It is the last week of recapping what happened with the pre-season PerfectGame.org Top 25, and things are starting to shake out around the country. We are almost a month in to the season, and conference play begins very soon for much of the nation. This past weekend, we had a stellar D2 Diamond Series of the Week, and you can start to see who the contenders might be from here on out.
We will begin by covering the most recent happenings of the PerfectGame.org Top 25 before they are updated for the first time this year. Below the top 25 are a plethora of teams that have put up some good records to begin this season and should be candidates for moving up in to the rankings when they get updated this week.
1. Tampa (7-2): The Spartans split the first two games with #15 Southern Indiana over the weekend, with a 5-3 victory and then an 11-10 loss, and used a huge rally in the rubber game of the series to take a 15-7 victory and a series win against a potential national finals team.
2. Nova Southeastern (8-2): NSU had the weekend off, but played a crazy single game against Flagler on Tuesday (Feb. 21), which ended up in a 19-16 (!!!) victory for the Sharks. A host of huge numbers in the game. Flagler had five players with multiple RBI, including Josh Pagliel going 4-for-5 with 5 RBI, while NSU had five guys with multiple RBI as well, with Jancarlos Cintron going 3-for-5 with 5 RBI to lead the way.
3. West Florida (7-4): The Argos are on the comeback trail. Winners of seven of their last eight now, UWF dominated Mississippi College in a three-game series, 7-3, 6-2 and 11-3.
4. Cal Poly Pomona (4-7): CPP is continuing to struggle, dropping two-of-three to Cal State Monterey Bay in a non-conference match-up this weekend. The Broncos won game one, 4-2, but dropped the following two contests, 7-6 and 5-3.
5. USC Aiken (8-2): The previously-undefeated Pacers ran in to their toughest opponent of the year thus far, and dropped two-of-three to Mount Olive. UMO took the first two games, 12-10 and 1-0, before the Pacers picked up a victory in the finale, 9-6.
6. Lubbock Christian (8-4): The Chaps were swept in one of the top series' in the nation this past weekend by #21 Angelo State, 7-6, 14-6 and 4-3, but they picked up a notable victory in a single game on Tuesday (Feb. 21) against West Texas A&M, 3-2, a team that will probably be ranked this week.
7. Minnesota State (0-0): The Mavericks won't hit the field until February 25th, when they take on Minnesota-Crookston at U.S. Bank Stadium.
8. Colorado Mesa (5-3): CMU ran in to a surprising test in their home opening series, splitting a four-game set with Montana State-Billings. The Mavericks took the first two games, 9-7 and 13-6, before falling 9-5 and 7-2 in the final two contests.
9. Dixie State (8-3): The Trailblazers did not suffer a setback over the weekend, beating Concordia (Ore.) 17-0, and then beating Saint Martin's twice, 4-2 and 10-3 at home.
10. Belmont Abbey (7-6): Belmont Abbey began conference play with a series victory on the road at Emmanuel, dropping the first game 13-11 before picking up 12-4 and 13-0 victories in the final two games. They lost a 5-4 game against Wingate on Tuesday (Feb. 21), and will face Francis Marion on the road on Wednesday (Feb. 22).
11. Point Loma (6-3): The Sea Lions already did their work early in the week, sweeping Cal State Dominguez Hills in a doubleheader on Thursday (Feb. 16), 10-9 and 9-6. They are now off through next weekend before welcoming Hawaii Pacific in to town for a four-game set to begin PacWest play March 4th and 6th.
12. North Georgia (7-3): UNG might have had a bit of a hangover from their hard-fought series with Nova Southeastern, and dropped two-of-three at home to Lynn. Lynn took them down 12-11 and 8-0 before the Nighthawks picked up a 5-4 victory in the series finale.
13. Emporia State (7-2): The Hornets finished early-season non-conference play with two victories over Missouri S&T, 22-8 and 9-8, before dropping the finale 7-6 in extra innings on Sunday.
14. Franklin Pierce (0-0): As one of the dreaded non-Southern or non-Western teams, the Ravens will have to wait until the weekend of Feb. 23-26 for their first competition, when they head to Myrtle Beach, S.C. for the Ripken Experience against Felician, Queens (N.Y.), Wilmington and LIU Post.
