Yet another incredible weekend of Division II baseball has wrapped up, and there is a lot to recap. Nova Southeastern dominated Saint Leo in one of our "Marquee Match-Ups of the Week", while UC San Diego rolled over Chico State in the other. Azusa Pacific threw the third no-hitter of the Division II season, while Lake Erie College scored an absurd 31 runs in a single game.
The Sharks of NSU had probably the most impressive weekend of any Division II squad, traveling to Saint Leo and then promptly sweeping them in a three-game series behind the bat of Justin Garcia, who went 5-for-10 with five runs, seven RBI and four home runs in the first two games of the series, with three of those home runs and six of those RBI in game two alone. Saint Leo came in to the series as one of the most impressive offensive squads so far this year, and they were held to one run in the opener and two in the series closer. They did put up 11 in the middle game, but ultimately were outscored 25-14 in the series as NSU will most likely vault themselves near the top five when the next rankings come out, sitting now at 16-3.
In our other Marquee Match-Up of the Week, we highlighted the West coast rivalry of UC San Diego and Chico State, and the Tritons certainly made an impression. The opener of the four-game series had a top-notch pitching battle, with Chico State All-American Luke Barker going up against reigning West Region Pitcher of the Week Justin Donatella, and it was Donatella who had the upper hand in this one, although the pitching match-up certainly lived up to the billing. UCSD took the game by a 6-0 score behind Donatella's 7.1 shutout innings, where he allowed five hits and two walks with nine strikeouts. Chad Rieser closed the game out with 1.2 innings of shutout ball. Barker did not disappoint, either, going six innings, allowing only three hits, one unearned run and two walks to go with six strikeouts. Three errors behind the Chico pitchers led to the loss, as only one of the six runs the Tritons scored was earned. The remaining three games went to UCSD as well, 10-7, 4-3, 4-2, as the Tritons moved to 17-7 overall on the year and took over the CCAA lead with a 13-3 conference record.
Not to be outdone from the two no-hitters that were highlighted last week, Azusa Pacific threw their hat in the ring on Friday against Point Loma, tossing the Cougars' first nine-inning no-hitter since 1980 and their first as a Division II member behind the arms of Josh Staumont, Billy Sanford, Josh Grajeda and Jonathan Velasco in a 5-0 victory. Staumont labored through 116 pitches, tossing 6.2 innings of no-hit ball with four walks and an impressive 14 strikeouts. Sanford finished off the seventh with a K, while Grajeda and Velasco went each of the last two innings to finish off the gem. Azusa is quietly putting up an impressive season so far as a member of the PacWest, sitting at 15-4 on the year and 6-2 in the conference. They have some quality victories earlier in the year, including taking three of four from Cal State Monterey Bay, a 10-inning victory over Cal Poly Pomona and a 6-2 win over UC San Diego.
Lastly, our ridiculous box score of the week award goes to a contest between University of the Sciences and Lake Erie College. LEC, a Midwest regional tournament team last season, and a squad that nearly pulled off an upset of Tampa to begin their year last week, pulled out a 31-18 victory. Yes, 31-18. Six Storm hitters had at least two hits, and six Storm hitters had multi-RBI in the game, as well. Zach DeCamp led the way, going 6-for-6 with five runs, six RBI, a walk, two doubles and a home run. Aaron Lindgren drove in five, Dylan Yankle drove in four, and Lucas Raley was 4-for-7 with four runs and three RBI. For USciences, 22 of the 31 runs were earned, and they also issued 11 walks to only three strikeouts. LEC's pitchers didn't fare much better, giving up 17 earned runs and 13 walks to only five strikeouts. Despite the lackluster pitching performance for the Storm, they went on to split with #2 Seton Hill a few days later and beat West Chester after that. They are 3-4 on the year now, but I anticipate them competing for a spot in the Midwest regional tournament yet again this season. We also want to give a "get well" to Lou Peterlin, who went 2-for-3 with three runs and an RBI (with a homer) in the game, who had a nasty injury in a loss to Mars Hill during the week.
