DII Report: Florida Southern baseball live look; who to watch Super Bowl Sunday
We are two weekends into the DII baseball season, and I have some thoughts.
We are two weeks into the DII baseball season, and I was able to get out for another live look. Plus, three former DII football players are in Super Bowl LVII.
Before we get to the latest issue, I started a little “Buy Me a Coffee” page. What is it and why, you ask? Well…
It’s a page that allows you to donate to the DII Report newsletter. Simply put, I do not want to make this newsletter subscription based. That said, fans and coaches alike get information here that you can’t find anywhere else on the worldwide interwebs. Some of the info, especially my fall reports, is information well ahead of the curve, setting up baseball fans (and football will be new this summer) with what they need to know before the season.
That said, to maintain this newsletter does cost money, especially with travel, and I know we all know the toll gas prices are taking on us. So, if you like what you see, consider a little donation to keep the DII Report alive and well. You can “buy me a coffee” (or some gas) here and I thank anyone ahead of time for their support: DONATE HERE! In return, you get this newsletter, which will remain free for as long as I can afford to not charge. That includes my DII baseball Field of 56 projections beginning in March and DII football top-25 previews beginning in JUNE (!!) among other resourceful articles.
Now to the good stuff.
Florida Southern mounts impressive comeback
The Mocs traveled to Dahlonega, Georgia to take on the North Georgia Nighthawks. I spoke in depth last week with some thoughts after watching a pretty impressive victory by the Nighthawks, so I will focus on some Florida Southern takeaways here. But there needs to be something said for the Nighthawks.
I love what Coach Tom Cantrell is building at UNG. He may be what some people call “old fashioned,” but once again, instead of raiding the transfer portal for talent, he is building a homegrown team. This team is SUPER young. There were four freshmen in the starting lineup on Saturday, and two of those — Andrews Opata and Jace Bowen — have been successfully setting the table from the one and two-hole for an offense that has scored 59 runs in six games.
Plus, it’s not all offense. This defense is sensational. Not much will fall into the gaps with Opata roaming centerfield and Bowen and Riley Frost lock down the left side of the infield like a vacuum. This team has committed just two errors so far and has made some pretty nice plays in the process.
On to Florida Southern. It was impressive to watch. The Mocs starting pitcher Jake Curry simply didn’t have it. He walked four straight in the second in which the Nighthawks wound up piling up five runs and driving him from the game.
But this bullpen and defense kept the game close for the Mocs and the bats delivered.
Let’s talk about that bullpen, primarily Collin Camarigg. He’s 5-foot-10, but with the red jersey and No. 37 on his back, he looked the part of Stephen Strasburg on Saturday. He came in and struck out the first seven batters he faced and allowed one double in his four innings of work. He came out guns blazing, hitting 93-94 on the gun, and this certainly waned a bit by his fourth inning of work but still reached back for a few 91s. His slider was nice and looked like he mixes in a cutter. What to make of this? I’m not sure because his first outing against West Florida was quite opposite, but he is 100% on my radar.
El’Rico Riley is an absolute stud in every aspect of the game. He was the under-the-radar player to watch in my SSC Fall Report, and he won’t be under the radar much longer. Defensively, he threw out a runner at home early on and made a leaping catch in deep right in the eighth inning that saved the game for the Mocs. He flew around the bases on a triple and scored the go-ahead run on Drew Cavanaugh’s go-ahead single. That’s quite the performance.
I was watching Bryce Safferwich from the first pitch. He missed the first few games (I believe it was Lyme disease or something unlucky) and since he returned to the lineup, he has 10 hits in five games with four multi-hit performances along the way. He’s only struck out once in 21 at bats, but he’s also only walked once. The JMU transfer comes out swinging every time, so we’ll see how that works against SSC pitching, but right now, he’s one of the hottest hitters in the division. It’s also worth noting the career infielder is playing left field now and hasn’t made an error.
Jeff Liquori (first base) and Mitch Donofrio (second base) were also mentioned by coach Lance Niekro in the Fall Report, and both delivered. Liquori sounds like he has some eyes on him with a left-handed power swing. He had two hits yesterday, including one in the ninth-inning rally. Donofrio, a transfer from SSC rival Eckerd, absolutely smoked a home run in the eighth well over the 365 sign in left-centerish. Both of these two will be players to watch down the road.
DII football alum in Super Bowl LVII
There are three former DII football players appearing in Sunday’s Super Bowl. Jody Fortson (TE from Valdosta State), Brandon Williams (DL from Missouri Southern), and Joshua Williams (DB from Fayetteville State) are all on the Chiefs roster. The Eagles have none. That’s just bad drafting right there.
For a complete breakdown of each player, check out this article I wrote on NCAA.com this morning.
Thanks for reading, and again if you choose to, donating!