Spring Break
Baseball: National ranking a first in team history
Nommensen wins OVC player of the week
Collin Whitchurch / Assistant Sports Editor
Issue date: 4/7/09 Section: Sports
The Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's weekly national rankings were announced Monday afternoon, and the Eastern baseball team debuted on the list, ranked No. 27 in the nation.
The honor is the first time in the Division I era an Eastern baseball team has been nationally ranked.
The Panthers (21-5) received 427 votes in the poll, which consists of the top 30 teams in the nation. They are two votes behind No. 26 Georgia Southern and two ahead of No. 28 San Diego State. Minnesota, ranked No. 30 in the poll, received 422 votes.
For Eastern head coach Jim Schmitz, the ranking is an honor the team should be proud of.
"I look at everything," he said. "All the hard work these guys put in. They're getting recognition and they deserve it."
Weather a frustration
Sunday's series finale against Murray State was canceled because of rain, becoming the second Ohio Valley Conference game the Panthers have had to cancel this season due to the weather.
Schmitz said the team waited approximately seven hours Sunday before the game was officially called. He said the fact that an OVC game is not allowed to start after 3:30 p.m. on Sundays made it difficult.
"Our guys struggled with it (Sunday)," he said. "You just have to try to keep it in their heads that they're going to play because once the switch is off, and they think they're not going to play, it's impossible to turn it back on."
The Panthers are the most northern team in the OVC, meaning they have to deal with cold conditions more than other teams in their conference, including Tennessee Tech and Murray State, their opponents the past two weekends.
Schmitz said that fact has its benefits, but it all depends on how well the team is playing.
"I think it does have its advantages, but if we're not playing good baseball it doesn't," he said. "It's a hard call, but we definitely think sometimes it helps us out. But, at the same time, we'd love it to be 50-60 (degrees) and sunny, which it was Saturday."
Nommensen gives team OVC record
Senior center fielder Brett Nommensen was named OVC player of the week Monday, giving the Panthers the OVC Player of the Week for four consecutive weeks.
This is the first time in OVC history one school has won four straight player of the week awards.
Nommensen won the award for the week of March 16 and senior shortstop Jordan Kreke took home the award the past two weeks.
Nommensen said the award is good because it shows that the Panthers are getting noticed on many levels.
"I can't really complain and say we're getting no recognition," he said. "The last four weeks Jordan and I have done really well to the point that if we had not won it, it would have been a disappointment."
Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.
The honor is the first time in the Division I era an Eastern baseball team has been nationally ranked.
The Panthers (21-5) received 427 votes in the poll, which consists of the top 30 teams in the nation. They are two votes behind No. 26 Georgia Southern and two ahead of No. 28 San Diego State. Minnesota, ranked No. 30 in the poll, received 422 votes.
For Eastern head coach Jim Schmitz, the ranking is an honor the team should be proud of.
"I look at everything," he said. "All the hard work these guys put in. They're getting recognition and they deserve it."
Weather a frustration
Sunday's series finale against Murray State was canceled because of rain, becoming the second Ohio Valley Conference game the Panthers have had to cancel this season due to the weather.
Schmitz said the team waited approximately seven hours Sunday before the game was officially called. He said the fact that an OVC game is not allowed to start after 3:30 p.m. on Sundays made it difficult.
"Our guys struggled with it (Sunday)," he said. "You just have to try to keep it in their heads that they're going to play because once the switch is off, and they think they're not going to play, it's impossible to turn it back on."
The Panthers are the most northern team in the OVC, meaning they have to deal with cold conditions more than other teams in their conference, including Tennessee Tech and Murray State, their opponents the past two weekends.
Schmitz said that fact has its benefits, but it all depends on how well the team is playing.
"I think it does have its advantages, but if we're not playing good baseball it doesn't," he said. "It's a hard call, but we definitely think sometimes it helps us out. But, at the same time, we'd love it to be 50-60 (degrees) and sunny, which it was Saturday."
Nommensen gives team OVC record
Senior center fielder Brett Nommensen was named OVC player of the week Monday, giving the Panthers the OVC Player of the Week for four consecutive weeks.
This is the first time in OVC history one school has won four straight player of the week awards.
Nommensen won the award for the week of March 16 and senior shortstop Jordan Kreke took home the award the past two weeks.
Nommensen said the award is good because it shows that the Panthers are getting noticed on many levels.
"I can't really complain and say we're getting no recognition," he said. "The last four weeks Jordan and I have done really well to the point that if we had not won it, it would have been a disappointment."
Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.
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