DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: March 8

Nick Herfordt

Photo: Brent Francisco (Taj Falconer)

NCAA D-II

Rank	School	State	Prev	Overall Rec.	Week Rec.
1	North Greenville Crusaders	SC	1	17-2	4-1
2	Tampa Spartans	FL	2	13-3	3-1
3	Angelo State Rams	TX	4	17-3	4-0
4	Columbus St. Cougars	GA	6	14-3	3-0
5	Mount Olive Trojans	NC	7	12-4	4-1
6	Southern Arkansas Muleriders	AR	5	12-5	2-2
7	Wingate Bulldogs	NC	3	12-6	1-2
8	Montevallo Falcons	AL	8	15-2	3-1
9	Millersville Marauders	PA	9	15-4	5-1
10	East Stroudsburg Warriors	PA	15	11-2	3-0
11	Central Missouri Mules	MO	11	11-6	2-1
12	Quincy Hawks	IL	12	8-3	4-0
13	Minnesota State Mavericks	MN	13	8-3	4-1
14	West Texas A&M Buffs	TX	14	12-6	3-1
15	Southern New Hampshire Penmen	NH	10	7-3	0-2
16	Metro State Roadrunners	CO	16	15-3	3-1
17	Wayne State Warriors	MI	17	4-1	3-0
18	Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes	CA	18	13-1	4-0
19	Point Loma Sea Lions	CA	19	9-3	1-0
20	Arkansas Tech Wonderboys	AR	NR	14-5	4-0
21	St. Edward's Hilltoppers	TX	20	12-5	3-1
22	Newberry Wolves	SC	23	14-4	2-1
23	Augustana Vikings	SD	22	10-6	2-1
24	UNC Pembroke Braves	NC	24	13-4	3-1
25	Colorado Mesa Mavericks	CO	25	9-6	3-1

Dropped: Henderson State (21)

In a matchup of NCAA D-II teams positioned within the top fifteen of the rankings, East Stroudsburg won three games against visiting Southern New Hampshire. With the wins the Warriors’ win streak climbed to ten as they swept their third consecutive series. The victories also vaulted them into the top ten of the national rankings as they flipped positions with the Penmen.

As they have much of the season to date, ESU’s pitching propelled them to victory. They only allowed four total runs against a team that has advanced to the NCAA Division II Championship in three of the last four opportunities. In the finale on Monday, redshirt junior Brent Francisco shutout SNHU for six innings before handing the game off to the bullpen. On the season Francisco has a 1.17 ERA over 23 innings and has only allowed 14 hits. He and the other two regulars in the Warrior rotation, Chase Nowak and Tom Reisinger, have a combined 2.27 ERA on the young season.

While the Warriors' pitching unquestionably deserves recognition for their success this season, the offense deserves some accolades as well. ESU hasn’t been punishing pitchers with a powerful lineup, but instead have been wearing them down with patient hitting and aggressive base running. An prime example of the aggressive and difficult to combat ESU offensive is leadoff hitter Ben Piripavel. He has drawn 17 walks in only 56 plate appearances to compile a lofty .482 on-base percentage. Once he’s gained that initial foothold on the base paths, he turns the free passes into the equivalent of extra base hits. He already has 13 stolen bases on the season, and as a team the Warriors were a perfect 21-for-21 in stolen base attempts against SNHU and are in the top five in NCAA D-II for the season.

There was one addition to the D-II Top 25 with Arkansas Tech rejoining the Perfect Game rankings for the first time this year. Unlike ESU who made the move with pitching, the Wonderboys have taken a much more offensive path to gain recognition. The Wonderboys swept previously 21st ranked Henderson State and amassed 47 runs in three games over the Reddies. On the season Tech is batting .320 as a team and have scored at least nine runs in 13 of 19 games - 12 of which were wins. In addition to usurping HSU last week, ATU has wins over Central Missouri and Southern Arkansas, and nearly upset top ranked North Greenville to start the season.

