It is getting hard to break out of the Pacific time zone lately for our Marquee Match-Ups of the Week, and it appears to be that way again this week. We have another spectacular series coming your way from the CCAA that is the highlight of the Division II docket, and we have quite a few contests coming up this week that feature teams on the cusp of regional tournament contention battling it out against each other.
With that said, it was a fairly easy pick for this week's Marquee Match-Up of the Week:
#14 UC San Diego (20-8, 10-6 CCAA) at #22 Chico State (17-6, 7-4 CCAA)
Game One: Friday, 3/25, 9:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Video | Audio)
Game Two: Saturday, 3/26, 3:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Video | Audio)
Game Three: Saturday, 3/26, 6:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Video | Audio)
Projected Pitching Match-Ups
Game One: UCSD Jack Rupe (3-1, 2.84) vs CSU Clayton Gelfand (4-2, 1.48)
Game Two: UCSD Preston Mott (1-0, 2.35) vs CSU Steven Baker (3-0, 3.90)
Game Three: UCSD Alon Leichman (2-1, 2.72) vs CSU Dalton Erb (4-1, 2.60)
(Projected match-ups are based strictly on previous series rotations and should not be considered official in any way.)
Ah, here we are again, out near the Pacific coast for yet another high-quality CCAA match-up, which it seems like there is every weekend.
UCSD and Chico are the only two ranked teams facing off against each other this week in the PerfectGame.org Top 25 rankings, and it features not only large CCAA implications (UCSD leads the South division and Chico is second in the North division, 0.5 game out), but huge West region implications as well, as UCSD was third in the most recent NCBWA regional rankings and Chico was fifth. Both these teams are likely "in" to the regional tournament right now, but something to keep in mind is that the West region is one of the two regions in the country that only gets six teams in the postseason due to the number of teams in the region. So there is not much room for error in a region where there is a lot of quality competition.
UCSD is having success so far with a very balanced attack. They don't have any gaudy numbers on offense or on the mound, but just plain get the job done. They do the small things right, ranking 10th in double plays, 15th in sacrifice flies, 21st in ERA, 22nd in fielding percentage, 24th in walks, 29th in sacrifice bunts...you get the picture.
Jack Larsen continues to be the big bat in the lineup, leading the Tritons in average (.373), doubles (5), triples (3), home runs (4), RBI (27), total bases (64) and slugging (.582). UCSD isn't a particularly powerful team, having only hit eight home runs on the season, and they aren't particularly fast (18-for-25 on stolen base attempts), but they continue to win ball games using a disciplined approach and smart plays.
If there is a highlight to UCSD so far this year, it is their pitching staff, which has weathered the graduation of Justin Donatella very well. In a hyper-competitive region, their team ERA of 3.25 is probably better than most expected after losing such a dominating pitcher. They are at nearly a 2-to-1 ratio in strikeouts to walks allowed, and even though they are without a true ace, they have a quartet of starters that all carry a season ERA below 3.00 so far and just plain get the job done.
Chico, on the other hand, has a little bit of numerical evidence behind them to back up their success. The Wildcats rank 1st in shutouts, 2nd in sacrifice bunts, 11th in triples, 19th in team ERA, 26th in both batting average and on-base percentage, 33rd in WHIP, 40th in hits, 42nd in scoring, 43rd in walks, 46th in runs scored...yet another very balanced team.
Unlike UCSD, Chico has a bona-fide ace to roll out on to the mound each weekend in Clayton Gelfand. He is 4-2 with a sparking 1.48 ERA in eight starts, with 36 strikeouts in 48.2 innings and a .209 batting average against. He is flanked by an impressive Dalton Erb (4-1, 2.60 ERA, .230 BAA) but it falls off from there in terms of rotation so far this season.
On offense, the Wildcats have a few very productive bats, led by Ben Gamba, who is leading the team in home runs (3) and RBI (22). He is also second on the team in slugging (.541) and on-base percentage (.495). Perhaps most impressively for the Chico offense, they have only one player who has struck out 10 times or more through 23 games. As a team, they have fanned only 81 times, less than half what their opponents have done (165) at the plate.
