May 8, 2013

All-Region primer

This week Around the Nation looks at candidates for All-Region teams. Cal Lutheran first baseman Nick Boggan is certainly a candidate. Boggan led Division III in total bases and runs batted in through May 5.
Cal Lutheran athletics photo by Tracy Maple 

Stop! It's tempting to overlook this jibber jabber once you see the glorious chunks of baseball stats below. Pity the fool who does. Before you send missives detailing why so-and-so deserved All-Region recognition from D3baseball.com, these teams are not official. Repeat, not official.

These rankings reflect one person's opinion before the season is over. But it's late enough to stir the pot. And it's never a bad time to nerd out over baseball stats, especially ones that don't lead to many definitive hierarchies or answers.  

Stats are through May 5 because of the time it takes to compile and sort the info before reaching decisions. It also takes awhile to go through 370 teams' stats.

Even though this early All-Region pot stirring is based on one opinion, this one opinion also counts when the D3baseball.com All-Region and All-America teams are decided for real. Of the various tasks on this site, debating the postseason awards – alone and with others – ranks right up there on the anticipation list. 

One minor qualm is that, for whatever reason, some potentially deserving players did not get nominated for D3baseball.com postseason awards last season. Rest assured that a very, very high percentage of deserving candidates did get nominated for our postseason awards, but here's to hoping we get all of the deserved nominations. That way the debate can be universal and not couched behind, "Sorry, but he wasn't eligible because we didn't get a nomination."

The debate is where you come in. Now that you've read the disclaimer stating that this is just a drill, you may now send your missives. There is usually plenty room for debate when comparing baseball players' stats.

Central Region First Team AVG R 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB/K SB OPS FLD
C Brandon Wessels, Buena Vista .405 28 10 2 1 23 77 7-19 6 .954 .987
1B Kevin Callahan, Illinois Wesleyan .338 24 15 0 5 33 78 22-31 0 .996 .985
2B Ryan Crandall, Monmouth .414 28 13 2 3 31 86 11-9 9 1.052 .957
3B Kyle Engel, Chicago .398 30 10 3 5 43 82 7-18 3 1.087 .829
SS Zach Rogers, Cornell .473 43 10 7 6 50 104 20-20 7 1.352 .862
OF Jack Cinoman, Chicago .405 38 12 7 3 37 88 15-10 8 1.145 1.000
OF Nick Pierre, St. Norbert .348 27 12 2 4 48 75 13-19 2 .957 1.000
OF Nick Stein, Coe .363 38 7 2 8 29 80 18-16 19 1.093 .952
DH Zach Tsiodras, Elmhurst .384 22 7 0 0 43 65 9-18 0 .852 .966
UT Ryan Doty, Wartburg .282 28 11 1 2 28 54 9-14 1 .763 .961
  W/L SV ERA G/GS IP H R/ER BB K OBA  
SP Isaac Behme, Webster 7-3 0 2.37 10-10 57 45 20-15 24 55 .215  
SP Seth Davis, Augustana 6-1 0 1.99 10-10 72.1 60 26-16 14 84 .227  
SP Kyle Hudson, Spalding 7-2 0 2.10 11-11 64.1 48 17-15 27 66 .207  
SP Jeff Johnson, Illinois Wesleyan 6-0 0 1.69 9-9 69.1 60 17-13 14 60 .233  
RP Jason Gray, Webster 2-0 4 0.41 18-0 22 9 4-1 7 18 .127  
UT Ryan Doty, Wartburg 7-0 0 3.00 8-8 51 44 22-17 14 59 .222  
                       
