Baseball World Series/Softball Super Regional Update

GC&SU Baseball drops heartbreaker to UC San Diego, 3-2

Article courtesy of GCSUBobcats.com

North Georgia Softball: Still undefeated at 50-0

Article courtesy of SaintsSports.com

Valdosta State outlasts Arkansas-Monticello, wins South Region title

Article courtesy of the Valdosta (Ga.) Daily Times

D-II Baseball Regional Preview

NOTE: Teams in conferences covered by D-II South Sports are marked in BOLD type.

The selections have been made. Now, the road to an NCAA Division II baseball national championship begins in earnest. Here's a quick preview and analysis of the regional fields in both the South and Southeast Regions, respectively. Team won-lost records are marked in parentheses.

South--at Magnolia, Arkansas (May 14-18, 2009)

Tournament Website

Bracket

TEAMS

1. Southern Arkansas (49-9)

2. Barry (44-9)

3. West Alabama (37-14)

4. Tampa (38-15)

5. Lynn (38-16)

6. Florida Southern (38-14)

7. Valdosta State (41-19)

8. Stillman (35-20)

Analysis: While there's no surprise as to who's in the South Regional bracket, the big surprise has to be in who isn't: No. 15 (Collegiate Baseball) Delta State. Despite being nationally ranked several national polls for most of the season, and earning the West Division's top seed for the Gulf South Conference tournament, the Statesmen found themselves outside looking in after being snubbed for a regional bid. Still, this regional tournament has a star-studded cast in terms of teams, with six of the top 20 squads in this week's Collegiate Baseball poll playing this weekend: No. 1 Southern Arkansas, No. 3 Barry, co-No. 7 West Alabama, No. 10 Tampa, No. 14 Florida Southern, and No. 19 Valdosta State. It's too bad only one of these eight teams listed above can move on to Cary, N.C., the site of this year's national tournament.

Southeast--at Aiken, South Carolina (May 14-17, 2009)

Tournament Website

Bracket

TEAMS

1. USC Aiken (39-17)

2. Francis Marion (36-13-1)

3. Georgia College & State University (37-17)

4. Catawba (35-16)

5. Tusculum (36-16)

6. Belmont Abbey (34-24)

Analysis: Although they grabbed the top three seeds for this regional, the Peach Belt Conference only managed to get three teams there. No. 5 USC Aiken still managed to earn the host's role for the Southeast bracket despite being bounced early as the No. 1 seed by No. 8 seed Augusta State in the PBC tournament. Like the South bracket, the Southeast Regional also has its share of nationally ranked teams playing for the right to go to North Carolina. In addition to the Pacers, there's also the other co-No. 7 team in the Collegiate Baseball poll, Francis Marion, as well as No. 20 GC&SU, No.21 Catawba, and Tusculum--which, ironically--finished in a three-way tie for the No. 30 ranking with UNC Pembroke, another good team from D-II South Nation on the outside looking in, and New Mexico Highlands. Also, No. 23 Armstrong Atlantic State was left out of the Southeast field despite a decent 38-18 record.

Who's in?

The start of the NCAA Division II baseball tournament is just around the corner, with regionals starting later this week. Following are the teams in both the South and Southeast Regions, respectively, that have clinched automatic bids to the regionals. Teams in conferences covered by D-II South Sports are marked in BOLD type.

South Region

Gulf South: Southern Arkansas

SIAC: Stillman

Sunshine State: Barry

Southeast Region

Conference Carolinas: Belmont Abbey

Peach Belt: Francis Marion

South Atlantic: Catawba

Click here, or on the title of the post above, for a list of all automatic qualifiers to the NCAA Division II baseball championships.

UNC Pembroke baseball routs USC Aiken 17-3

The University of South Carolina-Aiken baseball team saw its 16-game winning streak snapped with a 17-3 rout by UNC Pembroke Friday night. Click here to see how UNCP's win impacts the Peach Belt Conference regular season title race.

Big baseball weekend...and more...

The next to last weekend in April has multiple games with conference tournament implications. Speaking of which, there's a very important conference softball tournament being played in South Carolina. So, without further ado, here goes. All series listed are played Saturday and Sunday unless otherwise indicated.

