DII, NAIA, DIII rankings: Feb. 26

Photo: Zach Cornell and Cristian Martin (Southeastern Athletics)

With the second in-season rankings update there wasn’t much movement in any of the three small school divisions. Not only did the Top 25 family of schools take care of business on the diamond, they dominated. The D-II teams in the Top 25 went 72-17 while their NAIA counterparts went 70-15 and the top D-III schools went 42-8. Overall that’s a staggering 184-35 record and a whopping .840 winning percentage.

Not only did the top teams win, they did so convincingly. Central Missouri outscored Concordia St. Paul 34-1, UC San Diego steamrolled Sonoma State 43-2 in three wins (although they also lost a game 5-7), the Southeastern Fire scored 47 runs in three games against Warner – which included 15 home runs – and the North Central Cardinals started the season with wins over Blackburn, Wilmington and Wisconsin-Stout in which they outscored their bludgeoned opposition 38-9.

One of the few teams that didn’t dominate was the Webster Gorlocks, the pole position sitter in the D-III rankings. After narrowly defeating Transylvania in extra innings, the Gorlocks were mercy ruled and lost to Coe. Nevertheless, Webster remains the top-ranked team based on potential rather than performance. They’ll likely rebound from their woebegone start and turn things around this week. With their talent they’re likely following the career trajectory of Greg Maddux who had a 5.61 ERA and -0.4 rWar his first full season before becoming an all-star the next season and first ballot Hall of Famer. Webster plays across the river this weekend in Sauget, Ill., against North Park and Wisconsin-Oshkosh before taking on 15th-ranked Concordia Chicago Sunday afternoon.

In the three divisions only one team was ousted from the Top 25. Flagler, who had debuted last week, were promptly usurped by Columbus State as the Cougars swept the Saints. With the wins CSU replaced their conference rival as the third Peach Belt Conference club in the D-II rankings.

Rankings are based on games through Sunday, February 23.

NCAA Division II

1. Angelo State Rams (14-0) – The Rams remained perfect after earning a sweeties sweep at Lubbock Christian for the first time in school history. Golden Spikes Award candidate Josh Elvir continues to dominate as he is hitting .522 with nine home runs, seven doubles and is a perfect 13-for-13 in stolen bases.

2. Central Missouri Mules (11-3) – The Mules dominated Concordia St. Paul as they outscored the Golden Bears 34-1 in a three-game series sweep.

3. North Greenville Crusaders (13-2-1) – NGU swept a doubleheader from Queens University of Charlotte, were edged by Anderson in a 12-11 shootout and swept three conference games from Barton College.

4. Catawba Indians (11-2) – Catawba had a perfect week with a midweek win over Mount Olive and three-game sweep of Tusculum. Hunter Shepherd is batting .469 with six home runs for the the Indians.

5. Mount Olive Trojans (12-2) – The Trojans lost a midweek game to Catawba, but rallied to sweep Limestone on the road. UMO has a daunting midweek game this week against Georgia College and a series with Chowan.

6. Colorado Mesa Mavericks (8-2) – The Mavericks hosted Northwest Nazarene and won three of four from the Nighthawks. Minot State visits Grand Junction this weekend.

7. Minnesota State Mavericks (2-2) – The Mavericks unimpressively started the 2020 season with a split of four games series with the Maryville Saints. MSU has this week off before playing nine games in eight days in Florida.

8. Tampa Spartans (8-4) – The Spartans won two of three over their long-time rival Florida Southern. In their two wins, UT outscored the Mocs 21-2.

9. Georgia College Bobcats (8-1) – The Bobcats had multiple games scheduled but each were canceled or postponed. They have an advantageous week ahead with games against Mount Olive and North Georgia.

10. UC San Diego Tritons (10-3) – In their three wins over Sonoma State, UCSD outscored the Seawolves 43-2, yet they also dropped a game 5-7. The Tritons host San Francisco State this weekend.

11. Delta State Statesmen (10-3) – The Statesmen won a midweek game against Mississippi Valley State and swept three games from Christian Brothers in which they outscored the Bucs 29-3.

12. North Georgia Nighthawks (10-2) – UNG swept Francis Marion on the road last week. The Nighthawks will host Georgia College this weekend in a clash of highly ranked teams.

