The Swamp

Good stuff about UVA's 6 pitcher 11 inning 3 run allowed no hitter.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc- ... c80a20f398

So, the 2018 NCAA baseball regional tournaments start today. 16 four-team tournaments, with winners advancing to super-regionals next weekend. One of the regionals is hosted by Stanford, which is just 15 minutes from my home. So, as an old retired guy with nothing to do, my buddy and I are going to attend the kickoff afternoon game today between Baylor and Cal State-Fullerton. I have no dog in that fight, just a nice afternoon at a nice ballpark in really great seats at a really great price.

Unless Baylor is playing Penn State or Michigan State, everyone should have "the other dog".

Fullerton's an easy team to root for too, especially in baseball.

brian wrote: ↑Fri Jun 01, 2018 12:13 pm Fullerton's an easy team to root for too, especially in baseball.

I have a friend who is an alum. Huzzah, Fullerton.

I really want to go back to Omaha. The CWS in 2002 was a blast.

I can't find embeddable videos/gifs that I can access at work, but...

This steal of home:
https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/im ... gejkgt.mp4

And then this walk off homer in the bottom of the 11th to go to the CWS:
https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/im ... pf5pae.mp4

What an awesome/brutal way to win/lose such a huge game.

Yeah, I watched a ton of the regionals and super-regionals. My father was visiting over the weekend (for my daughter's graduation on Friday), and it was about the only thing on the tube that we could agree on.

Three SEC, two Pac-12, two Big-12 and one ACC in the CWS. Surprisingly though, no California teams and only one Florida team.

Crazy game last night. Arkansas muffs a routine foul fly to take the title and then the Beavs come from behind for the win. Game 3 for all the marbles tonight.

Go, Beavs! Pac-12! Pac-12! Pac-12!

sancarlos wrote: ↑Thu Jun 28, 2018 2:26 pm Go, Beavs! Pac-12! Pac-12! Pac-12!

THis is like a Kentucky fan chanting SEC! when Bama is in title game...

A_B wrote: ↑Thu Jun 28, 2018 2:33 pm

sancarlos wrote: ↑Thu Jun 28, 2018 2:26 pm Go, Beavs! Pac-12! Pac-12! Pac-12!

THis is like a Kentucky fan chanting SEC! when Bama is in title game...

Exactly, AB. I was attempting to parody all the SEC! SEC! SEC! chants one hears.

A_B wrote: ↑Thu Jun 28, 2018 2:33 pm

sancarlos wrote: ↑Thu Jun 28, 2018 2:26 pm Go, Beavs! Pac-12! Pac-12! Pac-12!

THis is like a Kentucky fan chanting SEC! when Bama is in title game...

I'm supporting the team without the convicted child rapist.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Thu Jun 28, 2018 2:35 pm

A_B wrote: ↑Thu Jun 28, 2018 2:33 pm

sancarlos wrote: ↑Thu Jun 28, 2018 2:26 pm Go, Beavs! Pac-12! Pac-12! Pac-12!

THis is like a Kentucky fan chanting SEC! when Bama is in title game...

Exactly, AB. I was attempting to parody all the SEC! SEC! SEC! chants one hears.

I know! I took the bait and self-effaced!

P.D.X. wrote: ↑Thu Jun 28, 2018 11:57 am Crazy game last night. Arkansas muffs a routine foul fly to take the title and then the Beavs come from behind for the win. Game 3 for all the marbles tonight.

Knocking the Major League Lacrosse All star game (US National Team v. MLL All Stars) to ESPNews from the Deuce tonight...

#FireUpChips

By the way, CMU has won 16 straight games, is 5th in the nation in wins and is ranked #18 in the country and just laid a vicious 18-9 smack down on Ohio earlier today. That said, CMU has 14 regular season MAC titles but only 2 MAC tourney titles which is positively horrible. (I was gonna use a different descriptor but decided to be charitable.)

ESPN3/ESPN+ is probably the best thing ever for fans of mid-major schools

18 straight games, completed the conference title double outscoring opponents 30-11 and first NCAA bid since 1995 while I was still a student.

Division I baseball regionals this coming weekend. I had been looking forward to going to a couple games at the Stanford regional, but my brother is getting married, so I'll be out in New Mexico for those festivities instead. Maybe if Stanford advances they'll host a super-regional the following weekend.

