I've heard the terms "team of destiny," "fate" and just plain "outstanding" heard to describe what ETBU's Tiger Softball team accomplished on Monday with its 2-0 win over conference rival Louisiana College in the regional championship game.
Whether you believe in any of those terms is up to you. I would say personally it's just magic.
The Tigers shucked off all kinds of gorillas from their collective backs Monday, and the reward is the program's first-ever bid to the World Series (by the way, the NCAA officially calls it NCAA Division III Softball Championship, but it's a lot easier and quicker to just type and say World Series).
The biggest gorilla was the notion that ETBU couldn't beat LC on its home field. Granted, the Lady Wildcats have an outstanding tradition and were the first to break into the World Series from the ASC a couple of years ago. And, they'd whipped ETBU 12 straight times at Coca Cola Field going into Sunday.
It looked like No. 13 was going to be unlucky again for the Tigers Sunday, when LC staked ace Rene Schwartzenburg -- who had never lost a game to the Tigers in seven career decisions -- with a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning. But somehow the Tigers mustered up three unearned runs and edged to the 3-2 win.
Magic.
Then on Monday, an errant throw allowed the only two runs of the day to score for ETBU, a play the Lady Wildcats have made a million times. Tiger pitchers Ayrika Henderson and Alicia Wright made it stand up.
Magic.
Two days earlier, a strike away from eliminating another rival, UT Tyler, the Tigers watched as some defensive miscues of their own opened the door for a furious three-run Patriot rally that tied the score at 3-3. ETBU answered in the seventh inning with a walk-off two-out single by senior Stacy Havner.
Magic.
A three-run uprising in the sixth inning against Southwestern, the scrappiest team of the regional making its first-ever NCAA playoff appearance, finally sent the Tigers into the championship game.
Magic.
It's been a wonderful week to be a Tiger. Nothing is guaranteed at the World Series, of course. LC and UT Tyler took supremely talented teams to the last two championships and came home with nothing. Could the third time be the charm?
The ASC East proved to be the toughest division, of any conference, in the nation. Four teams were asked to play in the NCAA Tournament last week. All from the East side of the ASC.
UT Tyler has the ASC East championship. LC has the overall ASC Tournament title. ETBU can complete that trifecta and the ASC East can then stake the claim to have played perhaps the most dominant softball of any Division III conference in the nation.
It just takes a little magic.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Football Golf Tournament Set For June 8
The Tiger football team will be hosting a golf tournament June 8 at Cypress Hills Golf Club just outside Marshall. The proceeds from this golf tournament will go toward the program's Summer Service trips to the Ukraine and Turkey this summer.
This is the first year ETBU's football team will be making two summer trips overseas. Two years ago a group of players and coaches spent two weeks in Croatia and last summer were scheduled to spend part of the summer in London. An airport fiasco of course derailed that trip but the Tigers are branching out even more this summer all over the globe.
The trips are costly and the players must raise their own funds. This tournament is an effort to assist in funding all those who have committed to go. The travel expenses have risen considerably since the trips were originally planned and additional money is required.
The Ukraine trip will include a group of seven doing construction work at the Open Doors Christian Camp, a youth camp just outside of Kiev in northern Ukraine. The trip to Turkey includes 10 players with a unique opportunity to conduct a full contact American Football Camp on university campuses in Istanbul.
A flyer and registration form for the golf tournament is available on the football web site here at etbu.edu. For more information regarding this and other Tiger fund-raisers, contact head coach Mark Sartain at 903-923-2187.
This is the first year ETBU's football team will be making two summer trips overseas. Two years ago a group of players and coaches spent two weeks in Croatia and last summer were scheduled to spend part of the summer in London. An airport fiasco of course derailed that trip but the Tigers are branching out even more this summer all over the globe.
The trips are costly and the players must raise their own funds. This tournament is an effort to assist in funding all those who have committed to go. The travel expenses have risen considerably since the trips were originally planned and additional money is required.
The Ukraine trip will include a group of seven doing construction work at the Open Doors Christian Camp, a youth camp just outside of Kiev in northern Ukraine. The trip to Turkey includes 10 players with a unique opportunity to conduct a full contact American Football Camp on university campuses in Istanbul.
