IT’S NOT OVER ‘TIL IT’S OVER
So goes the famous quote from baseball great Yogi Berra.
For this year’s Midwest Conference race for a berth in the league’s
championship tournament we may have to change that to "It’s not over
‘til it’s over and then it might not be over."
Huh?
All four South Division teams are tied for the lead at 5-5 with one
double-header left for each team this Saturday. Illinois College plays
at Knox and Monmouth travels to Grinnell. IC swept Knox earlier this
season and Monmouth split with Grinnell. On paper it looks like IC is
the favorite to clinch the South title this weekend given their success
against Knox earlier this season, but in this crazy season nothing is
certain.
The Scots avenged – kind of – their sweep by Knox a couple of weeks
ago with a split last weekend at Glasgow Field. Monmouth took the
opener, an ugly 11-9 win. OK, so any win can’t truly be ugly, but this
one featured a combined 24 runners left on base, seven hit batters, 11
unearned runs and nine errors. In all honestly, the error count may have
been low, but the official scorer was getting paranoid with ruling so
many plays as errors.
"If we didn’t have a gracious scorekeeper, the earned runs would have
been about three," said Roger Sander.
After a six run fourth, the Scots appeared to be on their way. Matt
McIntire’s two-run double scored Kevin Sashko and Jake Virgo and the
Scots scored three more unearned runs in the inning for a 7-1 lead. A
hit batter, an error, a walk and two hits – one a two RBI single from
Jake Bice in the fifth – and the Scots are up 10-2 and cruising.
There’s an old saying "Don’t count your chickens before they’re
hatched." The same could be said of wins in the MWC South Division this
year. The Fire battled back to trail by two in the ninth before the
Scots turned a game-ending double play.
"We were good at the start," said Sander. "We got some clutch hits.
Mike Reed did a nice job on the mound. It wasn’t ugly at the start, it
just got that way at the end because we made some errors and let them
back in it."
As ugly as the finish was, Sander could laugh about one play – first
baseman Jake Bice and his bunt single. Let’s explain.
Bice is not the fastest guy on the team. "Lumber" would be a good way
to describe the senior on an extra base hit. So when he dropped down a
bunt and reached without the Fire making a play, it brought back
memories of Jack Buck’s famous radio call of Kirk Gibson’s home run in
the 1988 World Series – "I don’t believe what I just saw."
Coach Sander, did you ever think Bice would leg out a bunt single?
"Yeah, why not?" laughed Sander. "Speed kills. Really, it was a great
bunt that was supposed to be a sacrifice and it winds up a hit."
The nightcap, a 9-4 loss, was nearly as brutal as the first. A
combined six errors, eight unearned runs, but just one hit batter this
time around.
A five run fourth by the Fire dampened the Scot hopes for a sweep.
Brian Chandler, who came on in relief in Game 1, got the start in Game 2
and only allowed three earned runs in nearly seven innings.
"Brian did a really nice job," said Sander. "We looked at the break
between games as just a long inning. We wanted to start our best guys
and we did. He was doing fine, but his pitch count got up there or I
would have left him in longer in Game 2."
How do you spell relief? S-P-L-I-T.
"We went into it thinking we had to win two or we would be on the
outside looking in," said Sander. "Then we find out Grinnell sweeps IC
and now we’re all tied."
So, what’s the scenario for this weekend with a four-way tie for
first and nothing guaranteed. MWC sports information director Matt Troha,
a Monmouth alum, has been hard at it trying to figure out all the
scenarios. As Jim Lange used to say on the 1960’s game show The Dating
Game – "And heeeere they are…"
SCENARIO #1
Monmouth (7-5) sweeps Grinnell (5-7) or Grinnell (7-5) sweeps
Monmouth (5-7)
Illinois College (6-6) and Knox (6-6) split
-Monmouth/Grinnell is South champ and hosts 2008 MWC Tournament
-Illinois College is #2 seed based on 3-1 regular-season record vs.
