Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Huge Winning Streaks Replaced by a New RMAC Contender? Plus, Where has the Midwest Gone?

We have another week of exciting Division II action to recap, as we look at the impressive run coming from Colorado State-Pueblo, a couple huge winning streaks coming to an end, Alabama-Huntsville dominating the Marquee Match-Up of the Week over North Alabama, and the immense struggles that the entire Midwest region is facing so far this season.

#1 Seton Hill (23-4) is still rolling. The Griffins rolled Indiana (Pa.) to the tune of a four-game sweep in PSAC play. This week, they should extend that 12-game winning streak even further as they take on West Liberty on Wednesday and face Clarion for four PSAC games this weekend.

#2 Tampa (24-7) continues to struggle...well...continues to struggle by Tampa standards. They began their week with a loss to Valdosta State. A convincing one, at that, finding themselves on the wrong end of 10-3. The Spartans, as they have been known to do, rebounded with a sweep of a tough Eckerd squad over the weekend. They will head to Fort Lauderdale for one of the biggest Division II series' of the year so far this weekend when they face Nova Southeastern for three games.

#3 Colorado Mesa (27-3) saw their winning streak come to an end at 21 games, but they still took three of four on the road against Adams State and are 19-1 in the RMAC. They will also be involved in a huge series this weekend on the Division II docket, when they welcome Colorado State-Pueblo in to town in what should be a series that decides the regular season RMAC champion.

#4 Nova Southeastern (26-6) had a tough weekend, dropping two of three to Lynn in SSC play, but got a victory over an impressive Palm Beach Atlantic team on Monday. The Sharks, still in the running for the top spot in the South region, face their biggest test of the year with a three-game set against Tampa this weekend.

#5 Franklin Pierce (21-2) still boast an impressive record and an even more impressive statistical sheet. However, it is still a little worrying that the two toughest opponents they have faced (Mount Olive (x2) and Southern New Hampshire) have both beat them, and the Ravens are 1-2 against them. They fell to SNH in a 3-2 10-inning contest last Wednesday, then walloped Saint Michael's in two games over the weekend with the third getting postponed. This week, they'll face Saint Anselm and American International before facing off with Stonehill over the weekend in a three-game series.

#6 Alabama-Huntsville (23-4-1) had the most impressive week of any member of the PerfectGame Division II Top 25, sweeping North Alabama in a three-game series. They went on to beat Miles in a Monday contest, and will face Miles in a doubleheader on Tuesday. The Chargers will welcome Valdosta State in to town for a three-game GSC series.

#7 Minnesota State (13-1) has won eight in a row, but had their two games with Wisconsin-Parkside cancelled last week. They will make up for it this week with a scheduled seven games on the docket. They face a huge test with a doubleheader against St. Cloud State on Tuesday, a single game against Gustavus Adolphus on Wednesday and a four-game NSIC set against Minnesota-Duluth over the weekend.

#8 St. Mary's (22-6) had a surprising weekend, dropping two of three to Texas-Permian Basin to end their long winning streak. They will face a great test this week with a single game against Angelo State before continuing Heartland Conference play with three against Newman this weekend.

#9 Cal Poly Pomona (22-8) took three of four from Cal State Dominguez Hills over the weekend to continue their impressive season, but the competition will ratchet up in a big way this weekend with four against UC San Diego in a split series. The Broncos and Tritons will face off at UCSD for a game on Thursday and Friday before finishing the series with a Saturday doubleheader in Pomona.

#10 Mount Olive (24-9) beat Catawba and then dominated Emmanuel (Ga.) in a three-game series, and have scored in double digits in five straight games going in to this week. The Trojans will face Saint Augustine's for a mid-week game before heading to Erskine for a huge three-game conference set this weekend.

#11 St. Cloud State (23-1) officially had the chances of an undefeated Division II squad derailed over the weekend, dropping the final game of a four-game series against Augustana (S.D.), ending their beginning-of-the-season winning streak at 23. The Huskies will have to be on top of their game to avoid that turning in to a losing streak, as they will face Minnesota State in a doubleheader on Tuesday before taking on Wayne State (Neb.) in a four-game NSIC set over the weekend.

#12 Saint Leo (27-6) swept Rollins over the weekend to move to 10-0 on the road, but they will return to the friendly confines of their own field (where they are 13-5) for a seven-game homestand. It begins with another big series on the national landscape as they face Lynn in three games this weekend.

#13 Emporia State (19-7) took three of four from Southwest Baptist over the weekend to hang around the middle of the rankings for another week. They will face Missouri Southern State on Tuesday before heading to Nebraska-Kearney for a four-game MIAA schedule this weekend.

#14 UC San Diego (22-9) took three of four over Sonoma State to continue their impressive run of CCAA series without a series loss. They will face their biggest test of the year with four games against Cal Poly Pomona this weekend in a top 15 match-up.

#15 Florida Tech (26-5) is doing plenty to prove that they are in this for the long haul, although the toughest part of their schedule is yet to come. In the meantime, they took two of three from Florida Southern after losing a mid-week game to Flagler, and will have another weekend to prove their mettle with a single mid-week game against Palm Beach Atlantic and a three-game SSC series at Barry.

#16 Columbus State (21-10) turned back the clock to their lofty pre-season ranking and swept an impressive Flagler team over the weekend. They should, key word "should", have an easy week ahead of them, facing Point on Tuesday, Auburn-Montgomery on Wednesday and welcoming Georgia Southwestern in for a three-game series this weekend.