13. Augusta Vikings (4-4) – For the second week in a row Augustana split a road series, this time at Emporia State. The Vikings will travel to southern Missouri this week to play Southwest Baptist.

14. Azusa Pacific Cougars (5-7) – The Cougars didn’t have a chance to improve on their sub-.500 record as they had the week off to prepare for their trip to Hawaii to play Hawaii Pacific and Hawaii Hilo.

15. Bellarmine Knights (5-4) – The Knights won two of three over Hillsdale College. After playing a pair with Lee on the road Bellarmine will host Quincy in their first GLVC action of the season.

16. NYIT Golden Bears (4-1) – The Bears won their first four games at the Northeast Challenge at the Ripken Experience with wins over Franklin Pierce, Southern Connecticut State and Wilmington but were bested by New Haven in their finale. NYIT will host a battle of northern ranked teams when they welcome Southern New Hampshire this week.

17. Dixie State Trailblazers (11-3) – The Trailblazers hosted Concordia-Portland and took two of three from the Cavaliers. Adams State will travel down to play DSU this week.

18. Newberry Wolves (12-3) – The Wolves won a game against Mercy to state the week but could only take one of three against conference rival Wingate over the weekend. After hosting Lander Newberry plays Lincoln Memorial this week.

19. East Stroudsburg Warriors (9-1) – The Warriors outscored Jefferson 21-1 and St. Rose 20-5 as they swept a pair of doubleheaders from each of the clubs. The Warriors have another pair of games against the former Philadelphia University as well as two games with IUP.

20. Columbus State Cougars (10-3) – The Cougars swept three games from Flagler and took their place in the rankings. CSU will host Montevallo midweek and Lander over the weekend.

21. Davenport Panthers (6-1) – The Panthers prevailed in each of their games with Missouri S&T as they swept a four-game series over the Miners. After playing UMSL midweek, Davenport will remain in St. Louis and play four games at Maryville.

22. Ashland Eagles (2-1) – The Eagles won two of three at Charleston to start their season. AU has three big games this week against Southern Indiana as they prepare for nine games in nine days at the Russ Matt Invitational.

23. Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars (5-2) – UIS earned a pair of wins over West Virginia State and split two with Saginaw Valley State. The Stars have their first home games of the season scheduled this week as they welcome Purdue Northwest.

24. Southern New Hampshire (5-3) – The Penmen rebounded from their season opening sweep at the hands of Colorado Mesa by thrashing Felician, Mercy, Dominican and Bridgeport in Myrtle Beach. SNHU outscored their opposition 72-15 in five wins.

25. Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils (6-7) – The Weevils won two of three against Ouachita Baptist, but remain a game under .500 on the season.

Dropped out: Flagler Saints (9-5) – After entering the rankings last week the Saints were promptly expelled after losing a game to Embry-Riddle and being swept by Columbus State.

Rk.Prev.SchoolSTRecordWeek
11Angelo State RamsTX14-04-0
22Central Missouri MulesMO11-33-0
33North Greenville CrusadersSC13-2-15-1
45Catawba IndiansNC11-24-0
56Mount Olive TrojansNC12-23-1
67Colorado Mesa MavericksCO8-23-1
74Minnesota State MavericksMN2-22-2
88Tampa SpartansFL8-42-1
99Georgia College BobcatsGA8-10-0
1010UC San Diego TritonsCA10-33-1
1111Delta State StatesmenMS10-34-0
1213North Georgia NighthawksGA10-23-0
1312Augustana VikingsSD4-42-2
1414Azusa Pacific CougarsCA5-70-0
1515Bellarmine KnightsKY5-42-1
1616NYIT BearsNY4-14-1
1717Dixie State TrailblazersUT11-32-1
1818Newberry WolvesSC12-32-2
1919East Stroudsburg WarriorsPA9-14-0
20NRColumbus St. CougarsGA10-34-0
2124Davenport PantersMI6-14-0
2221Ashland EaglesOH2-12-1
2322Illinois Springfield Prairie StarsIL5-23-1
2425Southern New Hampshire PenmenNH5-35-0
2523Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils AR6-72-1

Dropped out: Flagler (20).