A flyer and registration form for the golf tournament is available on the football web site here at etbu.edu. For more information regarding this and other Tiger fund-raisers, contact head coach Mark Sartain at 903-923-2187.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Unsung Heroes
Congrats are in order for Tiger Softball senior Adrienne Meier (.562, 9 hits, 5 runs scored) and freshman Beck Young (.538, 7 hits, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 6 RBI), both of whom were named to the ASC All-Tournament team Saturday.
There were a couple of others who no doubt received consideration for the all-tourney team for their performances.
There were a couple of others who no doubt received consideration for the all-tourney team for their performances.
- I personally thought senior centerfielder Porsha Harrison may have had her best two-day stretch as a Tiger at the tournament. Porsha hit .364 and scored twice, but she also had a big two-run triple during the win over Hardin-Simmons on Friday. Porsha also was again solid defensively and came within inches, literally, of perhaps saving the Tigers in the loss against UT Tyler. The tying runs scored for Tyler after a little bloop single to shallow center that Porsha dove for and appeared to have in her glove or close to it, just barely missing the final out. Then on Joey Cronin's game-winning homer for UTT, Porsha nearly brought the ball back into the park with a leaping attempt at the wall but the unfamiliar wall gave way just enough when she leaped against it to knock the ball loose and hit the top of the wall. A great all-around effort for Harrison this weekend.
- Sophomore pitcher Alicia Wright was strong again during the postseason tournament. She went 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA in over 16 innings, including a complete-game shutout of Hardin-Simmons in the second game on Friday.
- Sophomore Brooke Martin also had solid weekend, hitting .533. She had the second-most hits of any Tiger at the tournament (8) and drove in three runs, and she also had a couple of nice catches defensively in a very difficult outfield to play thanks to the near all-dirt surface at Railroad Park.
The Joys of Connectivity
Our many apologies for those who went to the various links available for live stat coverage or even Twitter updates during the ASC Softball Tournament, especially to the many Tiger fans out there who are now following us on Twitter. As it turned out there were more kinks than expected at the new Railroad Park, especially when it came to wireless Internet coverage.
The field where ETBU played its first three games of the tournament -- Gold Field -- kept receiving a strong wireless signal but for some reason we were unable to get a browser to open a web site. I was cut off from the ETBU web site completely and there were periods where I could not even pull up Twitter. And the live stats, which were being run through the UT Dallas server, were suffering from all kinds of technical difficulties that were a result of the lack of coverage.
Things were a little better when we switched to the Blue Field for the elimination game against Louisiana College but the signal dropped us again midway through the game. I was unable to reconnect at that point. It was a very frustrating weekend for all -- players, coaches, SIDs and fans -- and there was really nothing we could do about it at the time.
As it turned out the Tigers may have been just a couple of innings away from playing for the championship. It was very disappointing to cough up the 4-0 lead with just two innings to go but you have to give UT Tyler credit. The Patriots were a hot team and weren't quite ready to give up their winning streak, and the ball literally just didn't bounce ETBU's way those last two innings.
Hopefully the Tigers will receive an at-large bid again to the NCAA Tournament. ETBU has four victories against teams that have been ranked No. 1 in the nation at the time of those wins, so we will see come next Monday when the bids are issued.
The field where ETBU played its first three games of the tournament -- Gold Field -- kept receiving a strong wireless signal but for some reason we were unable to get a browser to open a web site. I was cut off from the ETBU web site completely and there were periods where I could not even pull up Twitter. And the live stats, which were being run through the UT Dallas server, were suffering from all kinds of technical difficulties that were a result of the lack of coverage.
Things were a little better when we switched to the Blue Field for the elimination game against Louisiana College but the signal dropped us again midway through the game. I was unable to reconnect at that point. It was a very frustrating weekend for all -- players, coaches, SIDs and fans -- and there was really nothing we could do about it at the time.
