Wednesday, May 13, 2015

2015 Division II Central Region Preview

It is finally postseason time for NCAA Division II baseball, as the regional tournaments have been revealed and teams begin preparing for the run to Cary, N.C. and the Division II Baseball Finals at the USA National Training Complex. Below, we take a look at each of the teams in the region to provide a preview for fans to get a sense of what to expect as this week rolls on.
(Seed. Team (Overall Record) (SOS Rank, Opp. WP, Record vs regional teams))
1. St. Cloud State (51-3) (100th, .520, 1-1)
2. Minnesota State (41-7) (33rd, .555, 5-1)
3. Emporia State (39-14) (120th, .514, 2-1)
4. Southern Arkansas (39-16) (183rd, .492, 5-2)
5. Missouri Southern St. (40-12) (189th, .490, 1-2)
6. Henderson State (27-19) (202nd, .484, 2-4)
Played at St. Cloud, Minn. (Joe Faber Field)

2015 NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament Page

If there is one team you are going to look at to compete with the obscene numbers that Franklin Pierce features, it is going to be St. Cloud State. The Huskies have a spectacular offense, one of the best in the country, as well as a mind-numbing pitching staff that is putting up huge numbers. I am a little wary of teams who enter the postseason with a huge winning streak (SCSU has a W21 going right now), because the law of averages is not on your side, but we will see how the Huskies respond to it.

Here are some highlights of the SCSU hitters: All nine regular starters are hitting .320 or above. All nine of them have at least 10 doubles on the season. Eight of them have at least three home runs this year, and all of them have driven in at least 29 runs.

The Huskies offense is 2nd in the country in batting average (.363), 2nd in hits (654), 3rd in runs (466), 4th in scoring (8.8 runs/game), 4th in OBP (.432), 5th in slugging (.549), 12th in doubles (123), and 19th in home runs (60).

There are a lot of very worthy names in the SCSU lineup to highlight, but to save anyone from reading a novel, I will just let you know about the two power hitters in the middle of the lineup. Catcher Michael Jurgella (.421, 60 R, 16 2B, 14 HR, 67 RBI, .738 SLG, .491 OBP) and infielder Zak Hoffman (.396, 48 R, 15 2B, 14 HR, 67 RBI, .711 SLG, .444 OBP), who have matching HR and RBI numbers to torture opposing pitching staffs.

The Huskies' pitching staff has thrown 17 complete games this season, led by Sheldon Miks, who is 10-0 with a 0.92 ERA, 7 complete games, 4 shutouts, and a 54/10 K/BB ratio in 78.1 innings of work, holding opposing hitters to a .188 batting average. Miks is 3rd in Division II in WHIP (0.77), 7th in ERA (0.92) and 7th in complete games.

Beyond Miks in the rotation is another three guys who are going to make up what is most likely the top pitching staff in this region. Reese Gregory (11-0, 1.78 ERA, 17 app., 9 GS, 4 CG, 3 SHO, 6 SV, 86/17 K/BB in 70.2 IP), Garrett Harrison (8-0, 2.42 ERA, 4 CG, 2 SHO, 67 K in 67 IP) and Logan Spitzack (5-0, 3.13 ERA, 1 CG, 29 K in 46 IP) are going to be holding the majority of hitters in check, while swing guys Kevin Bolder (4-0, 2.39 ERA, 14 app., 2 GS, 32 K in 37.2 IP) and Ryan Diers (8-0, 3.88 ERA, 14 app., 7 GS, 54 K in 53.1 IP) will carry the starting torch deep in to the weekend, if needed.

In case you wondering, yes, the staff as a whole is also all over the Division II leaderboards. As a team, SCSU is 1st in shutouts (13), 6th in ERA (2.78), 11th in WHIP (1.21) and 12th in hits allowed per nine innings (7.86).

Now we get in to the team who was part of the most absurd box score of the entire college baseball season, Minnesota State, who owns the best SOS in this region by a wide margin, most likely due to their defeating three Midwest regional tournament teams four times in a matter of three days on their Spring Break Florida trip.

Perhaps buoyed a bit by the aforementioned game, the Mavericks still feature the top team batting average in all of Division II at .364. They also rank 6th in OBP (.429), 7th in doubles per game (2.46), 12th in scoring (8.5 runs/game), 12th in hits (588), 15th in doubles (118) and 20th in slugging (.517).