Knox
SCENARIO #2
Illinois College (7-5) sweeps Knox (5-7) or Knox (7-5) sweeps
Illinois College (5-7)
Monmouth (6-6) and Grinnell (6-6) split
-Illinois College/Knox is South champ and hosts 2008 MWC Tournament
-Monmouth and Grinnell play one-game playoff based on 2-2
head-to-head record
Playoff Game: Grinnell at Monmouth (time TBA)
SCENARIO #3
Illinois College (7-5) sweeps Knox (5-7)
Monmouth (7-5) sweeps Grinnell (5-7)
-Monmouth is top seed and hosts 2008 MWC Tournament based on 3-1
record vs. Illinois College
-Illinois College is #2 seed
SCENARIO #4
Illinois College (7-5) sweeps Knox (5-7)
Grinnell (7-5) sweeps Monmouth (5-7)
-Grinnell and Illinois College both qualify for 2008 MWC Tournament,
but play one-game playoff for top seed and hosting duties based on 2-2
head-to-head record
Playoff Game: Grinnell at Illinois College (time TBA)
SCENARIO #5
Knox (7-5) sweeps Illinois College (5-7)
Monmouth (7-5) sweeps Grinnell (5-7)
-Knox is top seed and hosts 2008 MWC Tournament on 3-1 record vs.
Monmouth
-Monmouth is #2 seed
SCENARIO #6
Knox (7-5) sweeps Illinois College (5-7)
Grinnell (7-5) sweeps Monmouth (5-7)
-Grinnell and Knox both qualify for 2008 MWC Tournament, but play
one-game playoff for top seed and hosting duties based on 2-2
head-to-head record
Playoff Game: Knox at Grinnell (time TBA)
SCENARIO #7
Knox (6-6) and Illinois College (6-6) split
Grinnell (6-6) and Monmouth (6-6) split
-All four teams play in a three-game, single-elimination tournament
at a randomly selected site against a randomly selected first game
opponent for the two berths. Winner hosts 2008 MWC Tournament, runner-up
qualifies as #2 seed.
Playoff Games:
Grinnell (visitor) at Monmouth (home) 11 a.m.
Illinois College (home) at Knox (visitor) 11 a.m.
Winners play at Monmouth at 3 p.m. (or 30 minutes after winning team
arrives from Knox)
Good thing Troha got that Monmouth College liberal arts education.
Stay tuned.
IT’S ANYBODY’S BALLGAME
Unlike baseball’s Southern Division race, the softball tournament
field is set for the Midwest Conference Tournament, and for the first
time in four years, Monmouth will be there.
The Fighting Scots (13-13) punched their tourney ticket with a
come-from-behind 5-4 win over Grinnell on Sunday. They followed that
with a 6-2 victory over the Pioneers to finish the MWC season at 5-3.
After dropping a conference-opening doubleheader to Lake Forest and the
first game to Knox, the Scots ran off five straight league wins to
advance to the postseason in coach John Goddard’s first year at the
helm.
South Division champion Lake Forest (18-12) will host the tournament,
which includes North winner and defending MWC champion St. Norbert
(15-14) and runner-up Ripon (17-11). Lake Forest is making its 10th
straight tournament appearance, while Ripon qualified for the tournament
for the third consecutive year.
While the Scots own wins over St. Norbert and Ripon at the
abbreviated Midwest Conference Classic just two weeks ago, Goddard warns
it’s anybody’s ball game. "It’s wide open," he said. "These four teams
are evenly balanced and it might just come down to who’s playing well
and gets on a roll."
The Scots certainly qualify as such a team. After beginning the
season with an 0-7 swing through Arizona, the team found just four
victories over their next nine games before heating up with a seven-game
winning streak. The streak ended with a 3-1 loss to perennial power
Augustana. In that game, the Scots loaded the bases in the top of the
seventh with two outs but came up just short when the Vikings’
centerfielder speared a tailing line drive off the bat of sophomore
Maggie Dort that would have cleared the bases. The Scots are 13-6 after
leaving Arizona and 9-1 in their last 10 games.