Baseball

Ouachita Baptist at Southern Arkansas: The top-ranked (Collegiate Baseball D-II) Muleriders play host to the No. 25 Tigers in an unlikely match-up of top teams in the Gulf South Conference West Division. Having already clinched a berth in the GSC tournament, SAU (38-7, 14-1) is riding a season-high 17-game winning streak, and hopes to continue that amazing run against OBU (33-14, 8-7).

West Alabama at North Alabama: The No. 10 (and current GSC East leader) Tigers (31-10, 10-1) have already clinched a berth in the GSC tournament, and will look to build on its eight-game winning streak against a Lions team (30-17, 4-5) that's in a must-win situation in this critical series. It's one that UNA must have to stay in postseason contention.

Columbus State at Armstrong Atlantic State: The three-game tilt between the Cougars (24-17, 10-10) and the Pirates (29-16, 7-11) is just one of many critical series in the always tough Peach Belt Conference. Remember, only the top eight teams (out of 10) advance to the two-day, single-elimination tournament next month.

GC&SU at UNC Pembroke: The No. 8 Bobcats (29-11, 14-7) will look to hang on to first place in the PBC against the red-hot Braves (33-13, 10-10), who have won 11 straight games.

Lander at USC Aiken: The Pacers (30-14, 13-8) hope to keep pace with the Bobcats with a series win against the eighth-place Bearcats (25-17, 8-11).

Honorable mention: Augusta State at Francis Marion, Delta State at Arkansas Tech, Valdosta State at Montevallo.

Softball

Peach Belt Conference Tournament (at Florence, S.C.): Regular season champion and second-ranked (NFCA D-II) North Georgia enters this tourney as the obvious favorite. The Saints (40-3, 17-1 PBC) advanced to Saturday's winner's bracket with an easy 9-0 win over Georgia Southwestern, while No. 2 seed and defending tournament champion Georgia College & State University fell into the loser's bracket after being upset by host Francis Marion 2-1 on Friday.

Peach Belt Conference Softball Tournament Website

Valdosta State at West Alabama: The No. 7 Lady Blazers (43-6, 17-2) can move one step closer towards clinching the GSC East crown with a sweep over the Tigers (39-10, 11-8).

West Florida at West Georgia: The Wolves (29-20, 11-8) play host to the Argonauts (37-13, 12-9) in another critical GSC East twinbill.

Baseball on Easter Weekend

Easter is just around the corner...Here are the big baseball series being played in D-II South Nation this weekend...

NOTE: All series will be played Friday and Saturday, weather permitting.

Gulf South Conference

West Florida at Alabama-Huntsville: With No. 11 (Collegiate Baseball) West Alabama already having clinched a GSC tournament berth, not to mention playing Talladega (Ala.) in a non-conference series, the battle between the Argonauts (26-17 overall) and Chargers (21-9) takes center stage in the East Division this weekend. Both teams are in a virtual tie for second place, with UWF sitting at 6-6 in conference play, while UAH is 4-4.

North Alabama at Valdosta State: This series is critical too, as the Blazers play host to the Lions in a battle to stay in conference tournament contention. No. 28 UNA comes into this series at 3-3, while VSU takes a 4-5 league mark into this trio of games.

Henderson State at Harding: The Bisons (24-19) are riding a five-game winning streak into their series against the Reddies (28-12), who at 4-8 in the GSC West Division, find themselves in a must-win situation to keep themselves in the GSC tournament discussion.

Arkansas Tech at Ouachita Baptist: The Tigers (28-14) find themselves in the same boat as the Reddies, as they take a 5-7 GSC West record into their series against the 19-23 Wonder Boys. ATU, though, does have a winning record in conference play at 7-5.

Peach Belt Conference

Georgia College & State University at Columbus State: The No. 8 Bobcats (26-10, 12-6) hit the road to face the Cougars in one of many crucial series in the PBC this Easter weekend. GC&SU took two out of three games from Francis Marion last weekend, while CSU (21-15, 9-8) hopes to bounce back after losing two of three at Lander.