#17 Angelo State (20-10) may have made their appearance in the top 25 rankings brief, as the Rams, who were at one point 18-4, have now lost six of their last eight after dropping three of four to Eastern New Mexico. They will face a rolling St. Mary's team in a mid-week game before attempting to get back on track against Cameron in a three-game LSC series this weekend.

#18 Flagler (23-7) won a mid-week game over Florida Tech, but got swept by a talented Columbus State squad. I think they have done enough this year to remain in the rankings going forward, and they will have an opportunity prove that this week with a mid-week game against Valdosta State and a three-game PBC series against Georgia Regents.

#19 Mercyhurst (19-1) is still killing it, sweeping Gannon in a four-game PSAC series, outscoring GU 13-3, including shutouts in the last two games. They will face a talented Lake Erie team on Tuesday before facing Pittsburgh-Johnstown in four games this weekend.

#20 Erskine (27-5) beat Georgia College & State in a mid-week game, but surprisingly lost two of three to Pfeiffer in Conference Carolinas play over the weekend. It will not get any easier this week, as the Flying Fleet will face Lander and Anderson in mid-week games before facing Mount Olive in a three-game conference set this weekend.

#21 Catawba (27-5) took on a mid-week loss to Mount Olive, but rebounded over the rest of the week, beating Winston-Salem State and then sweeping Coker in conference play. They will face Pfeiffer and Winston-Salem State (again) in mid-week contests before welcoming Wingate in to town for a three-game conference series.

#22 Colorado State-Pueblo (25-3) ran their winning streak to 15, battering Colorado Christian to the tune of 49 runs in a four-game sweep. As mentioned before, however, the Thunderwolves will face Colorado Mesa in a gigantic four-game RMAC series that will most likely determine the regular season champion in the conference.

#23 St. Edward's (24-8) has won six straight after beating Texas A&M-Kingsville in a mid-week game and then sweeping Lubbock Christian in a three-game conference series. They can make another statement this weekend with a three-game set against Arkansas-Fort Smith.

#24 Grand Valley State (12-8) took two of three from Saginaw Valley State, but the final game of the series was moved to Tuesday. The Lakers had their pitching staff step up in the last two games, having held the Cardinals to one run in the last two games, so there may be an upward trend coming if they can continue to have success in the GLIAC on the mound.

#25 Southern Indiana (6-12), I believe, has finally made the dive from top-ranked team to out of the rankings this week after losing three of four to Saint Joseph's (Ind.). They will have a busy week coming up, with GLVC doubleheaders against Bellarmine on Wednesday and then Indianapolis this weekend.

Lynn (25-7) may have finally played themselves in to the rankings after flirting with the top 25 for weeks now. The Fighting Knights took a mid-week game against Florida Memorial before winning two of three against Nova Southeastern. The bats have been impressive as of late, scoring at least nine runs in five of their last six games. They will need that to keep going as they head to Saint Leo this weekend for a three-game conference set.

Armstrong State (24-7) beat USC Beaufort in a mid-week game and took the series-opener at North Georgia, but dropped the last two of the series. They will have an opportunity to get back on track this week with a Tuesday game at Belmont Abbey and a conference series against Montevallo.

USC Aiken (21-11) took two of three from Montevallo and could find themselves inching back in to the rankings with a game against Paine and a three-game conference set against UNC Pembroke this weekend.

UNC Pembroke (24-7) may have found the huge offensive success that they had early on this season. The Braves have scored at least eight runs in their last seven games, all victories, including double digit performances in six of those contests. During their winning streak, they have outscored their opponents 94-17, and that might be enough to start a trend back towards where they were ranked earlier this year.

Dixie State (20-8) is another team that started the year in the rankings but quickly played themselves out of it, losing the first seven games of the season. If you can do simple math, however, you can tell that that means the Red Storm have won 20 of their last 21 games, including the last eight. Sitting at 15-1 in the PacWest, they will face a stiff test in Fresno Pacific this weekend for four games.

Southern Arkansas (22-12) fell out of the rankings last week, but won three of four last week, with a win over Henderson State and two of three over Harding. This week, they will face LSU-Shreveport for a single game and a three-game series against Arkansas Tech.

One team we may have written off a little too early is Trevecca Nazarene (16-11). The Trojans have won seven straight after a disappointing start to the season. This was to be expected to some degree, as they are going to be the class of the G-MAC regardless. They have scored at least nine runs in their last six games, outscoring their opponents 70-9 in that time, including a four-game sweep of Salem International over the weekend. They will face Montevallo in a pair of mid-week games before a four-game weekend series against Davis & Elkins. The schedule is promising for TNU, considering both the opponents and 16 of their next 18 games  being at home, in addition to the four against Salem over the weekend.

Ashland (17-7) is looking like the class of the GLIAC after a four-game sweep of Ohio Dominican over the weekend. They should have a prime opportunity to up that record with four games against Tiffin this upcoming weekend.

With the struggles that Southern Indiana has had, the GLVC is looking to find a team to replace them at the top of the standings and so far, overall record-wise, it has been William Jewell (18-5). The Cardinals split a four-game series with Truman State (16-6) over the weekend, the next-best team in the GLVC in terms of record. Both may find themselves inch towards the rankings if they can take control of the conference going forward, as well as Quincy (15-6), the team that is currently leading the conference with an 11-1 record. I hate to say it as a native to the area, but right now, the entire Midwest region is looking like a dumpster fire with both Southern Indiana and GVSU struggling compared to past years. When the top teams in the region so far appear to be William Jewell and Trevecca Nazarene (with perennial contender Ashland looking strong, to be fair), things are looking bleak. Here is to hoping this little rant turns things around.

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