#22 Eastern Oklahoma State (16-2) vs #7 Connors State (14-2)
This early season match is going to go a long way in deciding how Region 2 is going to shape up at the end. Both teams are looking to end up on top while Connors looks to repeat as Region Champs.
This is going to be Connors first real test this season. They currently are sitting at 14-2, with those two losses coming in the past week. Connors is one of the top Offensive teams so far this season. They are currently ranked 2nd in Team Batting Average (.402), and On Base Percentage (.513), ranked 3rd in RBI’s (168), 5th in Doubles (45), 7th in Runs Scored (181), and are 9th in Team Slugging Percentage (.596). Leading this high powered offensive for them this season has been the trio of David Mendham (South Carolina), Mike Coletta (Missouri), and Anmi Ortega. Mendham (South Carolina) is currently hitting a team high.500 (12th), with 6 doubles, 3 homers, 19 RBI’s and has walked 19 times (6th). Coletta (Missouri) is just behind Mendham (South Carolina) hitting .432 with 6 doubles, 3 homers, 28 RBI’s (3rd), and has scored 17 runs. Rounding out the trio is Ortega. Oretega is hitting .421 with 5 doubles, 12 RBI’s and has scored 25 runs.
To say that Eastern Oklahoma is a surprise this year might be misleading. After their high hopes last year to start and their not so great finish last year Head Coach Matt Parker is heading into his second season and looks to be back to his winning ways. These guys are up there as another one of the top offensive teams in the country. They are ranked 1st in Hit By Pitches (44), 2nd in Sac Hits (14), 4th in Doubles (46), 6th in Run Scored (182), 8th in both Triples (12) and RBI’s (156), and are 9th in the country in Extra Base Hits. Not to be out done is their staff. They are currently ranked 13th in Team Strikeouts (197), 10th in K/9 (12.40), and have a Team ERA of 3.65. Leading their offense so far this season has been the trio of Mac McCroskey, Jarrett Gage, and Tyler Johnson (Coastal Carolina). McCroskey is hitting .531 with 7 Doubles, 3 Triples, and has 16 RBI’s. Gage has only played in 10 of their 18 games this season but in those 10 games has been getting on. He is hitting .483 (Best on the team), with a .516 OBP and has a double and 5 RBI’s. Johnson (Coastal Carolina) rounds them out hitting .333 with 4 doubles, 2 triples, a team leading 4 Homers, 17 RBI’s and has scored another 20 himself.
|
#22 Eastern Oklahoma State |
#7 Connors State |
|||
|
Game 1 (Thursday) |
Christain McGowan (Kansas State)-RHP | (4-0, 1.50 ERA, 42 K) | Landon McAllister | (2-0, 2.08 ERA, 14 K) |
|
Game 2 (Friday) |
Koty Frank– RHP | (4-0, 2.88 ERA, 45 K(6th)) |
Mozart Duarte (3-0, 2.08 ERA, 23 K) |
|
| Game 3 (Friday) | Brenton Beck-RHP | (3-0, 1.93 ERA, 20 K) |
*Keiten Asbill (2-0, 3.27 ERA, 13 K) |
*Projected Starters
#3 Pearl River vs #14 Northwest Florida State
This is going to be an interesting match up. Two of the top teams in the country regardless of their division are squaring off.
Pearl River comes into the weekend double header riding a 9-game win streak after they lost their first two games of the season to Chipola. They can do it on both ends of the game. Last week they threw a double header No-Hitter. They are ranked 2nd in the country in Shutouts (4), and have an Batting Average Against of .145 which is 4th in the country at the division 2 level. When it comes to offense they currently are sitting at 1st in Homers with 20, they are 10th in RBI’s (98), 5th in Slugging (.643), 6th in Sac Flies (8), and 7th in Average (.360). Leading them on the offensive side of the ball this season has been the trio of Reece Ewing (Southern Miss), Britt McKay (UL-Monroe), and Bryson Ware (Auburn). Ewing (Southern Miss) is hitting .516 with 2 doubles, 3 homers, 11 RBI’s and has scored 15 runs. McKay (UL-Monroe) leads the team hitting .542 with just a double, 6 RBI’s, and has scored 10 runs. Rounding out the trio is Ware (Auburn). He is hitting .361, with 2 doubles, 2 triples, a team leading 5 Homers, a team leading 16 RBI’s and has scored 11 runs.
Northwest Florida comes into this series riding a 6 game win streak. And since losing have not allowed any team to score more then 3 runs in those 6 games outscoring them 44-7. NW Florida’s biggest strength comes from their staff. They don’t allow many runs with a team ERA of 2.28 which is 8th in the country, and have an Batting average against of .190 which is 7th. On the offense though they have been led by Trace Willhoite (Eastern Kentucky) and Noah Bailey. Willhoite (Eastern Kentucky) is hitting .327 with 5 doubles, 11 RBI’s and has scored 11 runs. Bailey is hitting .340 with 5 doubles, 2 homers, 14 RBI’s and has scored another 11 for himself.
| #3 Pearl River |
#14 NW Florida State |
||
|
Game 1 |
Jacob Schere-RHP | (1-1, 2.53 ERA, 10 K) |
*Dylan DeLucia-RHP (4-0, .31 ERA, 31 K) |
| Game 2 | Leif Moore-RHP | (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 22 K) |
*Beck Way (LSU)-RHP (4-0, 1 CG, .64 ERA, 38 K) |
*Projected Starters
Key games to Watch
*Key Players to Watch
#5 Bergen vs #14 Brookdale
|
#5 Bergen |
#14 Brookdale |
|
John Biggiani (.500/.500/.625) |
Dom Meleo (Stockton) (.500/.500/1.167) |
|
Christopher Amparo (.667/.714/1.00) |
Ryan Gilmore (.167/.167/.667 |
|
Joseph Miceli (1-0, 4.50 ERA, 18.00 K/9) |
Dylan Taliaferro (Lynn) (0-1, 0.00 ERA, 13.50 K/9) |
|
Nathaniel Byrd (0-1, 15.00 ERA, 24.00 K/9) |
Matt Pickus (0-0, 5.40 ERA, 12.60 K/9) |
New Mexico vs El Paso
|
New Mexico |
El Paso |
|
Zac Vooletich (.293/.406/.328) |
Jesus Licon (.500/.607/.833) |
|
Carolos Contreras (.200/.305/.320) |
Raul Lopez (UTPB) (.300/.394/.500) |
|
Jairo Vasquez (Southeastern) (1-4, 4.47 ERA, 13.14 K/9) |
Seth Homfeld (2-1, 3.00 ERA, 10.13 K/9) |
|
Pablo Suarez (1-2, 6.46 ERA, 9.13 K/9) |
Pablo Cortes(Texas Southern) (2-2, 5.49 ERA, 7.78 K/9) |
#15 Pima vs #3 Yavapai
|
#15 Pima |
#3 Yavapai |
|
Jose Enriquez (.373/.452/.529) |
Christian Encarnacion-Strand(Oklahoma State) (.451/.536/1.042) |
|
Angel Ochoa (.340/.431/.460) |
CJ Valdez (.397/.488/.753) |
|
Ian Mejia (3-0, 2.16 ERA, 9.36 K/9) |
Matt Novis (3-1, 3.38 ERA, 9.79 K/9) |
|
Angel Castillo (3-0, 1 SV, .79 ERA, 8.74 K/9) |
Riley Egloff (New Mexico) (3-1, 2.05 ERA, 10.94 K/9) |