2013 Michigan Dodgeball Cup Preview

mdc-2013The oldest and most prestigious regular season tournament for the NCDA will meet again this Saturday at IM West. Hosted by the #4 Michigan State Spartans, the tournament also includes #5 Grand Valley, #6 Saginaw Valley, and #7 Central Michigan.

MSU is coming off a slightly disappointing result at the 2013 Chicago Dodgeball Open, where a 14 man squad couldn’t take down the #3 JMU Dukes. However, the last time the team had a full 20 man roster, they were inches away from defeating Grand Valley for the first time in school history. State also got great news in that Alex Acton (MSU #72) is cleared to play and ready to go for the tournament. With the probablility that Eric Paul (MSU #9) will be out for the weekend, Acton’s return comes at a good time for MSU. He’s a do-it-all player who has historically played well against GVSU. It’s going to take a team effort however to take down the three foes they’re getting this weekend though.

The first opponent for MSU is Central Michigan, a team the Spartans dispatched 7-1 in November. However, that Chippewa team was playing with 10 men, and their best all-around player, Bryce Corrion (CMU #00-A) wasn’t playing up to his best. The key to MSU’s success in the first match against CMU was their catching. CMU may have the best catching lineup in the country, but the Spartans turned the tides on the Chips. After a disastrous first point in which State threw a handful of catches, MSU turned it around and began to play smarter and catch the Chippewas’ solo throws. If CMU has a full 20 man roster, or even 15, they could be tough for MSU. But if MSU plays as a team, then they should be able to handle CMU.

After that Michigan State will take on the Cardinals of SVSU, who will definitely want payback for their loss earlier in the season to MSU (5-0 at Ohio State.) Led by Max Siler (SVSU #38-C), the Cardinals have had an up and down season so far, starting the season off 0-2, but they’ve won 4 of their last 5, including a victory at home over GVSU. The main weapons for the Cards are Spencer Jardine (SVSU #77) and Jordan Elliot (SVSU #11), their two best power throwers and in Jardine’s case, a top five player in the NCDA. The Spartans will need to limit their damage and force the other players to either beat them or make mistakes, and MSU needs to capitalize on their mistakes.

The Spartans’ last game will be against GVSU, a team they have never beaten. They also have never been as close to beating them as when they played last, a 3-2 OT loss that came down to literally inches. It was the first time the Spartans had forced overtime on the Lakers, and only the second time they’d held a lead on GVSU in the last five seasons. State will need to play a complete game to beat GVSU, and all 20 players will need to play to their ability. The three captains for GVSU are the main threat to MSU, but they are definitely not the only threat. The Lakers go 20 deep with talent, and can produce outs many different ways.