matt Anderson, INF Joe Goddard, OF Adam Heidman, INF Alex Schmid, INF Justin Shiflett, RP Bryan Bayer, SP Todd Liberatore, SP Jeffrey Shenker
Coming off a 2009 campaign that included a regular season and AMC tournament title as well as a NCCAA national runner-up finish the bar has been set extremely high in Canton. After sweeping the AMC special awards, reigning Coach of the Year Tom Crank will look to replace his departed Player of the Year Scott McIlvain, and Pitcher of the Year Adam Boudler. Fortunately for Crank, his 2010 squad returns six starters and several key components from a deep and accomplished pitching staff.
DIII Recap: Weekend of 2/27
My apologies to all you DIII and NAIA folks out there. Some unforeseen parental health issues caused me to get a little derailed the last few days. Luckily Mother Nature forced the cancellation of the double headers in Chillicothe last weekend so I didn’t miss out on any games in person.
So what happened in the DIII world? Well, like most years we’re easing into the season. Capital, Hiram and John Carroll headed to Florida for their spring trips. Mount St. Joseph found themselves in Georgia for a quick weekend tune up. Let’s take a look at how our Ohio schools faired as we gear up for next weekend when the flood gates really open up.
NAIA Preview: Mount Vernon Nazarene
School: Mount Vernon Nazarene
Location: Mount Vernon, Ohio
Head Coach: Keith Veale
2009 Record: 35-21, 20-12 AMC
Returning Starters: C Ian Durbin, OF Chaz Gibson, 2B Michael Hendren, 1B/C Travis McInerney, 3B Matt Parks, C Ricardo Rodriguez, OF Kodi Veale, OF Steve Williams, SP Caleb Wright, SP Jerrob Decker
Long time Head Coach Keith Veale and the Mount Vernon Nazarene Cougars head into 2010 with the same expectations as always: win 30 games and make a run at the AMC crown. While the pitching staff will need to step up to replace the loss of graduated workhorse Jason Decker, the every day lineup returns almost entirely intact. Not good news for fellow AMC foes as the Cougars hit .344 as a team last season.
NAIA Preview: Notre Dame College
School: Notre Dame College
Location: South Euclid, Ohio
Head Coach: Nick Weisheipl
2009 Record: 10-39, 4-28 AMC
Returning Starters: 2B Eric Johnson, CF Ryan Weaver, SP Andrew Hyde, SP Chris Willoughby
Head Coach Nick Weisheipl is going to get some grey hair this year. With only two returning position players and a couple returning underclassmen pitchers, Notre Dame will be trotting out a lot of new faces in 2010. As a result, Coach Weisheipl will be getting a feel for his players as they are getting a feel for the game at the college level. Not exactly the most calming situation to be in. The good news for Weisheipl is that he brought in several transfers that will steady things thanks to their experience.
Small School Notes
It’s hard to believe, but as you may have noticed the season is officially under way. Within a week or so we will have plenty of games to talk about. In the meantime though, I thought we could hold everyone over with some quick hitters from the small college world.
What do we have for you this time? The Gordon Gecko of the OAC. Transfer news. Revamped websites. A fresh batch of previews. Check it out.
NCAC Coaches Poll
The NCAC has released the 2010 coaches poll and there were no surprises at the top. On the strength of a core of returning stars including All-Americans Matt Groezinger and Justin McDowell, #2 Wooster received all 10 first place votes.
Perennial NCAC contender Ohio Wesleyan landed in the second spot according to the coaches. Certainly nothing ground breaking with those top two.
Kenyon was voted fourth followed by Denison, under first year head coach Mike Clark, fifth. Wittenberg checks in at seventh.
Eric Lahetta and his Oberlin Yeomen fell in the eighth spot prior to his final season. Rounding out the poll was Hiram in tenth.
For the complete poll, click here.
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