Weekend Roundup — March 7, 2016

As you may have seen on Twitter, I trekked down to southwest Virginia (where Quinnipiac, Hartford, and UConn were playing) and caught some great baseball this past weekend. Those teams might’ve preferred it if I stayed home (we’re 1-6 on the year with me in attendance), but thankfully, I couldn’t be everywhere, and New England’s strong start to 2016 continued. Central Connecticut headlined a slew of winning weekends in Division I, Franklin Pierce and Southern New Hampshire are off to matching 9-0 starts in D2, and NECC favorites Mitchell and Elms are off to perfect starts on their Florida trips. All that and more more after the jump.

Weekend Roundup — March 1, 2016

Normally, we can’t wait to see the end of February. It’s the month of being snowed in, snowed out, snowed under, and put under by warm-weather teams who haven’t had to put a jacket on all winter. But this year, things have been different. Very different. In D1 and D2, New England teams are roaring out of the gates, and D3’s starting to get in on the action too. Click on for a roundup of the weekend that was in NECB.

Weekend Roundup — February 23, 2016

For the first time in 2016, we saw action in all three divisions (even one game in right here in New England!). As a region, we’re off to a much quicker start than last season, especially in Division I, where several teams grabbed the headlines in their first weekend out on the field. More on that, and some D2/3 action, after the jump.

Early Days

Hey everyone. I’m going to ignore this and basically just hope it goes away, permanently. (At least it’s too cold for snow?) There’s baseball being played somewhere, thankfully, so click on for a division-by-division rundown of the early days of 2016.

Welcome Back + Division I Coaching Carousel

Welcome back! Appreciate all of you returning in the midst of football season. Incredibly enough, we’re less than a month from first pitch (kudos to Bentley for scheduling some January games in Florida), so I figured I should start getting some offseason roundup/season preview pieces up on here. No promises on the amount of posts I’ll do, but I’ll keep them coming until teams start playing outside up north— we’ll need plenty of reading material when the mild weather inevitably turns into a Day After Tomorrow scene as soon as we try to go outdoors. Anyways, enjoy, and let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see me spotlight in the run-up to the season.

In Division I, at least, only a handful of programs head into 2016 with new faces on the coaching staff. ­None of our 18 D1 programs made a head coaching change. (By comparison, four coaches were starting their first full season last year.) Eight teams returned full staffs, and three more added only a new volunteer. College baseball isn’t known for the same volatility as football or basketball in this department, but even then, it was a pretty quiet offseason.

Q&A with College Baseball Central

Joseph Healy, part of the excellent team of writers over at College Baseball Central, was kind enough to have me on their site for a New England-themed Q&A. Follow that link for a discussion of fan interest, the Cape League, Bryant, Dartmouth, UConn’s Anthony Kay, and URI’s Tyler Wilson, among other things. And be sure to take in some of CBC‘s other coverage of the season that was.

I’m working on some longer-form looks back at 2015 right now. They’ll take awhile to finish, but I’ll get them up here as soon as I’m able. Till then, enjoy the weather (yeah, I know) and, more importantly, the summer ball.

Previewing the D1 Conference Tournaments

After a rough weekend in D2 and D3, we’ve thankfully got something else to turn our attention to– six Division I conference tournaments will see teams from New England battle for NCAA Tournament bids this weekend. Three of them– the AEC, NEC, and MAAC– are being held right in our back yard. Below, I’ll take a look at each tournament, previewing the formats, history, and key players as eight different teams look to punch bids to the field of 64.

Weekend Preview — April 30, 2015

May is college baseball’s equivalent of September and October. This weekend will see NCAA Tournament tickets punched and playoff races wind down, and by the end of the month, we’ll have national champions crowned in Divisions II and III. With a few exceptions, winning the conference tournament will be teams’ only path to getting a shot at that, which is what makes the next couple weekends so much fan. You don’t have to wait around hoping that one of a handful of series will get to a decisive game five or seven, you get to see baseball played with everything on the line almost every day. It’s one of the many things that makes this sport great.

Weekend Preview — April 23, 2015

With our first conference tournaments underway, the weekend previews be focusing on the games that matter most to the title races and playoff chases from here on out. Since I’m doing separate previews for every conference tournament, I’ll keep that material out of the regular weekend preview post. This week, for example, you can find my look at the GNAC and NEWMAC Tournaments elsewhere.

I’ve gotta admit, it feels good not to start every piece with how bad the weather is. We’re still feeling its effects in the form of packed schedules (tripleheaders, anyone?), but the sun’s come out, and the playoff races are heating up. It’s looking like a heck of a year for New England Division I teams at the moment, with UConn and BC in the mix for at-large bids and league leaders in the NEC, MAAC, and Patriot League. In Division II, Franklin Pierce is having a historic season, and somehow I doubt they’ll be the only team making noise this May. In Division III, conference tournament season is upon us, and it looks to be even more exciting than usual, with few if any teams preparing resumes the committee can’t say no to. It’s a stressful time for the players, coaches, and fans involved, but it’s also a ton of fun. Here’s a look ahead to this weekend.

Cross Outdeuls Herget, but UConn falls to USF

Since getting swept opening weekend, UConn has won six straight weekend series. The biggest reason for that? Senior right-hander Carson Cross. One of the top arms on 2013’s NCAA Tournament team, Cross lost 2014 to Tommy John but entered this season as the Huskies’ ace. He’s started each of the series openers in that string of series wins, and the Huskies have won every one of them. It’s taken some of the pressure off his fellow weekend starters Anthony Kay and Jordan Tabakman when it comes to taking home series wins. Coming into their home and AAC opener against South Florida this afternoon, the Huskies looked to make it seven in a row.