Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Reviewing Week Three of the 2016 Season

Another week in the books for Division II baseball, and another week or two until we have every team in the country out on the field.  We review this past weekend's results and highlight a plethora of teams that have gotten off to some impressive starts on the season and could find themselves breaking through in the top 25 sooner rather than later.


#1 St. Cloud State (3-0): The Huskies aren't on the field again until early March over Spring Break.

#2 Franklin Pierce (0-0): The Ravens will have to wait one more weekend to get their season started down in South Carolina when they play five games in three days.

#3 Millersville (3-1): Millersville will be back in action this weekend for three non-conference games in North Carolina against Pitt-Johnstown (2/19), Seton Hill (2/20) and Indiana (Pa.) (2/21).

#4 St. Edward's (6-3): SEU dominated UH-Victoria in a weekend sweep, winning 7-0, 3-1 and 12-1. In the opening game of the series, Collin Sherrod threw six innings of one-hit ball with six strikeouts. Andrew Boes finished out the one-hitter in the victory. In game two, J.D. Arrowood went deep for the first time this year, continuing his early-season tear. He's hitting .448 through nine games so far and leads the team in almost every offensive category. The 2015 draft pick is well on his way to improving his stock further. The Hilltoppers will welcome Midwest foe Drury in to town this weekend for a four-game series.

#5 Colorado Mesa (3-0): Mesa got their season started with a successful three-game sweep of Nebraska-Kearney over the weekend, winning 6-5, 6-0 and 11-7. James Young III knocked in five runs over the weekend and was 8-for-12 at the plate. Their starting pitching left a bit to be desired, as their starters allowed 10 earned runs in 12.1 innings of work on the mound, but the relievers did more than enough to get the Mavs to 3-0. They'll be part of one of the top series' in the country this weekend when they head to Riverside for a four-game series against #14 Cal Baptist.

#6 Tampa (8-1): The Spartans finally took a number in the loss tally against #10 West Florida, losing the last of their three-game series. Tampa won the first two games 5-3 and 5-4, but fell in a 1-0 game to end the weekend. It took extra innings in the opener of the series, as a Kevin Santa two-RBI double proved to be the game-winner in the 10th. In game two of the series, Tampa took a 4-2 lead in to the ninth inning, added an insurance run, which was well needed, and then allowed UWF to score a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth. The Argos stranded the tying run on second to end the game, however. In the final game, UWF's Walker O'Connor twirled an eight-inning gem with eight strikeouts and only five hits allowed. The Spartans have this weekend off before beginning conference play with a three-game series against Barry next weekend.

#7 Quincy (0-0): QU will begin their season next weekend down in Nashville for three games at a Trevecca Nazarene-hosted tournament.

#8 Missouri Southern (4-0): MSSU started their season undefeated, sweeping a four-game series from Bemidji State in Joplin by a combined score of 44-11. Joe Paulino and Chris Hoffman each hit a home run and drove in seven, while Tyler Sutherland hit a home run and drove in nine. Payton Walker threw eight innings of three-hit ball on the mound, while Cody Smith struck out nine in six innings with only two hits allowed in his start. The Lions play Northeastern State in a mid-week game before taking on McKendree for a three-game weekend series.

#9 Minnesota State (3-0): MSU got their season started with a three-game sweep down at Arkansas-Monticello, winning 3-2, 3-1 and 12-11 to begin the year. Josh Wenzel drove in five on the weekend for the Mavericks, while Brody Rodning struck out 11 in seven innings of work in his start to lead the starting pitching staff. MSU is off now until the beginning of March when they head down to Florida for 10 games in a week.

#10 West Florida (3-4): The Argos dropped the first L of the season on #6 Tampa in the final game of a three-game series. They fell in the first two games, 5-3 and 5-4, but picked up a 1-0 victory in the final game. That came after a 6-4 mid-week victory over Mobile. Against Tampa, the performance of the weekend came from Walker O'Connor in that final game of the series, as he threw eight innings of five-hit ball with eight strikeouts. On the season, Jean Figueroa is batting .346 to lead the Argos with two home runs and five RBI. Nic Strasser (2 HR, 7 RBI) and Ladeavon Matthews (3 HR, 6 RBI) are also bringing the big bats to the plate. UWF starts Gulf South play this weekend with a three-game series at Mississippi College.

#11 Florida Tech (4-5): FIT isn't off to the start they were hoping for after a successful 2015, going under .500 thus far on the season. Over the weekend, they dropped two games to Catawba (7-1 and 7-0) before beating Valdosta State 9-5. Reid Neal is still crushing it at the plate, hitting .333 with a home run and nine RBI on the year. Equally as impressive on the mound has been ace Ty Cohen, who is now 1-1 with a 0.60 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 15 innings. They will head to Augusta for a three-game series against Georgia Regents this weekend.