Augusta State at USC Aiken: If you thought the rivalry between the men's basketball teams was intense, the battle between the baseball squads will just as fierce. Both USCA (26-14, 10-8) and ASU (20-21, 8-7) are separated by mere percentage points in the battle for second place in the PBC. But depending upon what happens in this series, as well as the aforementioned between GC&SU and CSU, either team could be alone at the top by the end of the day on Saturday.

Honorable mention: UNC Pembroke at Lander, Georgia Southwestern at Francis Marion, Armstrong Atlantic State at North Georgia.

No such thing as an unimportant series

Now that basketball season is finally over, the focus can now fully shift to spring sports such as baseball. With just a handful of slots available for conference tournaments, there's no such things as a three-game series that can't be considered important. At least that's the case in terms of a team's hopes of advancing to that own aforementioned conference tournaments, and beyond. With that in mind, let's take a brief look at some select series to be played this weekend, weather permitting, that is.

Gulf South Conference

West Alabama at West Florida: The No. 11 (Collegiate Baseball) Tigers (23-9 overall) hope to stay unbeaten in GSC play against the Argonauts in a battle of the East Division's top two teams. UWF (25-15) holds second place in the division at 5-4 in conference play.

Alabama-Huntsville at Montevallo: After getting off to a fast start, the Chargers (18-8 overall) have struggled to 1-4 record in GSC East Division action, as they face a Falcons squad that's 3-6 in league games so far.

West Georgia at Valdosta State: The Blazers host the Wolves in this critical battle of Georgia rivals. VSU (25-13) is 2-4 in the GSC East, while UWG (10-20) comes in at 1-2.

Delta State at Henderson State: The No. 24 Statesmen (8-1 in GSC) hope to keep at least a share of first place in the West Division against the Reddies, who have struggled to 3-6 mark in league games despite an overall record of 25-10.

Arkansas Tech at Southern Arkansas: The fifth-ranked Muleriders (8-1) also will look to keep pace with the Statesmen against a Wonder Boys squad that sits just one game back of both teams at 7-2. That's despite the fact that ATU is only one game below .500 overall at 19-20.

Peach Belt Conference

With 10 teams vying for only eight spots in a two-day, single-elimination conference tournament, every series against a PBC opponent is critical in terms of who will stick around come May, and who won't. Let's quickly cut to the chase.

Francis Marion at GC&SU: The No. 8 Bobcats have already won one game in this three-game set, crushing the No. 23 Patriots 11-5 on Friday. The same two teams square off in a doubleheader later today. GC&SU currently is in its first place in the PBC with an 11-5 league record.

USC Aiken at Armstrong Atlantic State: After a sluggish start to the season, the Pirates have come on strong in recent weeks, fighting their way to a 6-6 mark in PBC action. They'll face a Pacers team that trails them by mere percentage points at 7-8.

Columbus State at Lander: The Cougars (18-13 overall) enter this weekend's critical series against the Bearcats in second place at 8-6. Speaking of the Bearcats, they're among the multiple teams jockeying for seeding position for the PBC tourney with a conference record of 6-7.

North Georgia at Augusta State: How's this series for being in the odd category? The Saints come into this series with an overall record of 19-18 (10-8 in the PBC). On the flip side, the Jaguars come in at 18-19 overall (6-6).

UNC Pembroke at Georgia Southwestern: The Hurricanes (14-22, 6-9) play host to the Braves (23-13, 4-10) in a critical PBC teams. With both squads sitting at the bottom of the league standings, neither team can afford a slip up if they hope to stay in contention for berths in the conference tournament.

Baseball and Softball seasons have arrived

Lost in all the hoopla and hype of Sunday's Super Bowl was the arrival of the 2009 baseball and softball seasons, respectively, in D-II South Nation. Click the following link (s) below to find out how and where your favorite team (s) will finish this year.

Gulf South Conference Baseball

Gulf South Conference Softball

Peach Belt Conference Baseball

Peach Belt Conference Softball

ANTONINI SHOWS HIS STUFF

Former Georgia College & State University pitcher Michael Antonini is thriving in the New York Mets organization after a solid career with the Bobcats.