Monmouth would like to avenge that Lake Forest sweep from April. The
Foresters needed a three-run homer from Christy Condon in the bottom of
the seventh to edge the Scots 6-5 in the opener. They cruised to a 13-6
win in the nightcap to complete the sweep.
Speaking of avenging losses, St. Norbert and Ripon are also looking
for payback. Monmouth used two pitchers and banged out 11 hits in their
9-0 blanking of the Green Knights. Ripon’s seventh inning rally fell
short in the Scots’ 7-6 win over the Red Hawks as Monmouth prevailed
despite committing three errors and being out-hit 10-8. Senior Emily
Willems’ two-out grand slam in the second inning staked the Scots to a
4-1 lead they would not relinquish.
"This won’t be the same St. Norbert or Ripon team we saw at the
Classic," warned Goddard. "The people will be the same, but I’m sure
their approach will be different. We may have caught them a little off
guard in Wisconsin with our record at the time. There won’t be any
surprises this time."
Offensively, Monmouth is paced by Willems (.447/16 RBIs). Her 26 runs
scored is one shy of Ripon’s Natalie Geenen, the league leader. Lake
Forest’s Christy Condon leads the MWC in home runs, blasting nine
roundtrippers. St. Norbert’s Brieanne Oehlke’s 26 RBIs are tied for
third-best in the conference.
During the Scots 9-1 run to finish the regular season, the pitching
staff has a combined ERA of just 1.72. Juniors Sarah Christensen (0.95)
and Amanda Murdock (2.28), who each went 4-0 during the run, figure to
get the starts in the tournament.
"We’re playing the best ball of the year right now," said Goddard.
"Sarah and Amanda are throwing the best they have in their collegiate
careers and we’re doing all the little things that add up to wins. All
of the women are contributing and everyone, from the starters to the
last person on the bench, has had a hand in getting us to the
tournament."
Monmouth will open tournament play Friday with a 10 a.m. game against
St. Norbert. The complete tournament schedule is posted on the Midwest
Conference website at
http://www.lakeforest.edu/foresters/softball/08mwctourney.htm.
The Scots’ streak of six straight appearances ended in 2005, so all
of their players are new to the experience. At stake is an automatic
berth in next weekend’s NCAA regionals.
"It’s a whole new experience for everyone, including me," said
Goddard. "We’re going into it not knowing what to expect, so we’re
concentrating on playing the game and not worry about outside
distractions. We’re competitive with all these teams. We have the same
opportunity to beat them as they do to beat us. It just might come down
to whatever team gets hot. We’ll see what happens."
What happens could be the Scots will need to make travel arrangements
again next week for an NCAA regional site to be determined.
Watch Live On The Web - Scots fans unable to make the trip to Lake
Forest may watch the games live on the web by logging on to the
pay-per-view event at
www.midwestconference.tv.
Games are $5.95 each and a high speed connection is recommended.
NEW MATH
Question: When is third actually fifth?
Answer: When you’re referring to the Midwest Conference men’s tennis
tournament.
Chad Braun’s team completed play at the MWC Tournament last week with
the third most points in the field, but because they did not qualify for
the team competition on Friday, the best they could do was fifth. That
was their mission going in. Mission accomplished.
"These guys overachieved all year," praised Braun. "When you look at
us on paper, we don’t scare too many people. These guys played their
tails off and proved we were the third best team in the conference. I
couldn’t be prouder of them."
Kyle Korb and Kevin Kamenjarin had the highest finish for the Scots,
taking second in the No. 1 doubles competition. "It was a wild ride for
Kyle and Kevin," reported Braun. "In the semis they were down 5-4 in the
third set and broke Lawrence’s serve. After that, we got up 7-6 and won
to get into the finals. That was a tremendous way for Kevin to end his
career."
At No. 2 doubles Eric Brandhorst and Ben Morrow were edged in the
semifinals. "They played great in their first match to get to the
semis," said Braun. "They came into the semis and played well but lost
two close sets 6-4, 6-4. They were very close and we can’t fault the
effort."
