NJCAA Region XII Tournament Predictions

College baseball is one of the more underrated sports in America. Perhaps its due to the fact that unlike the top stars in collegiate football or basketball, the top college prospects take years through the minor league system to mature and develop before finally impacting an MLB team. This also affects the lack of national attention that the sport gets until it reaches its national tournament.

While the NCAA Tournament does not start for a couple of weeks (predictions along with a bracket challenge will take place at a later date), the NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) is starting their tournament this week. The Region XII tournament, with the winner earning a spot at the NJCAA World Series in Enid, Oklahoma, begins Wednesday at Bailey Park in Battle Creek, Michigan. The top community colleges and two year schools from Michigan and Ohio will be taking part in the eight-team double elimination tournament throughout the weekend, with a champion being crowned Saturday. Due to work conflicts, I will only be in attendance Friday for those games (barring former Caledonia teammate Chris Clark and his team at Kellogg CC don't get eliminated early), but for a complete schedule click the link here.

These predictions will be constantly updated as each day's matchups are provided.

***UPDATE: FRIDAY RECAP AND SATURDAY PICKS***
Friday, Keegan and I took the venture down to CO Brown Stadium for the tournament, and I went three for three on picks. Sinclair squeaked out a 3-2 win over Kellogg in game one, Cuyahoga defeated Delta in a shootout in game two, then Kellogg mercied Cuyahoga 14-4 in game number three. This improves my mark to 11-1-1 on the tournament.

For Saturday's game, Keegan has decided to join in as our resident guest picker, as this filled up a lot of our time in the outfield Patio Porch and the car ride home.

Keegan has selected Sinclair to defeat Kellogg in Game 1 to take home the crown.
I will agree that the Tartan Pride, winners of 4 of 5 against KCC will win, however I will take them in two games, I feel Kellogg will squeak out the first win.


***UPDATE: THURSDAY REFLECTION AND FRIDAY PREDICTIONS***
Thursday I was a perfect 4 for 4 as all of the teams I selected below won the respective matchups. This brings my pick record to 8-1-1. This creates a tremendous day as a baseball fan down in Battle Creek as Kellogg and Sinclair will kick things off at 11:30am. At 3:00, Delta College and Cuyahoga will face off, with the winner of this game taking on the loser of the 11:30 game for a redemption opportunity Saturday.

FRIDAY PREDICTIONS (Game by Game)
Sinclair over Kellogg
      These teams have met four times back in early March, and Kellogg took the first game before losing the last three. Despite that Kellogg has played much better ball since returning north of the Mason-Dixon line, Sinclair has continued their strong play as they are ranked #5 in the country. This will be perhaps the best game of the tournament, and it could go either way unsurprisingly.
Cuyahoga over Delta
      Delta has been a hot team that has won eleven of twelve against teams from the state of Michigan. They have lost three times to Ohio teams this month, including twice by Cuyahoga. The curse of Ohio teams will continue for Delta.
Kellogg over Cuyahoga
      These two teams played a tightly contested game today, and a rematch would be equally competitive tomorrow. The pitching matchup would be the difference, but with this unknown, I will take the Bruins with a home field advantage to advance to Saturday's title game(s).


**UPDATE: WEDNEDSDAY REFLECTION AND THURSDAY PREDICTIONS**
Wednesday I went 4-1-1 with my predictions as I incorrectly picked Jackson to defeat Sinclair. The tie or push would be attributed to having the correct team lose the elimination game (GRCC) but the wrong opponent as a result of the Jackson/Sinclair mishap. Kellogg, Delta and Cuyahoga all also won their first games Wednesday, and then Jackson and Kalamazoo Valley advanced out of the losers bracket, while Grand Rapids CC and Lansing CC were eliminated.

THURSDAY PREDICTIONS (Game by Game)

Kellogg (M2) over Cuyahoga (S1)
     The Bruins are hot and are riding the momentum of a nail-biting win yesterday. I think the winner of this matchup is the heavy favorite to take home the title, don't be surprised for a rematch later also.
Sinclair (S2) over Delta (M3)
     Despite another convincing win yesterday, Delta just is not as talented as Sinclair. The differential there is too much for them to overcome as the Tartan Pride advance to Friday's semifinal.

THURSDAY LOSERS BRACKET GAMES:
Cuyahoga over Jackson
      I would change this prediction if Brad Allen is on the bump for the Jets, however I believe that the rest of the staff will not be able to slow down a potent Cuyahoga offense.
Delta over Kalamazoo Valley
     KVCC swept the season series, however Delta has played much better baseball in the month following those losses. Delta wins assuming they don't have a hangover from the Sinclair loss earlier.

These picks set up a tremendous Kellogg and Sinclair ball game Friday morning that I would love to be down in Battle Creek to watch. I think that the Kellogg and Cuyahoga game will be the game of the day as these two teams are evenly matched. The loser of that game could have their hands full as Jackson awaits, however they have struggled lately if Brad Allen is not on the hill. Regardless, one of the three teams will be sent home, which is unforunate because they are three of the four best teams, all on one side of the bracket. I expect the Kalamazoo Valley Cougars to go home tomorrow without a doubt however.

Check back Thursday night/Friday morning for updates and new predictions. If anyone is interested in a road trip with me Friday, feel free to contact me.

ORIGINAL POST
WEDNESDAY PREDICTIONS (Game by Game)

ROUND 1:

Kellogg (M2) over Kalamazoo Valley (M5)

       Kellogg has dominated KVCC all year (3-0 including a mercy) and it won't change here.

Delta (M3) over GRCC (M4)

       These teams split the season series, however Delta has been hot as they have won 9 of 10.

Cuyahoga (S1) over LCC (M6)

       Cuyahoga is ranked #9 in NJCAA D2, and just swept LCC on May 8 a combined 14-2.

Jackson (M1) over Sinclair (S2)

       Assuming Brad Allen is on the hill, I believe he is too much for Sinclair to handle. Allen threw a no-hitter at Bailey Park back on April 16.

WEDNESDAY LOSERS BRACKET GAMES:

Sinclair over GRCC

    Sinclair is the second best team here (Cuyahoga) and aside from Brad Allen, they would beat

Jackson. I think that the Tartan Pride defeat the Raiders in a big blowout, eliminating GRCC.

Kalamazoo Valley over LCC

   With equal conference records and similar bodies of work, the lone factor is that in their doubleheader played May 11, KVCC swept by a combined 16-2.

So to summarize, I believe that Grand Rapids Community College and Lansing Community College will have a short lived tournament experience that amounts to little more than a usual doubleheader in Battle Creek. This also sets up a matchup between Kellogg and Cuyahoga along with a Jackson and Delta matchup, while Sinclair and KVCC will have to await their opponents from there.

Thanks for reading and check back in to this same link late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning as my predictions will be reviewed and new ones will be made for the following games.