CMU upsets Miami (FL) and gets #6 Mississippi State next. 19 straight wins.

brian wrote: ↑Fri May 31, 2019 11:03 pm CMU upsets Miami (FL) and gets #6 Mississippi State next. 19 straight wins.

Quality highlight from that game:

That was quite excellent

MI plays at 10p tonight against the Bearcats, who pulled a bit of an upset beating OSU yesterday.

Hopkins won their first game in a walk off against Babson and plays their second game in the D3 CWS tonight at 845p.

Cincinnati issued an intentional walk with the bases loaded in that win over OSU by the way. Awesome shit.

That a fun season. MAC double, a school record for wins and a Power4 win in the NCAA Tournament.

That A&M comeback was absurd.

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Sat Jun 01, 2019 6:00 pm Hopkins won their first game in a walk off against Babson and plays their second game in the D3 CWS tonight at 845p.

Tough one for the Jays. B Southern had their number.
On a related note--taking lacrosse out of the picture, JHU has built a pretty powerful D3 athletics program. Consistent championship runs in a number of sports.

MI, after giving up a million runs in the bottom of the 9th Sunday to lose, come back yesterday and thump their way (17-6) to the Super Regionals against UCLA.

UCLA-UM
TTech - OKState
Ole Miss - ARK
LSU-FSU

Vandy-Duke
LOU-ECU
Stan - MissSt
UNC - Aub

Talked to my Dad last night and we're going to go to Omaha next year. I went back in 2002 to watch UT win it all and it was such a fun atmosphere which I'm sure has only improved. Might make it a softball/baseball doubleheader since I found out my sister has four season tickets to the softball World Series.

Only one northern team in the sweet sixteen. Some things never change.

The last time Michigan was in the College World Series their third baseman was Chris Sabo.

Auburn scored 13 in the top of the 1st against UNC.

Just came to post that. Damn Carolina.

brian wrote: ↑Mon Jun 10, 2019 12:02 am The last time Michigan was in the College World Series their third baseman was Chris Sabo.

That team also had Barry Larkin, who Bo recruited to play foosball, but he was just too damn amazing at short and stuck with that. I remember that team really well... Quite a run.

And on the northern teams never (or rarely) getting to Omaha point, a couple of points:

* I totally get that there is a structural problem for teams in shitty weather trying to compete starting in February. About 1/3 of their schedule, in the early months, are spent on the road. There's not a lot that can be done, BUT... It's not like "northern" teams/conferences aren't given a chance. This year, by my quick eyeball count, 16 of the 64 teams are in what most would consider "northern" climates.

* MI softball makes the NCAA tourney just about every year and has probably about 10-12 CWS appearances, a championship (2005) and a runner-up (last year? year before?) to show for it during the Hutchins era. I know that this is a little anomalous for B1G softball, but teams like Minnesota are showing that they can compete on a national level.

I know it's tough, but some of the bitching from some of my MI friends bugs me. Take the hardship and turn it into something useful. Hutchins has shown you can build a national contender as a team in the North.

The NCAA took some important steps to level the playing field a bit for northern teams (strict schedule start, setting a cap on games played), but there's not much they can do about the weather, but even THAT isn't the biggest issue which is that baseball just isn't as popular in the Midwest and Northeast at the youth level as it used to be, so elite high schoolers mostly come from the south or from areas where they can play year-round and those kids are likely to play college ball where they're from. It's essentially a regional sport like lacrosse or hockey now.

And while I totally agree with that, and as a non-alum not trying to sound like an asshole, MI softball proved that you can create a "magnet" to bring talent up north if you can prove that you can contend. MI baseball isn't there, but it's doable.

A theoretical Vanderbilt vs. Michigan series would be one of the best CWS finals academically I'd have to think. (Just looked it up and UVA/Vandy in 2015 is a good one, as well as Rice/Stanford in 2003).

One other bizarre piece of trivia -- the last northern school to make the CWS final? -- Eastern Michigan in 1976.

brian wrote: ↑Tue Jun 18, 2019 12:50 pm One other bizarre piece of trivia -- the last northern school to make the CWS final? -- Eastern Michigan in 1976.

I'm going to assume by Northern you mean Northern half but east of the Mississippi? Oregon State is pretty far north. You and your East-Coast bias...