2008 Woodie Awards
Tournament hopes rest in homestand
Jon Oakley
Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: Sports
The Leathernecks baseball team is at the most important part of its schedule, playing eight conference games in nine days - all at home from May 2nd to the 11th.
Western (11-26, 4-8 Summit League) will have its postseason fate in its own hands hosting conference opponents Southern Utah (23-18, 10-5 Summit) this weekend and North Dakota State (9-23. 2-9 Summit) next weekend.
Currently, Western sits as the odd man out in the chase for the Summit League Tournament. The seeds are given by the highest conference winning percentage, and both IPFW and Centenary hold 7-9 Summit records for .438 winning percentages. Western's winning percentage is .333.
The Leathernecks need to play to win both series but still could make the playoffs if IPFW or Centenary lose out. This wouldn't be the preferred choice for coach Stan Hyman, who doesn't want to leave it up to other teams losing.
"I think we need to focus on what we can control," Hyman said. "It doesn't matter what everybody else does if we aren't winning. That has to be our focus. We just have to win."
Southern Utah currently sits in the second seed and will be a good test to whether or not Western has what it takes to compete in the Summit Tournament.
"I think everybody feels pretty confident that we are going to make a serious run," Hyman said. "It comes back to 'it's not how you play early, it's how you play late.' These next eight games will show what we're made of."
Western (11-26, 4-8 Summit League) will have its postseason fate in its own hands hosting conference opponents Southern Utah (23-18, 10-5 Summit) this weekend and North Dakota State (9-23. 2-9 Summit) next weekend.
Currently, Western sits as the odd man out in the chase for the Summit League Tournament. The seeds are given by the highest conference winning percentage, and both IPFW and Centenary hold 7-9 Summit records for .438 winning percentages. Western's winning percentage is .333.
The Leathernecks need to play to win both series but still could make the playoffs if IPFW or Centenary lose out. This wouldn't be the preferred choice for coach Stan Hyman, who doesn't want to leave it up to other teams losing.
"I think we need to focus on what we can control," Hyman said. "It doesn't matter what everybody else does if we aren't winning. That has to be our focus. We just have to win."
Southern Utah currently sits in the second seed and will be a good test to whether or not Western has what it takes to compete in the Summit Tournament.
"I think everybody feels pretty confident that we are going to make a serious run," Hyman said. "It comes back to 'it's not how you play early, it's how you play late.' These next eight games will show what we're made of."
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