Another Eventful Week in D-II Baseball as Conference Play Gets Started

Another week, another spectacular slate of games in Division II. This week, we will switch things up a little bit to get some more content up. I'll be listing below a bunch of very notable D-II match-ups happening this weekend, and tomorrow we will go in-depth on a couple of them to highlight the details of those match-ups and, who knows, maybe give some predictions.


First, there are a pair of match-ups that I will get in to more depth on Thursday night. I guess you could qualify this as my "Series of the Week" kind of thing, and I will be giving that qualifier to a pair of match-ups this weekend that will both have some huge implications on their respective regional rankings. These match-ups will get their own posts on Thursday with some notes on the games and links of how to follow the contests:

#17 Chico State (6-4) at #25 UC San Diego (13-7) (3/6, 3/7 (DH), 3/8): This will be a series that I will preview in depth Thursday night, as bitter rivals face off in CCAA play as the other half to the big weekend on the West Coast. The main course will come in the opener, where reigning conference and regional pitcher of the week Justin Donatella will face off against Chico State All-American Luke Barker. Combined, those two guys are 4-1 with 29 hits, 4 earned runs, 7 walks and 55 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched this year. Check back in tomorrow for some notes on the series and links to where to follow the series.

#16 Nova Southeastern (13-3) at #10 Saint Leo (17-1) (3/6, 3/7 (DH)): Probably the top series in the country this weekend, a huge Sunshine State Conference match-up that should give some clarity to the three-team race of NSU, SLU and Florida Tech when it comes to who will be second behind Tampa. This will be another series that I will preview in depth on Thursday night for everyone, including notes and links to where to follow the series.

Here are the other notable contests to keep tabs on as the weekend goes:

#9 Grand Valley State (3-0) vs #11 Minnesota State (0-0) (3/5 (DH)): Probably the top series of the week in Division II, as the Mavericks get their season started down in Florida. MSU returns a plethora of high-quality hitters, including the best catcher in Division II in Nolan Johnson and other quality big sticks like Max Waletich and Eric Peterson.. However, the Mavericks are going to have to find a new starting pitching staff as they return only six starts from last season, five belonging to Josh Matheson and one belonging to Joey Reed. This doubleheader on Thursday seems like it could be a high-scoring affair, as the Lakers will be down to their #5 and #6 starting pitchers and MSU begins their year, which is always a tough thing to do against a team that has a few games under their belt, and will hope to find their groove quickly. GVSU is coming off a pretty important sweep of fellow GLIAC favorite Ashland for Midwest regional purposes, and this is a chance for both these teams to establish themselves as favorites in their respective regions.

Lynn (11-3) at #19 Florida Tech (15-0) (3/6, 3/7 (DH)): The Panthers have been crushing their competition so far this season, and they'll get a chance to establish that dominance in the conference as they welcome perennial contender Lynn in to town. FIT has a few quality wins so far this year, at USC Aiken (11-4), at Florida Southern (11-0) and at Eckerd (4-2), but this will be their first opportunity in an extended series to prove their worth.

#18 Angelo State (14-1) at Tarleton State (6-4) (3/7, 3/8 (DH), 3/9): Angelo has been one of the most impressive teams in the country thus far, albeit against fairly weak competition. They did tally a sweep of Lubbock Christian and are riding a 13-game winning streak, and this is an opportunity in conference play against a quality opponent to move up the rankings.

#22 Erskine (14-1) vs Belmont Abbey (8-4) (3/6, 3/7 (DH)): The Flying Fleet have not had much of a test this season, and this will be their first opportunity against a good quality opponent to prove their worth, just as Angelo State will be doing.

#2 Seton Hill (3-2) vs Lake Erie (0-1) (3/6 (DH)): This may not seem like a big series, but Lake Erie was a Midwest regional team last season and returns almost everyone from that squad. They gave #1 Tampa a scare on Tuesday and should have two wins under their belt by the time this series kicks off on Friday after facing University of the Sciences. I wouldn't be surprised with a split here as Lake Erie should roll through the rest of their non-conference schedule.

#12 Cal Poly Pomona (11-3) at Cal State Monterey Bay (12-4) (3/6, 3/7 (DH), 3/8): A huge CCAA match-up that will be big for both teams. As of right now, the CCAA seems to be a wide-open conference, and this series paired with the Chico/UCSD series will go a long way in determining how the rest of the season should shake out.

Point Loma (12-3) at Azusa Pacific (12-3) (3/6 (DH), 3/7 (DH)): A pair of up-and-coming teams on the Division II baseball landscape will do battle. APU has been great this season, winning three of four against Cal State Monterey Bay, splitting with Cal Poly Pomona and getting a quality win over UC San Diego earlier this year. Point Loma, which by the way, might have the best view of any baseball stadium in the country, has some quality wins of their own, taking three of four from Cal State San Bernardino, and a victory of their own over UC San Diego. These two teams, as well as Fresno Pacific and Hawaii Pacific, will most likely be the top contenders in the Pac West this year.

Lenoir-Rhyne (11-6) at Catawba (12-4) (3/7 (DH), 3/8): L-R will be looking to stop the bleeding, having lost six of their last seven, while Catawba has won nine of their last 10 and they look to vault back in to the rankings.

Lander (9-8) at Armstrong State (13-3) (3/7 (DH), 3/8): Armstrong is still looking to break in to the rankings and enter the game on a four-game winning streak, while Lander is looking to rebound from a stretch of seven losses in nine games in the middle of February. They may be on the rebound, having tossed a no-hitter against Young Harris over the weekend and taking down Newberry earlier this week.

#14 UNC Pembroke (13-2) at Flagler (13-2) (3/7 (DH), 3/8): A big Peach Belt Conference series, as Flagler is still looking to get the benefit of the doubt and jump in to the rankings, while UNC Pembroke has slowed a bit since winning their first 11 games of the season. UNC-P will have another win under their belt after facing St. Andrews today, while Flagler will get a good test in Florida Southern before this series takes place.