College Baseball 2020

[Boston Red]

Happy opening day!!!!!!

[Assembly Hall]

IU in Baton Rouge...Go Hoosiers!

[Rojo Rijo]

Go Gators!

[adkindo]

WVU in Jacksonville ready to prove last year's strong season was not an outlier...

[adkindo]

IU in Baton Rouge...Go Hoosiers!

Double header in the first series of the season in a tough place.

[Boston Red]

So Xavier is getting no-hit through 7 innings. Not an awesome start to the year.

[adkindo]

WVU is at Jacksonville, and they stream their games on YouTube, but there is no sound. Not sure if that is normal. The broadcast is fairly primitive....like a camcorder on a tripod that moves when the ball is hit. So I can't tell if anyone is on 1st or 3rd, and none of the graphics tell that information.

[Assembly Hall]

Not a good showing by my Hoosiers...but they lost a lot from last year.

[Sea Ray]

Another shutout to open the 2020 season for my Volunteers. They had quite a few of those last year

[Assembly Hall]

IU salvages a game against LSU. Heading to South Alabama next week-end.

[Sea Ray]

Maybe Western Illinois doesn't have much of a baseball team this year. My Vols are now 3-0 to start the season and so far they've scored 45 runs and given up 4

[adkindo]

IU salvages a game against LSU. Heading to South Alabama next week-end.

not the worst thing to get out of Baton Rouge going 1 for 3...

[Kingspoint]

Kevin Abel, the freshman star who went 4-0 in the College World Series two years ago and had Tommy John surgery last April, is not even on Oregon State's roster for this season. Good Luck, Kevin. See you next year.

[Todd Gack]

Will be rooting for Louisville and Junior Zach Britton. I was one of his coaches in HS and I'm hoping he gets drafted this year. Unbelievable plate discipline and will never see a better hitter at the HS level.

[Assembly Hall]

Maybe Western Illinois doesn't have much of a baseball team this year. My Vols are now 3-0 to start the season and so far they've scored 45 runs and given up 4

Sorry SR just saw this...yeah the "Leathernecks" don't have much of a baseball team this year or last. Why oh why did UT schedule them?

[adkindo]

Sorry SR just saw this...yeah the "Leathernecks" don't have much of a baseball team this year or last. Why oh why did UT schedule them?

that is the problem for the "casual" college baseball fan....I am not sure who is good and bad in the non-con portion of the schedule unless they are ranked. Baseball is unlike Football and Basketball....as it is common for a major conference school to suck, and teams you barely have heard of like Dallas Baptist or Stetson are often really strong. I recall a kid I graduated with had all these offers from "big schools" and he chose Stetson. I did not get it at the time, but he had a good career there and played with some big time players.

[Boston Red]

Look at the geography and it will make a lot more sense. School you've never heard of that's located in the north? Probably terrible. School that you've never heard of that's located in the south? Take a longer look...

[Sea Ray]

Sorry SR just saw this...yeah the "Leathernecks" don't have much of a baseball team this year or last. Why oh why did UT schedule them?

You gotta schedule someone non conference.

[Assembly Hall]

Look at the geography and it will make a lot more sense. School you've never heard of that's located in the north? Probably terrible. School that you've never heard of that's located in the south? Take a longer look...

What about the West Coast? LOL

[Assembly Hall]

You gotta schedule someone non conference.

I understand that completely. I suppose Western Illinois fans are asking "Why did we schedule Tennessee?" LOL

[Boston Red]

What about the West Coast? LOL

Less so than it used to be. For a time, the Big West was arguably the best conference in college baseball not named the SEC.

[adkindo]

^^^I recall hearing about Wichita State Baseball long before their basketball program was making national news. I recall Cal State Fullerton and Rice always having good teams when I was younger. One issue is the scholarships allowed.....teams have nearly 30 players, and limited to 11.5 scholarships. Most guys, if not nearly all are on partial athletic scholarships.

[Assembly Hall]

^^^I recall hearing about Wichita State Baseball long before their basketball program was making national news. I recall Cal State Fullerton and Rice always having good teams when I was younger. One issue is the scholarships allowed.....teams have nearly 30 players, and limited to 11.5 scholarships. Most guys, if not nearly all are on partial athletic scholarships.

When I started really watching it in the 80's...Pepperdine seemed like they were always in the mix.

