The DII Report: Around the horn — the first DII baseball notebook
We are two weeks into the 2022 DII baseball season. Here are just a few observations of what's gone down on the baseball field.
Welcome back to The DII Report newsletter. Each week, we will delve into the world of NCAA Division II sports, focusing on the teams and student-athletes to watch. Be sure to check out the DII Nation Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Anchor and YouTube for more insight on the world of DII sports.
THE DII REPORT
The third week of the 2022 DII baseball season is upon us. There have been some very impressive performances thus far that have led to a shakeup in the first NCBWA poll. If you have followed my DII baseball coverage over the years, you know that I provide the DII baseball Power 10 rankings at NCAA.com. Due to the staggered start of the DII baseball season, those rankings don’t typically return until sometime in late March.
However, there is still a need to track the DII baseball season until then. Consider this the first installment of your DII baseball notebook, highlighting some of the impressive performances around DII.
(Note: All images came from the respective team’s websites.)
The champs are back: Wingate off to 8-0 start
The Bulldogs’ momentum from Cary, N.C. last season has yet to relent. They have come out on fire and already have a huge in-region win over nationally ranked Mount Olive as well as a sweep of tournament contender Charleston (WV). Everything is just clicking right now.
Ace Brody McCullough has taken a step forward, having struck out 24 and walking five in his first 10 innings. Obviously, you want to see the walks get even lower, but when hitters can’t catch up to his low-90s fastball and nice secondaries, it allows him to home in on that command. Sam Brodersen, who was so impressive last season going five no-hit innings to close out the championship game, has picked up where he left off and already has two saves. At the plate, Michael Dansky is scorching hot, already with 18 hits and three home runs on the season, but there are five players in the lineup maintaining an OPS over 1.000 right now.
It’s early and conference play has yet to begin, but Wingate is clearly off to a great defense of its first national championship.
Bombs away: Colorado Mesa is raking
The Mavericks opened this past weekend on the road against nationally ranked Azusa Pacific. When Haydn McGeary joined the DII Nation Podcast this preseason, he mentioned how excited the Mavericks were for this game. Not only was it a good test, but with last season’s COVID-19 protocols, Colorado Mesa hadn’t got to significantly test itself out of region in some time.
Well, the test is passed. The Mavericks swept their four-game opening series against the Cougars… by scoring 73 runs in the process. McGeary came out of the weekend hitting .467 with two home runs, but more importantly was named to the 2022 preseason Golden Spikes watchlist as well. Caleb Farmer and Harrison Rodgers each slugged six home runs over the weekend. Farmer had six home runs in 47 games last year.
The pitching is there and will need to come around, but if the bats are this awake after one series, those arms have plenty of time to get into midseason form.
Sleeping Bears: Lenoir-Rhyne makes a statement sweep
The Bears are off to a 9-1 start, and that includes an impressive four-game sweep of nationally ranked Goldey-Beacom. Lenoir-Rhyne has been an improving program in each of the past four or so seasons, so this hot start is not entirely unexpected.
Head coach Chris Ramirez said to watch grad-transfer Drew Yniesta… and he was right. The third baseman is hitting .459 with four doubles and two home runs thus far. Wade Cuda, the team’s centerfielder, had four doubles and five home runs through eight games. This is quite the improvement from 2021 already considering he had eight doubles and three home runs on the entire season.
The pitching is what will make this team interesting. Andrew Patrick and Joshua Lanham have been outstanding through two starts, but Austin Edwards has been a mixed bag. The DI transfer has good velo and solid stuff but has walked quite a bit and has been a little hittable. It’s early in the season, so once he gets going, the Bears have a legit weekend rotation to contend with.
North Georgia’s offense has been impressive
I caught opening day from Bob Stein Stadium in Dahlonega, Georgia between the Nighthawks and nationally ranked Lee Flames. North Georgia lost that day, and Lee looked very good. I was very impressed with the Flames’ starter, DI transfer Miguel Alba, who sat in the low-90s with a really good breaking ball that had serious drop. Despite the loss, North Georgia didn’t relent and came back to make it a ball game, losing 5-4.
The Nighthawks haven’t lost since, and the lineup hasn’t stopped hitting.
