Janie BoschmaGoing Streaking is a weekly prediction column in which Nick Gourdoux and Frank Pellegrino, the two sports editors of The Spectator, compete head-to-head in attempt to see who can accurately predict more sporting events.
Frank: It wasn’t as good of a start as I would have liked in my first week of predictions, but I certainly could have done worse. I went three for five to give myself an incredibly average .600 prediction percentage. If I were a baseball player, those kinds of statistics would make me the greatest of all time. But I’m not. Likewise, I was unable to streak together any predictions, making my best streak a whooping total of 1. Don’t lose faith in me yet Eau Claire sports fans, I still plan on beating out my fellow sports editor Nick Gourdoux, who predicted the same amount correct as me.
Nick: Last week, my coeditor Frank and I only differed on only two different predictions, and we each won one and lost the other. Because of that, we find ourselves tied with a prediction percentage of .600 after week one.
I predicted that the football game would have a combined score of 35 points, but the game ended in a 21-7 Blugold victory. The only other prediction I got wrong was that the soccer team would score before their opponent, but the game ended in a 0-0 tie. I gained back the ground I lost when Frank and I differed on the final Eau Claire prediction – how many teams would walk away victoriously. I predicted 3 or fewer, Frank chose more than four. It was close in the end, with 3 teams winning and the women’s golf team coming second overall in their tournament.
Here are this week’s predictions.
Volleyball – how many times will the Blugolds top 45 kills in a match this weekend in the Augsburg Tournament? (A) 2 or fewer (B) 3 or more ?
Frank: The volleyball team has a high powered offense and remains undefeated, but that doesn’t mean I have lofty expectations for them. In six matches they have only topped 45 kills just twice this entire season. With less matches than that this weekend, five, I don’t see the volleyball team doing it more than twice. My vote: 2 or fewer
Nick: In the team’s previous six games this season the Eau Claire volleyball team has only recorded more than 45 kills twice – 52 against UW-Whitewater, and 56 against Gustavus Adolphus. They have, however, recorded two games with 42 kills. Historically the Blugolds have been evenly matched with Macalester (Minn.) and St. Benedict (Minn.), winning 30 of the previous 53 meetings against the teams. That means the matches are more likely to reach four or five games, creating more opportunities for kills. I will predict (B) three or more games of 45 or more kills.
Golf – Who will finish higher in their tournament this weekend? (A) Women’s Golf (B) Men’s Golf or tie.
Frank: With an excellent start to the season, the women’s team placed 2nd out of 21 last weekend at their home invite. Such an impressive opener gives me high expectations for them. Furthermore, this is the men’s first tournament of the season, so I expect them to still be knocking off some rust. My vote: Women’s golf.
Nick: The women’s golf team is coming off an impressive second place finish in last week’s Doug Georgianni Memorial Invite, which featured 20 other competing schools. The Men’s team, on the other hand, has yet to begin their season. I’ll stick with the hot team and predict that (A) the women’s golf team will finish higher.
Football – How many total yards will the EC offense have in the game? (A) 320 or more yards (B) Less than 320 ?
Frank: Last season’s offense netted a huge total of 3392 yards in just 10 games for an average of 339.2 yards per game. The Blugolds got off on the right foot in their first game this year going for a total of 358 yards. I think Eau Claire has the experience on offense to get it down, and I don’t see St. Johns (Minn.) being able to slow them down. My vote: 320 yards or more.
Nick: Frank decided to change this question last minute probably because he wants to cheat his way to a victory, but more likely because the original stats weren’t posted online. Because of that, I have to throw away countless hours of statistical analysis and simply go with my gut that the team will record (B) Less than 320 yards.
Soccer – How many total shots will both teams have? (A) 25 or more (B) Less than 25
Frank: Eau Claire is averaging just over 15 shots per game and Wheaton is averaging 17. I can do math, if you add those up you get 32. But, there are other factors that go into this one. Eau Claire and Wheaton are both national soccer powerhouses and haven’t had a challenge yet like they both should against each other. I see this game being more of a defensive struggle. My vote: Less than 25
Nick: Once again Frank changed the question last minute, forcing me to change my prediction. This is a tough one because Blugold soccer games this season have averaged a combined 21 shots per game. Wheaton College has a pretty good offense that has averaged 17 shots per game, but they also allow slightly less than seven shots per game, bringing their per game total to just fewer than 24. It will be close, but I think the teams will finish with (B) less than 25 shots.
National – Who will win this matchup? (A) Minnesota Twins (B) Toronto Blue Jays
Frank: The twins haven’t been “hot” lately, but they’ve definitely been playing better than they had for most of the year. Scott Baker (Twins) is 13-7 on the year with a 4.34 ERA which isn’t sparkling, but certainly better than Brett Cecil’s (Blue Jays) 6-4 record with a 5.46 ERA. On top of that all, the twins are still technically in the playoff hunt. My vote: Minnesota Twins.
Nick: I was originally leaning toward the Blue Jays because their starter, Brett Cecil, is a left-handed pitcher, which does not bode well for the Twin’s lefty heavy lineup. Then, I looked at the Blue Jay’s lineup, and saw that it wasn’t as formidable as I once thought it was. I’m going to have to go with (A) the Minnesota Twins.
