Two MVC Teams Make Baseball Regionals

[underdawg]

MSU (40-17) is an at-large ream playing Oklahoma State   and Conference Tournament winner Dallas Baptist (40-18) plays Virginia.

[valpotx]

Very exciting for our program, as we can definitely compete in the MVC.  We won't be winning any baseball championships, but if we have a good season, it gives us hope.

[bbtds]

MSU (40-17) is an at-large ream playing Oklahoma State   and Conference Tournament winner Dallas Baptist (40-18) plays Virginia.

Missouri State is playing in the Fayetteville regional at Arkansas' Baum Stadium at George Cole Field. The other teams at Arkansas are obviously the Razorbacks of Arkansas, the hosts, Oral Roberts, who take on the hosts in the first round, and Oklahoma State, who play MSU in the first round. Missouri State plays Oklahoma State at 2:00 p.m. CDT Friday, June 2nd, while Arkansas plays Oral Roberts at 7:00 p.m. CDT on Friday. All games are on ESPN 3.

Dallas Baptist takes on Virginia at Texas Christian's Lupton Stadium on Williams-Reilly Field in Ft Worth (not too far to travel for DBU fans) at 3:00 p.m. CDT on Friday. Central Connecticut takes on TCU in the later game.

UIC plays host Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles at 1:00 p.m. CDT Friday at the hosts' Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, MS. South Alabama and Mississippi State play in the later game at Hattiesburg.

http://i.turner.ncaa.com/sites/default/files/external/gametool/brackets/baseball_d1_2017.pdf

[valpotx]

Speaking to the quality of baseball in the MVC, Missouri State won their regional and will be playing in the Super Regional at my graduate school, TCU .  Dallas Baptist was second place in their regional, which was the Fort Worth regional that TCU won. 

[VUGrad1314]

This is incredible. We haven't played a single game in any sport yet and I already love our new conference. Truly this is a move for all sports not just basketball. Maybe we'll see Valpo baseball have this kind of success, win a regional or more, and even perhaps get a shot at a trip to Omaha.I understand the difficulty of this conference and how far we have to go to get there, but we will certainly have opportunities based on who we'll play every given year and the sky is the limit for an institution like Valpo with the right amount of commitment from the administration, the alumni, and the community at large.

[vu72]

This is incredible. We haven't played a single game in any sport yet and I already love our new conference. Truly this is a move for all sports not just basketball. Maybe we'll see Valpo baseball have this kind of success, win a regional or more, and even perhaps get a shot at a trip to Omaha.I understand the difficulty of this conference and how far we have to go to get there, but we will certainly have opportunities based on who we'll play every given year and the sky is the limit for an institution like Valpo with the right amount of commitment from the administration, the alumni, and the community at large.

The reality is that "the sky" is the limit, when it come to baseball.  Valpo has had an historically successful baseball tradition when playing in the ICC, against other Indiana teams and has reached the NCAAs a couple of recent times, again, cometing against the Northern teams of the Horizon.  But, when you are playing against a team like Missouri State, or particularly a Dallas team, it is a world of difference. Remember our lack of success against Oral Roberts.

Springfield, Missouri has an average temperature of 56.1 and has 210 sunny days.  Valpo's average temperature is 49.7 and has 176 sunny days.  Unless the University is willing to build a Dome, it will always be a muddy, difficult time for Baseball in the springtime in dear old Valpo.

[VUGrad1314]

This is incredible. We haven't played a single game in any sport yet and I already love our new conference. Truly this is a move for all sports not just basketball. Maybe we'll see Valpo baseball have this kind of success, win a regional or more, and even perhaps get a shot at a trip to Omaha.I understand the difficulty of this conference and how far we have to go to get there, but we will certainly have opportunities based on who we'll play every given year and the sky is the limit for an institution like Valpo with the right amount of commitment from the administration, the alumni, and the community at large.

The reality is that "the sky" is the limit, when it come to baseball.  Valpo has had an historically successful baseball tradition when playing in the ICC, against other Indiana teams and has reached the NCAAs a couple of recent times, again, cometing against the Northern teams of the Horizon.  But, when you are playing against a team like Missouri State, or particularly a Dallas team, it is a world of difference. Remember our lack of success against Oral Roberts.