Without a doubt, the biggest bat in the MSU lineup belongs to Max Waletich, who is 9th in D-II with a .444 batting average and 25th in OBP (.506). He also has 11 doubles, 9 homers, 52 RBI, and a .695 slugging percentage to go with only 9 strikeouts in 151 at-bats. Most-likely All-American catcher Nolan Johnson isn't far behind in many of those categories, hitting .399 with 42 runs, 22 doubles, 5 home runs, 41 RBI, a .601 slugging percentage and only 11 strikeouts in 183 at-bats.

As a team, the Mavericks have 10 guys who have started at least 29 games who are hitting .316 or better. The most impressive part of the team may be that not a single hitter has struck out more than 19 times. The squad has drawn 140 walks as a team and only struck out 171 times, which, it isn't readily available in the NCAA statistics, but I have to think is the top batting ratio in the country.

The pitching staff doesn't have any gaudy numbers, but they are able to go five-deep comfortably. Dalton Roach (5-1, 2.08 ERA, 12 app., 8 GS, 2 CG, 2 SHO, 58 K in 47.2 IP, .187 BAA), Joey Reed (2-2, 3.83 ERA, 8 GS, 25 K in 42.1 IP), Mitchell Bauer (4-2, 3.88 ERA, 10 app., 8 GS, 35 K in 48.2 IP) and Aaron Rozek (6-0, 4.07 ERA, 11 GS, 2 CG, 41 K in 48.2 IP) are all mainly starters, with Brody Rodning (8-0, 2.98 ERA, 13 app., 6 GS, 2 CG, 51 K in 57.1 IP) serving in a spot role and leading the team in innings pitched.

Beyond those more-than-capable starters, Dakota Belter (3-1, 1.82 ERA, 20 app., 11 SV, 23 K in 29.2 IP) and Christian Howell (6-0, 3.60 ERA, 10 app., 1 GS, 13 K in 25 IP) provide reliability out of the bullpen for the Mavericks.

If balanced teams aren't your style, you can whet your appetite with Emporia State, a team that features quite possibly the national hitter of the year, part of a lineup that is 3rd in Division II in home runs (77), 4th in slugging (.550), 6th in home runs per game (1.45), 7th in runs (450), 8th in hits (598), 9th in doubles (124), 10th in stolen bases (104), 12th in doubles per game (2.34), 14th in scoring (8.5 runs/game) and 19th in batting average (.335). The Hornets are going to be one of the top teams in regional competition when it comes to the basepaths, going 104-for-131 on stolen base attempts this season.

The main cog to that well-oiled machine is Dean Long, who is 3rd in Division II in RBI (80), 7th in home runs (23), 7th in RBI per game (1.51), 8th in HR per game (0.43), 9th in total bases (163) and 11th in slugging (.811). Long leads the Hornets in all of those categories, and is also hitting .363 with 63 runs scored, 19 doubles and a team-leading 19 HBP's with a .455 OBP.

Joining him in putting up huge numbers in this ESU lineup is Justin Harris (.426, 69 R, 25 2B, 5 3B, 4 HR, 39 RBI, .644 SLG, .490 OBP, 27/34 SB) and Evan Koehler (.369, 49 R, 13 2B, 14 HR, 62 RBI, .657 SLG, .441 OBP). Harris is 3rd in the nation in hits, 3rd in doubles, 8th in runs and 14th in stolen bases, while Koehler's 14 home runs are inside the top 30 and his 62 RBI are 21st in the nation.

Unfortunately for ESU, the shortcomings of the squad fall on the pitching staff. Only one starter is holding an ERA under 4.00, with Travis Hendry (9-1, 3.97 ERA, 15 app., 12 GS, 51 K in 70.1 IP) leading the way in that venture. As a team, the Hornets are carrying a 5.60 team ERA and have allowed a .302 batting average against. If they want to get deep in to the weekend, it is going to take a lot of high-scoring games, I feel, but ESU has the horses to do just that at the plate.

The Muleriders of Southern Arkansas had a bit of a rocky start to the season, beginning the year in a couple rankings' top 10 before starting the year 6-5. Once they got in to conference play, the talent started showing, and it led them to the conference title, led by a very balanced attack.