Article courtesy of Inside Pitch Magazine.

FORMER GC&SU PITCHER INKS WITH CUTTERS

WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The New Haven County Cutters signed left-handed reliever Mike Joyce for the 2007 season, the team announced Monday.

Joyce, 28, returns to independent league baseball after spending parts of 2004 with the Richmond Roosters (Frontier League) and Quebec Capitales (Northeast League).

In 2003, Joyce pitched for the independent Alexandria Aces (Central League) and Pensacola Pelicans (Southeastern League).

Joyce missed the 2005 and 2006 seasons due to injury.

A Winchester , Mass. native, Joyce signed with the New York Yankees as a non-drafted free agent out of Georgia College and State University in 2002. He was assigned to the Yankees’ rookie league team in Staten Island , N.Y. (New York Penn League) and was soon promoted to the Class-A Greensboro Grasshoppers (South Atlantic League).

Joyce was a standout starting pitcher at GCSU, placing in the program’s top-10 in numerous categories including wins in a season, wins in a career, career strikeouts and career ERA.

Joyce also holds the distinction of tossing the only no-hitter in school history.

Following his senior year, Joyce was named first team all-region and All-Peach Belt Conference.

Originally from Groton , Conn. , Joyce attended Fitch Senior High School and went on to play junior college baseball at the University of Connecticut at Avery Point .

The Cutters open the 2007 campaign May 25 in Brockton against the Rox and play their home opener May 31 at Historic Yale Field against the Rox.

Source: New Haven County (Conn.) Cutters

COLUMBUS STATE BASEBALL IN D-II WORLD SERIES THIS SATURDAY

Columbus, GA - Columbus State will begin its quest of the 2007 Division II Baseball Championship on Saturday evening at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, AL, as they face Southern Indiana at 7:30 PM (6:30 Central). The Cougars, 48-18, are champions of the South Atlantic Region, while USI (41-21) are champs of the North Central Region.

The CSU contest will close day two of the championship series in Montgomery as play gets underway on Friday afternoon at 1 PM local time in Montgomery. Kutztown (49-5) and Nebraska-Omaha (36-22) will open the tournament, followed at 6:30 PM by Cal State - Los Angeles (43-15-1) and defending champion Tampa (49-10).

Prior to the CSU game, Angelo State (50-18) will take on Franklin Pierce at 1:30 PM on Saturday.

The teams from Saturday's contests will meet on Monday with the losers meeting in an elimination game at 2:30 and the winners at 6:30. The loser of the 7:30 contest and the winner of the 2:30 contest will meet on Tuesday at 2:30 in another elimination game.

The semifinals of the event will take place on Wednesday at 2:30 and 6:30, with "if necessary" games set for Thursday. Friday's championship game is set for 7 PM.

CSU, in its 20th post-season appearance, is making its seventh trip to the Division II Championship series, and its third in the last six years under head coach Greg Appleton. The Cougars won the 2002 national championship and then returned to the series in 2004.

Tournament passes (10 sessions) are available either in advance or at the Riverwalk Stadium ticket booths. Tournament passes may be reserved in advance by calling (334) 240-4200. Advance tickets must be picked up by 6 p.m. (CT) on Thursday and cost $25 for reserved seats and $20 for general admission. At the gate, the tournament passes cost $30 for reserved and $25 for general admission.

Single-session tickets (sold at stadium only) will cost $6 for reserved seats, $5 for general admission, and $4 for general admission students/children.

Fans wishing to follow the tournament on the internet may do so at either the official site of NCAA Championships, www.ncaasports.com, or at the unofficial tournament home located at http://vstateblazers.com/montgomery/index.html .

Source: Columbus State University Sports Information

GC&SU BASEBALL WINS PEACH BELT TITLE

The Georgia College & State University baseball team clinched the Peach Belt Conference regular season title with a doubleheader sweep over Augusta State University in convincing fashion Saturday. The Bobcats won the opener 16-4, and the nightcap 16-2.

Press release courtesy of the Peach Belt Conference

ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC STATE SETS GRAND SLAM RECORD

In Peach Belt Conference baseball action Sunday, the Armstrong Atlantic State University Pirates set an NCAA Division II record for grand slam home runs in a single game, hitting three of those en route to a doubleheader sweep over the Augusta State University Jaguars at Savannah, Ga.