[Boston Red]

Pepperdine has been pretty weak for a number of years. If you've ever been on Pepperdine's campus, it's hard to imagine them not being amazing at baseball. It's like the campus was build specifically to recruit baseball players. Imagine being outdoors there for the better part of six months! It's enough to make you forget that there's mandatory chapel for undergrads...

https://cdn.d1baseball.com/uploads/2016/09/16151002/PepperdineImageCBT-1000x500.jpeg

[adkindo]

it is in Malibu.....just look at campus! I can't imagine going to college in Malibu! It only costs $50K per year...but after FA, most students only pay a very small amount of around $35K per year. Just looking up tuition, I noticed it is a Christian affiliated school....never knew that.

https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/700x345/filters%3Aformat%28jpg%29/https%3A%2F%2Fspecials-images.forbesimg.com%2Fimageserve%2Fb1f516bb9b6a0d b652267d3e59f425a6%2F0x0.jpg%3Ffit%3Dscale%26backg round%3D000000

[adkindo]

When I started really watching it in the 80's...Pepperdine seemed like they were always in the mix.

are there any schools above the mason dixon line that are traditional powerhouses in baseball?

[Boston Red]

are there any schools above the mason dixon line that are traditional powerhouses in baseball?

Oregon State

[adkindo]

Oregon State

is the Mason Dixon line infinite like a goal line? ;)

[Sea Ray]

Well Michigan made it to the final last yr.

[Boston Red]

Definitely not a traditional power, though.

[Assembly Hall]

Definitely not a traditional power, though.

Ummmm, the 4th winningest team in college baseball hsitory is the Michigan Wolverines. And the three ahead of them aren't in the South.

- - - Updated - - -


Well Michigan made it to the final last yr.

Look above!!!!!!

[Assembly Hall]

are there any schools above the mason dixon line that are traditional powerhouses in baseball?

Michigan.

[Boston Red]

Ummmm, the 4th winningest team in college baseball hsitory is the Michigan Wolverines. And the three ahead of them aren't in the South.


Fair enough. Given that last year's Cinderella run to the CWS was their first appearance in Omaha in 35 years, I think I can be forgiven for not having Michigan front of mind as a traditional baseball power. But looking at it now they had some run in the late 70s/early 80s! They were basically Wichita State 10 years before Wichita State was Wichita State.

[Kingspoint]

is the Mason Dixon line infinite like a goal line? ;)

Yes. It's a parallel latitudinal line that went infinitely west at the time.

[Kingspoint]

"In 1779, Pennsylvania and Virginia agreed "To extend Mason's and Dixon's line, due west, five degrees of longitude, to be computed from the river Delaware, for the southern boundary of Pennsylvania, and that a meridian, drawn from the western extremity thereof to the northern limit of the said state, be the western boundary of Pennsylvania for ever."

"39°43′20″ N"

For those curious, Stanford is 37.4275° N.

[texasdave]

At one point, 3/4s of the Reds infield was comprised of Wolverines. 1991 - Hal Morris, Barry Larkin and Chris Sabo.

[Assembly Hall]

At one point, 3/4s of the Reds infield was comprised of Wolverines. 1991 - Hal Morris, Barry Larkin and Chris Sabo.

Remember that well...it has to be a rarity for 3 guys from the same college to be on the same MLB team, let alone all 3 being starters.

[adkindo]

"In 1779, Pennsylvania and Virginia agreed "To extend Mason's and Dixon's line, due west, five degrees of longitude, to be computed from the river Delaware, for the southern boundary of Pennsylvania, and that a meridian, drawn from the western extremity thereof to the northern limit of the said state, be the western boundary of Pennsylvania for ever."

"39°43′20″ N"

For those curious, Stanford is 37.4275° N.

I think the point is nobody at Stanford likely has a clue if they are north or south of the Mason Dixon Line.

[Kingspoint]

I think the point is nobody at Stanford likely has a clue if they are north or south of the Mason Dixon Line.

Cincinnati is south of it: 39° 6' 11.2284'' N

[adkindo]

Cincinnati is south of it: 39° 6' 11.2284'' N

what about the Piratas de Madrid?

[Assembly Hall]

I think the point is nobody at Stanford likely has a clue if they are north or south of the Mason Dixon Line.

Actually California was a Yankee state in the war...

[adkindo]

Actually California was a Yankee state in the war...

would not be surprised if only a small minority at Stanford knows that also....

[Assembly Hall]

would not be surprised if only a small minority at Stanford knows that also....

Well, I sure as hell hope they would know it.

[Boston Red]

Louisville was preseason #1 in some polls. The Cards fell to 1-3 with a 10-3 home loss to Wright State (!) today.