With all those highlights pointed out, let's get in to a recap for the past week's top 25 and some other notable squads.
#1 Tampa (17-3) had a surprisingly bad week by Tampa standards, going 3-2 with a loss to Cedarville and taking two of three from Barry. In the three wins, however, the Spartans scored 13, 12 and 20 runs, so they are still rolling. They will take on West Chester this week before heading to Florida Southern for a weekend series.
#2 Seton Hill (8-3) started slowly, but they found their groove late in the week and are on a five-game winning streak. After the split with Lake Erie, they went on to beat Saginaw Valley State and Mansfield, and swept Ohio Valley earlier today. Their Florida spring trip will continue with single games against Mansfield and Tiffin this week before they face California (Pa.) four times this weekend to open PSAC play.
#3 Mount Olive (17-3) continues to roll and should hold on to their top three spot. They split with Lenoir-Rhyne last week, then swept Limestone in conference action over the weekend. They will face a stiff test with Armstrong State on Tuesday before facing Barton in a three-game series this weekend.
#4 Southern Indiana (1-2) had their sixth, seventh and eighth straight games cancelled, and still haven't played since they opened the season in Tampa back on Valentine's Day weekend. However, with mild weather hitting the region, they were finally able to get back on the field today, and are currently playing Oakland City. They will face Notre Dame College twice this week and begin GLVC play with four games against Truman State this weekend.
#5 Colorado Mesa (16-2) might be the hottest team in the country right now, riding an 11-game winning streak after sweeping a four-game series from Metro State over the weekend. Already 8-0 in the RMAC, they will continue conference play with four games against Colorado Mines this weekend.
#6 Alabama-Huntsville (12-1-1) had a flawless weekend as well, sweeping three from Shorter. Their competition will hit an uptick this weekend with a three-game series against West Florida. They will also face Montevallo in a mid-week game.
#7 Emporia State (9-3) won three games against Central Oklahoma, with the fourth being wiped out due to weather. They will face Colorado Mines in a mid-week game before facing undefeated Washburn in a huge four-game MIAA series this weekend.
#8 Franklin Pierce (8-0) stayed unblemished with two wins over Queens, who they will face four more times this weekend. They will also face Assumption for one game on Thursday.
#9 Grand Valley State (6-4) had a rather disappointing week in Florida, mostly thanks to some abysmal pitching so far this year. The returning hitters are raking, as expected, led by Jamie Potts, Kevin Zak and Mike Nadratowski, but the pitching staff is letting the offense down. After beating Gannon in a wild game early last week and sweeping fellow GLIAC favorite Ashland in a non-conference series to start their trip 3-0, they lost a pair of heartbreakers to Minnesota State, beat Lewis and split with Drury. The week was capped off with a loss to Florida Southern, but they ended their spring break trip on a high note, beating Wayne State College, 8-7, in their bottom of the ninth at-bats. They will be looking to get back on track this weekend in Nashville with a game against Trevecca Nazarene and a doubleheader against Alderson Broaddus.
#10 Saint Leo (17-4) had their worst week of the year, beating Saint Anselm in a mid-week game before getting swept in the aforementioned series with Nova Southeastern. After a pair of mid-week games this week against Slippery Rock and Ohio Valley, things won't get any easier, as they will face Florida Tech in a three-game conference series, another squad that has been awfully impressive to begin the year.
#11 Minnesota State (5-1) has had a solid start to their year, beating Grand Valley State (twice), Drury, Ashland and Ohio Dominican. Surprisingly, they fell to Northwood today, but should up their record a little more the rest of this week with games against Alderson Broaddus, Saint Joseph's and a pair against Wayne State (Mich.).