#12 Cal Poly Pomona (6-3): The Broncos opened up the weekend with three wins over Cal State-San Bernardino and UT-Permian Basin (twice), but they ended the weekend with a loss to UC San Diego and Cal State-Dominguez Hills, both non-conference. Michael Koval had the performance of the weekend for the starters on the mound for CPP, striking out nine in 5.2 innings of work with only three hits allowed in a 4-0 win against UTPB. Ryan Olson still leads the way for the staff of starters. He hasn't allowed a run in 10.1 innings of work with 13 strikeouts. In the first game of the weekend, against CSU San Bernardino, Max Bethell had the best relief performance of the year so far, striking out 11 (!) in four innings of work with one hit allowed. CPP is off this weekend, but faces a five-game week next week.

#13 Mercyhurst (3-1): The Lakers haven't been on the field since the end of January, but get back out there this weekend for three games against Post, Le Moyne and Mansfield in Virginia.

#14 Cal Baptist (5-1): Since dropping the first game of the season, the Lancers have gone on a five-game winning streak, including sweeping a three-game series from Cal State-Dominguez Hills over the weekend. Tyson Miller had the gem of the weekend for CBU in the opening game against CSU-DH, striking out 12 in a four-hit shutout of the Toros. The Lancers welcome in to town #5 Colorado Mesa for a four-game series this weekend.

#15 Southern Arkansas (7-3): The Muleriders went 4-1 in a busy week, beating Central Missouri (4-3), Oklahoma Christian (6-3) and Central Oklahoma (11-1) before falling to Washburn (13-5) at the SAU Invite. They ended their week with a 7-6 win over Mississippi College on Tuesday. Jake Tisevich (.400, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .471 OBP) and Trevor Rucker (.393, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .714 SLG) have been leading the offense, while Kenneth Tabor has been dominating on the mound, going 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 12 innings with only four (!) hits allowed for a .098 BA against. They'll begin GAC play this weekend with three games at Oklahoma Baptist.

#16 Nova Southeastern (3-5): NSU lost their only game of the week, a 7-4 setback to Colorado Christian. The Sharks are struggling mightily out of the gate and might not find themselves in the top 25 when the new rankings are released later this week. They'll face Tuskegee in a three-game series this weekend.

#17 West Alabama (6-1): The Tigers rolled over East Central in a four-game sweep (6-0, 6-4, 2-0, 6-5) to buoy their record early on in the season. Evan Anderson (7 IP, 3 H, 8 K) dominated in game one of the series, while Jorge Cruz (7 IP, 3 H, 6 K) was just as impressive in his own start. The UWA offense is hitting .296 as a team, led by Adam Chamblee (.381, 3 HR, 7 RBI, .857 SLG), while Anderson (2-0, 0.69 ERA, 11 K in 13 IP) and Cruz (0-0, 0.75 ERA, 11 K in 12 IP) have been anchoring the starting rotation so far. The Tigers face Stillman in a mid-week game before heading to Delta State for a three-game GSC set this weekend.

#18 Columbus State (5-2): CSU was impressive in a series victory over Lynn over the weekend. They dropped the first game of the series, 7-6, but their offense went bananas in the final two games, leading to 14-1 and 19-18 (!) victories. That is in addition to an 8-7 mid-week win over Albany State. The Cougars are averaging 13 runs a game in victories, and are hitting an absurd .336 as a team so far. Lake Hart (.667, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 1.417 SLG, .714 OBP) is leading the universe in hitting, putting up those numbers in only THREE games, led by a 3-for-4, three-run, six-RBI game in the 14-1 victory over Lynn. In the 19-18 victory, he was 3-for-6 with another three RBI. In that bananas game, CSU had 16-13 lead going in to the ninth, but gave up five runs to fall down 18-16 before a two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning sent the game to extras, where a bases loaded hit-by-pitch won it for the Cougars. This week, the Cougars will head to Young Harris for a three-game Peach Belt series.

#19 St. Leo (3-5): The Lions took it on the chin out in Hawaii over the weekend, getting swept away in a five-game series against Hawaii Pacific. That could lead to the end of St. Leo in the early-season top 25 for a while. They'll welcome Albany State in to town for a three-game series this weekend.

#20 Ashland (0-0): Ashland will enjoy their final free weekend of the off-season this weekend before heading to Evansville, Ind. for three games at a Southern Indiana-hosted tournament next weekend.