15. Southern Indiana (1-2): USI began their year with the toughest test possible, heading down to #1 Tampa for a three-game set. The Screaming Eagles dropped the first game, 5-3, picked up an 11-10 victory in game two, and then had a lead over Tampa in the series finale before eventually falling, 15-7.
16. Mercyhurst (2-1): The Lakeshow began its season with a doubleheader sweep of West Virginia State, 13-7 and 2-0, before falling to Glenville State, 5-1, on the road.
17. St. Mary's (4-6): St. Mary's had a tough time at the Houston Winter Invitational at Minute Maid Park, falling in all three games of the tournament. They dropped contests to Tarleton State (9-6), Chico State (6-3) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (14-4).
18. Millersville (5-2): Millersville is already almost caught up to their loss-total from all of 2016, as they split a pair of doubleheaders. The 'Ville faced Charleston and lost 8-3 before picking up a 5-3 victory. The next day, they did the same with Pitt-Johnstown, dropping a 7-5 game and then gaining an 11-7 win.
19. Wayne State (Mich.) (2-1): One of the GLIAC favorites began its season on a high note, taking two-of-three against G-MAC favorite Trevecca Nazarene on the road. The Warriors won 9-5 in 14 innings to open the season, dropped a 2-0 game, and won the rubber match, 7-6, to finish their opening weekend.
20. Florida Tech (8-3): The Panthers keep rolling, picking up another series victory, this time over Spring Hill. FIT won 13-1, dropped a 19-6 game, and ended the series with a 7-0 victory. Andy Marzheuser (5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K) and Ty Cohen (7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 9 K) were mowing people down yet again.
21. Angelo State (8-1): The Rams are smoking right now, winners of eight in a row after sweeping #6 Lubbock Christian, 7-6, 14-6 and 4-3.
22. Augustana (2-6): We are thinking Augustana will not be long for these rankings after dropping two-of-three on the road at Lindenwood this past weekend. The Lions took 2-0 and 7-2 victories in the bookend games, while picking up a 3-2 victory in the middle contest.
23. Azusa Pacific (10-1): The Cougars are another one of the hottest teams in the country, winning nine in a row after sweeping all four games from San Francisco State, 4-0, 9-3, 7-3 and 3-2. Michael Fairchild was incredible in game one, allowing only one hit in eight innings of work with seven strikeouts.
24. Henderson State (7-3): The Reddies began conference play with a series victory over Southern Nazarene, winning 11-1 and 12-3 to begin the series, before falling 2-1 in the finale.
25. Lincoln Memorial (5-8): Might the Railsplitters be turning it around? LMU took two-of-three from Ohio Valley with 16-2 and 7-3 victories before ending the series with a 3-2 loss, then swept Kentucky State in a doubleheader, 5-4 and 14-2.
Here are some teams of note we want to talk about, because there are going to be quite a few Top 25 spots up for grabs when the first update of the season takes place on Wednesday, and we feel like these teams may get some looks at those spots:
Armstrong State (10-2): The Pirates have now won nine straight, although the last five have come against Salem International (x4) and Claflin. They should buoy their record some more this weekend before things ratchet up.
Barton (13-1): Barton had its win streak snapped at 13 games after sweeping Goldey-Beacom (21-3, 4-1, 11-8) over the weekend, but dropped an 8-7 game in 11 innings on the road at Chowan to put the first blemish in their loss column.
California Baptist (7-3): The Lancers struggled in their first series of the year, getting swept by Cal State Los Angeles, but have since won seven straight contests over Cal State Dominguez Hills (x3) and then this past weekend, when they swept all four from Northwest Nazarene.
Cal State San Marcos (10-2): The Cougars are now on our watch list after a four-game sweep of Concordia-Irvine, 14-8, 2-1, 4-3 and 10-9. They haven't faced much competition yet this season, but they should get a taste of that quickly, as they begin CCAA play this weekend with UC San Diego.
Cameron (10-1): Yet again, the Aggies are putting up huge numbers in the early portion of the season. Cameron swept William Jewell, 5-1, 5-2 and 9-8 to up their already-gaudy record.
Central Oklahoma (6-1): UCO had the weekend off, but faces SW Oklahoma State on Wednesday (Feb. 22).