Keaton Ranallo, a transfer from Seminole State College, has been battering baseballs this season for Tech. He is hitting .315 with a team leading eight home runs. Nick Jones has finally been able to get some game action and display the skill which made him a highly regarded prep player out of Little Rock. He is leading the team in hitting at .407 with an on-base percentage of .522 as he has 10 walks and three HBPs with only five strikeouts.

NAIA

Rank	School	State	Prev	Overall Rec.	Week Rec.
1	Southeastern Fire	FL	1	21-0	5-0
2	Georgia Gwinnett Grizzlies	GA	3	17-2	5-0
3	Cumberlands Patriots	KY	4	15-3	5-1
4	Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs	TN	5	16-1	3-1
5	Hope International Royals	CA	6	16-4	3-1
6	LSU Shreveport Pilots	LA	2	13-5	1-2
7	Westmont Warriors	CA	7	17-5	4-0
8	Webber International Warriors	FL	9	19-3	5-0
9	Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles	OK	12	16-4	3-1
10	Lewis-Clark State Warriors	ID	11	15-3	5-0
11	St. Thomas Bobcats	FL	14	10-7	2-0
12	Vanguard Lions	CA	10	15-6	1-3
13	Mobile Rams	AL	16	17-2	3-0
14	Georgetown Tigers	KY	15	11-2	0-0
15	Bellevue Bruins	NE	8	7-4	0-2
16	Reinhardt Eagles	GA	20	10-7	2-0
17	William Carey Crusaders	MS	22	14-4	5-0
18	SAGU Lions	TX	NR	17-5	5-0
19	Faulkner Eagles	AL	17	10-8	2-2
20	Doane Tigers	NE	24	9-3	2-0
21	Freed-Hardeman Lions	TN	NR	12-9	3-1
22	Clarke Pride	IA	13	7-6	0-3
23	Central Methodist Eagles	MO	23	8-8	1-1
24	Columbia Cougars	MO	21	12-5	0-3
25	Concordia Cardinals	MI	25	8-1	0-0

Dropped: Concordia (18), USAO (19)

In NAIA action a team has entered the national rankings for the first time in program history. The surprising Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) Lions pulled off an impressive sweep over previously 19th ranked USAO. Their win Sunday was the team’s 17th against only five losses and has earned them recognition as the 18th positioned team in this week’s Perfect Game Top 25 rankings. In addition to their series sweep over the Drovers, SAGU has quality wins this season over Mount Marty and Tabor and played well against Vanguard on the road.

It wasn’t long ago opponents could see an upcoming series against SAGU and immediately pencil in wins. In 2017 and 2018, their record was an unimpressive 27-68 and were on the losing end of numerous double-digit losses. The next season Matt Cornacchione was hired to lead the Lions and revamp the paltry program which had never finished over .500. It wouldn’t be the first time Cornacchione was tasked with resurrecting a struggling school’s team. He had previously transformed Nyack College, a D-II program outside of New York City, from an abysmal 3-35 performer, to a 26 win turnaround. His success was immediate. In 2019 the Lions won a school record 26 games and reached the Sooner Athletic Conference semifinals. The record would be bested once again in each of the next two complete seasons as SAGU won 29 games in 2021, and 36 games last season. Last year’s success also included their first winning record in the SAC and advancing to the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) World Series for the first time in program history.

A big part of the Lions’ success has been due to their pitching. In November Michael Watson was named to the 2023 Preseason All-American Team, the first SAGU player ever to receive the honor. Watson, who was also named the NCCAA National Pitcher of the Year, had a 2.99 ERA over 90 innings last season and struck out 140 batters which was third nationally and first in the SAC. He held opposition to a tiny .160 batting average and even picked off 13 runners. He has been just as formidable this season with a 2.50 ERA and has a 4-0 record in six starts with two complete games. Against USAO he scattered three hits over seven innings and struck out 10. However the success on the mound isn’t limited to just Watson. As a team the Lions have an impressive 3.38 ERA and have struck out 180 batters in 167.2 innings while only allowing 134 hits.

The Lions’ offense has been formidable as well. The team is batting .289 and led by Bryson Collins and Matt Daiy. Collins is batting .365 with a team leading 10 extra base hits and 12 stolen bases. Daiy is hitting .410 and is among the team leaders in several categories despite not being a regular starter to begin the season.