NAIA

1. Freed-Hardeman (11-2) – The Lions swept three games from William Woods. The wins weren’t pretty as they had to hold on in the ninth after the Owls rallied to make the game close and the finale as a 15-inning marathon affair. Nevertheless, FHU remains the team to beat.

2. St. Thomas Bobcats (9-2) – The Bobcats only had a single midweek matchup this week, a game in which they doubled up Ave Maria, 6-3. Over the weekend they didn’t have any scheduled games, but they did feature some cute dogs on their Twitter feed.

3. Southeastern Fire (13-1) – The Fire scored 47 runs in their three games against Warner which included 15 home runs hit by SEU. With the offensive onslaught the Fire have five regular players who have a slugging percentage over .900.

4. Science and Arts (10-1) – The Drovers had the week off. They’ll make up for the lack of action with five games this week.

5. Faulkner Eagles (12-2) – The Eagles won the first three of their games with Jarvis Christian but complete the series sweep. Health Olive has been masterful on the mound after finishing with a 5.16 ERA last season. So far he has only allowed seven hits with 21 strikeouts and has yet to allow an earned run to score.

6. LSU Shreveport (13-2) – The Pilots hosted Clark and won three of four over the Pride. David “Buckshot” Jones had another impressive outing in which he threw a complete game two-hitter. On the season he has only allowed 11 hits in 18 innings while striking out 28.

7. Tennessee Wesleyan (10-2) – TWU lost a midweek game to Georgia Gwinnett but took a pair of games from both Columbia International and IU Kokomo in which they only allowed a total of three runs.

8. Cumberlands Patriots (14-0) – The Patriots remain undefeated after a pair of one-run wins over Milligan and a four-game sweep of St. Francis.

9. Arizona Christian Firestorm (14-4) – The Firestorm picked up a pair of easy wins over Park-Gilbert and Mount Mercy. They’ll have a much more difficult time this weekend when they play four games on the road against William Jessup.

10. Bryan Lions (9-2) – The Lions were embarrassed by Truett-McConnell as they lost 1-18 midweek. On Saturday they pulled out a pair of close wins to IU Kokomo.

11. Georgia Gwinnett (13-2) – The Grizzlies haven’t lost since their season opening series at Southeastern. After edging Tennessee Wesleyan on the road, GGC swept four games from WUV Tech.

12. Texas Wesleyan (12-7) – The Rams easily won the opener in their series with Blue Mountain, 15-3, but the Toppers stunned TWU and took the final two. A very good Southwest Christian team awaits Wesleyan this weekend.

13. Oklahoma City Stars (8-7) – The Stars have continued to stumble out of the gate and lost a pair of lopsided games to both Tabor and MidAmerica Nazarene. OCU was able to take the series over the Pioneers, but it wasn’t enough to keep them in the top 10.

14. Georgetown Tigers (6-5) – The Tigers got on the right side of .500 after winning three of four over Indiana Wesleyan. GC’s offense has been lacking punch as they have yet to hit a single home run this season. Fortunately, the pitching staff has been able to keep opposition on check and have struck out 105 batters in 74 innings.

15. Campbellsville Tigers (9-4) – The Tigers had a perfect week with a win over Midway and a four-game sweep of Siena Heights in which they averaged 11 runs per game.

16. Benedictine Mesa Redhawks (15-5) – The Redhawks doubled up Mount Mercy and swept La Sierra. The Redhawks host Ottawa and Marymount California this week.

17. Central Methodist Eagles (10-3) – The Eagles pitching staff had a pair of shutouts in a 4-0 week which included a win over Missouri Baptist and sweep against Briar Cliff. Mason Schwellenbach was the starting pitcher for two of the games and threw 13 innings while only allowing nine hits and three earned runs.

18. Madonna Crusaders (12-3) – The Crusaders had a four-game series with Viterbo and won three of four contests with the V-Hawks. Ten of Frankie Lucska’s 14 hits have gone for extra bases to amass an .848 slugging percentage.

19. Indiana Southeast Grenadiers (8-0) – The Grenadiers completed a sweep of St. Ambrose and also took three games from Huntington to remain perfect on the season. Hunter Kloke dominated on the mound as he made two starts and only allowed a single run to score in over 11 innings.

20. Lyon Scots (11-3) – The Scots earned a slight bump in the rankings after sweeping three games from Harris-Store State. Lyon could make a big leap next week as they have a pair of contests with Blue Mountain on the schedule along with three more against Hannibal-LaGrange.

