D2 Softball – Conference Title Watch – 4/14

Well Conference Carolinas got rained out on Monday… but they’ll play other games on Tuesday.  A few other conferences will be involved too.

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division

Kutzown can clinch a share of the Eastern Division title tomorrow by splitting with East Stroudsburg, while a sweep would lock up the Division outright.  Shippensburg hosts Millersville and must split to retain any chance of winning a share of the title and sweep to retain any hope of winning the conference title outright.

Lone Star Conference

Cameron will travel to Central Oklahoma in a really big two game set, while Southeastern Oklahoma State travels to Southwestern Oklahoma.  While no result in the first matchup alone will eliminate either team, if Southeastern Oklahoma State is able to sweep their set, Central Oklahoma would be eliminated if they are swept.  Cameron would be eliminated if they lose either game and Southeastern Oklahoma sweeps.

Conference Carolinas

Well Limestone and St. Andrwe’s have already figured out when to play their series, on Wednesday, but Queens (N.C.) and Lees-McRae are still working on figuring theirs out.  Queens needs to play the game to have a chance at the conference title, and we’re going to assume they’ll find a way to play it (probably on Wednesday) until we hear otherwise.

Mount Olive is your clubhouse leader having finished the season at 11-5.  Two teams are left on the course, and both need to reach 14-6 to win the title over Mount Olive.

Queens (N.C.) must win all 4 remaining games to have a shot at the conferencce title, and on Tuesday they have to play two at St. Andrew’s.  If they lose either game, they are out.

Limestone needs to win 2 games to knock Mount Olive off the top and clinch a share of the conference title.  They can do that by sweeping Lees-McRae on the road Tuesday.

Mount Olive now needs to see the following happen to stay in the lead and win the conference:

• See Queens (N.C.) go 3-1 or worse
• See Limestone go 1-3 or worse

If either of those don’t happen, they will be eliminated.

D2 Softball – 4/14

April 13th Review

East Region

(#7) Bloomfield @ (#5) New York Institute of Technology – CACC GOTW – Bloomfield wins 4-1, loses 0-8 (5) (More info here)

I suppose the split favors Bloomfield who was able to pick up a nice win on the road…

(#9) Dominican (N.Y.) @ (#8) Queens (N.Y.) – Dominican (N.Y.) wins 11-0 (6), 18-3 (More info here)

Dominican (N.Y.) has to have the advantage on that 8th spot now right?

New Haven @ Merrimack – Merrimack wins 7-5, loses 1-5 (More info here)

New Haven remains a game back of Merrimack by getting the split in the 2nd game.

Southeast Region

(#1) North Georgia @ (#4) Georgia College – Game of the Day – Postponed until April 14th

North Georgia has already won the conference, but this is still a possible preview of the Conference Final and a great match-up.

(#3) Lenoir-Rhyne @ Mars Hill – Postponed until April 17th

Lenoir-Rhyne and Mars Hill’s conference records appear to be flipped at first, as Mars Hill was up 2 games going into this week.  We’ll see what happens on the field.

April 14th Preview

Atlantic Region

(#2) Kutztown @ (#7) East Stroudsburg

East Stroudsburg is looking to pick up a couple wins here to try and move up the regional rankings. Kutztown can clinch the East Division.

East Region

(#6) Southern Connecticut State @ Assumption

Assumption is pretty much toast after a week that left them at 5-5, but Southern Connecticut State is still in it 2 games back.  Need to get these wins though.

Midwest Region

(#1) Ferris State @ (#8) Grand Valley State

Ferris State is poised to make a move on 1st, only a game out, but faces a tough road test at Grand Valley State who is only 3 games back.

South Region

(#3) Valdosta State @ (#4) West Florida

Valdosta State controls their own destiny now, but they could lose that chance if West Florida could spring the upset here.

Delta State @ (#9) Arkansas-Monticello

Arkansas-Monticello is tied with Delta State for the lead right now, this match-up will do a lot to determine who ends on top.

South Central Region

(#10) Cameron @ Central Oklahoma

Cameron and Central Oklahoma are fighting to see who can challenge Southeastern Oklahoma for the North Division Title.

Southeast Region

(#1) North Georgia @ (#4) Georgia College – Game of the Day

North Georgia has already won the conference, but this is still a possible preview of the Conference Final and a great match-up.

D2 Softball – Conference Title Watch – 4/12

Conference Carolinas could be decided today! Read on to find out how….

Conference Carolinas

Mount Olive is your clubhouse leader having finished the season at 11-5.  Two teams are left on the course, and both need to reach 14-6 to win the title over Mount Olive.