The Lions’ have a quick opportunity to show they deserve their newly minted ranking as they face Texas Wesleyan. The Rams have a 15-5 record and won their doubleheader over Bacone College by a combined score of 36-1.

NCAA D-III

Rank	School	State	Prev	Overall Rec.	Week Rec.
1	Salisbury Seagulls	MD	1	8-1	3-1
2	Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets	OH	2	8-2	3-1
3	Birmingham-Southern Panthers	AL	3	13-1	5-0
4	LaGrange Panthers	GA	4	8-3	3-1
5	Rowan Profs	NJ	5	3-0	3-0
6	UW-Stevens Point Pointers	WI	6	2-0	2-0
7	Shenandoah Hornets	VA	7	10-1	3-1
8	Arcadia Knights	PA	8	2-2	0-1
9	Endicott Gulls	MA	9	1-0	1-0
10	Lynchburg Hornets	VA	14	8-1	4-0
11	North Central Cardinals	IL	11	5-2	1-1
12	Aurora Spartans	IL	15	3-0	3-0
13	Trinity Tigers	TX	18	8-4	3-0
14	Webster Gorloks	MO	10	2-4	1-2
15	Denison Big Red	OH	NR	5-0	2-0
16	UW-Whitewater Warhawks	WI	16	0-0	0-0
17	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags	CA	NR	11-4	3-1
18	East Texas Baptist Tigers	TX	17	7-5	2-1
19	Ithaca Bombers	NY	20	4-2	2-1
20	Augustana Vikings	IL	22	6-2	3-0
21	Eastern Connecticut Warriors	CT	21	3-0	0-0
22	Johns Hopkins Blue Jays	MD	NR	5-0	3-0
23	Montclair State Red Hawks	NJ	23	3-0	1-0
24	Christopher Newport Captains	VA	19	11-4	2-3
25	Bethel Royals	MN	25	1-2	0-0

Dropped: Pomona-Pitzer (12), Chapman (13) Marietta (24)

Two California based schools which had been etched into the top half of the Top 25 have struggled early this season. Chapman and Pomona-Pitzer were removed from the rankings for the time being, in large part due to an upstart school which has earned wins over both teams. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps won two of three over the Panthers to close February and followed it up with a sweep of the Sagehens last week. The Stags improved their record to 11-4, are among the early leaders of the always formidable SCIAC and joined the national rankings at the 17th position.

CMS’ junior first baseman Julian Sanders slashed .600/.611/1.467 against Pomoma-Pitzer and was named the conference’s Hitter of the Week. He had four home runs and 11 RBI over the weekend to raise his season totals to nine and 26 respectively in only 15 games played.

After spending this upcoming weekend in the desert at the Tucson Invitational, the Stags have a three games series with fellow SCIAC leader Cal Lutheran which will give the winner an absolute inside-track to capturing the conference’s regular season title.

Two other additions to the NCAA D-III Top 25 are Denison and Johns Hopkins.

Denison was 35-11 last season (their second most wins in a single season) and advanced to a regional championship, but were eliminated by Salisbury in a series of hotly contested contests. Despite their successful season the Big Red were omitted from this year’s initial rankings as three-quarters of their rotation from last year had graduated. Nevertheless, Denison has continued their winning ways. Already in the young season they have victories over two ranked teams, Christopher Newport and North Central, as well as another over a very good Spalding club. They will look to add more notable wins this week with a series of scheduled games in Florida against NCC once again, as well as Arcadia and Babson.

Johns Hopkins started the season with a shutout win over perennial power Cortland to start the season, and embarrassed top ranked Salisbury on Sunday 23-4 to join the rankings. The Blue Jays frequently find their names in the Top 25 and advanced to the NCAA D-III College World Series in 2021, but finished with a disappointing and uncharacteristic 20-18 mark last year. Starting pitcher Gabriel Romano, a graduate transfer from Quinnipiac, was credited with both of the aforementioned wins. In 12 innings this season he has yet to give up a run and has only allowed a pair of extra-base hits.

PERFECTGAME.TV