Friday, April 14, 2017

Heading North for the D2 Diamond Series of the Week in Week 11

We are actually hitting the home stretch for a couple of conferences, while we are just ramping up the drama in a majority of conferences this weekend. That is evident in our pick for the D2 Diamond Series of the Week. It is a pretty early weekend for most teams due to the Easter holiday, so make sure to take it all in early, and check out as much D-II baseball action as you can take!


Disclaimer: THE RANKINGS BELOW ARE NOT OUR RANKINGS. WE DO NOT DO RANKINGS. THESE ARE THE RANKINGS FROM THE MOST RECENT PERFECTGAME.ORG DIVISION II TOP 25 RANKINGS, WHICH CAN BE SEEN BY CLICKING HERE. THANK YOU!

There are a lot of very similar match-ups taking place this weekend. A bunch of ranked teams taking on solid conference foes who are not ranked, but no world-stopping match-ups are jumping off the page this weekend. With that said, we'll tag our D2 Diamond Series of the Week as a match-up between the top two teams in a conference in an area of the country we haven't touched on too much this season:

Northwood (24-7, 11-2 GLIAC) at #23 Wayne State (Mich.) (22-9, 12-2 GLIAC)
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Game One (Friday, 4/14, 1 p.m. ET): NU Tyler Jandron (7-0, 2.78) vs WS Chris Horvath (5-1, 2.65) Live Stats
Game Two (Friday, 4/14, 3:30 p.m. ET): NU Ian Dimitrie (3-2, 2.74) vs WS Hunter Brown (2-0, 1.98) Live Stats
Game Three (Saturday, 4/15, 12 p.m. ET): NU Matt Pearsall (2-2, 3.21) vs WS Jared Tobey (2-3, 5.84) Live Stats
Game Four (Saturday, 4/15, 2:30 p.m. ET): NU Logan Meadors (2-2, 6.95) vs WS Tyler Waldrop (2-1, 4.23) Live Stats
(Projected pitching match-ups are based exclusively on prior series' pitching rotations and should not be considered official in any way.)

We haven't given too much attention to Northern and Eastern schools yet, but here we are with a big match-up between the two top teams in the GLIAC, one of the Midwest Region's two main conferences. Northwood is hitting .331 as a team with a solid 3.65 team ERA, while Wayne State is hitting .275 as a team with a 3.68 team ERA. Northwood would appear to have the edge offensively in a pitching wash. Both teams are entering the weekend with an eight-game winning streak, and should one of these teams come away with three or four victories, they should be in the driver's seat for the regular season crown.

#21 Lynn (25-13, 8-7 SSC) at #1 Tampa (24-10, 10-2 SSC)
Sunshine State Conference
Game One (Friday, 4/14, 6 p.m. ET): Live Stats | Live Video
Game Two (Saturday, 4/15, 1 p.m. ET): Live Stats | Live Video
Game Three (Saturday, 4/15, 4 p.m. ET): Live Stats | Live Video

#2 North Georgia (30-7, 14-4 PBC) at Columbus State (23-14, 11-7 PBC)
Peach Belt Conference
Game One (Friday, 4/14, 6 p.m. ET): Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio
Game Two (Saturday, 4/15, 2 p.m. ET): Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio
Game Three (Sunday, 4/16, 1 p.m. ET): Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio

Francis Marion (27-14, 8-10 PBC) at #6 USC Aiken (28-10, 12-6 PBC)
Peach Belt Conference
Game One (Friday, 4/14, 6:30 p.m. ET): Live Stats | Live Video
Game Two (Saturday, 4/15, 2 p.m. ET): Live Stats | Live Video
Game Three (Saturday, 4/15, 5 p.m. ET): Live Stats | Live Video

California Baptist (25-14, 16-9 PacWest) vs #9 Azusa Pacific (30-5, 17-4 PacWest)
PacWest Conference
Game One at APU (Thursday, 4/13): CBU 6, APU 1 (Box Score)
Game Two at APU (Friday, 4/14, 5 p.m. PT): Live Stats | Live Video
Game Three at CBU (Saturday, 4/15, 12 p.m. PT): Live Stats | Live Video
Game Four at CBU (Saturday, 4/15, 3 p.m. PT): Live Stats | Live Video

#19 Delta State (29-8, 19-5 GSC) at West Florida (23-15, 15-9 GSC)
Gulf South Conference
Game One (Friday, 4/14, 2 p.m. CT): Live Stats | Live Video
Game Two (Friday, 4/14, 5 p.m. CT): Live Stats | Live Video
Game Three (Saturday, 4/15, 1 p.m. CT): Live Stats | Live Video

Eastern New Mexico (27-12, 5-6 LSC) at Texas A&M-Kingsville (21-10, 7-2 LSC)
Lone Star Conference
Game One (Thursday, 4/13): TAMUK 8, ENMU 1 (Box Score)
Game Two (Friday, 4/14, 3 p.m. CT): Live Stats | Live Video
Game Three (Friday, 4/14, 6 p.m. CT): Live Stats | Live Video
Game Four (Saturday, 4/15, 1 p.m. CT): Live Stats | Live Video

Catawba (27-12, 13-5 SAC) at Tusculum (24-12, 13-5 SAC)
South Atlantic Conference
Game One (Friday, 4/14, 6 p.m. ET): Live Stats
Game Two (Saturday, 4/15, 1 p.m. ET): Live Stats
Game Three (Saturday, 4/15, 4 p.m. ET): Live Stats

Here is what the schedule looks like for the teams in the most recent PerfectGame.org Division II Top 25 rankings:

1. Tampa (24-10, 10-2 SSC): The Spartans' grasp on the top spot seems to be slipping, but they'll have a chance to cement their spot a little more securely if they can come away with a big weekend against #21 Lynn this weekend at home, where they face the Fighting Knights in three games.

