4 DII baseball series I'm looking forward to this weekend
A clash of PSAC titans and a possible statement to be made by West Georgia.
We are heading into the fourth weekend of the 2023 DII baseball season. Finally, weather permitting, this weekend will see the last of the teams that have yet to start play get some games under their belts. And we have some good ones to watch.
I will continue to shamelessly plug my “Buy Me a Coffee” page. As I said when I launched it two weeks ago, I don’t want to turn this into a subscription-based platform, but expenses are building. The amount of support thus far has been both surprising and overwhelming. Because of that, this newsletter becomes exclusive to subscribers on March 6, the week I release my first “Field of 56” predictions for the 2023 DII baseball tournament.
Now, how ‘bout some baseball?
DII baseball series to watch
MEC/PSAC Classic (Millersville, West Chester, Mercyhurst, Glenville State, D’Youville, Pitt-Johnstown)
There are quite a few teams playing this weekend in West Virginia at this early-season clash, but Mercyhurst has a fun-filled weekend ahead. The Lakers are typically in the PSAC and Atlantic Region hunt to the very end, and this year’s team looks poised to continue that trend. They will get a chance to prove things right off the bat as they face Millersville on Friday and West Chester on Saturday, two other perennial PSAC favorites.
Mercyhurst has played just one game, and coach Joe Spano used both of his big-time pitchers to get the win. Jarrett Heilman— who has FIVE pitches — started and went three innings. Daniel Thomas followed for five innings and showed off his big fastball that hits 95. Vincent Stutz was the preseason newcomer to watch, and he fits the bill homering in his first game in DII baseball.
Millersville, unlike the bulk of the PSAC, is off and running, sitting at 7-3. The much-awaited return of ace Alex Mykut is going well. He’s made three starts so far and though they have not been ace-like, they are on the right track. Look for his 90s fastball and hammer curve if you watch this weekend. At the plate, Bren Taylor and John Seibert are red hot and lead an offense that has outscored its opponents 71-31 (in earned runs).
West Chester is 3-1 after a successful opener at the DII Spring Baseball Tournament. Ace Joe Sperone looked nasty in his debut, going five shutout innings, striking out six, and walking one. He has three solid pitches which all seem to be working (a upper-80s FB, CB, and what coach Mike LaRosa calls a plus-plus change). It’s tough to gage an offense on four games, but Evan Profy came out firing, going 6-for-15 with a home run and two RBIs.
West Georgia at Lee
West Georgia is out to a hot start and is one of the teams I’ve been able to watch this season (in case you missed my opening weekend thoughts). Lee is a perennial Gulf South contender. Thus far, the two are playing polar opposites.
West Georgia was predicted to finish ninth in the GSC but has jumped out to a 6-2 start. Anthony Calabro is an absolute stud and has come out red hot, going 12-for-31 with two home runs. I’m really interested in Logan Fink, who has 12 hits already, half of which have gone for extra bases. Henry Daniels is hitting .500 after eight games, as the Wolves are hitting .336 as a team. If you haven’t figured it out, the Wolves rake.
Lee is off to a slower 6-6 start, but still look pretty tough. While the pitching staff has certainly not been at its best, Sam Fulton has been mowing people down with 20 strikeouts in 11.1 innings out of the bullpen. This will be a good test for the pitching against that Wolves’ lineup. But the Flames have plenty of fire in the lineup themselves. Brandon Daniels is hitting .395 with two home runs, but three other Flames already have three dingers on the season.
Harding at Oklahoma Baptist
Welcome to the Battle of the Bison. Head coach Patrick McGaha told me, “This [Harding] group has a chance to be our most offensive team since 2011,” and to pair that with a healthy pitching staff could surprise a lot of people this season. Well, a solid 11-1 start is certainly turning heads as the Bison head into this big GAC matchup. It’s a balanced effort on offense as this team has scored 108 runs to its opponents 25. Three players have at least 14 RBI already, while the lineup is hitting .321 overall. Will Roguske and Davis Welch, two pitchers to watch this preseason, are pitching very well, having given up five total earned runs in 28 combined innings while striking out 28.
Oklahoma Baptist is off to a slow start at 4-6, but this could be a big series for the other Bison in this series. This series will feature one of the best hitters in DII in Dan Pruitt, who is off to a .333, three-home-run start thus far. The starting pitching is still searching for consistency, so will need to rely heavily on the bullpen to win this one.
SUPPORT THE DII REPORT
Valdosta State at Delta State
The Blazers are off to an 8-3 start and find themselves in the top 25. They’ve done a good job building a postseason resume with out-of-conference wins against SSC foe, but this is a big one to make a statement in the GSC. There hasn’t been a lot of power in the Blazers lineup to start the season, but this team is hitting well and producing runs, led by JP Gates who is 19-for-44 to start off the season. Gates was one of Coach Guilliams newcomers to watch, as the Miami (FL) transfer could be one of the best bats in the Gulf South this season. Zach Dodson and Kevin Tomas have been impressive in the rotation thus far as well. Neither are dominating strikeout guys, but they have good command and don’t walk a lot to keep runs off the board (oh, and still strike people out).
Delta State needs to start the engine this weekend if it wants to defend its GSC crown. Coach Batts knew it would be tough, losing five of the Statesmen’s top six hitters but the cupboard is not bare. Kirkland Trahan is hitting .400 with two home runs through nine games and Carson Clowers hasn’t even gotten started yet. There’s plenty of baseball in this lineup. The starters — Hammer Franks, Kameron Koch, and Drake Fontenot — have all pitched very well despite the team’s 4-5 start. Don’t get caught sleeping on these guys just yet.
One more to watch: Slippery Rock at Shippensburg
.