2009 Fall Sports Schedules--Part 7

Can the men's soccer team at UNC Pembroke overcome an early exit from the Peach Belt Conference tournament last year? What about West Alabama volleyball? Can the Tigers take that all-important next step after going 22-11 in 2008, only to fall in the opening round of the Gulf South Conference tournament?

UNC Pembroke

Men's Soccer

Volleyball

Women's Soccer

West Alabama

Volleyball

2009 Fall Sports Schedules--Part 6

The road to the new fall sports season rolls on, with schedules for the teams at Georgia Southwestern State University, and the University of North Alabama. GSW welcomes a new head women's soccer coach in Tony Economopoulos, while the UNA volleyball program hopes to return to its place among the Gulf South Conference, and national elite.

Georgia Southwestern

Men's Soccer

Women's Soccer

North Alabama

Volleyball

Women's Soccer (schedule unavailable)

2009 Fall Sports Schedules--Part 5

The preseason profiles keep rolling along, as we feature a longtime Peach Belt Conference member in USC Aiken, as well as one of the newest members of the PBC in Flagler College from St. Augustine, Fla.

Flagler

Men's Soccer

Volleyball

Women's Soccer

USC Aiken

Men's Soccer

Volleyball

Women's Soccer

2009 Fall Sports Schedules--Part 4

Our 2009 fall sports season outlook rolls on with the release of the fall sports schedules for one former-and one current-member of the Gulf South Conference. After 14 years in the GSC, Montevallo's teams are looking for a fresh start in the Peach Belt Conference, while West Georgia's squads continue to move forward in the GSC.

Montevallo

Men's Soccer

Volleyball

Women's Soccer

West Georgia

Volleyball

Women's Soccer

2009 Fall Sports Schedules--Part 3

Our fall sports season previews continue with more schedules. Can Lander volleyball (22-12) build on its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance from 2008? Speaking of which, Valdosta State (18-19) is trying to just do that in 2009, after falling just short of advancing to the Gulf South Conference tournament last year.

Lander

Men's Soccer

Volleyball

Women's Soccer

Valdosta State

Volleyball

2009 Fall Sports Schedules--Part 2

More fall sports schedules are here. Perhaps the biggest question in Alabama-Huntsville Charger country has to be: can the volleyball team bounce back from a dismal one-win season? UAH volleyball's not alone, though, as the Clayton State women's soccer also is coming off a one-win campaign?

Alabama-Huntsville

Men's Soccer

Volleyball

Women's Soccer

Clayton State

Men's Soccer

Women's Soccer

2009 Fall Sports Schedules--Part 1

It might be summer (and hot outside), but the 2009 fall sports season is just around the corner. Here's a select list of sports schedules from around D-II South Nation.

Armstrong Atlantic State

Volleyball

Women's Soccer

West Florida

Men's Soccer

Volleyball

Women's Soccer

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.

Delta State women lose to Franklin Pierce, 58-39

It's all over for the Delta State University Lady Statesmen basketball team. Their quest for an NCAA Division II national championship ended late Wednesday night with a 58-39 loss to Franklin Pierce (N.H.).

Article courtesy of Delta State University Sports Information

Augusta State men's hoops in Final Four

In case you missed it Wednesday, the No. 4 (NABC) Augusta State men's basketball team advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four with a 70-62 victory over No. 15 Christian Brothers in the Elite Eight at Springfield, Mass. The Jaguars rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit to spark the victory. They'll face Cal Poly Pomona in Thursday night's national semifinal game starting at 6 p.m. EDT, on the CBS College Sports Network.

D-II Elite Eight Update--Delta State wins, Clayton State loses

The dream of an NCAA Division II women's basketball national championship continued for one team in D-II South Nation, while it ended for another squad Tuesday.

Delta State advanced to Wednesday's Final Four contest with a 55-47 win over West Texas A&M at San Antonio, Tex. The Lady Statesmen will face Franklin Pierce (N.H.) at 9:30 p.m. EDT. Catch the action on ESPNU if it's available in your area.

As for the Clayton State Lakers, however, their dream of taking home their first-ever national championship ended after just one round Tuesday afternoon, as No. 2 (NABC) Alaska-Anchorage handed them a season-ending 66-59 loss. The Lakers let a 13-point second half lead slip away down the stretch. Their season ends with a 26-7 record.

