The NCAA released its first set of official regional rankings this week, and it has set up a fantastic weekend of games, as we have 11 match-ups between regionally ranked squads and another that will have some big implications. All of those games are listed below, so strap in for a weekend that will see some major shake-ups going forward!
Teams will be listed with their PerfectGame.org ranking and official NCAA regional ranking first, with their record behind them.
First, we will reveal what series will get our "Marquee Match-Up of the Week" treatment:
#17/Atlantic #1 Mercyhurst (30-4, 20-4 PSAC) vs #4/Atlantic #3 Seton Hill (37-7, 20-4 PSAC) (4/24 (DH @ Seton Hill), 4/25 (DH @ Mercyhurst)): This will be our Marquee Match-Up of the Week this weekend, as the top two teams in the PSAC will fight it out for the regular season crown in the conference as well as the driver's seat position in the Atlantic region. It was a little surprising to find Mercyhurst at #1 in this week's rankings in the region, but these two teams have been so evenly matched all year, that they are more or less interchangeable. It isn't often that you get a pair of top-20 teams in the country, top-3 teams in the region and a pair of teams tied for the conference lead facing off in the last weekend of the regular season, which is what we will have here.
Second, here are the links to follow along with the three conference tournaments that are taking place this weekend, as the Conference Carolinas, SAC and SIAC have already reached their postseason:
2015 Conference Carolinas Tournament
Seeds: #1 Mount Olive (#3 SE), #2 Erskine, #3 Pfeiffer, #4 King, #5 Belmont Abbey, #6 North Greenville
2015 South Atlantic Conference Tournament
Seeds: #1 Catawba (#1 SE), #2 Newberry (#6 SE), #3 Tusculum, #4 Lincoln Memorial, #5 Wingate, #6 Anderson, #7 Brevard, #8 Carson-Newman
2015 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament
Seeds: #1W Stillman, #1E Benedict, #2W Miles, #2E Claflin, #3W Tuskegee, #3E Albany State, #4W Kentucky State, #4E Paine
And here are the plethora of other regionally-ranked match-ups taking place this weekend:
East #5 Dowling (21-9, 10-6 ECC) vs East #6 St. Thomas Aquinas (22-10-1, 12-4 ECC) (4/24 (DH @ STA), 4/26 (DH @ Dowling)): Another tilt between a conference's top two teams, and this time it will most likely be an elimination match-up considering their regional ranking positions, as they currently occupy the final two spots available to make the tournament. A split probably keeps both teams in play, but a series victory either way may deal one of them a blow.
Midwest #2 Truman State (26-14, 17-11 GLVC) @ Midwest #4 Missouri-St. Louis (21-11, 15-11 GLVC) (4/25 (DH), 4/26 (DH)): Not only does the GLVC occupy the top four spots in the Midwest regional rankings, but it is four GLVC teams from the same division occupying the top four spots in the Midwest region. I have to believe that can't hold true through the final two weeks of the regular season and the conference tournament, which means jockeying for position right now is key.
#5/South #2 Alabama-Huntsville (35-6-1, 21-6-1 GSC) @ #20/South #3 West Alabama (33-9, 23-6 GSC) (4/25 (DH), 4/26): Both of these teams should comfortably make the tournament in the torture chamber that is the South region, although with a bevy of SSC teams battling it out all around them in the rankings, who knows. Not only is this a match-up between a pair of top-3 teams in the country's toughest region, but UWA holds a 1.5 game advantage over UAH in the GSC standings heading in to this final weekend of play.
South #8 Saint Leo (32-11, 12-9 SSC) @ #7/South #5 Tampa (31-11, 12-6 SSC) (4/24, 4/25 (DH)): After some mid-season struggles for Tampa, they are certainly surging late, and this sets up pretty well for them. Sitting only two games back in the SSC and on the bubble in the regional rankings, the Spartans get a chance to take on another regionally-ranked opponent this week before finishing their regular season with the last-place team in the conference. A series victory this weekend for the Spartans most likely moves them up a spot in the region going in to what should be an easy slate next weekend.
South Central #4 West Texas A&M (29-15, 18-11 LSC) @ South Central #7 Tarleton State (19-18, 12-14 LSC) (4/25, 4/26 (DH)): It was a little surprising to find a barely-above .500 Tarleton State team ranked in the South Central region, but a non-conference schedule that included four games against St. Mary's helped them out. However, they still find themselves on the outside looking in, making this a more important weekend for them than for the Buffs.
South Central #6 Texas A&M-Kingsville (26-17, 20-9 LSC) @ South Central #5 Angelo State (29-14, 16-13 LSC) (4/24, 4/25 (DH)): It is certainly a logjam in the regional rankings when you have four teams from one conference occupying four bubble spots in the rankings, all facing off against one another this weekend. This weekend should go a long way in sorting things out, provided we don't get a pair of splits. TAMU-K is ranked ahead of Angelo in the rankings, but holds a four-game lead over the Rams in the LSC standings and is two games up on WTAM.
#11/Southeast #5 Columbus State (33-12, 15-11 PBC) @ Southeast #8 Armstrong State (28-11, 16-7 PBC) (4/25 (DH), 4/26): Armstrong needs this series in a bad way considering their current regional ranking, as they are just on the cusp of being ranked. CSU is sitting in the middle of the pack in the conference standings, but a tough schedule this season looks like it should have them comfortably in the regional tournament field barring a collapse.
Southeast #7 Flagler (31-12, 17-9 PBC) @ USC Aiken (30-13, 16-11 PBC) (4/25 (DH), 4/26): This is the final weekend of PBC play, and while North Georgia has the PBC wrapped up, the regional rankings are far from concrete. USC Aiken isn't currently ranked, but I have to think they are just barely on the outside looking in, and they have a chance to make a late-season surge considering this series, plus a three-game set with the Southeast's top team in Catawba next weekend. This is another series which is more or less an elimination weekend, and with Flagler finishing their regular season with this series and USC Aiken having the ability to make a big splash next weekend, this is a big series for the Saints.
West #4 California Baptist (25-17, 17-7 PacWest) @ West #3 Point Loma (31-10, 17-7 PacWest) (4/23, 4/24, 4/25 (DH)): These two teams are tied for second-place in the PacWest behind Dixie State, who are facing a stiff test themselves this weekend, opening the door for a big change in the standings come the weekend's conclusion. I would anticipate both these teams will hang on to a spot inside the regional tournament provided there isn't a sweep either way.
West #6 Dixie State (27-13, 20-4 PacWest) @ West #2 Azusa Pacific (27-15, 17-11 PacWest) (4/23, 4/24 (DH), 4/25): This match-up is between the first-place and fourth-place teams in the PacWest, but the tables are turned when ti comes to the regional rankings, where APU is comfortably in the field right now while the Red Storm are the last squad in currently. So while Dixie State does have a three-game lead in the PacWest standings, they will need a great showing to hang on to a regional tournament spot in next week's rankings.
West #8 Cal State Dominguez Hills (23-19, 17-15 CCAA) @ West #7 Cal State Monterey Bay (25-17, 20-12 CCAA) (4/24, 4/25 (DH), 4/26): For all intents and purposes, this might as well be an elimination weekend for both of these teams. They are both on the bubble in the regional rankings, which means if there is a 3-1 or 4-0 series win either way this weekend, the team on the short end of the result can most likely wave goodbye to their regional tournament hopes.
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