[Kingspoint]

Louisville was preseason #1 in some polls. The Cards fell to 1-3 with a 10-3 home loss to Wright State (!) today.

Sounds like most of their projected starting Pitchers aren't healthy, yet? Just a guess when I see something like that when the season begins.

[Boston Red]

Pitchers are fine, but a couple of position players got hurt. Not enough for them to be losing 10-3 to Wright State, but it's one of the issues.

[Assembly Hall]

Well my Hoosiers won 3 over the week-end including one over South Alabama. 4-2 on the season heading into a mid week game against Butler.

[Boston Red]

Xavier lost 3 at Ole Miss by a combined 35-3. I guess I shouldn't be reserving my seats in Omaha!

[Rojo Rijo]

#2 Gators sweep #1 Hurricanes in Coral Gables.

Go Gators!

[Sea Ray]

Tennessee is 7-0. Played in the Round Rock Classic over the weekend. Picked up 3 wins including Texas Tech and Stanford

Looks like another big year for the SEC in baseball

[Sea Ray]

The Vols climb into the rankings today at #24

SEC has ten teams ranked. ACC next with 6. Big Ten has one

[Assembly Hall]

Butler at IU was cancelled y-day. Week-end trip to Carolina. My Hoosiers play:

East Carolina

High Point

Ole Miss

[Boston Red]

If your Hoosiers beat Ole Miss, I'll be impressed. Those Rebels are on an absolute tear. Very underrated at #15.

[Assembly Hall]

If your Hoosiers beat Ole Miss, I'll be impressed. Those Rebels are on an absolute tear. Very underrated at #15.

Well we got 2 shots at ranked teams...I would take a win over either...2 would be gravy.

[Sea Ray]

My Vols have won 15-1 and 12-1 this week and they're now ranked...but they're still about 10th in the SEC

[Assembly Hall]

Some Hoosier notes...

https://iuhoosiers.com/news/2020/2/27/notes-hoosier-baseball-ready-for-keith-leclair-classic.aspx

[Assembly Hall]

IU over East Carolina 11-5.

[Sea Ray]

Tennessee won another 3 games...by a combined score of 24-4. Time for the Vols to start moving up in the polls. Lots of teams in front of them lost last week

[Sea Ray]

Tennessee is 12-0. They are leading the nation with 22 HRs. They've only given up 10 runs. That's getting it done

https://twitter.com/Vol_Stats/status/1234235079708180480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5 Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1234235079708180480&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fs9e.github.io%2Fiframe%2F2%2 Ftwitter.min.html%231234235079708180480

[Sea Ray]

Don't know anything about the Longwood Lancers, they're probably horrible, but Tennessee beat up on them 28-2 yesterday

[Assembly Hall]

Don't know anything about the Longwood Lancers, they're probably horrible, but Tennessee beat up on them 28-2 yesterday

Playing teams like that explains the Vols RPI. It is messing with their SOS.

[Sea Ray]

Playing teams like that explains the Vols RPI. It is messing with their SOS.

SEC play starts next weekend. Will be interesting to see how they fare. Is Wright State any good? Probably not. The Vols play them this weekend

[Boston Red]

Playing teams like that explains the Vols RPI. It is messing with their SOS.

I was going to post something questioning the Vols' schedule, but then I checked the full schedule and saw the Round Rock deal which was pretty impressive. If you're going to play in the SEC, I guess it's okay to slack off in the non-conference portion of the schedule outside of the one weekend.

[Assembly Hall]

SEC play starts next weekend. Will be interesting to see how they fare. Is Wright State any good? Probably not. The Vols play them this weekend

Well according to Warren Nolan the Raiders check in with an RPI of 123 and a SOS of 64. The RPI puts them right where Mississippi St. and Vandy are. FWIW they are 3-8 but one of those wins came against Louisville...3 losses came to Missy St. and 3 more came to Auburn.

[Assembly Hall]

I was going to post something questioning the Vols' schedule, but then I checked the full schedule and saw the Round Rock deal which was pretty impressive. If you're going to play in the SEC, I guess it's okay to slack off in the non-conference portion of the schedule outside of the one weekend.

I looked it up when I saw the rankings come out. No shame in what they are doing...plenty of time to shoot that RPI up into the 20's.

[Boston Red]

3-7 Xavier and 0-12 NKU are playing a thriller in Highland Heights. Xavier leads the Norse 15-10 in the bottom of the 5th inning. Quality stuff there!