#12 Cal Poly Pomona (14-4) had a solid showing, taking three of four from Cal State Monterey Bay, a quality series victory. The Broncos will face Sonoma State in a four-game series this weekend to try and up their 6-2 conference record.
#13 St. Mary's (15-4) is riding an 11-game winning streak now after sweeping a three-game series at Rogers State. A mid-week game with TAMU-Kingsville this week was cancelled, but they will face a quality opponent this weekend with three games against Lubbock Christian.
#14 UNC Pembroke (14-5) ran in to the buzzsaw that is Flagler College this weekend, getting swept in the three-game series. The Braves will look to get back to their winning ways this week with a non-conference game against Coker and a three-game set with North Georgia.
#15 Columbus State (12-7) is still trying to make their comeback trail after going 2-0 against West Florida last week. The Cougars face Tuskegee and Stillman this week before a three-game conference series with Georgia College.
#16 Nova Southeastern (16-3) dominated Saint Leo in their three-game weekend sweep to set themselves up nicely going in to this week's rankings. The Sharks probably won't be slowing down this week, either, with a game against American International, three against Adelphi and a Monday match-up with Bridgeport.
#17 Chico State (6-8) took it on the chin with that four-game sweep at the hands of UC San Diego, but will look to get back on track with a four-game CCAA set against Cal State San Bernardino this weekend.
#18 Angelo State (16-2) is still rolling behind the arm of Steve Naemark (4-0, 0.77 ERA, 52/6 K/BB in 35 IP, 23 H), as they went 2-1 against Tarleton State this past weekend. They will face West Texas A&M in a four-game LSC set this weekend.
#19 Florida Tech (18-1) carries a gaudy record as of right now, despite taking their first loss of the year against Lynn over the weekend. They still took two of three in the series, then beat Drury in a non-conference match-up. They will face Winona State in a mid-week contest before a huge three-game set at Saint Leo.
#20 USC Aiken (14-6) is now on a four-game winning streak after sweeping Georgia Southwestern in dominating fashion. They will face Chowan twice this week before what should be a very competitive three-game series with Francis Marion this weekend.
#21 St. Cloud State (9-0) continued their unblemished start to the year with four wins, beating Malone, SW Minnesota State, Bemidji State and Arizona Christian. It doesn't look like they will be slowing down anytime soon, either, with a schedule this week that includes Briar Cliff, Northern State (DH), Bemidji State, Winnipeg and Minot State before they face off with Lubbock Christian next Monday.
#22 Erskine (17-1) made a statement with a three-game sweep of Belmont Abbey over the weekend, and should continue to up that impressive record this week with games against GRU Augusta, Brevard and three against Southern Wesleyan.
#23 Mercyhurst (5-0) got their year started with four wins against Lock Haven and one against Coker. This week, they will face Pfeiffer before taking on Slippery Rock in a four-game PSAC series.
#24 Southern Arkansas (14-8) took two of three from Northwestern Oklahoma State and will face Ouachita Baptist in a three-game set this weekend. They also will have a quality opponent in the middle of the week, when they travel to Delta State.
#25 UC San Diego (17-7) should cement themselves in the middle of these rankings after that sweep of Chico State, and they will have this week off to think about their success.
Washburn (14-0) is rolling, as the Ichabods went 5-0 last week with a win against Bemidji State and a four-game sweep of Pittsburg State. They are hitting .366 as a team so far, including Riley Krane hitting .512 and slugging an absurd .907. They are also tearing up the basepaths, going 31-for-43 on steals through 14 games. The pitching isn't far behind, carrying a 3.71 team ERA so far. If they are still undefeated following this weekend's four-game series against Emporia State, they will have proven themselves to be a big time contender as the season rolls on.
I think we will finally see Flagler (17-2) land in the rankings this week after an impressive 4-0 week over Florida Southern and a three-game sweep of UNC Pembroke. They should push that gaudy record even higher this week with a game against Trinity Baptist and a three-game series against Young Harris.
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