Upset City - (Baseball America)

[Bogus Smith]

This was written on Friday (after we had already won the conference championship on Thursday) by Aaron Fitz from Baseball America who covers the College Baseball scene.  The entire article is shown at http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/co ... tml.  Somehow, I don't believe that Western, or any Mid-Con team for that matter, matches up with what Rob Walton is coaching these days.

Upset City

Western Illinois over Oral Roberts

Oral Roberts' long-time stranglehold on the Mid-Continent Conference was on the line this weekend, as the Golden Eagles led the conference by four games over Western Illinois with a four-game series between the clubs remaining on the regular-season schedule. The Golden Eagles dashed the Leathernecks' hopes of claiming a share of the conference's regular-season title by winning Thursday's series opener behind eight strong innings from ace righthander Chance Chapman. That was to be expected, as Chapman, a senior righthander, has been utterly dominant for stretches this season. He has used one of the best sliders in college baseball to strike out 17 batters against Arkansas on March 27 and whiff 19 against Centenary last week. But even though Western Illinois can't catch Oral Roberts in the standings, it can still take the four-game series and gain some momentum heading into the all-important conference tournament.

Under sixth-year coach Stan Hyman, the Leathernecks have posted their first winning record (31-21) since 1989 and secured a berth in the Mid-Con tournament for the fifth straight season. Junior left fielder Brett Pendell, a free-swinging lefthanded hitter, has been a sparkplug atop the order, batting .347/.427/.464 with 15 stolen bases in 19 attempts and a conference-leading 54 runs. Senior center fielder Travis Check has provided some punch in the middle of the order, batting .339/.397/.540 with eight home runs and 46 RBIs.

"Travis is arguably the best player in the conference," Hyman said. "He's been consistent throughout the entire season. He tore it up in our 12 games against the top Big 12 pitching. And his hits always seem to come at big times. He's delivered nine game-tying or game-winning hits and belted two key home runs against Oakland and (Valparaiso) in conference.

"Defensively, he's also saved several games for us. His seven outfield assists also rank at the top of the conference. He's a money player who will succeed at the pro level."

Give Western Illinois credit for closing the gap with Oral Roberts. This weekend, the Leathernecks have a chance to show they are on the same playing field as the Golden Eagles.

[tbone77]

Well they were playing on the same field...in McComb. 

Both teams had gloves and uniforms.  They both played baseball.  They are in the same conference.    Come to think of it ... quite a few similarities!

Except for the fact that the Eagles won all four games!!!!

Now Eagles, go take care of bid'ness in the tourney and shut that guy up. 

[Old Titan]

A couple of us discussed this story and the motivation behind it when it also ran on ESPN.com's college baseball section on Friday morning.  Here's a link to that exchange:

Upset City (ESPN.com)

[Bogus Smith]

A couple of us discussed this story and the motivation behind it when it also ran on ESPN.com's college baseball section on Friday morning.  Here's a link to that exchange:

Upset City (ESPN.com)

I saw that earlier, but could not find the post that it was under.  Sorry that I wasn't patient enough to go search for this.

My intent was really to show how the article had made the rounds and that it was probably a release done by the Mid-Con or WIU office in order to stimulate interest in an otherwise, uninteresting game.  It certainly made some bulletin board material for the boys, I'll bet.