Queens (N.C.) must win all 4 remaining games to have a shot at the conferencce title, and today they have to play two at Lees-McRae.  If they lose either game, they are out.

Limestone needs to win 2 games to knock Mount Olive off the top and clinch a share of the conference title.  They can do that by sweeping St. Andrew’s today at home.

Mount Olive now needs to see the following happen to stay in the lead and win the conference:

• See Queens (N.C.) go 3-1 or worse
• See Limestone go 1-3 or worse

If either of those don’t happen, they will be eliminated.

D2 Softball – 4/13

April 11th/12th Review

Atlantic Region

Bowie State @ Elizabeth City State – Bowie State wins 14-2, 14-4 (More info here)

Bowie State is definitely the best team in the East, and it looks like they will fight Fayetteville State for the postseason berth.

(#7) East Stroudsburg @ (#4) California (Pa.) – California (Pa.) wins 8-2, loses 6-7 (More info here)

East Stroudsburg will be helped by the win over California (Pa.) who has only lost 5 games all year.

(#1) Lock Haven @ (#10) Indiana (Pa.) – Lock Haven wins 9-0, 8-0 (More info here)

Indiana (Pa.) is probably in big trouble now sitting 7 games back and with a season record of 16-16.  Lock Haven gets a needed sweep to keep pace with Bloomsburg at 11-1.

East Region

New Haven @ Merrimack – Postponed until April 13th

New Haven is a game back of Merrimack and both are right at the top of the standings.  Great series here.

(#2) C.W. Post @ Southern New Hampshire – C.W. Post wins 6-2, 5-2 (More info here)

Southern New Hampshire loses a chance to get a nice out of conference win, for C.W. Post this was really a no-win situation… but they took care of business.

Midwest Region

(#3) Ashland @ (#7) Saginaw Valley State  - GLIAC GOTW – Saginaw Valley State wins 2-1, loses 5-6 (More info here)

Sagniaw Valley State missed a chance to extend their lead over Ashland and Ferris State takes advantage by moving within a game.

Quincy @ (#10) Kentucky Wesleyan – Quincy wins 3-1, 3-0

Quincy keeps pace, but Kentucky Wesleyan has to be off the rankings… right?  Quincy gets over .500 (20-19) with the sweep.

(#9) Northern Kentucky @ (#4) Missouri-St. Louis – GLVC GOTW – Missouri-St. Louis wins 2-0, 2-0 (More info here)

Missouri-St. Louis does what was expected and hold serve at the top of the standings.

South Region

(#1) Alabama Huntsville @ (#3) Valdosta State – GSC GOTW – Game of the Day- Valdosta State wins 4-2, loses 4-9 (More info here)

Alabama-Huntsville has now lost twice in a week, doubling their losses on the year.  And now they sit with one more loss than Valdosta State and no longer control their own destiny.

South Central Region

Tarleton State @ (#3) Abilene Christian – Ablene Christian wins 5-4 (More info here)

Abilene Christian moves back into a tie with Angelo State at the top of the South Division.

(#6) Midwestern State @ (#2) Southeastern Oklahoma State – LSC GOTW – Midwestern State wins 4-2 (10), loses 1-2 (More info here)

The win could be big for Midwestern State’s regional ranking, but in conference it means Southeastern Oklahoma State still only leads Cameron and Central Oklahoma by 1 game.

(#7) Central Missouri @ (#5) Missouri Western – MIAA GOTW – Central Missouri wins 4-0, 9-1 (More info here)

Well MIAA, the team to beat is Central Missouri who is now 10-0 on the year and only 8 wins from a perfect regular season.  They still have to go to Emporia State and host Nebraska-Omaha though, so this is far from over. Missouri Western will also stay in the thick of things at 8-2.

Southeast Region

(#5) Newberry @ (#10) Carson Newman – Carson-Newman wins 4-1, 7-2 (More info here)

Carson-Newman got a much needed sweep here which might help their regional ranking.

West Region

(#3) Cal State Stanislaus @ (#1) Humboldt State – Cal State Stanislaus wins 13-7, loses 0-5 (More info here)

Humboldt State will take the 3-1 series win, while Cal State Stanislaus really needed a better result falling to 12-12 in conference.

Western Oregon @ (#7) Montana State-Billings – Montana State Billings wins 5-2, loses 2-7.

Western Oregon is stil toast, but it was nice for them to get a victory here.

April 13th Preview

East Region

(#7) Bloomfield @ (#5) New York Institute of Technology – April 13^th – CACC GOTW

Both of these teams would love a regional boost before heading back to conference play, we’ll see if either one can do it.

