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.
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.
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.
Case gets DIII under way
I’m not going to post every time someone plays, but since these are the first DIII games it deserves it’s own space. Honestly, I was excited just to look at some box scores.
Case Western Reserve got the DIII season under way this weekend. The Spartans dropped a pair to Averett (VA) on Saturday by the scores of 5-1 and 12-9. Matt Englander’s squad bounced right back and swept Guilford (NC) on Sunday 9-5 and 11-7.
The Spartans offense has suffered little from being pent up indoors as they averaged 7.5 runs per game in their first weekend of action against teams that have played a combined 17 games already. Not surprisingly, Chad Mullins was part of the offensive barrage (7 for 14). Cory Pecoraro (8 for 14) and Matt Keen (8 for 16) have also started off hot.
Case (2-2) is back in action Saturday at Transylvania (KY) and Sunday against Kenyon at Chillicothe Veterans Memorial Stadium.
On Campus: Capital
The Capital Center, home of the Crusaders recreation and indoor athletics facilities
I had the chance to stop by Capital to watch practice Sunday afternoon. New head coach Ryan Grice was gracious enough to allow me to observe practice in its entirety. I even had a chance to finally meet and chat with the Crusaders new skipper after practice. Let me be clear about something: I have no ties to Capital or Coach Grice. Today was the one and only time we’ve met. The reason I felt the need for the disclaimer was that I was excited about Capital baseball by the time I left Bexley. Why you may ask? Let me tell you.
Baldwin Wallace’s Bob Fisher to retire
Courtesy of bw.edu
The dean of OAC baseball coaches, Dr. Bob Fisher, has decided that the 2010 season will be his last in Berea. Fisher enters his 42nd season at the helm of the Yellow Jacket program. He has amassed over 700 wins in his career at BW. In addition, he has guided the Jackets to OAC tournament berths on 16 occasions. The four-time OAC Coach of the Year also skippered four NCAA regional tournament qualifiers.
While there is no formal announcement of the College’s website yet, Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple announced it at half time of the men’s basketball broadcast on SportsTimeOhio Saturday night.
No mention was made of Fisher’s intention to retire from his post as a Professor in the College’s Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.
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