Sam Graf and Tony Castro fell in the No. 3 doubles semifnals. "Sam
and Tony played great on Sunday," praised Braun. "They played very well
in the first match, but were simply outclassed by Grinnell in the
semifinals. Those two played at a very high level and made Grinnell earn
it. I’m extremely proud of how they played."
Korb had a very good weekend with the highest finish in singles
competition. Playing at No. 1 singles, the junior took a 10-2 decision
to win the consolation championship. "He took the eventual champ to
three sets," reported Braun of Korb’s first round loss. "He played
extremely well and played him closer than the guy who finished second.
It was a kind of bittersweet consolation title for Kyle."
Kamenjarin fell in the semifinals in straight sets. "Kevin had a
great weekend with the runnerup in doubles and playing well in the No. 2
singles," said Braun. "What a great way for him to go out. I’m very
proud of him."
Brandhorst swept his opening round opponent at No. 4 singles, but
fell in a three set match in the semifinals. "Eric was so close to going
to the championship match," said Braun. "Being a freshman and his first
time there, I think he may have had a little case of the nerves. I think
that will really help him a year from now."
Morrow, still aching from an ankle injury, fell in the consolation
finals. "He didn’t have his best stuff," said Braun. "He’s still nursing
that ankle, but still battled and came back Sunday with a great outing
in doubles."
Graf fell in straight sets at No. 3 in the semifinals, dropping the
first set in a 4-0 tie-breaker. "He had a good weekend, taking the
eventual champion to a tie-breaker," praised Braun. "He got overpowered
a little in the second set, but he was very good in the first set."
Castro was edged out in the consolation semifinals. "Tony played well
all weekend, but just lost," said Braun. "He picked it up and played at
a very high level at doubles."
When the final tally was made, Grinnell won the tournament with 105
points, Lake Forest was second with 63. St. Norbert and Lawrence were
3-4 with 39 and 34 points, respectively. Aye, there’s the rub.
The Scots, who defeated every North Division team this season,
finished fifth with 44 points, five more than third-place St. Norbert
and 10 more than fourth-place Lawrence.
"We have to live with it," said Braun. "It did motivate our guys.
They took it personal. We expect to be pretty solid next year, so we’ll
do our best to get into the team competition instead of watching from
the sidelines."
Midwest Conference teams, take note, you have been warned.
SCOTS LINKSTERS READY FOR MWC
The first 14 holes at Gibson Woods Golf Course in Monmouth were just
a practice round for the men’s golf team at last weekend’s Scot-Fire
Invitational hosted by Monmouth and Knox colleges.
After severe weather forced the cancellation of Round 1 on Friday,
the tournament came down to an 18 hole sprint Saturday at Soangetaha
Country Club in Galesburg. That suited the Scots, more or less, who
carded a 316 to finish third among the 10 teams. "We were playing pretty
well," said Dave Ragone of Friday’s round. "We conservatively projected
we would have come in between 300 and 305. We wanted to get the round in
if possible, but after the rain started, we had a delay and the greens
finally just couldn’t take any more rain. It would have been bad for the
course, so we shortened it to a one day event at Soangetaha."
Ryan Harvey carded Monmouth’s low score of the day. His 76 placed him
in a tie for third in the field of nearly 80 golfers. Ryan Tapscott was
just one stroke back in a tie for fifth with a 77. Former Midwest
Conference Performer of the Week, Jason Pinns toured the course with an
80 to place him in a tie for 18th. Jake Kilberg’s 83 and Aaron Thiel’s
84 rounded out the Scots’ team scoring, finishing in a tie for 34th and
37th, respectively.
Among the Scots playing as individuals, Rodney Clayton’s 78 tied him
for eighth and Greg Jones checked in with an 80 to tie for 18th.
"Some of the guys really stepped up on Saturday," praised Ragone. "Tapscott
was consistent as usual and Harvey had another nice day."