(#9) Dominican (N.Y.) @ (#8) Queens (N.Y.) – April 13^th

This is a battle for the final spot in the East, we’ll see who might have the edge going into the final weeks.

New Haven @ Merrimack

New Haven is a game back of Merrimack and both are right at the top of the standings.  Great series here.

Southeast Region

(#1) North Georgia @ (#4) Georgia College – Game of the Day

North Georgia has already won the conference, but this is still a possible preview of the Conference Final and a great matchup.

(#3) Lenoir-Rhyne @ Mars Hill – April 13^th

Lenoir-Rhyne and Mars Hill’s conference records appear to be flipped at first, as Mars Hill was up 2 games going into this week.  We’ll see what happens on the field.

D2 Softball – Conference Title Watch – 4/12

Did we see our first conference title clinched on Saturday?  Read on to find out…  We’ll preview Monday’s important games in Conference Carolinas later today.

Lone Star Conference

Southeastern Oklahoma State knocked off Midwestern State in the 2nd game of their doubleheader, knocking Midwestern State out of contention and narrowing the LSC race to 3 teams.  April 14th could be the day for Southeastern Oklahoma State when they could clinch a share of the title depending on how the games between Cameron and Central Oklahoma play out.

Conference Carolinas

Mount Olive is your clubhouse leader having finished the season at 11-5.  Two teams are left on the course, and all need to reach 14-6 to win the title over Mount Olive.

Queens (N.C.) split with Anderson (S.C.) on Saturday. Queens must now win all 4 of their remaining games to have a chance to win the conference title.

Both Queens (N.C.) and Limestone will be back in action on Monday April 13th.

Mount Olive now needs to see the following happen to stay in the lead and win the conference:

• See Queens (N.C.) go 3-1 or worse
• See Limestone go 1-3 or worse

If any of those don’t happen, they will be eliminated.

Peach Belt Conference

North Georgia is the first team in the country to clinch a conference title as they clinched the conference title on Saturday by sweeping Georgia Southwestern. (More info here)

D2 Softball and Baseball – 4/12

Well considering there is only one Softball game I’ve got my eye on today and 2 baseball games, it’s a lot easier to just cover these all in one post… we’ll recap the 11th and 12th together.

Baseball

Northern Kentucky @ Indianapolis

Rockhurst @ (#22) Southern Indiana – GLVC GOTW

These two series began yesterday and will finish today.  We’ll just cover the entire series in the recap tomorrow.

Here was the previews for the series.

Rockhurst is just a .5 game back of Southern Indiana in the West.  This is a big series to see who the top team in the Division is.

Indianapolis has a chance to pull away from a Northern Kentucky team who is 3 games behind them.

Softball

(#9) Northern Kentucky @ (#4) Missouri-St. Louis – GLVC GOTW

This game was originally scheduled for Friday, and here’s the preview that was written then.

Missouri-St. Louis is alone at the top. Northern Kentucky is a surprise regionaly ranked team to me who doesn’t seem to have much going on.  If they do want to make the tourney they need to move up and this would be a good chance for a big win.

D2 Softball – 4/11

4/10 Preview

Atlantic Region

Virginia State @ Fayetteville State –  CIAA GOTW – Fayetteville State wins 3-2, 1-0 (More info here)

Fayetteville State appears to be the class of the CIAA and is now 13-1 in conference.

(#6) West Chester @ (#7) East Stroudsburg – East Sroudsburg wins 5-4 (8), loses 5-8 (More info here)

East Stroudsburg maintains their one game lead on West Chester for the 3rd spot in the East.

East Region

Pace @ (#6) Southern Connecticut State – Southern Connecticut State wins 5-4 (10), loses 3-4 (More info here)

Southern Connecticut State would have preferred a sweep, but this split keeps them around in NE-10 play.

American International @ Southern New Hampshire – American International wins 3-2, 4-3 (More info here)

Southern New Hampshire really dropped the ball here and is probably too far back now.  American International’s sweep brings them closer, but I think they are still too far back.

Midwest Region

(#3) Ashland @ (#2) Wayne State (Mich.) – Ashland wins 1-0, 5-4 (More info here and here)

Ashland now is in 2nd in the GLIAC and has put a big statement up about who should be the #2 team in the region.

(#9) Northern Kentucky @ (#4) Missouri-St. Louis –  GLVC GOTW – Postponed until April 12th

South Region

(#1) Alabama Huntsville @ (#4) West Florida – Game of the Day – West Florida wins 4-3 (11), loses 0-2 (More info here)

The first game was 1-1 going into the 11th, lots of drama! Unfortunately the split leaves West Florida 4 games behind Alabama Huntsville meaning they don’t really have a shot at catching them, but the win has to give them some confidence heading towards the postseason.