Springfield, Missouri has an average temperature of 56.1 and has 210 sunny days.  Valpo's average temperature is 49.7 and has 176 sunny days.  Unless the University is willing to build a Dome, it will always be a muddy, difficult time for Baseball in the springtime in dear old Valpo.

Excellent points. Does baseball have a secondary tournament like the NIT that VU could make it a goal to consistently play in? I know softball does. I do still believe that Valpo has the potential to notch some NCAA berths in the MVC, it'll just be a once in a while thing perhaps.

[VULB#62]

This is incredible. We haven't played a single game in any sport yet and I already love our new conference. Truly this is a move for all sports not just basketball. Maybe we'll see Valpo baseball have this kind of success, win a regional or more, and even perhaps get a shot at a trip to Omaha.I understand the difficulty of this conference and how far we have to go to get there, but we will certainly have opportunities based on who we'll play every given year and the sky is the limit for an institution like Valpo with the right amount of commitment from the administration, the alumni, and the community at large.

The reality is that "the sky" is the limit, when it come to baseball.  Valpo has had an historically successful baseball tradition when playing in the ICC, against other Indiana teams and has reached the NCAAs a couple of recent times, again, cometing against the Northern teams of the Horizon.  But, when you are playing against a team like Missouri State, or particularly a Dallas team, it is a world of difference. Remember our lack of success against Oral Roberts.

Springfield, Missouri has an average temperature of 56.1 and has 210 sunny days.  Valpo's average temperature is 49.7 and has 176 sunny days.  Unless the University is willing to build a Dome, it will always be a muddy, difficult time for Baseball in the springtime in dear old Valpo.

Excellent points. Does baseball have a secondary tournament like the NIT that VU could make it a goal to consistently play in? I know softball does. I do still believe that Valpo has the potential to notch some NCAA berths in the MVC, it'll just be a once in a while thing perhaps.

Time to look at a full turf Em Bauer field similar to the surface at UIC.

[VUGrad1314]

This is incredible. We haven't played a single game in any sport yet and I already love our new conference. Truly this is a move for all sports not just basketball. Maybe we'll see Valpo baseball have this kind of success, win a regional or more, and even perhaps get a shot at a trip to Omaha.I understand the difficulty of this conference and how far we have to go to get there, but we will certainly have opportunities based on who we'll play every given year and the sky is the limit for an institution like Valpo with the right amount of commitment from the administration, the alumni, and the community at large.

The reality is that "the sky" is the limit, when it come to baseball.  Valpo has had an historically successful baseball tradition when playing in the ICC, against other Indiana teams and has reached the NCAAs a couple of recent times, again, cometing against the Northern teams of the Horizon.  But, when you are playing against a team like Missouri State, or particularly a Dallas team, it is a world of difference. Remember our lack of success against Oral Roberts.

Springfield, Missouri has an average temperature of 56.1 and has 210 sunny days.  Valpo's average temperature is 49.7 and has 176 sunny days.  Unless the University is willing to build a Dome, it will always be a muddy, difficult time for Baseball in the springtime in dear old Valpo.

Excellent points. Does baseball have a secondary tournament like the NIT that VU could make it a goal to consistently play in? I know softball does. I do still believe that Valpo has the potential to notch some NCAA berths in the MVC, it'll just be a once in a while thing perhaps.

Time to look at a full turf Em Bauer field similar to the surface at UIC.

Not a bad thought. Seems to work out okay for the Flames.

[Dave_2010]

If we want a competitive MVC baseball program (ie make and threaten to win regionals) an artificial turf field is a must. We lose too many home dates and practices to unplayable field conditions.


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[vu72]

If we want a competitive MVC baseball program (ie make and threaten to win regionals) an artificial turf field is a must. We lose too many home dates and practices to unplayable field conditions.


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I'm guessing $500,000?  I know Paul Twenge coaches at a high school in the Minneapolis area that has one.  My guess is he would know the number! Not sure he will tell us though.   