The Road To The Elite Eight--A Quick Preview (Men)

In our last installment, we previewed the Clayton State Lakers and the Delta State University Lady Statesmen, as both squads advanced to the NCAA Division II women's basketball Elite Eight. Now, it's the men's turn to be profiled.



Augusta State vs. Christian Brothers (NCAA Division II Elite Eight at Springfield, Mass.)--Wednesday Noon EDT



For the Jaguars of Augusta State University (Ga.), and the Buccaneers of Christian Brothers University (Tenn.), the road to an NCAA Division II men's basketball national championship now goes through Springfield, Mass. But there's only one problem. Only one of these teams will get to continue that final journey towards winning it all after Wednesday afternoon.

Before getting to those game notes, though, let's look back at how both teams punched their ticket to Springfield.

Augusta State (Southeast Regional Champions--29-4, No. 4 NABC/Division II Bulletin poll)

The Jags came within inches of not even advancing to round two, let alone the Elite Eight, after holding off eighth-seeded Tusculum, 62-60, on March 14. One night later, though, the ASU men came on strong against fifth-seeded Barton, as they cruised to a 77-61 victory. That set up an all Peach Belt Conference match-up in the Southeast Regional finals on St. Patrick's Day (March 17) against second-seeded USC Aiken. The Jaguars led from start to finish in a 85-57 rout of the Pacers to advance to their second straight national quarterfinals appearance.

Christian Brothers (South Regional Champions--25-6, No. 15 NABC/Division II Bulletin poll)

Unlike Augusta State, Christian Brothers entered the NCAA Division II South Regional bracket as the No. 2 seed, not to mention being a slight underdog. The Bucs opened the tournament with a 63-54 win over Gulf South Conference West Division rival Delta State on March 14. They followed up that win with a 72-53 rout of No. 10 (NABC) Claflin. Then came what was probably their biggest win in school history, as they stunned top seed and host Florida Southern by a 10-point margin (82-72), to advance to the program's first-ever Elite Eight.

Game Notes

Augusta State

Christian Brothers

Webcast: Available at http://www.ncaa.com. Tip-off time is at approximately noon EDT Wednesday.

The Road To The Elite Eight--A Quick Preview (Women)

After almost a week to decompress, here's how the match-ups for the NCAA Division II women's basketball Elite Eight came to be for Southeast Regional champion Clayton State, and South Regional winner Delta State. First of two parts. The men's match-up between Augusta State and Christian Brothers will be featured in the next installment.

Southeast (at Hickory, N.C.)

After a second-place regular season finish in the Peach Belt Conference, followed by a semifinal exit from the PBC tournament, it seemed as if very few people, if any, gave the Clayton State University Lakers much of a chance to advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.

But the Lakers proved all of the experts wrong, as their women's basketball team advanced to the national quarterfinals for the second time in three years after being seeded third for the Southeast Regional bracket.

After holding off a scrappy squad from Carson-Newman, 68-66, in the first round on Mar. 13, the Lakers knocked off No. 2 seed Tusculum, 79-68, in the first regional semifinal contest the following night. No. 4 seed Francis Marion ensured an all-Peach Belt regional final later that evening by pulling off the 93-74 upset of top-seed and host Lenoir-Rhyne.

But in the end, it was Clayton State that pulled off the biggest "upset" of all, as the Lakers cruised past the PBC regular season champion Patriots in a 89-73 win that clinched the program's second regional crown in three seasons. They'll now face an Alaska-Anchorage program that won the West Region with a 54-43 win over Seattle Pacific. Oh, by the way, the Seawolves come into Wednesday's game as the nation's second-ranked team, according to the WBCA NCAA Division II poll. A very tall order for the Lakers indeed. But don't bet against them at this point.

South Regional (at Cleveland, Miss.)

Unlike Clayton State, the expectations were very high for the Delta State University Lady Statesmen going into the NCAA Division II women's basketball regionals (after all, they have won six national championships over the years, with the last coming in 1992). And they met those expectations with mostly flying colors.

