2023 college baseball/softball thread

Usual BS from the Selection Committee.

"RPI matters!"

What about Campbell, why not a host, a better RPI than 2-3 host schools, including that of the SC chairman's school?

"Campbell played a lot of sub-150 schools"

But they still had a top-15 RPI.

"Well RPI didn't matter!"

What about Irvine, played better than .750 on the road, had 19 road wins, 21 games above .500, 8-1 vs. a P5 conference, top-50 RPI?

"Tough shit, you're on the West Coast. Oklahoma has a big name!"

How does South Carolina get a regional, they lost 5 of their last 6 league series and went 1-2 in the tournament.

"They started out fast, we count the whole season!" So the secret must be playing that murderer's row of UMass-Lowell, Bethune-Cookman, The Citadel, SC Upstate, Penn in its first time outside all year, Winthrop, Presbyterian, Queens and NC A&T. They lost to North Florida and twice to Charlotte, for heaven's sake.

I'm shocked Santa Clara didn't get sent to Stanford.

Today the SC chair said he didn't know anything about baseball in the Northeast. Earlier he said he doesn't see West Coast baseball. So, he ignores 1/3 of the country, but runs the SC. Gee, I wonder where he's from?

PS: How to game RPI: Play almost your entire OOC at home. Keep your losses within conference. Don't play everyone in your conference, because there's a chance you can skip the top two teams and not lose games, but still benefit from their strength because they played the league teams you did play. I believe the 8 regional SEC hosts were a very pedestrian 77-70 on the road.

 

Tulane to -- where else? -- Baton Rouge regional, but won't face Paul Skenes vs. LSU Friday.

 

Thought Virginia and Indiana State both got really tough regional draws. And Florida better watch out, because UConn is always a pain in the ass in regionals.

 

Was hoping Air Force might sneak in, they were a very solid team. But if the RPI is/isn't there, it is/isn't there. That and they weren't going to give two spots to the MW, I guess.

The Stanford regional is about right. Didn't play the Cardinal this year, but they're a long-standing rival for midweek games. SJSU even had to play a couple of home games at Sunken Diamond this season when San Jose Mun .., er, Excite Park was unavailable. Sleep in your own bed and lots of fans.

 

Always a treat this time of year.

 

Regional weekend should be fun. Looking over all 16 lineups, I think there is a second or even third team in every one of them that could take out the hosts — including a few feisty mid-majors or non-traditional powers. There isn't that one team you point to this year and say, "Yeah, that's the favorite."

 

Virginia regional looks awfully good.

 

Agreed. Stanford got a tough draw for a 8. Miami did too for a 9. Not out of the question that Texas plays at A&M (or vice versa) in a Super Regional.

 

NC State is one of those interesting cases. Great RPI but 13-16 in regular-season ACC play. Notre Dame (15-15) excluded.
I'm guessing the committee got tired of the whining from Wolfpack land after the under vaccinated NC State team got sent packing in 2021 and didn't make the field last year.

 

Love how they went to the extra trouble of putting in three visiting teams from adjacent states that would draw well in Lex, then revealed after the fact their fans will be stuck in Louisville. This should be every bit as disqualifying to a bid as a too-small stadium.

 

Of course, last year NC State essentially lost a coin flip for the final at-large bid -- to Ole Miss, which went on the mother of all heaters and won the whole thing.