MVC Baseball Tourney Day 1 - non-WSU games

[Shocker85]

Creighton vs. SIU

After 6 innings - CU 5, SIU 0

After 7 - CU still ahead 5-0

[martymoose]

Same score in the 9th...unless SIU can pull a KC Royals, this one's over.

[Shocker85]

SIU comes up with 1 in the 9th

Final CU wins 5-1
Hauer goes 9

[martymoose]

I didn't realize it until just now, but the video for all the games is being streamed live on goshockers.com. MSU up 4-3 in the 4th.

[ShockerFever]

I didn't realize it until just now, but the video for all the games is being streamed live on goshockers.com. MSU up 4-3 in the 4th.

For free?

[ShockerFever]

Wow it is for free. And no local blackout? That's interesting..


I wonder if the Valley knows the games are on goshockers.com for free while they're advertising the viewing package on their site for 6.95 a game or 19.99 for the tourney..

[martymoose]

2 run HR by ISU to go up by 1 run in the 8th.

[WSUwatcher]

Interesting approach

Paul S's Shockwaves blog contained this item yesterday, which was interesting in the way teams are addressing their pitching (2nd paragraph):

http://blogs.kansas.com/shockwaves/

I'm not a fan of Jim Brownlee, and I won't miss him when he retires, but I'll give him a tip of the baseball cap for identifying -- and having the guts to act on -- the key principle about this tournament format, which is that if you win both of your games against your "podmates" (a goofy term that sounds like something out of a prison movie, but we were stuck with it when the Valley calling the groups pods), you automatically play for the championship, because no one can beat your record, and you win all tiebreakers. Therefore, he's using the best he has to win those two, and not worrying about the crossover game against MSU.

It's a risky strategy in that it leaves no margin for error; if the #6 seed loses the crossover game (which they're no doubt favored, although obviously not guaranteed, as Live Stats shows, to do by saving their best pitchers for later) and either one of the pod games, they're out, because then they can't win a tiebreaker. And winning the two pod games isn't the only route to the championship at 2-1, as we see with the Shocks: if WSU wins its first two and IlSt loses its first two, then the Shocks have clinched a spot in the title game no matter what, and we had damn well better see Maldonado followed by Johnny Wholestaff pitching against IlSt if that happens.

Still, it almost certainly gives the Birds their best shot at winning the event, which is all that matters, and Brownlee deserves some kudos for trying to exploit the flaw in the system. As for the Valley, it loses by cheaping out and inviting only six teams instead of eight, because if they had all eight teams divided into groups of four and playing only within those groups, it would reduce the chance that any given game would be irrelevant.

Of course, if MSU manages to lose today by using its lesser pitching (again, the risk they're also taking), then they've lost their margin for error and are all but forced to win their two pod games -- but they're probably better placed to do that than IlSt is (depending, of course, on which Tim Clubb shows up for his start).

[WSUwatcher]

No problem

Just saw the final on Live Stats. No doubt disappointing for the Birds (and a huuuuuge sigh of relief for MSU), but as I said above, it really doesn't kill their chances of playing for the championship (although now their next loss will, which was the price for their maneuver). Bottom line is that if they can manage to win their two pod games, they advance.

On the other hand, it also helps the Shocks, because if WSU can win its two pod games and IlSt loses to the Trees, the Shocks will know going into their third game that they've already advanced and can presumably pitch accordingly.

[Cdizzle]

Day 2 - Game 1

MSU - 8
SIU - 4

Final