[Assembly Hall]

IU squeaks by Purdue...17-2

[Assembly Hall]

RPI rankings.....

https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/baseball/d1/rpi

[Boston Red]

RPI rankings.....

https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/baseball/d1/rpi

Woo hoo! Xavier is #14. Guess they better start getting Hayden Field ready to host!

[Assembly Hall]

Woo hoo! Xavier is #14. Guess they better start getting Hayden Field ready to host!

X would be higher if they hadn't played No. Kentucky.

[Assembly Hall]

Tennessee falls to Wright State...

[Sea Ray]

Tennessee falls to Wright State...

Yeah, I actually was watching that on ESPN+. It was cold there but the bats didn't show up. Two more games left in the series. Let's see how it goes

[Boston Red]

Wright State getting some nice wins between Tennessee and Louisville.

[North]

Local tv buzz here has Xavier getting a bid, with UC going to the NIT. I remember when the NIT was the big noise. That ended early '70’s IIRC.

[Boston Red]

Xavier will definitely NOT be getting a bid to the NCAA baseball tournament without winning the Big East Tournament. I think it's safe to say Cincinnati will not be in the baseball NIT.

[North]

Xavier will definitely NOT be getting a bid to the NCAA baseball tournament without winning the Big East Tournament. I think it's safe to say Cincinnati will not be in the baseball NIT.

Mea culpa. I thought I was posting in a college basketball section. :alcohol:

[Assembly Hall]

Wright State getting some nice wins between Tennessee and Louisville.

Well, they certainly have played a good non-con schedule.

[Assembly Hall]

A split yesterday for the Hoosiers against San Diego.

[Assembly Hall]

No the week-end that I was hoping for. IU now stands 8-5...but their RPI is #21 and SOS is #11.

[Boston Red]

SEC has suspended all baseball until at least March 30. I expect others to follow shortly.

[Assembly Hall]

Lengthy read...

https://d1baseball.com/columns/premier-power-five-coaches-unveil-new-college-baseball-model/?utm_source=D1+Baseball+Members&utm_campaign=74ebf27eb4-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_03_11_07_26_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_98c95d11a2-74ebf27eb4-536751477&goal=0_98c95d11a2-74ebf27eb4-536751477&mc_cid=74ebf27eb4&mc_eid=7c4211e006

[Boston Red]

Lengthy read...

https://d1baseball.com/columns/premier-power-five-coaches-unveil-new-college-baseball-model/?utm_source=D1+Baseball+Members&utm_campaign=74ebf27eb4-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_03_11_07_26_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_98c95d11a2-74ebf27eb4-536751477&goal=0_98c95d11a2-74ebf27eb4-536751477&mc_cid=74ebf27eb4&mc_eid=7c4211e006

Things that should have happened 30 or more years ago.

[Boston Red]

I should be pretending to work while really following NCAA super regionals today. :(

[Assembly Hall]

I should be pretending to work while really following NCAA super regionals today. :(

LOL

[UKWhoDey]

I like the sound of that new proposal. The meat of the college baseball schedule should run concurrent to the meat of the MLB season. I also like the idea of June having that buildup for postseason all concluded just before the MLB All Star game.

[Sea Ray]

I like the sound of that new proposal. The meat of the college baseball schedule should run concurrent to the meat of the MLB season. I also like the idea of June having that buildup for postseason all concluded just before the MLB All Star game.

The only issue really is how it'll affect draftees and signing deadlines.

[Boston Red]

Boise State brought their program back last year after a 40 year hiatus, played 14 games, and now they're dropping their program again.

[Assembly Hall]

Boise State brought their program back last year after a 40 year hiatus, played 14 games, and now they're dropping their program again.

Wow...that sucks.

[Kingspoint]

An Oregon American Legion team just had eight players test positive after they played in a tournament where two from another team were known to be positive. They supposedly had no interaction with the other team, so this could just be an example of normality where people happen to have a reason to get tested. The tournament was in Roseburg, a very small town in southern Oregon.

[Assembly Hall]

An Oregon American Legion team just had eight players test positive after they played in a tournament where two from another team were known to be positive. They supposedly had no interaction with the other team, so this could just be an example of normality where people happen to have a reason to get tested. The tournament was in Roseburg, a very small town in southern Oregon.

How did the tournament go?

[Kingspoint]

How did the tournament go?

Never considered looking that up.

[Boston Red]

My wife and I were teeing off for 9 this afternoon when a single asked if she could join up. At the end of the first hole we learned that she was legendary Wichita State coach Gene Stephenson's new wife. She is also Dick Howser's daughter. Pretty random, but it meant a lot of great baseball talk for our 9!