21. Bellevue Bruins (3-7) – The Bruins have had slow starts the past few seasons, but their 3-7 record, which includes a three-game sweep at the hands of Southwestern this week, is particularly befuddling.  BU needs to turn things around quick or their record won’t be attributed to a sluggish start so much as them just not being good.

22. Concordia (MI) Cardinals (6-2) – The Cardinals swept four games from Wright State-Lake (a USCAA school). Concordia gets back to NAIA action this week with a series at Shawnee State.

23. Taylor Trojans (10-2) – Taylor’s offense could only muster a pair of runs in a lopsided loss to Lindsey Wilson, but rebounded to reach double-digits in the remaining games to win the series. Next week’s home series against Indiana Tech could be the Trojan’s most difficult series of the season.

24. Concordia (NE) Bulldogs (4-2) – The Bulldogs had their games canceled but added a pair of doubleheaders against Waldorf this weekend to get back on the diamond.

25. Mobile Rams (14-3) – The Rams dropped a game to DII’s Spring Hill but easily swept three games from LSU Alexandria.

Dropped out: None.

Rk.Prev.SchoolSTRecordWeek
11Freed-Hardeman LionsTN11-23-0
22St. Thomas BobcatsFL9-21-0
33Southeastern FireFL13-113-0
44USAO DroversOK10-10-0
55Faulkner EaglesAL12-23-1
66LSU Shreveport PilotsLA13-23-1
77Tennessee Wesleyan BulldogsTN10-24-1
811Cumberlands PatriotsKY14-06-0
912Arizona Christian FirestormAZ14-42-0
1010Bryan LionsTN9-22-1
1113Georgia Gwinnett GrizzliesGA13-24-0
128Texas Wesleyan RamsTX12-71-2
139Oklahoma City StarsOK8-72-2
1414Georgetown TigersKY6-53-1
1516Campbellsville TigersKY9-45-0
1617Benedicine Mesa RedhawksAZ15-54-0
1718Central Methodist EaglesMO10-34-0
1819Madonna CrusadersMI12-33-1
1920Indiana Southeast GrenadiersIN8-05-0
2021Lyon ScotsAR11-33-0
2115Bellevue BruinsNE3-40-3
2222Concordia CardinalsMI6-24-0
2323Taylor TrojansIN10-22-1
2424Concordia BulldogsNE4-20-0
2525Mobile RamsAL14-33-1

Dropped out: None.

NCAA Division III

1. Webster Gorlocks (1-2) – Webster looked nothing like the top team in that nation, but gets the benefit of the doubt as they played their first games of the season. The Gorlocks won their opening game in extra innings over Transylvania before losing to Rhodes and Coe. The loss to Rhodes was a 5-15 mercy rule defeat. The previously top-ranked Webster team will look to have better luck this week against Concordia-Chicago, North Park and Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

2. UW-Whitewater Warhawks (2-1) – UWW had the week off but will play Heidelberg, Baldwin Wallace and Anderson this weekend.

3. Wooster Fighting Scots (0-0) – Wooster’s first game of the season is scheduled for Sunday against Case Western Reserve.

4. Cortland Dragons (4-2) – The Dragons earned a win over Hood on Friday then traded one-run wins with Salisbury over the weekend.

5. Southern Maine Huskies (0-0) – The Huskies don’t start their season until the middle of March when they play Roger Williams, Trinity (CT) and Case Western Reserve in South Carolina.

6. Washington Bears (3-0) – The Bears started their season with three road wins over Hendrix. After visiting Greenville, WashU will host Illinois Tech over the weekend.

7. North Central Cardinals (3-0) – The Cardinals started the season with wins over Blackburn, Wilmington and Wisconsin-Stout in which they outscored their opposition 38-9. NCC will play Otterbein, Stain John’s, MIsericordia and Kean at the Snowbird Baseball Classic next starting on Sunday.

8. Texas Lutheran Bulldogs (4-2) – TLU only had one game scheduled last week and it was postponed. They will host Pacific Lutheran for four games this week.

9. St. John’s Fisher Cardinals (2-0) – The Cardinals started their season with a pair of wins over Johns Hopkins. SJFC will head to Florida this week to play in the Russmatt Central Florida Invitational where they will play nine games in eight days.