All told, this should be a supremely entertaining series and we are likely to see a high level of pitching throughout the weekend as these two teams battle for supremacy in the conference going forward.
Here are a slew of other Division II series' to keep tabs on over the next week or so:
West Chester (13-4, 3-1 PSAC) vs #2 Millersville (20-1, 4-0 PSAC)
Game One: Friday, 3/25, 1:00 PM ET at Millersville (Live Stats | Audio)
Game Two: Friday, 3/25, 3:00 PM ET at Millersville (Live Stats | Audio)
Game Three: Saturday, 3/26, 1:00 PM ET at West Chester (Live Stats)
Game Four: Saturday, 3/26, 3:00 PM ET at West Chester (Live Stats)
Francis Marion (17-11, 5-7 PBC) at #16 Lander (25-6, 14-4 PBC)
Game One: Friday, 3/25, 6:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Video)
Game Two: Saturday, 3/26, 2:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Video)
Game Three: Saturday, 3/26, 5:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Video)
#21 Florida Tech (17-10, 2-4 SSC) at Lynn (17-10, 6-0 SSC)
Game One: Thursday, 3/24, 13-1 FIT Lead in B7 (Live Stats | Video)
Game Two: Friday, 3/25, 12:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Video)
Game Three: Saturday, 3/26, TBA (Live Stats | Video)
Minnesota-Duluth (7-5, 0-0 NSIC) at #23 Minnesota State (9-5, 0-0 NSIC)
Game One: Monday, 3/28, 3:00 PM ET (Live Stats)
Game Two: Monday, 3/28, 5:00 PM ET (Live Stats)
Game Three: Tuesday, 3/29, 1:00 PM ET (Live Stats)
Game Four: Tuesday, 3/29, 3:00 PM ET (Live Stats)
Saint Leo (18-11, 3-4 SSC) at Nova Southeastern (16-11, 6-4 SSC)
Game One: Thursday, 3/24, 11-4 NSU (Box Score)
Game Two: Friday, 3/25, 1:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Video)
Game Three: Friday, 3/25, 4:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Video)
Tusculum (20-7, 6-3 SAC) at Lenoir-Rhyne (23-8, 5-4 SAC)
Game One: Friday, 3/25, 6:00 PM ET (Live Stats)
Game Two: Saturday, 3/26, 1:00 PM ET (Live Stats)
Game Three: Saturday, 3/26, 4:00 PM ET (Live Stats)
Mars Hill (22-10, 7-5 SAC) at Catawba (17-11, 7-5 SAC)
Game One: Friday, 3/25, 6:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Video)
Game Two: Saturday, 3/26, 1:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Video)
Game Three: Saturday, 3/26, 4:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Video)
Oklahoma Baptist (20-6, 11-4 GAC) at SW Oklahoma (16-8, 9-3 GAC)
Game One: Friday, 3/25, 3:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Video)
Game Two: Saturday, 3/26, 2:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Video)
Game Three: Saturday, 3/26, 4:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Video)
Lee (16-12, 7-8 GSC) at Valdosta State (17-11, 9-6 GSC)
Game One: Friday, 3/25, 4:00 PM ET (Live Stats)
Game Two: Friday, 3/25, 7:00 PM ET (Live Stats)
Game Three: Saturday, 3/26, 1:00 PM ET (Live Stats)
Ohio Dominican (11-3-1, 0-0 GLIAC) at Ashland (9-8, 0-0 GLIAC)
Game One: Saturday, 3/26, 1:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Audio)
Game Two: Saturday, 3/26, 3:30 PM ET (Live Stats | Audio)
Game Three: Monday, 3/28, 2:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Audio)
Game Four: Monday, 3/28, 4:30 PM ET (Live Stats | Audio)
Wingate (19-11, 4-5 SAC) at Newberry (21-9-1, 4-5 SAC)
Game One: Friday, 3/25, 6:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Video)
Game Two: Saturday, 3/26, 1:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Video)
Game Three: Saturday, 3/26, 4:00 PM ET (Live Stats | Video)
And here are the schedules for each of the teams listed in this week's PerfectGame Top 25:
#1 St. Cloud State (15-0): SCSU had this weekend's NSIC series against Wayne State College postponed. They'll be back in action next weekend at SW Minnesota State.
