This weekend we are back in Tennesse. For the 4th straight weeks, Southwest Tennessee is hosting a Tournament at the USA Stadium there in Millington, Tennessee. To start the month they hosted the Earl Bird Classic, the second weekend they hosted the Flag City Classic, Last weekend they hosted the Saluqi Invitational, and this week they round out the month with the Babe Howard Classic. 

The field there this week is a stacked one. With 6 teams that are ranked in the Top 25 in their respected divisions as well as 3 other teams that made both the Top 50 and Top 40 to start the season. 

Schedules

*The Home Team is the second Team*

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Teams

*Pitching Rotation Subject to Change*

#16 Dyersburg State (10-3)

Vs #3 Kirkwood – Nelson Smith – RHP – 1-0, 15.0 IP, 16 K, 3.60 ERA

Vs Mineral Area – Aidan McEvoy – LHP (Charlotte Commit) –  1-1, 10.0 IP, 18 K, 6.30 ERA

Vs #2 Pearl River – Anthony Figueroa – LHP – 2-0, 1 CG, 23.0 IP, 45K, 1.96 ERA

Dyersburg State has been on a role. As we said last week they are rolling after a rough first week. They swept last week here in Millington. And look to continue that stretch. This week they do have a bit tougher weekend facing two of the top 3 teams at the Division 2 level in Kirkwood and Pearl River. 

They have seemed to find their grove after the slow start in Florida and if both the bats and the arms can keep doing what they have been the last few weeks they look to be putting them selfs in a very good spot coming into conference play starting next weekend. 

Other Guys to Watch:

Lucas Cook – INF (Purdue Commit) – .395/.511/.737, 1 2B, 4 HR, 20 RBI

James Dodd – C – .244/.415/.293, 2 2B, 1 RBI

Pierre Seals – OF – .316/.409/.605, 5 2B, 2 HR, 11 RBI

Frontier (5-7)

Vs North Iowa Area – Matt Brown – RHP – 3-0, 17.0 IP, 18 K, 2.65 ERA

Vs #21 Southeast Iowa – Andrew Wojtrarowicz – LHP – 0-1, 9.2 IP, 9 K, 6.52 ERA

Vs Iowa Central – Jose Paula – RHP (Member of the French National Team) – 1-1, 9.2 IP, 5 K, 7.45 ERA

Frontier is a team that for the most part gets overlooked. They are almost always a solid bunch but they play in a very tough region.  So far this season they have had a tough go of it with scheduling and this weekend is going to be much of the same. They have split with Hinds who is always a solid team out of Mississippi and then lost 3 of 4 to a UA Rich Mountain team that has shown it is a tough team to get past. 

Despite that rough start they have shown some promise and have a solid group of guys that they go to battle with. So far this season they are hitting a slash line of .317/.384/.450 as a team. With a pitching staff whose ERA is a bit high but when looking at who they have played it would make sense. This is a team that looks to be able to get hot when they need to haven’t quite figured out their identity just yet. 

Other Guys to Watch:

Mael Zan – 1B/OF (Uncommitted) –  .415/.478/.732, 5 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 9 RBI (Member of French National Team)

Eli Burwash – CF/MIF – .381/.500/.452, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBI, 3 SB

Carlos Martinez – SS (Uncommitted) -.263/.356/.447, 1 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI (Returning starting SS from last year hit .373 with 27 SB’s as a freshman)

Micah Childs – C (Uncommmitted) – .424/.424/.515, 3 2B, 5 RBI (Going to be questionable this weekend)

Iowa Central (4-3)

Vs UA Rich Mountain – Brett Sears – RHP (Nebraska Commit) – 2-0, 12.1 IP, 10 K, 2.19 ERA

Vs Frontier – John Klein – RHP (Kansas State Commit) – 1-0, 11.0 IP, 12 K, 2.45 ERA

Vs Southeast Nebraska – Easton Dermody – RHP (SIU Commit) – 1-0, 11.0 IP, 19 K, 3.27 ERA

Vs Rend Lake – Evan Borst – RHP – 0-0, 3.2 IP, 5 K 0.00 ERA

For the second straight week, they are over in Tennesee. Last week they went 2-2 and come back looking to best that record there in Millington, Tennesse in one weekend. So far they have had a solid year. Winning a series agasint NOC-Enid before last week. They are hitting a team slash line of .256/.377/.397. They have shown glimpses of what could be a very solid season for them. 