The DSU women advanced to the regional finals with double-digit wins over eighth-seeded Valdosta State (58-48) and Arkansas-Monticello (80-56). Still, the Lady Statesmen have to stave off a strong challenge from Gulf South Conference West Division rival and seventh-seeded upstart Ouachita Baptist (50-49) to advance to their 13th Elite Eight, thanks to a tip-in by Courtney Wilson in the game's closing seconds. Next up for the Lady Statesmen is a battle with West Texas A&M, who won the South Central Regional title with a 65-52 victory over Central Oklahoma in the title game last week.

So, what will it take for Delta State and Clayton State to meet for the national title game. Both teams, Clayton State especially, must pass the first test come Wednesday: defeating West Texas A&M and Alaska-Anchorage, respectively, then win Final Four contests with other battle-tested teams and underdogs alike, to create perhaps one of the most unlikely match-ups in the history of championship games, regardless of the sport.

NCAA Division II Regional Finals Preview--Men

Monday night, it was the ladies decided which teams would go to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight (That starts Tuesday, March 24, in San Antonio, Tex.). Now, it's the men's turn to decide who'll punch a ticket to Springfield, Mass. for their national tournament. First, though, let's quickly recap the women's regional finals turned out. Just click the highlighted link (s) below.

Southeast Women (at Hickory, N.C.)

Clayton State 89, Francis Marion 73

A career-high 22 points from senior Lisa Jackson helps lift the Lakers to second their Elite Eight appearance in three years.

South Women (at Cleveland, Miss.)

Delta State 50, Ouachita Baptist 49

A basket from Courtney Wilson in the closing seconds sends the Lady Statesmen to San Antonio.

And now, let's preview tonight's men's regional finals...starting with the...

Southeast Men's Final (at Hickory, N.C.)--Tuesday 7 p.m. EDT

#1 Augusta State vs. #2 USC Aiken

It's the match-up that many fans in the Southeast Region (especially those in the Peach Belt Conference) have been waiting for: the top two seeds playing each other for the right to go to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Elite Eight at Springfield, Mass. Obviously, most fans in the Central Savannah River Area, or CSRA (which includes Aiken, S.C., as well as Augusta, Ga.) for short, don't need any reminders as to how huge this game will be.

Article courtesy of the Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle

South Men's Final (at Lakeland, Fla.)--Tuesday 7 p.m. EDT

#1 Florida Southern vs. #2 Christian Brothers

As big as the Augusta State-USC Aiken contest is, there are also seven other regional titles that are to be decided tonight. One of those match-ups is on the campus of Florida Southern College. That's where the top-seeded (and host) Mocs from the Sunshine State Conference will do battle with the second-seeded Buccaneers from the Gulf South Conference. FSC rallied late to win a dramatic overtime thriller over Arkansas Tech, 95-92 to get to the Sweet 16, while CBU rolled past an outstanding Claflin, 72-53. It's one of those games where it's a shame that someone has to lose.

NCAA Division II Regional Finals Preview--Women

The stage has been set for Monday's regional finals in both the Southeast and South Regions, respectively, and both have a "D-II South Nation" flavor to them. Let's quickly preview both regions.

Southeast (at Hickory, N.C.)

#3 Clayton State (25-6) vs. #4 Francis Marion (27-4)--Monday 7 p.m. EDT

Both teams pulled off upsets over the top two seeds to set up this "all Peach Belt Conference" title game. The third-seeded Lakers downed second-seeded Tusculum, 79-68, while the fourth-seeded Pacers tripped up top-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne, 93-74, to advance to the Sweet 16. It's only fitting that the two best women's basketball teams in the PBC during the regular season (FMU won the regular season title, while Clayton State came in second) are meeting with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line. It's too bad only one of these teams can punch their ticket to San Antonio, Tex., where this year's national tournament will be played.

South (at Cleveland, Miss.)

#1 Delta State (28-6) vs. #7 Ouachita Baptist (23-8)--Monday 7 p.m. CDT

This match-up has a Gulf South Conference West Division flavor to it, as the Lady Statesmen play host to the upstart Lady Tigers. DSU earned its way into the Sweet 16 with wins over No. 8 seed Valdosta State, 58-48, on Friday, followed by an 80-56 rout of fellow GSC West rival Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday. As for OBU, the Lady Tigers have played the "Cinderella" role perfectly so far, as they upset No. 2 seed Fort Valley State, 69-55, and No. 3 seed Tampa, 77-74, to bring themselves to within one win of their first-ever Elite Eight.