Crazy to believe that we are just five weeks away from the first conference tournament action and a majority of conferences end their regular season. I remember January 31st as if it happened just last week. Nonetheless, always excited and appreciative to be able to cover Division II Baseball week in and week out for everyone.
Let’s break down the Central, South, Southeast, and West Regions for you:
All Standings, Records, and Stats as of morning of March 24 (3/24).
CENTRAL:
MIAA
The pleasant surprise is newly ranked No.25 Fort Hays State, who carries a 14-2 record in conference play after beating Washburn in a midweek conference game and taking two of three against Pittsburg State all on the road. The Tigers are shaping up to be a real contender not just in the MIAA, but the Central Region. All successful teams have a great ace (Ty Riley - 5-0, 2.91 ERA in 46.1 IP), a relief ace (Brandon Chavez - 4-0, 3.21 ERA in 14 appearances), and a great offense (hitting .308 as a team). FHSU will take on Emporia State in a midweek contest before having a giant battle against MIAA stalwart in No.5 Central Missouri. Central Oklahoma took care of business by sweeping Missouri Southern at home as well as a midweek win over Rogers State. Emporia State has a five game win streak after they beat Missouri Western on Tuesday and swept Newman over the weekend. Northwest Missouri State impressed me quite a bit with a midweek upset win over Central Missouri and a dominant weekend win over Arkansas-Fort Smith.
Speaking of the MIAA, teams four through nine are within nine percentage points of each other, which makes for great competition down the stretch. This year’s MIAA Tournament features 10 teams, all in a single elimination bracket.
GAC
Each of the Top 5 in the GAC Standings have won at least 3 straight games. Harding continues their winning ways with a sweep over Southeastern Oklahoma State. Maddox Long continues his success, as he’s fourth amongst qualified starters in the country with a 0.67 ERA. However, Arkansas-Monticello went 4-0 last week beating Harding in a midweek game (non-conference) while sweeping Northwestern Oklahoma State. Southern Arkansas swept Southwestern Oklahoma State. Arkansas Tech looks to be the most impressive over this stretch, after they run-ruled 14th-ranked Delta State and swept East Central. Henderson State beat Southern Arkansas in a midweek non-conference game and swept Southern Nazarene. It seems like we’re in for another close finish between the No.1 and No.8 seeds from last year.
NSIC
While it is still VERY early in NSIC play, only two games separate the 2nd place team and the 11th place team. Southwest Minnesota State swept Bemidji State in 4 games, while Concordia-St. Paul did the same with Northern State. SMSU’s Carter Petron over 21 innings is 2nd in the country in ERA at 0.43. Minnesota-Crookston was able to split with Augustana on the road. Minnesota State’s Ike Mezzenga and Louis Magers are No.1 and No.2 in the conference in HRs and RBI. Mezzenga leads with 32 RBI and 7 HR, while Magers has 8 HR and 29 RBI.
SOUTH:
Gulf South
The big story here is No.14 Delta State’s pitching staff, who threw not one but two complete game shutouts over the weekend to complete a series sweep of West Alabama. Drake Fontenot threw a complete game shutout on Friday and is 7-0 with a gaudy 0.64 ERA in 56 innings. Fontenot has gone at least 7 innings in 6 of his last 7 starts and has not allowed a run in 5 of his last 7. The Senior is currently 3rd in D2 with a 0.64 ERA. Logan Eldridge followed in the final game of the series with a complete game shutout of his own.
Mississippi College had a perfect 4-0 week and has won 14 of their last 15 games. Sitting at 21-9 and 13-5 in conference, the Choctaws are continually looking like a better team each game.
SIAC
Spring Hill has won five in a row and has put on an outburst of scoring runs, scoring 23, 9, 13, 13, and 16 in those games. It starts with Jackson Bell, whose .418 average is 4th in the conference. Seth Williams is 2nd in the conference with both 7 HR and 38 RBI.
Albany State upset No.1 Tampa in a midweek contest.
Players in the SIAC are all over national leaderboards offensively:
Elijah Pinckney (Morehouse) leads the country with a .541 batting average and a .685 on base percentage.
Benedict Guardado (Benedict) is ninth in D2 with a .949 slugging percentage.
Kendal Spencer (Savannah State) is tied for 3rd with 5 triples.
Dave Mitchum (Edward Waters) is 3rd in stolen bases with 31.
Sean Stewart (Clark Atlanta) is 4th in stolen bases with 30.
James Slaughter (Tuskegee) is 8th in stolen bases with 25.
Sunshine State
Although No.1 Tampa dropped a midweek contest, the Spartans returned into SSC and swept Embry-Riddle over the weekend. It should come as no surprise that both Skylar Gonzalez and CJ Williams threw the ball well in their starts. Williams threw a near-complete game, going 8 innings with 7 strikeouts, allowing just one run. Speaking of another Williams, did you know Jordan Williams has 42 stolen bases in 27 games? He leads the country in stolen bases.
Speaking of a team that steals bases, how about No.8 Florida Southern’s D2 best 126 stolen bases? Jevin Relaford (33), Grant Thoroman (27), and Mikey Scott (26) are all in the Top 10 in the country.
It should be an exciting matchup when both Tampa and Florida Southern square off this weekend in Lakeland.
No.24 Rollins entered our rankings after a 4-1 week, beating St. Michael’s twice and taking two of three at Lynn. The Tars put on a show offensively, scoring at least 8 runs in each game. Jeslyn Whitehead leads the conference with a .470 average. Mason Wilson is second in the conference with a .704 slugging percentage.