North Georgia has won its last five, including taking the series from Lee 2-1, by scoring 57 runs. Freshman Kaleb Freeman has been impressive thus far and Nik Levensteins is leading the team in power with three home runs. That is one thing that is great about this team — it only has six home runs. The Nighthawks have produced 61 runs in six games without relying on the long ball.
Nova Southeastern’s undefeated start
A lot of the talk around the Sunshine State Conference this preseason was around Tampa, and deservedly so. But the Sharks are showing they could be a real contender for the crown.
They are off to a 6-0 start and that includes some big wins over teams like Catawba, Wheeling and Valdosta State. Duncan Pastore is back with a vengeance. The 2019 SSC freshman of the year missed 2021 with injury. Through six games he has 14 hits, 12 runs scored, four doubles, two triples, two home runs, 15 RBI and is 2-for-2 on the base paths. He hunts for the gaps and can seemingly put the ball wherever he wants. Overall, the offense has an OPS north of 1.000 with 67 runs scored. The starting pitching will need to be monitored in the early going, but this offense has been explosive in the first few weeks.
Point Loma already nears 2021 win total in two weeks
The Sea Lions were an 11-win team last season, but head coach Justin James felt as if there were brighter horizons for the future this offseason. He was right.
Point Loma is sitting at 8-0 coming off an impressive and statement sweep of Northwest Nazarene — the team that represented the West Region in Cary last spring. The Sea Lions are pounding the baseball, sitting in the top 10 in DII in doubles (24), home runs (16) and batting average (.368). The pitching staff has posted a 2.18 ERA and 1.02 WHIP and again, this is with half its games against a returning contender. Point Loma was already a good defensive team — if the experience is clicking everywhere else, it is going to be dangerous.
West Texas A&M doesn’t miss a beat
The Buffs were a very good team in 2021, but lost a bulk of the innings pitched with significant losses on the pitching staff. Head coach Matt Vanderburg said he expected the team to be very young, with freshmen possibly pushed into starting roles.
None of that has affected West Texas A&M out of the gates.
The Buffs are 6-0, coming off a four-game sweep in which they scored 55 runs. Starting pitcher Nick Marshall, who Coach Vanderburg tabbed as a newcomer to watch this offseason, has been strong, already 2-0 without allowing an earned run and striking out 13 in 10 innings. Catcher Kennedy Badgett bulked up this offseason and it’s showing at the plate, going 10-for-19 though six games. This team is off to the start it needed as LSC play approaches.
2022 DII baseball quick hits
Colorado School of Mines is off to an 8-0 start. Ace Tyler Blomster has been unreal. He became the RMAC’s all-time wins leader and is currently 2-0, has yet to allow a run and has struck out 20 in 15 innings… while walking one.
Columbus State head coach Greg Appleton mentioned he had some concern with how quickly the pitching will come along in 2022. With the way the Cougars are slugging it, he has time to be patient. Robert Brooks — one of DII’s best hitters last season — is pacing the offense with four homers, and the team is tied for third with 16 home runs.
Augustana (SD) and Central Missouri battled in a thriller in the Houston Winter Invitational. The Vikings prevailed 6-5, scoring the winning run in the top of the ninth. Augustana (SD) left the tournament with a 2-1 record while the Mules went 2-2. These are still two very strong contenders in the Central Region that could meet again in May.
I watched Shorter host Albany State (GA) last weekend. I was very impressed with the Golden Rams’ starting pitcher Jon Henry. After first inning double and then allowing a leadoff hit in the second inning, he held the Hawks hitless through his remaining five innings pitched. He will be interesting to watch. The Hawks made loud contact all day, but he was able to get some strikeouts and keep them at bay with some well-timed off-speed stuff. As for the Hawks, I was impressed in the loss. This team fought back and fell just short in extras. They proved last year that the hot start in the shortened 2020 season was no fluke. With the innings they lost to graduation on the mound and starts they lost in the lineup, this team still fights and that says a lot to the culture head coach Wes Timmons is building.
Where I’ll be this weekend: I’ll be back out in Rome, Georgia on Saturday. Shorter opens Gulf South Conference play against Delta State and there will be plenty to watch on both sides of the ball.