Even after the previews I still feel like I’ve been neglecting the NAIA a little bit. It’s time to take a step back and look at where our NAIA programs stand as of today. I liked the way Chris tackled DII so I’m going to do something similar. If it’s not broke…
Will I give you run down of the wins and losses? Of course. But what about who has the hot bat? Who’s been nasty on the mound? Yes to those as well.
So as we begin the week take a minute to brush up on our AMC teams.
Cedarville (7-3)
The Yellow Jackets returned from down south with a solid 7-3 mark. Cedarville dropped their opening DH at a not-so-good Clearwater Christian squad. Luckily we can chalk that up simply to the fact that Cedarville was kicking the rust off from being indoors since October while CC already has 19 games under their belt as of today.
Other than a recent victory over Ave Maria, the Yellow Jackets remaining schedule thus far has consisted of a couple teams we should be familiar with. Cedarville played Capital four times and John Carroll twice in the Sunshine state. The Jackets went an impressive 5-1 in those games dropping only a one run game to Capital. The sweep of Carroll is certainly solid.
One person that didn’t want the spring trip to end was Nate Davenport. The sophomore is on fire hitting .400 with 5 homers, 14 RBI and 14 runs through 1o games. Davenport leads the team in each of those categories as well as slugging percentage (.800).
Seniors Colby Stoltzfus (2-0, 2.08 ERA) and Clint Price (2-0, 0.90 ERA) have paced a Jacket staff with a very impressive 3.36 team ERA so far. Price also leads the team with a .143 opponents batting average.
Cedarville returns to action on Tuesday (3/16) against Miami-Hamilton before hosting Walsh in their AMC opener Friday and Saturday.
Malone (8-2)
The Pioneers came into 2010 ranked 22nd in the NAIA poll. Malone has done little to make people doubt that ranking by winning eight of their first ten in Arizona. They’ve been on track early both at the plate (.346 team average) and on the mound (2.35 team ERA).
After today the Pioneers will have played each of their spring trip foes three times apiece. Today’s rubber match with Trinity International (9-1) is Malone’s biggest game remaining on their trip to the desert. A win against Trinity guarantees the Pioneers win all four of their series out west. They’ve already swept Dakota State and will likely bring out the brooms against a bad Northern State team tonight. Northern State has yet to plate a run against the Pios, so I don’t feel my prediction of a sweep tonight is a bold one. Only a two run rally in the bottom of the seventh kept Malone from a clean sweep of Peru State as well.
As expected, the Pioneers have received stand out pitching from Jeff Shenker. The southpaw has tossed complete games in both of his starts going 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA. It should also be noted that freshman Jared Messer (1-0, 0.00 ERA) was excellent in his first collegiate start allowing only a single hit over five shutout innings. Nate Morrison (1-0, 0.00 ERA) and Kurt Becker (1-0, 0.00 ERA) also failed to allow a run in their first starts of the season.
Offensively Malone has been led by Marc Adams from nearby Louisville High School. Adams is hitting .464 with 10 RBI. Joining Adams as the team leader with 10 RBI is also Matt Hamon (.318). Another freshman making an immediate impact is another Stark County product, Allen Strouble. After starting eight games and appearing in nine total, he is hitting a team best .471 through 10 games.
After their single games with Trinity and Northern State today the Pioneers finish up their spring trip with a DH against Minot State tomorrow. They return to action in the Buckeye state with a St. Patty’s Day tilt at Ohio Dominican.
Mount Vernon Nazarene (3-1)
The Cougars are the toughest team to gauge at this point for a couple reasons. First, MVN has only played four games so compared to their AMC brethren they are just out of the gate. Second, there are a couple unanswered questions at this point in time.
One, what’s the status of Kodi Veale? The All-AMC outfielder has yet to play this season. Just as importantly, how will the Cougars cope without Clint Yoder? The shortstop was a first team All-AMC selection his freshman season after leading MVN in hitting, but he has not recorded an at-bat this season. In fact, Yoder does not appear on the 2010 roster which leaves little choice but to assume he is not suiting up this season. Obviously the loss of a talented shortstop is big.