Mid-Atlantic Region First Team AVG R 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB/K SB OPS FLD
C Mike Kerns, Penn State Abington .424 22 12 0 1 32 76 14-10 8 1.016 .970
1B Brian Mauro, DeSales .497 53 28 0 5 58 117 26-8 2 1.353 .972
2B Buddy Elgin, Neumann .361 37 11 5 3 33 86 17-15 9 .998 .925
3B Christian Spurr, Ramapo .380 35 17 0 1 30 82 13-15 0 .925 .892
SS Nick Ramagli, Kean .359 38 12 2 2 29 77 14-10 20 .931 .978
OF Leon Stimpson, Alvernia .394 50 15 1 5 40 93 18-22 26 1.061 .936
OF Chris Sweeney, King's .496 44 16 4 10 41 114 22-18 11 1.527 .938
OF Matt Talerico, Lancaster Bible .388 33 9 2 11 38 86 14-10 9 1.289 .917
DH Eric Rossi, Eastern .402 33 14 3 2 24 73 16-20 10 1.091 .968
UT Casey Fox, Haverford .378 43 8 3 5 38 88 12-13 23 .991 .888
  W/L SV ERA G/GS IP H R/ER BB K OBA  
SP Kevin Herget, Kean 7-2 1 1.66 12-11 87 60 18-16 27 84 .198  
SP Evan Robaczewski, Misericordia 9-1 0 2.47 13-11 69.1 58 26-19 13 68 .220  
SP Rob Rogers, Keystone 8-2 0 1.41 13-13 83 62 23-13 26 98 .201  
SP Mike Weinhold, Alvernia 8-1 0 1.20 10-10 60 33 8-8 14 97 .157  
RP Kevin Becker-Menditto, Alvernia 6-1 12 0.29 23-0 31 20 4-1 2 28 .179  
UT Casey Fox, Haverford 3-0 0 1.40 4-4 25.2 26 8-4 5 18 .250  
                       
Mideast Region First Team AVG R 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB/K SB OPS FLD
C Alex Toth, Marietta .431 36 18 1 1 34 79 15-6 1 1.101 .994
1B Jimmy Spagna, John Carroll .354 22 7 3 6 44 71 5-26 2 1.018 .987
2B Eddie Reese, Wooster .365 42 18 3 7 45 99 26-23 2 1.124 .925
3B Jordan Niemann, Manchester .358 35 16 4 9 63 109 7-20 1 1.087 .900
SS Matt Keen, Case Western Reserve .371 41 17 1 2 32 88 10-7 7 .935 .968
OF Bryce Murphy, Manchester .389 52 15 0 0 36 76 23-21 8 .971 .987
OF Brendan Toughey, Baldwin Wallace .410 66 13 4 4 28 99 24-16 20 1.105 1.000
OF Sam Ward, Earlham .412 41 14 3 4 33 100 13-11 23 1.057 .967
DH Jarrod Nanna, Thiel .390 31 9 2 6 43 79 7-17 2 1.096 -----
UT Wes Meadows, Otterbein .411 42 15 1 9 45 97 27-15 14 1.270 .922
  W/L SV ERA G/GS IP H R/ER BB K OBA  
SP Zach Carlino, Mount Union 8-1 0 2.59 9-9 59 62 21-17 11 45 .267  
SP Jarrett Gish, Case Western Reserve 6-0 0 1.74 10-10 72.1 54 16-14 22 49 .209  
SP Ryan Jacobs, Penn State Behrend 7-1 0 1.19 10-9 53 39 12-7 15 47 .200  
SP Keenan White, Wooster 10-0 0 2.12 11-10 63.2 56 19-15 8 71 .239  
RP David Etscheid, Thomas More 5-1 6 1.47 17-1 43 28 7-7 6 46 .188  
UT Wes Meadows, Otterbein 6-1 0 3.35 9-9 48.1 51 23-18 22 50 .270  
                       
