2008 Woodie Awards
Scots swept by St. Olaf, still in playoff hunt
After being swept in a doubleheader by MIAC powerhouse St. Olaf Monday April 2nd, Macalester faces an tough test in the rest of the season to reach the playoffs.
By: Will Kennedy, Sports Editor
Issue date: 4/6/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Saying that Macalester baseball must be perfect from now on to make the MIAC playoffs would be an overstatement. But, after a sweep at the hands of nationally ranked St. Olaf in its conference opener, the Scots will have to be-at the least-very, very good from here on out.
"When you're off to an 0-2 start, it's an uphill battle," head coach Matt Parrington said. "As I told the guys, when there are only 20 games [in a season] every game is a big game."
Fighting for one of four playoff spots in a league of 11 teams is a difficult task, complicated by the fact that you can pencil in baseball powerhouses St. Olaf and St. Thomas to lock two of the top spots. Macalester last won a berth by securing fourth place with a 12 win season in 2000, the first year of the MIAC baseball playoffs. Since then, the team has yet to repeat the accomplishment.
With the remaining teams relatively equal according to Parrington, the Scots have a legitimate shot of making the post-season, but they will not be getting any easy wins along the way. "There are no pushovers in the conference," he said.
To break into the MIAC's elite teams, the Scots will look to exploit some advantages the team has gained in the off-season. "We have more depth than we have had in the past and offensively we've made some big strides," Parrington said. A talented recruiting class has accounted for some of these improvements, giving Parrington the ability to substitute for injured or struggling players, and creating more competition for each spot.
Veterans have done their part for the squad, as Chris Papalia '07 and Kyle Goerschler '07 lead the team in average and RBIs respectively, while Ted Kimble '07 enters the year as a premier MIAC starting pitcher.
During their spring break trip to Arizona, the Scots demonstrated their potential, knocking off The College of New Jersey-then the fourth ranked Division III team in the nation. "We started off really good," Papalia said of the performance. "The top of lineup clicked and we batted around in the first inning and scored five runs. Kimble pitched a great game, and we just rode our wave."
"When you're off to an 0-2 start, it's an uphill battle," head coach Matt Parrington said. "As I told the guys, when there are only 20 games [in a season] every game is a big game."
Fighting for one of four playoff spots in a league of 11 teams is a difficult task, complicated by the fact that you can pencil in baseball powerhouses St. Olaf and St. Thomas to lock two of the top spots. Macalester last won a berth by securing fourth place with a 12 win season in 2000, the first year of the MIAC baseball playoffs. Since then, the team has yet to repeat the accomplishment.
With the remaining teams relatively equal according to Parrington, the Scots have a legitimate shot of making the post-season, but they will not be getting any easy wins along the way. "There are no pushovers in the conference," he said.
To break into the MIAC's elite teams, the Scots will look to exploit some advantages the team has gained in the off-season. "We have more depth than we have had in the past and offensively we've made some big strides," Parrington said. A talented recruiting class has accounted for some of these improvements, giving Parrington the ability to substitute for injured or struggling players, and creating more competition for each spot.
Veterans have done their part for the squad, as Chris Papalia '07 and Kyle Goerschler '07 lead the team in average and RBIs respectively, while Ted Kimble '07 enters the year as a premier MIAC starting pitcher.
During their spring break trip to Arizona, the Scots demonstrated their potential, knocking off The College of New Jersey-then the fourth ranked Division III team in the nation. "We started off really good," Papalia said of the performance. "The top of lineup clicked and we batted around in the first inning and scored five runs. Kimble pitched a great game, and we just rode our wave."
Be the first to comment on this story