Other Guys to Watch:

Brock Johnson – 3B/OF – .269/.367/.462, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI

Jalen Martinez – OF/LHP – .333/.517/.714, 1 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI

Nick Baker – C – .333/.385/.500, 1 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI

Trey Morris – 1B/RHP –  .348/.448/.478, 1 HR, 3 RBI

Max Holy – SS (Central Missori Commit) – .143//273/.179, 1 2B, 4 RBI

#3 Kirkwood (0-0)

Vs #17 Dyersburg State – Tucker Christensen – RHP 

Vs #10 Parkland – Blaine Harpenau – RHP

Vs Lincoln Trail – Caleb Banowetz – LHP 

Vs Southwest Tennessee – Brandon Laux – RHP (Eastern Kentucky Commit)

Vs Mineral Area – Aidan Rath – RHP/OF

This is going to be Kirkwood’s first go at it this year. As we all know the month of February and even early march there is an opening weekend almost every week. There is not much to write home about other than they are excited to finally get out on a field. 

They are starting it off though with one of the tougher weekends that are taking place this weekend in Tennessee. 

Other Guys to Watch: 

Alex Pendergast – 2B (Dallas Baptist Commit)

Lorenz Elion – RHP 

Parker Shupe – 2B/OF

Chase Moseley – OF

Lewis & Clark (0-0)

Vs #21 Southeastern Iowa – Jonas Barnes – RHP 

Vs North Iowa Area – Colling Salters – RHP 

Vs Three Rivers – Adam Stilts – RHP 

Vs Southwest Tennessee – MJ Hoffman – LHP 

Another school is looking to kick things off on the right foot this year. They have a lot to look forward to this year but it is going to be a tough road ahead for them with who they have in their region. So they look to get things started off on the right foot. 

Other Guys to Watch:

Blake Burris – OF 

Logan Cromer – SS/RHP 

Bryce Zupan – C/1B 

Collin Salter – RHP 

Mike Hampton – OF

Lincoln Trail (2-6)

Vs Mississippi Delta – Kyle Cortner – P/INF (Indiana State Commit) – 0-1, 6.2 IP, 5 K, 5.40 ERA

Vs Southeast Nebraska – Adam Hutchinson – 1-0, 9.1 IP, 19 K, 1.93 ERA

Vs #3 Kirkwood – Wyatt Geesaman – 1-1, 6.1 IP, 9 K, 7.11 ERA

Vs Three Rivers – Logan James – RHP (Ohio State Commit) – 0-2, 4.0 IP, 6 K, 9.00 ERA

Lincoln Trial comes into this weekend a bit banged up after the last few weeks. Regardless they are still going to be competitive. They have a solid weekend ahead of them. Coming into the weekend they have played one of the tougher schedules that there has been. With multiple teams that have been successful and getting swept by one of the hottest teams in the country right now in Georgia Highlands. 

Other Guys to Watch:

Kaid Muth – C (McKendree Commit) – .400/.417/.900, 2 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI

Ike Book – OF/INF – .231/.259/.385, 4 2B, 5 RBI

Jake Hutchins – OF – .263/.440/.579, 3 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI

Mineral Area (4-3)

Vs #16 Dyersburg State – Aaron Evers – RHP – 1-1, 1 CG, 10.0 IP, 13 K, 1.80 ERA

Vs #3 Kirkwood -Pierce Hartmann – RHP – 1-0, 10.1 IP, 8 K, 3.48 ERA

Mineral Area is one of only a few teams that have just 2 games this weekend but despite that, they might have one of the toughest. First going against a Dyersbug team that has been on a run since the first week than against pre-season #3 Kirkwood who looks to get their season off right. Mineral Area has shown they can compete with the best even though are close to .500 they have not lost any game by a wider margin than 2. Look for both these games to come down to the end. 