Ragone was hoping the tournament would help clarify who he will be
taking to Aldeen Golf Club in Rockford, Ill., for this week’s 72-hole
Midwest Conference Championship May 1-3. Pinns and Thiel were not up to
par – no pun intended – but the Scots’ coach feels he has his six
players. "Actually, the tournament did help to determine our conference
tournament team," he said. "We played last weekend with one team and had
the other guys play as individuals. We told everyone it was an audition
for the conference."
Ragone will be taking a young team to Rockford. Thiel is the lone
senior on the squad. He will be joined by Jones, a junior, sophomores
Harvey and Tapscott and freshmen Pinns and Clayton. "Of that group, only
Thiel has played the course before," warned Ragone. "The good news is
the future looks very good for us with a lot of young players. Jones and
Clayton did a nice job last weekend to earn their spot on the team.
We’ll be deeper than most of the teams and I think the 4, 5, and 6 guys
will make the difference."
The Scots are attempting to capture back-to-back conference titles
for the first time in over 25 years. Ragone, a methodical competitor,
has the winning formula computed. "If we average 310 each round, we will
be successful," he predicted.
MAKING STRIDES
The track team had a handful of improved performances at last
weekend’s Loras Open held at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa.
Jenny Babos jumped up the national rankings with her field
performances in the non-scored meet. The senior improved on her
provisional-qualifying discus mark, taking third with a throw of 149’6 –
more than seven feet farther than her previous best. She placed sixth in
the hammer throw at 149’8. Babos led a 4-5-6 charge in the shot put. Her
throw of 41’7 was just in front of Gloria Lehr’s 40’9-1/2 and Tanehsa
Hughes at 40’6-3/4. Hughes was also sixth in the discus at 143’4.
"The women as a group have been throwing very well," praised Roger
Haynes. "They’ve been pretty solid the last few weeks."
The Scots distance runners have been cause for optimism. Mary Kate
Beyer shaved six seconds off her season best in the 5,000-, clocking a
second-place time of 18:40.47. Kaile Schreiner ran a season-best
47:10.28 to place second in the 10,000-. Katie Staab ran the
conference’s third-best time in the 1500-, taking third at 5:08.46. She
placed sixth in the 800 at 2:29.87.
"Katie and Mary Kate were very good again," said Haynes. "Mary Kate
is running really well and was only about four seconds off the school
record in the 5K. Really, all of our distance people are running well."
Shannon Turczyn ran a provisional time in both the prelims and the
finals of the 100- hurdles. She won the event in 14.80. Katey Vaccarello
placed second in the 400- hurdles running a season-best 1:07.81. Jae
Moore ran to a second-place finish in the 100-meter dash, clocking a
12.93. Morgan Leffel’s 26.99 in the 200- was good for third and improves
her to sixth in the Midwest Conference. Vaccarello, Turczyn, Moore and
Leffel teamed to finish second in the 4x400 relay, finishing in 4:10.02.
Jessica White continued her domination in the pole vault, clearing a
provisional 12’0-3/4 to win the event. Whitney Didier was fifth with a
height of 9’10. Didier also took eighth in the long jump with a
season-best 15’6-1/4. Megan Clennon won the javelin with a throw of
114’9 and Cassie Jenson’s mark of 96’9 placed her sixth. Clennon and
Heather Hull finished in a tie for third in the high jump. Each cleared
4’9-1/2.
On the men’s side, Clay Staley cut more than 20 seconds off his
season-best to win the steeplechase in 9:35.91. Adam Rodriguez placed
eighth in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:11.63. Drew Peterson’s
36:04.85 placed him third in the 10,000-.
"Our distance guys, Clay, Adam, Scott (Sheller) and Brad (Begyn) are
putting together some good performances," said Haynes. "Week after week,
those guys are running good races. I feel like they’ll be ready for the
conference meet." Sheller ran a season-best 4:21.41 in the 1,500- and
Begyn was less than 10 seconds off his season-best.
Luke Reschke won the 400-meters, improving his conference-best time,
running a 48.78. Jacob Stott was third in 50.26. Reschke also ran an
improved MWC time in the 200-, placing second in 22.25. Brad Gross took
second in the 100-meters with a time of 11.26 and was second in the 400-
hurdles at 57.69. Seth Leitner ran 59.81 to take eighth in the 400-
hurdles. Kyle Prout ran a qualifying 11.30 in the 100- prelims to tie
for the last finals spot, but was bumped by a judges decision. Still,
his effort did not go unnoticed.