#21 Catawba (3-3): The Indians are still looking to find their footing, and had a good weekend at the Florida Tech tournament, going 2-1 with a pair of victories over hosts FIT (7-1 and 7-0) with a 2-1 loss to Valdosta State. Predictably, Will Albertson is leading the team in virtually every hitting category, batting .542 with 2 HR and 7 RBI in the six games. Catawba has already had a mid-week game against Winston-Salem State postponed, but they will welcome Shippensburg in to town for three games this weekend.

#22 Southern Indiana (0-0): One of the favorites in the Midwest region kicks their season off this weekend with a three-game series against Grand Valley State. The weather looks like it is going to cooperate, as well, which is a rarity for this annual early-season match-up.

#23 Southern New Hampshire (0-0): The Penmen begin their season next weekend when they had to South Carolina for five games in three days.

#24 Minnesota-Duluth (0-0): UMD will begin their season this weekend in Kansas, where they will face Pittsburg State in a four-game series.

#25t Lee (5-1): The Flames went 2-1 against Tiffin over the weekend, winning the bookend games (5-4 and 12-1) with a 2-0 loss in the middle. Ben Holland (.444, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 1.056 SLG, .560 OBP) has been a one-man wrecking crew for Lee at the plate, while the pitching staff has been absolutely crushing people, holding a team ERA of 1.26 and an opponent batting average of .153. Trenton Hill (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 15 K in 10 IP, 2 hits allowed) has been one of the best pitchers in the country so far through two starts. Lee welcomes Northwood in to town for a mid-week game before heading to Alabama-Huntsville for a three-game GSC set.

#25t East Stroudsburg (0-0): ESU will begin their season this weekend with three games at Chowan.

And beyond the top 25, here are some schools that are continuing their hot starts to the year:

Cal State-Monterey Bay (9-0): The Otters, without a doubt, have had the best start to the season based on both results and opponents faced. CSUMB swept a four-game series from Azusa Pacific (4-2, 14-3, 3-2, 14-12) and will take on CSU-Stanislaus in a pair of games this weekend in their quest to stay undefeated. The Otters are getting huge offensive performances from Hayden Duer (.522, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 1.000 SLG, .621 OBP), Myles Hager (.407, 4 HR, 11 RBI, .889 SLG) and Kevin Davidson (.306, 3 HR, 11 RBI), while Gabe Katich has went 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 12 innings on the mound, allowing only a .116 batting average against.

Dixie State (8-0): Along with CSUMB, the Red Storm are another team that has the potential to hit double digits before losing a game this season. They'll face Minot State and St. Martin's this weekend with an excellent chance to do just that. Drew McLaughlin (.516, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .742 SLG, .559 OBP) has been the threatening bat in the lineup, while the pitching staff has been overmatching opponents to the tune of a 1.52 team ERA and a .177 batting average against. Dylan File (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 15 K in 12 IP, 3 hits allowed, .073 BAA) has been one of the most dominating pitchers in the country so far this season.

West Georgia (7-0): Another early-season dominating team, UWG has beat Emmanuel (17-0), Pfeiffer (5-4, 3-2, 12-0), Stillman (9-4 and 8-1) along with Young Harris (10-1). So far, they are hitting .363 as a team, led by Caleb Lopes (.536, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .821 SLG, .594 OBP), Drew Eadyy (.370, 13 RBI) and Tyler Hutch (.333, 4 HR, 7 RBI, .800 SLG). On the mound, Brandon Goldsmith (2-0, 0.60 ERA, 6 H, 14 K in 15 IP, .125 BAA) and T.J. Watson (1-0, 1.12 ERA, 9 K in 8 IP) have been mowing down everyone they face, for the most part. UWG begins GSC play this weekend with three games on the road at North Alabama.

Hawaii Pacific (5-0): Though it is only one series, the Sharks were more than impressive in a five-game sweep of St. Leo. HPU hit .304 against St. Leo in the series, with a bevy of big numbers, including Tanner Tokunaga (.524, 2 2B, .583 OBP), Austin Inabata (.429, 3 RBI, .467 OBP), Christian Kapeliela (.429, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1.000 SLG, .583 OBP), Nolan Barraza (.381, 1 HR, 5 RBI) and Steven Camberos (.353, 1 HR, 8 RBI, .706 SLG, .478 OBP). On the mound, Rico Garcia went eight strong innings in his start, allowing five hits and one run with five strikeouts. They'll have another five-game series at home this week, this time against Felician College.