Midwest Region First Team AVG R 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB/K SB OPS FLD
C J.D. Dorgan, St. Thomas .353 37 10 0 6 32 64 9-15 6 1.057 .996
1B Sean Gerber, UW-Stevens Point .392 53 16 2 11 54 115 17-22 3 1.212 .992
2B Tyler Kamps, UW Oshkosh .417 31 12 6 5 29 79 10-14 2 1.286 .872
3B Michael Swift, UW Oshkosh .439 30 13 5 1 30 73 8-14 1 1.182 .902
SS Nick Karakosta, Benedictine .412 45 24 2 2 49 97 23-16 4 1.107 .925
OF Tim Hendricks, Benedictine .440 51 18 3 4 29 106 19-18 16 1.183 1.000
OF Bobby Kachel, UW Oshkosh .407 36 14 1 10 49 92 12-27 0 1.331 .979
OF Mikole Pierce, UW-Whitewater .432 35 12 4 6 41 89 17-15 2 1.250 .864
DH Cory Walden, Aurora .366 31 9 2 9 44 89 12-25 0 1.088 -----
UT Matt Rowley, Bethel .367 25 11 4 4 23 71 13-11 4 1.096 .965
  W/L SV ERA G/GS IP H R/ER BB K OBA  
SP JP Feyereisen, UW-Stevens Point 5-2 1 1.73 10-9 57.1 42 15-11 17 47 .203  
SP Kyle Jensen, St. Scholastica 3-2 1 1.60 9-7 45 32 11-8 9 36 .195  
SP Tom Kerndt, UW-Whitewater 6-1 2 3.11 11-9 55 53 29-19 17 35 .239  
SP Dylan Thomas, St. Thomas 6-0 2 2.28 9-7 47.1 44 14-12 9 56 .247  
RP Steve Cox, Concordia Chicago 0-0 9 0.00 13-0 13 11 0-0 4 18 .250  
UT Matt Rowley, Bethel 6-1 0 2.03 9-8 53.1 47 15-12 10 47 .234  
                       
New England Region First Team AVG R 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB/K SB OPS FLD
C Andrew Medeiros, Westfield St. .389 29 8 3 3 28 72 15-18 18 1.032 .955
1B Jake Cintolo, Suffolk .399 42 18 1 1 37 88 13-18 10 1.002 .983
2B Nick Vita, Keene St. .437 31 12 0 2 33 80 17-8 10 1.066 .972
3B Nick Grady, Southern Maine .427 55 14 4 2 49 101 11-13 13 1.064 .886
SS Eric Jensen, Wheaton (Mass.) .373 39 14 1 1 27 75 10-11 15 .941 .955
OF Conor Biefeldt, Western Connecticut St. .398 38 16 4 7 52 96 28-20 9 1.256 .990
OF Mike Cunningham, Suffolk .440 38 10 1 9 42 98 26-26 5 1.258 .972
OF Tucker White, Southern Maine .425 60 12 8 7 47 114 18-13 34 1.271 .983
DH Matt Foley, Rhode Island .331 25 14 3 7 29 88 10-31 2 .999 .989
UT Brian Harrington, Gordon .402 26 18 1 2 30 79 7-16 8 1.024 .905
  W/L SV ERA G/GS IP H R/ER BB K OBA  
SP Bob Cook, Amherst 4-2 0 0.52 8-7 51.2 33 9-3 5 32 .179  
SP Tom Darby, Eastern Connecticut St. 6-1 1 2.41 11-10 59.2 44 24-16 16 63 .204  
SP Frank Holbrook, Wheaton (Mass.) 8-1 0 2.18 11-11 78.1 78 22-19 12 40 .266  
SP Oliver Van Zant, Bowdoin 3-1 0 1.12 7-7 48 29 12-6 7 54 .165  
RP Matt Purnell, Eastern Connecticut St. 5-1 9 1.78 27-0 35.1 18 10-7 4 47 .144  
UT Brian Harrington, Gordon 2-1 5 2.93 16-1 27.2 25 9-9 6 28 .234  
                       