As it turned out the Tigers may have been just a couple of innings away from playing for the championship. It was very disappointing to cough up the 4-0 lead with just two innings to go but you have to give UT Tyler credit. The Patriots were a hot team and weren't quite ready to give up their winning streak, and the ball literally just didn't bounce ETBU's way those last two innings.
Hopefully the Tigers will receive an at-large bid again to the NCAA Tournament. ETBU has four victories against teams that have been ranked No. 1 in the nation at the time of those wins, so we will see come next Monday when the bids are issued.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Last Word on Softball Coverage...
Okay, for those out there who can't make it to the tournament this weekend over in Lewisville:
There will be no online broadcast of the ETBU games other than one provided by the ASC in the conference championship game. But you can follow the action live through conference live stats, with a link provided on the Tiger Softball web site and also at the ASC site, and I will also be tweeting game updates and information on the ETBU Athletics Twitter page. Just go to twitter.com and follow ETBU_Tigers.
If you miss any of the live game action always check back to the web site and also here on the blog, I will post updates and comments as much as I possibly can postgame throughout the playoffs.
Go Tigers!
There will be no online broadcast of the ETBU games other than one provided by the ASC in the conference championship game. But you can follow the action live through conference live stats, with a link provided on the Tiger Softball web site and also at the ASC site, and I will also be tweeting game updates and information on the ETBU Athletics Twitter page. Just go to twitter.com and follow ETBU_Tigers.
If you miss any of the live game action always check back to the web site and also here on the blog, I will post updates and comments as much as I possibly can postgame throughout the playoffs.
Go Tigers!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Looking Ahead...
You never ever want to get caught trying to predict what will happen in the future, especially when it comes to selecting NCAA Tournament participants when it comes time to issue bids. That will happen either late Sunday night or early Monday, with the start of the 2010 NCAA Division Softball Championship next weekend.
There is no guarantee for ETBU to make a second straight NCAA appearance. The only guarantee would be if the Tigers win the American Southwest Conference tournament this weekend and grab the conference's automatic bid. But there is also the chance of course that ETBU will receive an at-large bid, like they did last season.
These are the kinds of situations that give players, coaches and fans fits because there are just relatively few spots to fill. What we do know is that the Tigers have spent a great deal of the season ranked No. 2 in the nation, which is good. ETBU is recognized nationally for its traditionally strong softball program, which is also good. And the Tigers this week are ranked No. 4 in the NCAA West Region rankings, which goes a long way in determining which teams are invited to regionals next week. That is also good, seeing as most regionals will field anywhere from 6-8 teams -- meaning if you're fourth, even with my crazy math, you've got a good shot at being selected.
ETBU has a 21-9 record this season against "in-region" opponents. That "in-region" thing is a little vague because it includes records against ASC rivals such as Louisiana College and Mississippi College -- who are listed by the NCAA as being the East Region. ETBU and Texas-Tyler are listed in the West Region, but their games against LC and MC count as in-region.
ETBU went 4-4 against Texas-Tyler and Louisiana College, with UTT ranked No. 1 in the West and LC ranked No. 1 in the East Region. Against teams that are regionally ranked from around the country, ETBU is 7-7 on the year. That's also a pretty good sign for the Tigers.
The bottom line is that the Tigers could make things a lot easier for themselves by winning the program's first ASC title since 2004 this weekend. That is the only sure way to get invited to an NCAA First-Round Tournament next week.
Here are the complete West Region rankings for this week:
There is no guarantee for ETBU to make a second straight NCAA appearance. The only guarantee would be if the Tigers win the American Southwest Conference tournament this weekend and grab the conference's automatic bid. But there is also the chance of course that ETBU will receive an at-large bid, like they did last season.
These are the kinds of situations that give players, coaches and fans fits because there are just relatively few spots to fill. What we do know is that the Tigers have spent a great deal of the season ranked No. 2 in the nation, which is good. ETBU is recognized nationally for its traditionally strong softball program, which is also good. And the Tigers this week are ranked No. 4 in the NCAA West Region rankings, which goes a long way in determining which teams are invited to regionals next week. That is also good, seeing as most regionals will field anywhere from 6-8 teams -- meaning if you're fourth, even with my crazy math, you've got a good shot at being selected.