#2 Millersville (20-1): The Marauders will take on West Chester in a four-game PSAC set this weekend, with Friday's games at home and Saturday's games on the road.
#3 Franklin Pierce (18-2): FPU will travel to Stonehill for a three-game series Saturday and Monday before preparing for a huge Wednesday match-up against Southern New Hampshire.
#4 Tampa (22-4): The Spartans picked up a victory in their opening game of their series at Embry-Riddle on Thursday, and will face the Eagles two more times on Friday.
#5 Colorado Mesa (22-4): The Mavericks picked up a win in their series-opening game against New Mexico Highlands, and will face the Cowboys two more times on Friday and once more on Saturday in their RMAC set.
#6 Quincy (13-3): QU will travel to Truman State, a participant in last year's national finals, for a four-game GLVC series to begin conference play.
#7 California Baptist (23-7): CBU just finished their four-game set at Hawaii Pacific Thursday night and are off until next weekend when they welcome Academy of Art in to town.
#8 Missouri Southern (18-6): The Lions are on the road at Washburn for a three-game MIAA set this weekend. They dropped the first game of the series on Thursday and have one each to play on Friday and Saturday.
#9 USC Aiken (23-5): The Pacers are at home for a three-game conference set against Montevallo before facing Albany State in a Tuesday single game.
#10 Columbus State (22-7): CSU is facing Flagler in a three-game PBC set on the road this weekend before taking on Auburn Montgomery on Wednesday evening.
#11 St. Edward's (22-7): The Hilltoppers picked up the first two games of a Heartland series on Thursday against Rogers State and will face the Hillcats once more on Friday.
#12 West Alabama (23-5): UWA is at home this weekend for a three-game GSC series against Union.
#13 East Stroudsburg (21-3): The offensive juggernaut of the Warriors split the first two games of their series with Kutztown on Thursday and will be at home on Saturday for another two games. They'll face Philadelphia U on Tuesday and travel to LIU Post on Wednesday.
#14 UC San Diego (20-8): A huge CCAA series this weekend, the Tritons travel to Chico State for a three-game set on Friday and Saturday.
#15 Florida Southern (18-7): The Mocs took game one of their series at Eckerd on Thursday and will finish the weekend with two more games on Friday.
#16 Lander (25-6): Lander has a big conference series on the docket this weekend at home against Francis Marion. Following that, they'll take on Limestone on Wednesday.
#17 West Florida (16-11): The Argos are on the road for a three-game GSC set against Christian Brothers this weekend. They'll return home for a pair of mid-week games against Montevallo on Tuesday and Wednesday.
#18 Dixie State (20-6): The Red Storm have a busy week coming up, welcoming Hawaii Hilo in to town for a four-game series on Monday and Tuesday before taking on Fresno Pacific in a four-game series after only one off day.
#19 Cal Poly Pomona (16-9): CPP heads on the road for a three-game CCAA series at Cal State-East Bay on Friday and Saturday.
#20 Southern New Hampshire (15-2): The Penmen head to Bentley this weekend for a three-game conference series before facing Franklin Pierce (Wednesday) and Saint Michael's (Thursday) in a pair of mid-week games.
#21 Florida Tech (17-10): The Panthers head to Lynn this weekend for a three-game SSC series.
#22 Chico State (17-6): One of the biggest series' of the year takes place on Chico's home field, as they welcome UC San Diego in to town for a three-game CCAA set.
#23 Minnesota State (9-5): The Mavs begin NSIC play with a four-game series at home against Minnesota-Duluth on Monday and Tuesday.
#24 Lubbock Christian (20-7): The Chaps began their weekend with a doubleheader sweep of UA Fort Smith on Thursday in Heartland play and will finish the series with a single contest on Friday.
#25 Belmont Abbey (24-6-1): The Crusaders have only one game this week, a Tuesday single game contest on the road at Armstrong State.
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