SOUTHEAST:
Conference Carolinas
In one of our series to watch picks, Young Harris takes two of three against North Greenville, both ranked. The Mountain Lions won the final game of the series on a walk-off. Young Harris jumped to No.17 in our rankings after the series win and their 4-1 week. Kade Smallwood homered twice in Game 1 of that series, he now leads the conference with 11 home runs.
RV Francis Marion scored 49 runs over their weekend sweep against Southern Wesleyan. Charlie Bussey III stands 7th in D2 with a .486 batting average, as he provides the spark of Patriot offense. On the mound it’s been Rijnaldo Euson, who is 5th in the country with 65 strikeouts, is 7-1 with a 3.36 ERA.
UNC Pembroke is also playing well, winners of five straight. The Braves scored 64 total runs in their 4-0 week. Hayden Davis and Blake Hinson are both Top 10 in conference in batting average at .393 and .369 respectively. Seth Willis has been extremely successful out of the bullpen. He’s 5-0 with a 2.54 ERA over 28.1 IP (12 relief appearances).
Peach Belt
RV North Georgia took care of business against RV Lander to keep their footing at the top of the conference, winning two of the three games in the series. Phillip Ard has been a boon for the Nighthawks, he currently sits 2nd in the country with 51 RBI. Nicholas Stinson had a great weekend and is 6th in the conference with a .381 average.
Georgia College is also still in first place after a series win on the road at Flagler. Bradley Wilson dropped his ERA to 2.79 after throwing 8 shutout innings in the 2nd game of the series. Braeden Smith drove in a few runs and now sits tied for third in the conference with 36 RBI.
Georgia Southwestern swept its weekend series against Claflin.
SAC
It’s looking like a VERY fun three-horse race between Carson-Newman, Lenoir-Rhyne, and Catawba. No.3 Lenoir-Rhyne swept then-RV UVA Wise, as they clubbed another dozen home runs over the weekend, continuing their stronghold of most home runs in D2 Baseball. With a total of 67 team home runs over 28 games, Lenoir-Rhyne is on a historic pace to potentially break the all-time D2 record of 131 home runs in a season in just 55 games, set by West Georgia in 1998 and Quincy in 2023. The Bears with their 2.39 home runs per game are just 0.01 off the pace and record of Azusa Pacific's 2.40 home runs per game set in 2021.
No.21 Carson-Newman went 4-0, beating Tusculum then Anderson over the weekend. It’s been the quality pitching for the Eagles for their success. Ryan Higgins is 5th nationally in ERA amongst qualified starters with a 0.87 figure over 41.1 IP (5-1 record). Freshman Kolton Casson leads the country in wins with eight. He’s 8-0 with a 2.23 ERA.
No.6 Catawba have won six straight wins over a ranked Mount Olive and Newberry three times over the weekend. Cole Hales is 2nd in the conference with a .425 average. Like I mentioned last week, the pitching will be there for sustained success. Hayden Simmerson has a 2.48 ERA over 32.2 IP, Payne Stolsworth has a 2.96 ERA over 51.2 IP, and Casey Gouge has a 3.18 ERA over 39.2 IP.
WEST:
CCAA
Let’s talk about the run that Cal State Dominguez Hills has been on. Last year, the Toros were at the bottom of the league. This year, through 20 conference games, they are in 1st place in the CCAA. Dylan Schumacher is 4th in the conference with a .424 average. However, the CSUDH staff has been excellent, especially the trio of arms in Julian Castro, Justin Abercrombie, and Darren Roberts. All three pitchers have an ERA at or under 3, a combined WHIP of 1.05 and are a combined 11-2, while being Top 10 in all three categories in the conference.
Another squad that has been on a surprising run is Cal State LA, winners of six straight after a road sweep of Cal Poly Pomona. Brandon Gutierrez threw a no-hitter in their 7-1 win Saturday, striking out six.
GNAC
Northwest Nazarene has hit their stride as of late, winners of seven straight (pending Monday DH vs Saint Martin’s). When you have a guy like Cole Calnon, who has a 1.12 ERA over 40.1 IP and has thrown a complete game in 4 of his last 5 starts, it’s easy to see why they have been so successful. That doesn’t include Ernesto Lugo-Canchola’s 6-0 record with a 1.85 ERA over 43.2 IP.
Montana State Billings has an ace relief arm in Hayden Mullins, who is 8th nationally with a 0.90 ERA over 20 innings. Not to mention, Jack Nehler leads the GNAC with a .430 average and he and his two teammates Ryan Jeffery and Bodee Wright are 3,4, and 5 respectively in OBP in conference.
PacWest
What is there to say in the PacWest aside from the surprising road series split between Concordia Irvine (CUI) and Westmont behind the arms of Jake Covey and Matthew Kaiser? In Games three and four, the Golden Eagles won both games by the score of 5-3 and 17-0. Covey went all 9 and struck out 8 in the 5-3 win. Kaiser had more than plenty run support in the 17-0 win, but didn’t need it as he threw a no-hitter with 9 strikeouts. Like last year they can be dangerous in the conference tournament, as they made it to the title game before falling to Point Loma.
Speaking of Point Loma, the 16th ranked team in our polls, swept Hawaii-Hilo. Jake Entrekin is looking like a man on a mission, his 1.024 Slugging Percentage is third in the country and has 23 walks to 12 strikeouts. Meanwhile, Branden Jackel leads the conference with a 1.70 ERA over 37 innings.
On another note, Vanguard has won five straight after they swept Menlo in four games and hold the final spot for seeding for the conference tournament.
Thanks for reading.
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