Offensive stalwart Chaz Gibson has struggled in the early going, but his teammates have picked him up led by Travis McInerney (9 for 12, 4 doubles) and Matt Parks (7 for 12, 5 RBI). Once Gibson gets on track MVN should be fine on the offensive side even without Yoder. Gibson showed last year he can hit and hit for power (9 HR) so it’s way too early to worry about him.
MVN has received outstanding pitching thus far (2.25 team ERA). All four starting pitchers allowed 3 or fewer runs in their respective start so there is reason to be very optimistic with the depth of the rotation early on.
Following a sweep of Cincinnati Christian and a split with Spring Arbor, the Cougars are just getting into their spring trip with a DH today followed by twin bills on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week. Today’s slate includes single games against Olivet and Grand View.
Notre Dame College (10-4)
It’s always a great thing when you can say you’ve equalled your prior year win total before St. Patrick’s Day. That’s exactly where NDC sits right now as they’ve already won as many games as they did in 2009 when they went 10-39. Clearly things are on the upswing in South Euclid.
The Falcons opened by taking three of four at Pikeville (KY). NDC also swept a three game set with Concordia (MI) in Winter Haven, FL.
NDC has relied on solid pitching thus far. Offensively the Falcons are hitting .286 as a team through 14 contests. One of the bright spots has been the start of Travis Brown. The junior shortstop is hitting .386 with 14 RBI already. Junior Benji Jarabeck is also hitting at a .375 clip. Pat Ross leads the squad with 15 runs scored.
On the hill NDC has received a great lift from Tyler DeCrapio. The freshman is 2-0 and leads the team with a 3.14 ERA in three appearances (2 starts). Former Ohio Northern Polar Bear Justing Miller is 2-1 with a 4.34 ERA. The big righty has recorded a team high 22 punch outs in 18.2 innings. DeCrapio and Andrew Hyde (1-1, 5.79 ERA) have each notched complete game shutouts as well.
The Falcons return to action today looking to bounce back from a 15-4 loss to Madonna (MI). NDC will take on Hiram in a single nine inning game at Hawken High School in Gates Mills.
Shawnee State (7-5)
The Bears are off to a decent start, but there is definitely some reason to be concerned 12 games into the season. With a team ERA north of 7.00 and two starters with plus 8.00 ERA’s, SSU needs to get their pitching on track before they head into the AMC schedule.
Starters Austin Dunfee (1-0, 4.09 ERA) and Andrew Carter (0-1, 5.17 ERA) have been the best of the bunch thus far, but the duo will need some help from the rest of the staff.
The Bears are not exactly off to a hot start at the plate either (.274 team batting average). Nick Ball (.423, .516 OBP) and Danny Gesick (.348) have been bright spots. Philip Butler and Brian Ramey have each driven in 10 runs for the Bears.
Given SSU’s slow start statistically it’s a great sign that they’re still 7-5. After a brief three game win streak they dropped three of four to Savannah College of Art & Design to drop to their current mark. If the Bears can find their rhythm they could be a dangerous team going forward. Shawnee is in action Tuesday at St. Catharine (KY). Thursday Campbellsville visits Portsmouth.
Walsh (5-8)
Much like arch rival Malone, Walsh has yet to see much variety in their schedule. The Cavs have played 13 games, but have seen only four different teams. Adding to the intrigue is that two of their eight defeats came at the hands of DI Youngstown State. In summary, it’s hard to get a good read on Walsh at this point. They took three of five from Sienna Heights, two of five from Indiana Wesleyan and dropped a single game to Bellevue.
Walsh’s box scores and statistics are only available for two games as of now so all I can tell you at this point is that Jeff Kotlar (6 IP, 0 R) and Rob Rose (7 IP, R, 0 ER) gave the Cavs excellent starts in their first two games.
Walsh takes on Mount Union on Tuesday and then heads to Cedarville Friday for their 2010 AMC debut.
Filed under: NAIA