New York Region First Team AVG R 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB/K SB OPS FLD
C Corey Caswell, Ithaca .359 22 9 2 3 38 68 12-12 2 .941 .991
1B Jon Borchert, Keuka .393 31 11 2 7 42 82 2-10 0 1.139 .986
2B Warren Hartmann, Merchant Marine .459 37 19 3 0 31 81 11-8 24 1.164 .966
3B Chris Ramanauskas, Staten Island .424 40 13 2 1 35 73 24-16 7 1.109 .859
SS Tim Locastro, Ithaca .430 60 10 6 2 28 83 12-7 32 1.192 .921
OF Carter Franz, St. Lawrence .380 31 12 3 7 33 85 17-16 11 1.174 .940
OF Zack Graczyk, Cortland St. .429 45 14 1 1 30 88 15-18 12 1.028 .987
OF David Zilnicki, Farmingdale St. .462 40 4 1 2 22 61 26-15 35 1.153 .970
DH Ronald Echavarria, Purchase .481 29 8 2 7 34 84 16-11 7 1.342 .919
UT Zach Levanduski, Cazenovia .315 26 10 1 4 30 65 5-22 6 .864 .925
  W/L SV ERA G/GS IP H R/ER BB K OBA  
SP Justin D'Amato, St. John Fisher 6-2 0 1.64 10-10 60.1 42 14-11 21 63 .194  
SP Pat Lemmo, Ithaca 8-0 0 1.70 10-10 79.1  62 16-15 14 54 .219  
SP Dane O'Neil, Union 6-1 0 1.13 7-7 48 36 8-6 13 39 .208  
SP John Prendergast, Ithaca 8-0 0 2.39 9-9 60.1 54 22-16 8 40 .231  
RP Alex DiSanto, Old Westbury 1-0 12 0.39 19-0 23.1 11 5-1 10 22 .138  
UT Zach Levanduski, Cazenovia 4-1 0 3.62 6-6 37.1 31 25-15 25 58 .214  
                       
South Region First Team AVG R 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB/K SB OPS FLD
C Joseph Odom, Huntingdon .388 42 10 1 13 57 108 26-25 4 1.213 .987
1B Quinn Griffith, Salisbury .403 38 14 0 3 30 75 22-4 3 1.090 .989
2B Corey Wallace, Guilford .389 26 8 5 7 31 90 14-21 8 1.130 .927
3B Stephen Gates, Millsaps .371 56 16 0 0 31 82 20-8 4 .906 .981
SS Jonathan Stutts, Washington and Lee .403 39 8 3 8 31 94 20-26 4 1.161 .909
OF Kevin Kean, Frostburg St. .423 44 15 5 3 30 94 21-15 14 1.168 1.000
OF Jonathan Mason, Bridgewater (Va.) .329 41 12 2 9 47 97 32-20 10 1.038 .968
OF Justin Weaver, Christopher Newport .403 39 17 4 2 46 91 31-38 11 1.132 .948
DH Wes Perkins, Millsaps .435 42 23 1 4 55 114 23-11 5 1.137 .980
UT Keith Schumaker, Millsaps .393 58 12 1 4 51 94 17-15 10 1.010 .930
  W/L SV ERA G/GS IP H R/ER BB K OBA  
SP Bryan Bierlein, Christopher Newport 7-3 0 1.99 11-11 77 63 21-17 15 81 .214  
SP Austin Chrismon, Christopher Newport 7-4 0 1.73 11-11 78 62 23-15 12 86 .216  
SP Martin Henderlite, Lynchburg 8-2 0 1.12 11-11 72 51 15-9 22 55 .198  
SP Andrew Levy, Salisbury 9-0 0 2.67 14-13 84.1 90 30-25 23 56 .281  
RP Ryan Fleischmann, Christopher Newport 1-0 11 0.72 19-0 25 9 2-2 9 38 .107  
UT Keith Schumaker, Millsaps 5-0 0 2.68 8-8 50.1 53 19-15 4 33 .261  
                       