2. North Georgia (30-7, 14-4 PBC): UNG heads on the road to face a pesky Columbus State squad in three conference games, along with a single game at home against Auburn-Montgomery on Wednesday (Apr. 19).

3. Chico State (28-7, 21-3 CCAA): The Wildcats will be looking to rebound from their first conference series loss of the season by returning home to face Cal State-Los Angeles in three games this weekend.

4. Emporia State (29-8, 18-5 MIAA): ESU hits the road for three conference contests against Northeastern State, and then will face Washburn for a single game on Tuesday (Apr. 18).

5. Mercyhurst (23-2, 11-1 PSAC): The Lakers are rolling in the PSAC, and they will look to keep that going with four games against Clarion in a split series this weekend, followed by a single contest against Lake Erie at home on Tuesday (Apr. 18).

6. USC Aiken (28-10, 12-6 PBC): USCA has won seven of its last eight games, and the Pacers will try and keep that run going with three conference games at home against Francis Marion, plus a single game on Wednesday (Apr. 19) against Newberry in non-conference action.

7. Angelo State (26-8, 8-3 LSC): The Rams will try and inflate their conference record with three games at home against Texas A&M-International, followed by a single game at home against St. Mary's on Tuesday (Apr. 18).

8. Dixie State (29-9, 18-6 PacWest): Dixie State has this weekend off as it prepares for a long week in Hawaii, where they'll begin with four games at Hawaii Pacific next weekend.

9. Azusa Pacific (30-5, 17-4 PacWest): The Cougars already dropped the first of their four-game series against California Baptist, 6-1 on Thursday (Apr. 13), but there are three more games on the docket between the two the rest of this weekend.

10. Lubbock Christian (28-10, 11-3 Heartland): The Chaps captured the first two games of its weekend against Oklahoma Panhandle, 1-0 and 16-2, and they'll have one more contest to play against the Aggies on Friday (Apr. 14).

11. UC San Diego (24-8,16-6 CCAA): UCSD, coming off its big series victory over #3 Chico State, may have had a bit of a hangover, suffering a 7-1 loss to open up its weekend series against Cal Poly Pomona at home. The two teams will face off for three more contests this weekend.

12. Colorado Mesa (27-8, 19-2 RMAC): The Mavs are riding a 14-game winning streak in to the weekend, where they will be on the road facing Regis in four more conference tilts.

13. Nova Southeastern (24-14, 10-6 SSC): The Sharks have dropped three straight after falling 3-2 to begin their series against Rollins, and they'll face the Tars two more times this weekend.

14. Mount Olive (34-7, 19-2 Conf. Carolinas): UMO is hitting the road for three games against Erskine this weekend, followed by a pair of mid-week games at home against Chowan.

15. Florida Southern (26-8, 7-5 SSC): FSC is coming off a tough weekend where the squad took a series loss after entering with a 17-game winning streak, and they'll face a tough Lander squad for three non-conference games this weekend.

16. Minnesota State (27-6, 22-2 NSIC): MSU split the first two games of its weekend with St. Cloud State, with a 5-2 loss and 10-3 victory on Thursday (Apr. 13), and they'll face the Huskies two more times on Friday (Apr. 14).

17. Southern Arkansas (29-7, 22-2 GAC): The class of the GAC is on the road this weekend for three conference games against Harding, followed by a single game at home against Texas A&M-Texarkana on Monday (Apr. 17) and a single contest against Arkansas Tech on Tuesday (Apr. 18).

18. West Texas A&M (26-8, 7-1 LSC): WTAM is on the road this weekend for four games against Cameron in conference action.

19. Delta State (29-8, 19-5 GSC): The Statesmen take a seven-game winning streak on the road to West Florida for three conference games, followed by a single game at home against D1 Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday (Apr. 18).

20. Georgia College (26-9, 12-6 PBC): Seven straight victories are in the pocket of the Bobcats heading in to a three-game conference series against Augusta at home.

21. Lynn (25-13, 8-7 SSC): Lynn doesn't boast a great conference record, but the team can certainly strengthen its post-season resume with a good weekend against #1 Tampa, there the Fighting Knights face the Spartans in three games on the road this weekend.

22. Central Missouri (24-11, 15-8 MIAA): The Mules won 11-8 over Missouri Southern to begin their weekend series, and they'll face the Lions twice more this weekend. UCM will also take on SW Baptist in a single game on Tuesday (Apr. 18).

23. Wayne State (Mich.) (22-9, 12-2 GLIAC): An eight-game winning streak is on the line for the Warriors as they head in to our D2 Diamond Series of the Week against Northwood for four games, a series between the top two teams in the conference so far.

24. Belmont Abbey (26-15, 16-8 Conf. Carolinas): The Crusaders have the weekend off, but will face Lander at home in a single contest on Tuesday (Apr. 18).

25. West Chester (18-6, 9-3 PSAC): WCU has had quite a lot of games cancelled this season, but they keep finding the win column when they do hit the field. The Golden Rams will play Kutztown in a split-series of four games this weekend, followed by a single game against USciences on Tuesday (Apr. 18).

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