Other Guys to Watch:

Derek Williams – OF – .444/.556/1.00, 1 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI

Antoine Tremblay – OF – .458/.552/.542, 2 2B, 4 RBI

Russell Derbyshire – RHP – 1 SV, 7.0 IP, 7 K, 2.57 ERA

Brian Strange – RHP – 1-1, 6.1 IP, 5 K, 7.11 ERA

Mississippi Delta (2-5)

Vs #10 Parkland – Haden Luke – RHP – 1-1, 11.1 IP, 13 K, 1.59 ERA

Vs Lincoln Trail – Patrick Martin – RHP – 1-1, 7.0 IP, 5 K, 6.43 ERA

Mississippi Delta has been put through the wringer this early season with games against East Central Mississippi, Dyersburg State, and Copiah-Lincoln they have not had it easy. And looking into the weekend they do not have an easy weekend either. They are getting a Parkland Team that is itching to finally get on the field. 

Other Guys to Watch:

Wes Warnock – .556/.600/.778, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI

Kieran Theriot – UTIL – .333/.462/.381, 1 2B, 5 RBI, 11 SB

North Iowa Area (2-1)

Vs Frontier – Jacob Mrosko – RHP – 1-0, 4.1 IP, 10 K, 4.15 ERA

Vs #10 Parkland – Thomas Gross – 1-0, 5.0 IP, 9 K, 3.60 ERA

Vs Lewis & Clark – Brandt Thompson – 0-0, 3.0 IP, 3 K, 3.00 ERA

For the second time in just about as many years, there is a new guy at the helm of the NIACC program. This though does not take away from the talent they have there. They are still in the early goings of the season with just 3 games under the belt. They still seem to be finding who they are as a team but i would expect this weekend for them to jump out in a big way. 

Other Guys to Watch:

Zach Zaetta – SS (UMass Commit) – .273/.385/.545, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 SB

Cody Kelley – C – .400/.571/.400, 1 RBI

Logan Milene – OF – .417/.462/.1.00, 1 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI

Cayden Nicoletto – OF – .500/.444/1.000, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI

#10 Parkland (0-0)

Vs Mississippi Delta – Tucker Shalley – RHP

Vs #3 Kirkwood – Mitch Mueller – RHP (Utah Valley Commit)

Vs North Iowa Area – Reece Rodabaugh – RHP (Utah Valley Commit)

Vs Three Rivers – Michael Sharman  – 

Parkland thought that they were going to get a good start last week but the weather had another plan. This week though they finally are going to get to play and the 1st-time head coach is geared and ready to get things rolling. Parkland looks to have a solid group across the board and it is going to be very fun to watch what unfolds for them this weekend. 

Other Guys to Watch:

Jackson Blemler – MIF

Cole Jones – INF (Western Carolina Commit)

#2 Pearl River (7-1)

Vs North Iowa Area – Dakota Lee – RHP (Southeastern LA Commit) – 1-0, 8.1 IP, 5 K, 5.40 ERA or Will Passeau – RHP – 0-0, 3.0 IP, 7 K, 9.00 ERA

Vs #16 Dyersburg State – Leif Moore – RHP (South Alabama Commit) – 1-0, 6.2 IP, 6 K, 1.35 ERA

Perl River has started like we all thought it would. HOT. They come into the weekend 7-1. They did hit a bump this past week losing their first game of the season but that shouldn’t stop them. They are though down a few key players due to injury but with the depth that they have, they have filled that role for the time being. 