West Region First Team AVG R 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB/K SB OPS FLD
C Josh Rapacz, George Fox .450 36 15 2 4 38 89 14-12 0 1.204 1.000
1B Nick Boggan, Cal Lutheran .411 39 13 2 12 65 122 19-28 5 1.200 .997
2B Tim Wilson, Linfield .429 49 12 4 2 27 101 17-12 30 1.059 .985
3B Craig Littleman, Centenary (La.) .367 33 16 4 2 35 84 14-23 12 1.006 .899
SS Christian Muscarello, Trinity (Texas) .394 51 11 1 3 34 85 15-6 11 .987 .907
OF Pat Hirschberg, Trinity (Texas) .411 40 14 7 7 51 111 21-22 5 1.221 1.000
OF Kramer Lindell, Linfield .410 34 17 0 4 33 93 17-37 13 1.077 1.000
OF Jake Wylie, Linfield .384 38 18 1 7 58 102 17-14 2 1.077 .990
DH Kevan House, Texas-Tyler .378 35 14 6 8 42 109 14-18 3 1.119 1.000
UT Jake Petersen, Cal Lutheran .466 56 16 4 1 36 95 15-14 9 1.163 .968
  W/L SV ERA G/GS IP H R/ER BB K OBA  
SP Chance Cotton, Texas-Tyler 9-2 0 2.48 13-13 90.2 71 28-25 31 76 .217  
SP Chris Haddeland, Linfield 11-1 0 1.16 12-12 93 62 20-12 20 73 .193  
SP Ryan Lucero, Trinity (Texas) 9-1 0 2.22 12-12 73 56 22-18 14 73 .210  
SP Aaron Thomassen, Linfield 10-1 0 2.66 12-12 74.1 67 26-22 20 62 .233  
RP Sean Kistler, Texas Lutheran 1-0 14 0.00 20-0 27.1 12 0-0 11 30 .138  
UT Jake Petersen, Cal Lutheran 7-1 0 3.35 13-13 83.1 94 39-31 21 72 .277  

My top 5 games of the week (May 8-12):
 All of them. If a team is playing this week, it's a top game.

My 2013 Week 11 ballot (D3baseball.com rank)
 Stats, musings and folly valid through May 5
 1 (3). UW-Whitewater – Top 5 nationally in AVG, 2B, HR, SLG through April 28; nary a bad loss.
2 (1). Linfield – Seemingly a No. 1 seed lock; NAIA drubbing snapped an 11-game winning streak.
3 (2). St. Thomas – Got shut out by one the Midwest's best pitchers, snapping a 19-game winning streak.
4 (7). Cal Lutheran – Top 5 nationally in RPG, AVG, 2B, 3B, SLG through April 28; 20-1 in last 21.
5 (10). Ithaca – Cruised by Cortland for the second time this year although C-St. threw off in both.
6 (9). Kean – Lost two 1-run games in the NJAC tourney; 3-4 in last 7; still one of the safest Pool C bets.
7 (16). Southern Maine – Top 10 nationally in RPG, AVG, H, 2B, 3B, HR, SLG, and SB through April 28.
8 (4). Cortland State – Only two losses since April 6 are to Ithaca; averaging 11.8 hits per game.
9 (15). Wheaton (Mass.) – Avenged regular season losses to MIT with two wins in the NEWMAC tourney.
10 (5). Salisbury – Will squeeze in a game in preparation for another regional as a high seed.
The rest of my ballot: UW-Stevens Point; Marietta; Keystone; Manchester; Wartburg; Webster; Rowan; Millsaps; Huntingdon; Trinity (Texas); UT-Tyler; Misericordia; Johns Hopkins; Case Western Reserve; Endicott.

Around the Nation confirmed a few things with the NCAA on May 3:
• The national committee definitely has input on this year's regional rankings after not having that authority last season. The statement near the bottom of the NCAA's 2013 weekly rankings releases hasn't made that fact abundantly clear. 
• Bid allocations are definitely 38 Pool A, 4 Pool B, 14 Pool C.
• Mileage to off-campus regional venues is found from an outside source such as Google Maps because the NCAA's TES system does not have venues such as USA Stadium in Millington, Tenn., programmed as a searchable option. This applies to all off-campus regional venues.

Next week: This was the last ATN of the regular season, but there will be one more after the 2013 version of The Appleton Experience has concluded. Hope to see you there. If you have an SID position available, I really hope to see you there!