At the plate, there are no huge numbers, but there is a big bat in the middle of the Mulerider lineup with Billy Germaine (.333, 48 R, 15 2B, 11 HR, 62 RBI, .613 SLG, .422 OBP), who leads the team in nearly every category. Southern Arkansas also benefits from a speedster in Trevor Rucker, who is 24/28 on stolen base attempts, and a guy who can do absolutely anything to get on base in Korey Keith, who is among the nation's leaders with 42 walks, carrying a .468 OBP.

SAU has a pair of absolute workhorses that lead the way on their pitching staff. Landon Simpson (9-4, 2.69 ERA, 16 GS, 5 CG, 4 SHO, 72/21 K/BB in 107 IP) and Preston Gray (7-4, 4.28 ERA, 13 GS, 3 CG, 53/18 K/BB in 82 IP) nearly double up everyone else on the staff in terms of innings pitched, creating a bit of a problem if the Muleriders advance in to weekend play. They have some swing starters with good numbers in Timothy Buchanan (2-1, 2.04 ERA, 5 GS, 26/1 K/BB in 39.2 IP) and Hunter Mayo (6-0, 3.00 ERA, 15 app., 7 GS, 42 K in 45 IP), but will probably need those top two arms to eat up as many innings as possible to save some arms for the weekend.

Missouri Southern State is another well-balanced team, which leans on a great defense (.973 fielding percentage, 9th in Division II), a disciplined pitching staff and an opportunistic offense to get them victories.

The Lions' staff don't have gaudy numbers, but they do have pitchers who are going to make you earn your way on. MSSU is 3rd in Division II in K/BB ratio at 3.54, thanks to 396 strikeouts and only 112 walks. The pitching staff is 6th in Division II in walks allowed per nine innings (2.43) and 20th in WHIP (1.28) to go along with 7 shutouts.

Payton Walker (8-2, 2.78 ERA, 13 GS, 7 CG, 84/16 K/BB in 77.2 IP) and Cody Hutchinson (10-0, 2.99 ERA, 13 app., 11 GS, 7 CG, 74/16 K/BB in 84.1 IP) do a spectacular job at leading the MSSU staff and setting the tone, doing yeoman's work on the mound. When they aren't sitting down the majority of batters, super-utility man Chris Hoffman (4-1, 3.73 ERA, 8 app., 6 GS, 2 CG, 25/5 K/BB in 41 IP) is a very productive spot starter for the Lions, going at least six innings in five of his starts.

The reason Hoffman is a super-utility kind of guy? Well, he is also the three-spot in a consistent lineup, boasting the 20th-best batting average in Division II baseball at .431 and leading the Lions with 55 runs scored, 15 doubles, 3 triples, 126 total bases, a .493 on-base percentage and 18 stolen bases. He does a great job at getting on and getting over for the big bat in the lineup, Jesse Rall (.387, 46 R, 12 2B, 16 HR, 60 RBI, .767 SLG, .477 OBP), who is 15th in the nation in home runs, 17th in slugging and 27th in RBI.

Celebration is in order for Henderson State, as the Reddies qualified for their first NCAA regional baseball tournament, but they will have a tall task at hand, especially when it comes to their first game of the tournament against SCSU.

HSU has five hitters in their lineup batting over .320, led by utility-man Jordan Taylor (.363, 23 R, 10 2B, 2 HR, 28 RBI, .421 OBP), Claude Johnson (.354, 37 R, 12 2B, 9 HR, 37 RBI, .584 SLG, .434 OBP) and Lance Fields (.320, 29 R, 10 2B, 4 HR, 25 RBI, .471 SLG), who also leads the team with 11 stolen bases.

The pitching rotation for the Reddies is led by Chris Hunt (5-3, 2.99 ERA, 38 K in 75.1 IP, .230 BAA) and Colton Lorance (5-4, 3.75 ERA 24 K in 69.2 IP), who are not going to blow away any opposing hitters, but should do a good job at limiting any damage and eating up innings to get the ball to Nick Vanthillo (5-1, 1.73 ERA, 23 app., 11 SV, 35 K in 36.1 IP, .190 BAA) and aforementioned Jordan Taylor (2-2, 3.58 ERA, 18 app., 26/4 K/BB in 27.2 IP).

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