How sweep it is. Thanks to a stunning sweep of former No. 1 Pittsburg State by the red-hot (and unranked) Northwest Missouri State Bearcats, Colorado Mesa, which swept another weekend series itself, climbs to the top spot in the DII baseball Power 10 rankings. The Mavericks extended their DII winning streak to 29 games, an unthinkable feat in the current parity in DII baseball.
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How far does Pittsburg State fall? While it isn’t too far, it is likely far enough to make Gorillas’ fans unhappy. The Power 10 rankings are compiled by myself; however, I do take other ratings into consideration — such as Faktor Sports KPI, both of Inkblot Sports RPI and PI and Pear Ratings NET — to cast a wide net and help show you the metrics make a Power 10 different than a poll that is voted upon. It is very rarely identical to the national polls, so I try to explain the rationale in as much detail as I can.
DII baseball Power 10 rankings through March 29
No. 1 Colorado Mesa | Previous: 3. The Mavericks have won 29 of their last 30 games, with the one loss coming to Division I Utah Valley. This weekend, they derailed Colorado School of Mines by a combined score of 51-7 in the four-game set. Player-of-the-year candidate Cameron Cartwright is back on track, but Ezra Farmer remains smoking hot in his Mavericks’ debut, hitting .414 with a 1.158 OPS, 13 doubles, six home runs, 47 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. You may recognize the last name: His brother Caleb helped keep Colorado Mesa a perennial top 10 powerhouse, finishing his Mesa career with a .372 batting average, 50 home runs and 215 RBIs. That’s some good baseball bloodlines right there.
No. 2 Tampa | Previous: 2. The Spartans are 26-4 rolling into this weekend’s big matchup against Florida Southern. Tampa has a chance to put a dagger in the Mocs’ regular-season hopes, and it is likely chomping at the bit to do so against one of the Spartans’ biggest rivals. The Spartans have the third-best RPI in the South, the sixth-best NET in DII and are ranked 15 in KPI. The reason they are ranked so highly is this pitching. On the season, the entire staff has a 2.98 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with five shutouts and a .230 batting average against. B.J. Bailey, Robert Satin and John Luke Glanton are going to be brutal for opposing lineups in tournament-style play.
No. 3 Catawba | Previous: 4. The Indians dropped a midweek game against Francis Marion but struck back dominating Coker by scoring 41 runs in three games. They have a top 10 RPI, PI, KPI and NET, so the metrics support a high ranking. Offensively, Brandon Crabtree has been impressive, especially this past weekend, going 6-for-9 with seven runs scored, two home runs and four RBIs. They are also four-deep in the rotation, which could be a big advantage late in the season, especially in what is mounting to be a deep Southeast Region bracket.
No. 4 North Greenville | Previous: 5. Did someone say deep Southeast Region bracket? Look no further than North Greenville. Like Catawba, this team has a top 10 KPI, RPI, PI and NET. They also have some big signature wins against Central Missouri, Rollins, North Georgia and Francis Marion. They are top 10 in home runs and runs scored, so run production with this potent lineup isn’t an issue. Matty Brown and Bennett Roemer atop the rotation are going to make them tough to beat come May.
No. 5 Pittsburg State | Previous: 1. I don’t like to penalize teams for losing a game, or even a series. Getting swept, however, is a different story. Truthfully, a sweep would probably knock any other team out of the top five, but that is just how good the Gorillas have been. They have the No. 1 RPI and PI in the Central Region, the No. 1 KPI and No. 4 NET. Each of the losses against Northwest Missouri State were battles, and the Gorillas lost three games by a mere four runs. Still, had they won just one game, they likely remain in the top three, but the sweep is the only reason they fall this week.
No. 6 Central Missouri | Previous: 6. The Mules are 24-5 and have won six in a row. They also have a huge week ahead with a Tuesday tilt against Northwest Missouri State and then three against red-hot Roger State. Another win against the Bearcats would be huge for their postseason resume, especially as a common opponent with the Gorillas. Chase Wilcox is hot, currently on a 10-game hitting streak in which half the games have been 3-hit or better. Sawyer Allen has been nice atop the rotation, and Greyson Chappel back gives them a dangerous first two.
No. 7 West Florida | Previous: Next up. The Argonauts jumping back into the top 10 is clearly the biggest news coming out of Pensacola and West Florida this week. The Argos, winners of eight in a row, are now the No. 1 RPI in the South and have big series wins against several key South Region opponents to build their resume. This is more of an old-fashioned grind out runs and depend on your pitching team, which they do very well. Colton Dorsey and Tucker Ricks are a solid 1-2 punch in the rotation. They have a brutal stretch coming up with five-straight matchups against tournament contenders in Spring Hill, Lee, Columbus State, West Alabama and Mississippi College. They get through that road ahead, and we may be looking at the No. 1 seed.
No. 8 West Chester | Previous: 10. The Golden Rams continue their climb up the Power 10 rankings, now 19-4. This was a big weekend, taking three of four against defending Atlantic Region champion East Stroudsburg. West Chester paces the PSAC with arguably the best pitching staff in the conference, posting a league-best 3.49 ERA with a .241 batting average against and 1.22 WHIP. They also have some nice hitters in Austin Stalker and Caleb Strawhecker but will need a little more pop and run production to make it out of the Atlantic Region.
No. 9 Lenoir-Rhyne | Previous: 7. The Bears had a 3-1 week and continue to pile up the selection metrics while they were at it. They have the No. 1 RPI and the No. 3 PI in the Southeast, the No. 5 NET and No. 8 KPI. They have also done all this against the 16th toughest schedule in all DII. Mackenzie Wainwright may be just getting into his groove, homering in each of the three games this weekend, and Matt Procopio, Seth Christmas and Sylas Boris give this lineup enough firepower to slug their way far just like they did last year.
No. 10 (tie) Cal State Monterey Bay, Grand Valley State| Previous: 7 and next up, respectively. Cal State Monterey Bay had a horrific weekend, going 1-3 against 16-14 Cal State East Bay. Despite that, they have the No. 1 RPI and PI in the West Region, the No. 10 NET and No. 14 KPI, which keeps them ahead of Point Loma, who also struggled this weekend. Grand Valley State is back, and quite honestly, probably shouldn’t have fallen out of the top 10 last week. Now 24-4, the Lakers battle Wayne State (MI) for GLIAC, and likely Midwest Region supremacy this weekend.
Next up (in alphabetical order)
With how deep this baseball season has been, no one seems to be separating themselves. So, instead of the traditional “first five out,” we are sticking with the next 10.
Minnesota State remains red hot. After spending their first 18 games away from home, the Mavericks have won six straight since entering NSIC play and have yet to play a home game this season. Francis Marion took a series from Mount Olive to continue building a solid resume behind an even more solid lineup. UT Tyler looks like it is one weekend away from going back into the top 10. The Patriots have won eight in a row and have yet to lose a weekend series this year. This weekend they head to UT Dallas, who would be nationally ranked if it was tournament eligible in its transition year.
- Augustana (SD)
- Belmont Abbey
- Francis Marion
- Minnesota State
- North Georgia
- Point Loma
- UT Tyler
- Wayne State (MI)
- Wingate
- Young Harris
The best of the rest: Here are the rest of the teams that received consideration this week, giving us a grand total of 35 outstanding teams in DII baseball right now: Angelo State, Cal Poly Pomona, Eckerd, Emporia State, Florida Southern, Millersville, Northwest Missouri State, Rogers State, Rollins, Seton Hill, St. Mary’s (TX), Trevecca Nazarene, West Alabama, Westmont