[valpotx]

We will be pretty competitive in baseball.  I understand the comparison to when we played against ORU in conference, but our program is in much better shape now than it was back then.  We beat Southern teams every year now, and lose in tight games to top programs, with occasional wins against ranked teams.  At the risk of offending my teammates, that was not possible on a continuous basis when I was playing, so I do envision us having the possibility of winning the conference at some point, or being in at-large contention, if we schedule/play well outside of conference.  If Indiana State can get an occasional at-large berth, so can Valpo.

[bigmosmithfan1]

Many elite youth travel baseball programs in the Midwest have a turf field now. This is not something that should be considered a luxury -- plus, unlike most other facility upgrades, turf fields pay for themselves in saved grounds maintenance costs in a matter of a few years. Cuts rainouts in half -- within a few minutes of the rain stopping, the game can resume.

[bigmosmithfan1]

Back to the original thread title, Missouri State defeated Arkansas to win their regional. They now head to TCU for the Super-Regional series (best of 3) vs. the Horned Frogs. If they win, the Bears head to Omaha for the College World Series.

Yeah, I think the MVC is a nice step forward in baseball... 

[Dave_2010]

If we want a competitive MVC baseball program (ie make and threaten to win regionals) an artificial turf field is a must. We lose too many home dates and practices to unplayable field conditions.


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I'm guessing $500,000?  I know Paul Twenge coaches at a high school in the Minneapolis area that has one.  My guess is he would know the number! Not sure he will tell us though.   

$750k with a 10 year life per the vendor site. Not sure if that's for football/soccer or baseball, but the square footage seems close enough to be a fair estimate. Kent State and ISUb have turf fields, and they're about the best we can hope for in terms of peer programs. This strikes me as a cost of doing business in today's baseball environment.

http://www.fieldturf.com/en/fieldturf-difference/cost-analysis



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[bigmosmithfan1]

It depends on the level of usage rather than the sport. For example, a number of Chicago Park District soccer fields have been replaced with turf in recent years along the lakefront. They are used pretty much 24/7 from March through November, though, so after a couple of years, a few of them are matted down like an old patio rug and already need replacement (I'm sure the park district also chose the cheapest turf field option available, so that might not help, either)

To put it in college baseball terms, I'm sure a turf field at Em Bauer would have a much, much longer lifespan than say, the turf at Curtis Granderson Stadium at UIC. Part of the (very cool) stipulation that Granderson put on his donation for the facility is that Chicago high schools and city youth leagues would be able to use the stadium when it isn't in use by the Flames (he wanted the stadium to help provide baseball opportunity for the entire city, not just for UIC). The lone downside to this is that that the turf itself is going to have a much shorter lifespan than most other college facilities.

[Vinny]

The school can't even provide a proper parking lot at the baseball complex. How can you honestly expect turf? 

[Dave_2010]

I'm not saying valpo will do it, but expecting them to be competitive in baseball without adding turf is asking too much.


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[valpotx]

The school can't even provide a proper parking lot at the baseball complex. How can you honestly expect turf? 

What's wrong with it?  When I came back to Valpo in 2011, it was a large improvement over what we used to have when I was playing.  It was just grass back then, and at least had a gravel path in 2011

[valpo64]

I have never been to the baseball field but I have been told that the playing surface is very good.... ?

[VULB#62]

I believe it is quite good under good weather conditions.  However, in NW Indiana, the playing season is abbreviated by an extended winter that usually precludes use of the field in the weeks before the spring break trip to warmer climes, and then spring rains during the season can often leave the playing surface and outfield unplayable for days.

Even after a snowfall in February, a turf playing surface can be plowed and practices held.  A turf field can also be playable an hour or less after a heavy rain storm.

[bigmosmithfan1]

Forget inclement weather... most grass fields in the Midwest are unplayable even on a string of sunny, mild days in February or March because the ground is still too soggy from the winter. A turf field allows for much more outdoor practice time and bumps up when you can schedule home games by a few weeks.