"Kyle had an improved day," said Haynes of his freshman who shaved
more than .10 off his 100- time. "He’s moving into the scoring ranks in
the 100- and 200- in the conference meet. That’s very important for us
to have him there as the second or third guy. Seth also moved into the
scoring range in the hurdles."
Brock McAnally placed second in the pole vault for the second week in
a row. His height of 14’11 was just a quarter inch below his season’s
best. "Brock is really beginning to figure it out," said Haynes. "He’s
finding a measure of consistency, finding the same technique and form
five and six attempts in a row. He’s doing very well at that."
Tyler Hannam improved his season’s high jump mark, clearing 6’1-1/2
to place fourth. Sean Wells placed sixth in the javelin, bettering his
conference mark by four inches, throwing the javelin 156’8. He was tied
for seventh in the high jump at 5’11-1/2.
Zach Wilson picked up firsts in two field events. Wilson won the
hammer throw with a mark of 166’4. He then threw a provisional
qualifying and personal-best 162’0 to win the discus. Peyton Lumzy was
fourth with a season-best 146’6. Wilson and Lumzy finished 2-3 in the
shot put. Wilson put the shot 49’4-1/4 and Lumzy threw a season-best
47’6-1/2. Three Scots placed in the top eight in the long jump. Nick Law
was third at 20’3, Gross tied for fifth with a distance of 20’0-1/4 and
Michael Blodgett placed seventh at 19’11-1/2.
With two weeks before the conference meet, the Scots are still
nursing some injuries. "We have some holes to fill," said Haynes. "We
have some injuries on both the men’s and women’s teams that we need to
fill. Our trademark has been we have always been able to fill spots with
quality people. I don’t feel as good about that situation as I have in
the past. We have good individuals, but we have to make sure we get
those spots filled with quality."
The Scots’ will travel to Indiana for the Butler Twilight meet this
Saturday in preparation for the MWC Championships May 9-10 at Knox
College in Galesburg.
"We have some athletes who have not won conference championships who
are rising to the occasion," said Haynes. "They’re stepping up and
making a difference, so I feel good about that."
If the Scots do well this weekend, he may feel even better as the
Scots attempt to continue their dominance in the Midwest Conference.
‘E-DUB’ IS MWC POW
Senior shortstop Emily Willems (Moline, Ill./Rockridge) helped the
Fighting Scots softball team to their first Midwest Conference
tournament berth since 2004 and was named the MWC Performer of the Week.
In a make or break game against the Grinnell Pioneers Sunday, Willems
delivered for the Senior Day crowd in a dramatic 5-4 come-from-behind
victory that punched the Scots’ ticket to the postseason. Her third hit
of the day, a two out double drove in Ashley Parer (Rock Island,
Ill./Rock Island) with the tying run. Willems scored from second one
batter later when Anna Coutts’ (Ladd, Ill./Hall) ground ball was
mishandled. She picked up two more hits in the nightcap, including her
34th career triple as the Scots completed the sweep with a 6-2 win.
For the week, Willems hit .429 with a .571 slugging percentage and
six runs scored.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Thurs., May 1
Men’s Golf – at MWC Championships, Aldeen G.C., Rockford, Ill. – 8:00
a.m.
Fri., May 2
Men’s Golf – at MWC Championships, Aldeen G.C., Rockford, Ill. – 8:00
a.m.
Softball – at MWC Championships, Lake Forest, Ill., vs. St. Norbert –
10:00 a.m.
Sat., May 3
Thurs., May 1
Men’s Golf – at MWC Championships, Aldeen G.C., Rockford, Ill. – 8:00
a.m.
Softball – at MWC Championships, Lake Forest, Ill., - TBA
Baseball – at Grinnell (2) – 1:00 p.m.
Track & Field – at Butler Twilight - TBA