Delta State (7-2): Delta State began GSC play by taking two-of-three from West Alabama on the road, winning 6-4 in the opener and 10-6 in the series finale sandwiched around a 10-5 loss.
Flagler (9-3): The Saints continue to show well, taking a series from Palm Beach Atlantic with 7-6 and 6-1 victories wrapped around a 12-4 loss in the middle game. They had a chance to make a big impression in their single game on Tuesday (Feb. 21) against Nova Southeastern, and they did just that...for the most part. Flagler had a big lead, but eventually fell in a wild 19-16 contest against the defending champions on the road.
Florida Southern (8-2): The Mocs put together an absurd weekend with a 17-1, 25-7, 15-2 sweep of Claflin, which turned out to be little more than a scrimmage weekend.
Francis Marion (10-1): FMU ran its season-opening winning streak to 10 games with 2-0 and 4-3 victories against Newberry to begin the weekend, but they fall in the series finale on Sunday, 8-3.
Hawaii Pacific (8-2): The Sharks are off to a good start to their season and enter our watch list. They took four-of-five at home from Philadelphia Sciences, the second straight series which they have done so to begin the year.
Lee (10-2): Lee is continuing to impress, having taken two-of-three from Alabama-Huntsville. The Flames won 5-2 and 3-1 in the opening doubleheader, before falling 10-9 in the series finale. They rebounded quickly with an 11-2 victory over Young Harris in a single game on Tuesday (Feb. 21).
Lenoir-Rhyne (11-1): The Bears had their nine-game streak snapped to start the season with a loss in the series opener against West Virginia Tech, 9-5, but they rebounded for 17-4 and 9-8 victories to finish out the weekend.
Mount Olive (7-3): UMO has faced one of the toughest schedules so far this year, sweeping Lander to begin the year, beating Florida Southern (while also taking a loss to FSC and Delta State), taking two-of-three from previously-unbeaten USC Aiken, and then picking up a victory over Saint Augustine's on Tuesday (Feb. 21).
NW Missouri State (8-2): The football school is continuing to rack up baseball victories, winning the weekend series on the road against Oklahoma Christian with 7-1 and 6-4 victories in the series-ending doubleheader sweep after dropping the opening game, 8-7.
Stanislaus State (10-1): The Warriors are now riding a nine-game winning streak after sweeping Simpson over the weekend, 4-2, 6-3 and 6-0.
Tarleton State (7-2): Tarleton had a successful weekend at the Houston Winter Invitational at Minute Maid Park, winning two-of-three games at the home of the Astros. Tarleton beat St. Mary's 9-6, dropped a 5-4 game to Central Missouri in 10 innings, and ended the weekend with a 13-5 victory over Arkansas-Fort Smith.
UC San Diego (8-2): UCSD won both games from Western Oregon, 5-0 and 9-3, as the two teams played only two of their scheduled four games on the weekend.
UNC Pembroke (9-1): The Braves have now won eight in a row after utterly destroying Saint Rose at home, 22-0, 5-0 and 16-2 over the weekend. Anthony Burke took home conference pitcher of the week honors after seven innings of two-hit ball with 10 strikeouts in the 22-0 victory, while Seth Hartings was named the freshman of the week off the heels of a 4-for-4, 5 RBI performance in game one of the series.
Union (10-1): Union began GSC play with a three-game sweep of Shorter (14-4, 11-5, 9-5) and are continuing to roll in the early season.
Valdosta State (9-3): The Blazers have faced a tough schedule to begin the year, and it should benefit them all season long. Valdosta took two-of-three from Christian Brothers over the weekend, dropping a 10-9 game to open and picking up 7-1 and 13-7 victories to end the weekend.
Washburn (8-3): The Ichabods split a four-game series with Drury on the road, dropping the opener (3-2) and finale (8-6) with a pair of victories in between (7-5 and 8-5).
West Texas A&M (9-1): The Buffs began the year 9-0 after sweeping Oklahoma Panhandle State, 22-1, 13-1 and 12-2 in easy weekend work, but had their winning streak snapped with a 3-2 loss at home against #6 Lubbock Christian. The loss to LCU wiped out what was a stellar outing of Marshall Kasowski, who struck out 16 batters in six innings.
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