Other Guys to Watch:

Byrion Robinson – LHP 

Cole Tolbert – RHP – 1-0, 4.0 IP, 9 K, 0.00 ERA

Tate Parker – OF – .500/.480/.1.083, 2 2B, 4 HR, 13 RBI 

Gabe Braodus – SS – .300/.500/.300, 5 RBI, 5 SB

Ian Montz – OF – .375/.583/.875, 1 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 7 SB

Rend Lake (2-7)

Vs UA Rich Mountain – Arlon Butts – RHP – 00-2, 8.0 IP, 8 K, 12.38 ERA

Vs #21 Southeastern Iowa – Tyler Butler – RHP – 0-1, 4.0 IP, 5 K, 2.25 ERA

Vs Iowa Central – Korey Bunselmeyer – RHP – 0-2, 8.1 IP, 12 K, 9.72 ERA

Vs Three Rivers – Nick Compton – RHP – 1-1, 6.2 IP, 7 K, 5.40 ERA

Rend Lake has stumbled out of the gates. They have faced some tough competitions but they have differently shown some struggle. It does not help with someone throws a No-Hitter and a 13K 1 Hitter against you in back-to-back days though. This week should be a bit easier weekend than the last few. 

Other Guys to Watch:

Nick Wimber – Of – .172/.200/.276, 1 HR, 4 RBI

Seth Williams – INF – .440/.533/.760, 2 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI

Hunter Thomas – C/1B – .500/.600/.875, 6 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI

Southeast Nebraska (3-3)

Vs Lincoln Trail – Alex Wize – 0-0, 2.0 IP, 2 K, 0.00 ERA

Vs Frontier – Caleb Ruter – 0-1, 3.2 ERA, 6 K, 4.91 ERA

Vs Iowa Central – Brayden Curtis – 0-0, 4.0 IP, 4 K, 11.25 ERA

Vs #21 Southeastern Iowa – Will Colenec – 0-1, 3.2 IP, 6 K, 4.91 ERA

Southeast is a team that generally gets overlooked by many. They play in a region that does not get a lot of love but always seems to produce a lot of solid guys. So far this season they sit at .500 after splitting with both Hutchinson and Garden City. as a team, they look to be doing pretty solid hitting a .253/.366/.457 Slash line along with a team ear of 5.27. They have a tough weekend ahead of them but they should be pretty competitive in all the games and would not be surprised if they came out with multiple wins. 

Other Guys to Watch:

Parker Thomas – P (Nebraska commit) – 0-1, 3.0 IP, 5 K, 0.00 ERA

Seth Claybourne – P – 0-1, 3.0 IP, 56K 0.00 ERA

Jackson Meier – C – .222/.300/.556, 1 HR, 3 RBI

Nolan Brown – INF (SFA Commit) – .250/333/.563, 2 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI 

Tyler Preece – INF (Incarnate Word Commit)- .167/.286/.333, 1 HR, 43 RBI

Matt Goetzmann – OF (Omaha Commit) – .313/.542/.625, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI

#21 Southeastern Iowa (2-2)

Vs Southwest Tennessee – Hayden Cooper – RHP – 1-0, 6.0 IP, 9 K, 0.00 ERA

Vs Lewis & Clark – Andrew Long – RHP – 1-0, 6.0 IP, 7 K, 0.00 ERA

Vs Rend Lake – Blake Gaskey – RHP – 0-0, 5.1 IP, 2 K, 3.38 ERA

Vs Southeast Nebraska – Casey Perrenoud – RHP – 0-0, 2.0 IP, 3 K, 0.00 ERA

Other Guys to Watch:

Maxton Polard – IF – .545/.643/.636, 1 2B, 2 RBI

Cole Smith – INF – .143/.250/.143

Reece Wissinger – RHP (Southeastern Commit)

Southwest Tennessee (8-5)