10. Heidelberg Student Princes (1-1) – Heidelberg was edged by one in their season opener with Anderson but doubled up Oswego State 4-2 to even their record. The Princes are slated to play UW-Whitewater, Franklin and Manchester at the Crossroads Crossover this weekend.

11. Trinity (TX) Tigers (7-0) – The Tigers’ on-the-field performance so far may be the most impressive in D-III. Over the weekend they swept three games from Endicott to remain undefeated. Should they remain lossless following their series with Babson this weekend Trinity could take over top spot.

12. Concordia (TX) Tornados (6-3) – The Tornados played three games at Belhaven and won each of three soundly over the Blazers.

13. Salisbury Seagulls (4-1) – The Seagulls easily outpaced Immaculata midweek and split with fourth-ranked Cortland over the weekend where both games were decided by one run. Salisbury will play Virginia Wesleyan and Oswego this week.

14. UMass-Boston Beacons (0-0) – The Beacons first games of the year are scheduled for this week as they are to play Suffolk and Stevens Tech.

15. Concordia-Chicago Cougars (0-0) – The Cougars start their season this week with games against Webster, Wisconsin-Oshkosh and North Park.

16. Birmingham-Southern Panthers (7-1) – The Panthers’ strong start continued as they swept North Park at home. BSC will play Covenant and Huntingdon midweek before traveling up to Memphis to play Rhodes.

17. Shenandoah Hornets (6-0) – The Hornets have yet to lose this season as they earned wins over Lebanon Valley, Widener and Susquehanna. They could add to their wins with three games with Immaculate this weekend.

18. Spalding Eagles (4-3) – The Eagles had a shutout win over Dubuque, lost to Aurora and bested Ohio Northern. They will host Penn State Behrend this weekend.

19. Rowan Profs (1-0) – The Profs’ pitchers held Stevens Tech to two hits as they shut out the Ducks in their season opener.

20. Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets (7-1) – RMC is looking very good this season as their only loss is to Cortland State in extra innings. Last week they took two from Alvernia and one from Penn State-Harrisburg.

21. Chapman Panthers (2-1) – The Panthers squeaked out a series win over La Verne as they won two of three with the middle game being decided in extra innings. The defending champs play Cal Lutheran this week.

22. Swarthmore Garnet (1-0) – Swarthmore earned a season opening victory over Misericordia thanks to four pitchers combining for a five-hit shutout. The Garnet host Eastern University and New Jersey City this week.

23. Tufts Jumbos (0-0) – The Jumbos’ first games are in mid-March when they play Castleton and Johnson & Wales.

24. Babson Beavers (0-0) – The Beavers have the unenviable task of starting their season on the road this week at Trinity (TX).

25. TCNJ Lions (0-0) – The Lions first games of the season are this week at 21st-ranked Randolph-Macon.

Dropped out: None.

Rk.Prev.SchoolSTRecordWeek
11Webster GorloksMO1-21-2
22UW-Whitewater WarhawksWI2-10-0
33Wooster Fighting ScotsOH0-00-0
44Cortland State Red DragonsNY4-22-1
55Southern Maine HuskiesME0-00-0
66Washington BearsMO3-03-0
77North Central CardinalsIL3-03-0
88Texas Lutheran BulldogsTX4-20-0
99St. John Fisher CardinalsNY2-02-0
1010Heidelberg Student PrincesOH1-11-1
1111Trinity TigersTX7-03-0
1212Concordia TornadosTX6-33-0
1313Salisbury SeagullsMD2-04-1
1414UMass-Boston BeaconsMA0-00-0
1515Concordia University Chicago CougarsIL0-00-0
1616Birmingham-Southern PanthersAL4-17-1
1717Shenandoah HornetsVA6-04-0
1818Spalding EaglesKY4-32-1
1919Rowan ProfsNJ1-01-0
2121Randolph-Macon Yellow JacketsVA7-13-0
2020Chapman PanthersCA9-12-1
2222Swarthmore GarnetPA1-01-0
2323Tufts JumbosMA0-00-0
2424Babson BeaversMA0-00-0
2525The College of New Jersey LionsNJ0-00-0

Dropped out: None.

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