The New Inter-County Conference

[dirtydan147]

Are there any ideas on the top players in this years new inter-county conference???

[curveball4969]

Mount Union will DOMINATE the inter-county conference. I mean seriously, who is gonna challenge them. Southern will be their greatest challenge and i see MU beating them by a good margin. BUT, mount union has choked in the playoffs the last few years, so winning a conference title shouldnt be the focus of mount union. winning the district title should be

[hombre]

Well, curveball, someone must have thrown you one. Mount Union won the District 6 championship in 2006. Is that choking "in the last few years"? You have a problem with facts: any team with 16 District 6 championships, 6 runnersup and 5 appearances in the State Championship and winning three times can hardly be called a choke team. They have also won 19 League championships.

What team that you follow can match that? But aside from that, have you ever played any sports? If you had you would realize that Mount Union has the same situation as other schools: not every year is going to be a great year. Players graduate and in small schools top players such as super hitter John Martinez are difficult to replace. I think Mount Union will be competitive this year but there are several teams in this conference with quite a few starters returning such as: Northern Bedford, Tussey Mountain, Everett, and Bellwood. Southern Huntingdon has an outstanding pitcher in Jason Long and they are a well coached team.

I don't think winning this conference will be a cakewalk for any team let alone Mount Union. There will also be a one game playoff between the division winners for the conference championship. Anything could happen in that situation. It will be interesting to see how things transpire in this new conference alignment.

[hardball21]

Could some list the teams in each division? It sounds like a very competitive year for the newly formed league. Will any of the other SHL teams be joining this league in the future, like Fannett-Metal?

[curveball4969]

well hombre, i didnt need to know mount union's history..im sure everybody knows that. and i wasnt talking about them winning the district 6 title in 2006, i was talking about how they were expected to go far in the state tourny and got hammered by a district 9 team in the first round. And, and correct me if im wrong, but i think the trojans lost Jeff Knepper in the 1992 season which was supposed to be a major killer for them seems as how he is one of the best players to come out of mount union, and they turned right around and won a state title in 1993. So just because they lost mr. martinez doesnt mean they are gonna have a bad season. They have a lot of talent and i still think its going to be a "cakewalk" for mount union to win the league title. Wasn't it just last year when mount union knocked jason long out of a district game in 3 inning because he was getting hammered. And, the trojans will have an outstanding pitching staff this year with the dominating lefty sean dixon...and mr. hollibaugh..and a freshman brock goodling. :mrgreen:

[wallet]

woooo very nice curveball, all i have to say is watch for jason long, i mean i know the trojans rocked him last year and the kid couldn't even pick up a win in the regular season in the TEENER LEAUGE!..but watch for him..hes a tank ... HAHA..and ole' nicky will have his trojans ready for another district title..maybe the addition of a CURTIS "50 cent" BARNES...who knows?

[hardball21]

I believe Jeff Knepper graduated before 1992, I'm thinking around 1986 or 1987.

[hombre]

Just a couple more points and I shall retreat to my "observation" post. I did not mean to imply that Mount Union would fall apart without John Martinez. However, the offense will certainly take a hit without such an experienced, gifted hitter, not to mention his enormous contribution as a closer.

I agree that there is talent on the team but most of the best players are underclassmen. You were correct in your assessment that after Jeff Knepper(maybe the best all around player ever at Mount Union) graduated in 1987, the Trojans won their first state championship. That's because the '88 team realized it would need a total team effort to overcome their total dependence on Jeff to get the key hit, strike out most of the hitters, and make whatever defensive play that was needed. He was really dominant. John Martinez was not the dominant talent that Knepper was, but, nonetheless, his strengths will not be easy to replace. We shall soon see how this team responds to the challenge.

You said you weren't referring to the District 6 when referencing the playoffs. But the District tournament begins the playoff run. You're right when you said Mount Union was hammered by Coudersport in 2006. But how can any team be considered a "favorite" in such a crapshoot as the state tournament which is a one and done deal? Anything can happen and usually does in PIAA playoffs.

Ask the many other superb teams in all sports how difficult it is to progress to a state title. Mount Union fans are just spoiled and somewhat unappreciative when it comes to judging the accomplishments of the baseball team. Mount Union baseball is just held to a higher standard.

[curveball4969]

I agree with everything you said hombre, and thanks for correcting me with the whole Knepper deal. I wasn't being inappreciative of how hard it is to win the state tournament, its a challenge just getting to the tourny, but the 2006 year was the year when everybody was talking about how Mount Union was going to bring home their 4th state title, but i guess for mount union fans they are supposed to bring it home every year, lol. I guess we will have to see how Walters and Hollibaugh and Dixon can take over the leader roles and hopefully lead this team to some success

[Lions#7]

Could somebody post a complete listing of all the teams in the "new" ICC. Thanks.