Newberry (8-2-1): The Wolves went 3-0 over the weekend, beating Brevard (4-2), King (11-5) and Young Harris (10-7) before dropping a 15-7 game at Erskine on Tuesday. Even with that, Newberry has been exceeding expectations against a very good early-season schedule. The offense has been led by a bevy of players, as eight hitters already have six RBI or more on the season, including Trejon Smith (.419, 9 RBI, .500 OBP) and Derek Olenchuk (.417, 10 RBI) who are both hitting over .400 so far. If the pitching staff can do better than a 5.12 team ERA, this will be a dangerous team to watch. They'll face Davis & Elkins for a three-game series this weekend at home.

Lander (7-2): The Bearcats just keep on winning so far in 2016, sweeping a three-game series from Flagler over the weekend (6-3, 6-1 and 5-4). Even though they are being out-hit so far (.244 team average compared to a .263 team average allowed), Lander keeps finding ways to win. Colby Lusignan (.313, 3 HR, 8 RBI, .463 OBP) and John Mangum (.276, 4 HR, 9 RBI, .690 SLG) have been the big bats in the lineup for the Bearcats, while J.D. Waite (2-0, 1.08 ERA, .164 BAA in 16.2 IP) has been the ace on the mound so far. Lander has faced some very stiff competition already this year, and it will only get tougher from here, as they face Claflin for a mid-week game before heading to USC Aiken for a three-game PBC series.

Mount Olive (3-1): Although they haven't gotten many games in yet, UMO is always a team to watch. The Trojans split with Lander to begin the season and then swept a doubleheader from Shepherd on February 6th. They'll get back in action this weekend with a three-game series against Florida Southern.

Coker (9-2): The Cobras are looking to get back to where they were a few years ago, and so far this season, have done a great job of that. They began the year with a split of a doubleheader against Paine, beat St. Andrews, took three-of-four from Chowan, beat Paine (22-6!), beat St. Augustine's (15-2) and then swept a doubleheader from Saint Rose this past weekend. The offense has already put up some huge numbers, led by Darius Coldiron (.421, 13 RBI, .521 OBP, .658 SLG) and Miguel Frias (.382, 3 HR, 16 RBI, .500 OBP, .824 SLG). They will face their stiffest competition this weekend with three games at Erskine.

UC San Diego (7-1): It is time for teams to start being scared of what UCSD might be capable of this season. The Tritons played six games in four games this past weekend and won five of them. They beat UT-Permian Basin (7-6, 8-1, 5-3), split with CSU-San Bernardino (8-2 loss, 9-1 win) and then capped their busy weekend with an impressive 6-2 non-conference win over Cal Poly Pomona. Tyler Plantier (.440, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .600 SLG) and Jack Larsen (.290, 3 HR, 11 RBI, .677 SLG) are raking at the plate, while the pitching staff is holding down a team ERA of 2.61 and a .215 batting average against. This weekend, the Tritons will welcome Concordia-Irvine in to town for four games.

Chico State (7-2): The Wildcats began their year with six straight victories, but lost a series to Academy of Art this past weekend, winning only the middle game 8-3. Clayton Gelfand is looking like one of the CCAA's best pitchers so far, going 1-1 with a 0.95 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 19 innings in his three starts so far. Chico heads to Oakland this weekend for a three-game series against Holy Names.

USC Aiken (6-1): The Pacers swept Armstrong State in a three-game series this past weekend and find themselves as one of the top contenders for the PBC this year. USCA has been led on offense by Brian Parreira (.423, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .808 SLG, .531 OBP) and Zach Moon (.320, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .640 SLG). The Pacers continue PBC play this weekend with three games against Lander, with a mid-week game against Wingate sprinkled in.

Lubbock Christian (7-0): Another one of our undefeateds so far this season, LCU has swept both Adams State and New Mexico Highlands in three-game sets, with a single victory over West Texas A&M in-between. The Chaps have scored at least seven runs in every game and are hitting nearly .400 (!) as a team. They have EIGHT players hitting at least .400 on the season so far, including Brett Wilhelm (.522, 4 2B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, .913 SLG, .593 OBP) and Hunter McFall (.423, 1 HR, 15 RBI). They'll face a big test this weekend with a three-game series against Angelo State. Speaking of...

Angelo State (5-1): The Rams swept three games from Texas A&M-International and took two of three from SE Oklahoma State this past weekend. All-American candidate Paxton DeLaGarza has predictably been the leader on offense, batting .440 with 2 HR, 11 RBI, an .840 SLG and a .500 OBP on the season. On the mound, Bryce Zak (2-0, 2.45 ERA, 18 K in 11 IP, .108 BAA) and Matt Shannon (1-1, 3.75 ERA, 16 K in 12 IP, .186 BAA) haven't been too keen on letting their fielders participate, striking out more than one an inning so far.

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