Vs #21 Southeastern Iowa – Avery Hastings – RHP – 2-0, 1 CG, 19.0 IP, 20 K, 2.37 ERA

Vs UA Rich Mountain – Austin Herold – LHP – 1-1, 14.1 IP, 11 K, 5.65 ERA

Vs #3 Kirkwood – Colton Brumley – RHP – 2-0, 2 CG 20.1 IP, 26 K, 2.66 ERA, 

Vs Lewis & Clark – Landry Borden – RHP – 2-0, 11.2 IP, 11 K, 4.63 ERA

4 Weekends in February, 4 Hosted Tournaments, and so far a winning record in all of them. Southwest Tennessee has done something pretty cool over the last month and honestly, we wish we were there to watch them all in person. But alas we can’t. They have played well to start the season and ook to finish strong this weekend with a tough slate of games ahead of them. 

Other Guys to Watch:

Presotn Ford – UTIL – .400/.472/.622, 4 2B, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 4 SB

CJ Thomas – OF – .389/.593/.583, 1 2B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 7 SB

Mitch Austin – INF – .297/.412/.514, 2 2B, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 4 SB

Brady Holloway – 1B – .414/.486/.966, 5 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 15 RBI

Three Rivers (6-5)

Vs #10 Parkland – Noah Burkey – RHP  (Arkansas-Lincoln Rock Commit) – 0-2, 9.0 IP, 8 K, 9.00 ERA

Vs Lincoln Trail – Michael White – LHP – 0-1, 7.0 IP, 12 K, 7.71 ERA 

Vs Lewis & Clark – Daniel Vogt – RHP (FR) – 1-1, 6.0 IP, 4 K, 9.00 ERA

Vs Rend Lake – TBD

Three Rivers has played the tale of two teams this year. Either they put up a lot of runs or they score a lot of runs. So far they ahve scored more than they ahve let up and come out on the winning side but still. They have seemed to be moving in the right direction. This weekend is going to prove a tough test for them with Parkland, and Lincoln trial both looking to get things going. All-in-All it is still early for Three Rivers and they are going to find their groove here soon. 

Other Guys to Watch:

Hunter Gray – OF (LSU Shreveport Commit) – .390/.457/.463, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 8 SB

Kolten Poorman – INF (Eastern Illinois Commit) – .222/.477/.481, 4 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI

Lane Crowden – INF (Southern Indiana Commit) – .286/.412/.500, 1 2B, 1 3B, 4 RBI

Cade Cancilla – INF (University of Arkansas Monticello Commit) – .278/.422/.528, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 12 RBI

Kailen Hamson – LHP – 3 AP, 0-0, 2.0 IP, 4 K, 9.00 ERA

UA Rich Mountain (5-2)

Vs Iowa Central – Jackson Wells – RHP – 1-0, 8.2 IP, 11 K, 5.19 ERA

Vs Southwest Tennessee – Grant Shankle – LHP – 1-0, 8.0 IP, 11 K, 7.88 ERA

Vs Rend Lake – Randy Little Jr. – RHP – 1-0, 6.2 IP, 13 K, 1.35 ERA

Rich Mountain has been a team that for many may have come out of nowhere. We ranked them just outside the Top 25 to start the season for a reason. And so for they have shown that we made a good choice at putting them up there. They have won games with tier bats and with the arms. They currently are 5th in the country in triples with 8 along with 16 doubles and 7 Home runs. 

They are going to be a team that is going to make a lot of noise this year and a team that people should not overlook just because this is the second year the program is in existence. 

Other Guys to Watch:

Mason Reynolds – INF (LSU-Shreveport Commit) – .292/.370/.625, 2 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI

Luke Rice – INF (Henderson State Commit) – .400/.500/.600, 1 2B, 2 3B, 12 RBI

Chase Webb – INF (Southern Arkansas Commit)- .435/.581/.652, 2 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 4 SB