ETBU has a 21-9 record this season against "in-region" opponents. That "in-region" thing is a little vague because it includes records against ASC rivals such as Louisiana College and Mississippi College -- who are listed by the NCAA as being the East Region. ETBU and Texas-Tyler are listed in the West Region, but their games against LC and MC count as in-region.
ETBU went 4-4 against Texas-Tyler and Louisiana College, with UTT ranked No. 1 in the West and LC ranked No. 1 in the East Region. Against teams that are regionally ranked from around the country, ETBU is 7-7 on the year. That's also a pretty good sign for the Tigers.
The bottom line is that the Tigers could make things a lot easier for themselves by winning the program's first ASC title since 2004 this weekend. That is the only sure way to get invited to an NCAA First-Round Tournament next week.
Here are the complete West Region rankings for this week:
- 1. Texas-Tyler (35-5 overall, 31-5 in-region)
- 2. Claremont Mudd-Scripps (32-6, 28-4 in-region)
- 3. Linfield (35-5 overall, 33-5 in-region)
- 4. East Texas Baptist (29-9 overall, 21-9 in-region)
- 5. Redlands (30-10 overall, 27-6 in-region)
- 6. Southwestern (26-10 overall, 25-10 in-region)
- 7. Willamette (27-11 overall, 21-8 in-region)
- 8. Pacific Lutheran (22-14 overall, 22-14 in-region)
It must be remembered that most likely, Louisiana College will be sent with either UT Tyler or ETBU, or both, to a first-round site. Last season all three ASC teams competed in the ETBU-hosted regional at Taylor Field. So in that scenario, if all three receive postseason bids, you'd have to guess the NCAA would send all three somewhere together again.
The dicey part is if there is an upset of, say, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament this weekend. The Athenas, who also were at the ETBU regional last season, host that tournament. Redlands, ranked just behind ETBU in the region, is the No. 2 seed.
Linfield has already clinched an NCAA berth by winning the regular season Northwest Conference championship. The NWC, which also includes Pacific Lutheran and Willamette in the regional rankings, has no conference tournament, so if PLU and Willamette get in it will be via NCAA invites.
And Southwestern won the Southern Collegeiate Athletic Conference title this season in just the second year of the program. The SCAC has no conference tournament, either, so Southwestern is in the NCAA Tournament with an automatic bid.
Okay, what does all this mean? Let's assume ETBU, UT Tyler and Louisiana College get bids, along with the automatics -- Linfield and Southwestern -- already mentioned. A big guess here is that if UT Tyler or Louisiana College is selected to host, you could see a regional of UT Tyler, ETBU, Louisiana College, Southwestern, Linfield, C-M-S and Redlands.
Another kink to consider possibly is if either UMHB, Concordia or Hardin-Simmons wins the ASC Tournament and grabs the ASC automatic. That would also presumably kick one of the above mentioned at-larges out of the regional, perhaps. Or, the NCAA could break up the entire bunch and send the Texas schools to the West Coast somewhere and send LC or to the Midwest, which it's done before.
Bottom line is nothing is settled or even knowable until after this weekend. There are still too many chips to fall. But it is fun to talk about.
Coverage for Softball Tournament
As of today we are still trying to determine whether or not there will be a broadcast available of the Tiger Softball games at this weekend's ASC Tournament. The new site of the tournament, Railroad Park in Lewisville, is by all accounts a great place to watch a softball game but does not have phone lines in the press box so we are working on technical aspects of wireless broadcasting.
However all games will include live stats as well as ETBU's games being followed via our Twitter page, which I've discovered is a great way to keep everyone up to date with action in the game. If there is no broadcast I will attempt to give more in-depth analysis of the games on Twitter, but we'll see what happens.
Just wanted to let everyone know and we'll give you more information later. Go Tigers!
However all games will include live stats as well as ETBU's games being followed via our Twitter page, which I've discovered is a great way to keep everyone up to date with action in the game. If there is no broadcast I will attempt to give more in-depth analysis of the games on Twitter, but we'll see what happens.
Just wanted to let everyone know and we'll give you more information later. Go Tigers!
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