Click here for a quick summary, courtesy of the Associated Press.

Other summaries:

Armstrong Atlantic State University Sports Information

WEST ALABAMA SWEEPS WEST FLORIDA IN DOUBLEHEADER

The 28th-ranked University of West Alabama baseball team swept a doubleheader from 18th-ranked University of West Florida in Gulf South Conference East Division action Friday. The Tigers won both games 12-2 and 10-2. Both the Argonauts and Tigers will wrap up their three-game series with a single game Saturday.

University of West Alabama Press Release

University of West Florida Press Release

MUST SEE GAMES--BASEBALL

With basketball season now officially over, the focus in D-II South Nation now turns to baseball and softball. Here are some of the key series on the baseball field this weekend.

NOTE: National rankings courtesy of Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

#27 Francis Marion (20-11, 7-8) at #3 Georgia College & State University (26-5, 11-1)

Saturday 1 p.m. EDT (Doubleheader)

Sunday 1 p.m. EDT

The Bobcats host the Patriots in a re-match of last season's NCAA tournament games. GC&SU hopes to maintain at least a share of first place in the Peach Belt Conference by winning this crucial series.

Click here for video webcast link.

West Florida (22-9, 1-2) at North Alabama (18-10-1, 2-1)

Saturday 1 p.m. CDT

Sunday 1 p.m. CDT

The Argonauts hope to bounce back in Gulf South Conference East Division action after losing two out of three games to Montevallo last weekend. As for the Lions, they took two of three games from West Georgia last weekend before stumbling against Columbus State 16-3 Wednesday.

Series preview courtesy of University of West Florida Sports Information

West Alabama (19-8, 3-0) at #21 Montevallo (23-7, 2-1)

Saturday 3 p.m. CDT (Doubleheader)

Sunday 2 p.m. CDT

The Tigers face the Falcons in a battle for at least a share of first place in the GSC East.

MUST SEE GAMES--MARCH MADNESS AND MORE

In case you've forgotten, the NCAA Division II basketball tournament begins this weekend. Click here for the complete eight-region men's bracket, including the pairings for the South and South Atlantic Regionals.

Click here for updates on the NCAA Division II Women's South Atlantic Regional, where Clayton State and Columbus State both advanced to round two Saturday with big wins Friday.

There's also a website for the NCAA Division II Men's South Atlantic Regional at Augusta State University starting Saturday. Click the link below for a complete schedule of games.

NCAA Division II Men's South Atlantic Regional Website

Click here for a recap of Delta State's 66-50 win over Florida Tech in the first round of the Women's South Regional at Fort Myers, Fla., courtesy of NCAA Sports.com.

While the basketball postseason gets underway, baseball and softball already are in full swing, literally! Thanks to a 3-1 win over Armstrong Atlantic State Friday, the Georgia College & State University Bobcats baseball team is now 6-1 in Peach Belt Conference play (16-4 overall) heading into Saturday's doubleheader at Milledgeville, Ga. In softball action, second-ranked Alabama-Huntsville travels to Lakeland, Fla. for a twinbill against 12th-ranked Florida Southern Saturday.

Oh, and one more thing! Don't forget to "spring forward" this weekend!

FVSU HOOPS, GC&SU BASEBALL SWEEP

The Fort Valley State University basketball teams swept Clark-Atlanta, with the women's squad clinching the top seed for the SIAC tournament, while the Georgia College & State University baseball team took a doubleheader from UNC Pembroke in Peach Belt Conference action, both on Saturday.

Article courtesy of the Macon (Ga.) Telegraph

MONTEVALLO BASEBALL WINS SEASON OPENER

No. 5 UM defeats Southern Arkansas, 13-8

UM 19 hits 3 each by Daniel Tankersley, Travis Fultz and Chris Cooper

Zach Andrews earns victory

Nate Russ earns save

UM 2-1 overall

Next: at Stillman (2/6) 2 p.m.

Source: University of Montevallo (Ala.) Sports Information