(#8) Tampa @ (#6) Rollins –  SSC GOTW – Tampa wins 9-7, loses 1-2 (8) (More info here)

Tampa ended up losing this series, something they really couldn’t afford to do considering Rollin’s lack of conference success before this series, and is now a game out at the top.

(#5) Nova Southeastern @ (#10) Barry – Nova Southeastern wins 6-4, 6-4 (More info here)

Nova Southeastern’s series win leaves them only 1.5 games out, while Barry falls to 3.5 games out.

South Central Region

Tarleton State @ (#3) Abilene Christian – Abilene Christian wins 12-10, 4-1 (More info here)

Abilene Christian pushes the gap with West Texas A&M to 3.5 games and it appears to be Abilene and Angelo State for the title.  Angelo is currently .5 games up.

Southeast Region

(#5) Newberry @ (#10) Carson Newman – Postponed until Saturday

West Region

(#3) Cal State Stanislaus @ (#1) Humboldt State – CCAA GOTW – Humboldt State wins 6-3, 7-6 (More info here)

Humboldt State gets a big sweep here to rebound off a tough week.

Western Oregon @ (#7) Montana State-Billings – Montana State-Billings wins 2-1, 4-2 (More info here)

Montana State-Billings is now up 5.5 games on Western Oregon.

4/11 Preview

Atlantic Region

Bowie State @ Elizabeth City State

Bowie State appears to be the best team in the Eastern Division, but Elizabeth City State is only 2.5 games out and might have something to say about that.

(#7) East Stroudsburg @ (#4) California (Pa.)

This won’t count for conference standings, but East Stroudsburg is in need of big wins to help their regional ranking and California (Pa.) would sure be a big one.

(#1) Lock Haven @ (#10) Indiana (Pa.)

This matchup in the Central sees Lock Haven risk their Central Division lead against an Indian (Pa.) team who is desperate for a big win to try to climb back into the playoff picture.

East Region

New Haven @ Merrimack

New Haven is a game back of Merrimack and both are right at the top of the standings.  Great series here.

(#2) C.W. Post @ Southern New Hampshire

It’s a non-conference series, but Southern New Hampshire gets a great team in for a chance to get a marquee win.

Midwest Region

(#3) Ashland @ (#7) Saginaw Valley State  - GLIAC GOTW

Sagniaw Valley State is sitting pretty at the top and now has a 2 game lead on Ashland and Ferris State.  They could really put Ashland in some trouble with a sweep here.  On the other hand, Ashland can tie things up with a sweep.

Quincy @ (#10) Kentucky Wesleyan

Quincy is only .5 games back, but they face a road trip to a Kentucky Wesleyan team who is 11th in the GLVC and 10th in the region…. what?!

South Region

(#1) Alabama Huntsville @ (#3) Valdosta State – GSC GOTW – Game of the Day

Alabama-Huntsville picked up a rare loss and now enters this series tied with Valdosta State… This series will probably determine the East Division winner, and with how these two teams have played, I think Alabama-Huntsville will need to sweep them, I think a split favors Valdosta State.

South Central Region

Tarleton State @ (#3) Abilene Christian

Tarleton State is as good as toast 4.5 games out, but Abilene Christian really needs this one only a .5 game back.

(#6) Midwestern State @ (#2) Southeastern Oklahoma State – LSC GOTW

Midwestern State is a full 5 games back now, but it’s still a challenge for a Southeastern Oklahoma State team who is only 1 game clear at the top.

(#7) Central Missouri @ (#5) Missouri Western – MIAA GOTW

Central Missouri and Missouri Western, one of these two will finally pick up their first conference loss… maybe both.  Great match up.  Emporia State and Nebraska-Omaha are probably rooting for a split so they can stay 1 game back in the loss column of both teams.

Southeast Region

(#5) Newberry @ (#10) Carson Newman

Newberry is right in the thick of things as far as the conference title goes, but Carson-Newman is middling at 5-5.  They really need to get some big wins to try and move into the top 8, and this is a great chance for them here today.

West Region

(#3) Cal State Stanislaus @ (#1) Humboldt State

Humboldt State looks to be back in form and are in good shape.  Cal State Stanislaus needs to try and improve their conference record, which is much worse than their regional ranking would lead you to imagine.

Western Oregon @ (#7) Montana State-Billings

Western Oregon is basically toast, but Montana State-Billings needs to keep winning to keep Central Washington at bay.

D2 Softball – Conference Title Watch – 4/10

No one was able to clinch a Conference or Divisional Title on Thursday, but we might see one on Friday…

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s Eastern Division

Kutztown and Shippensburg split on Thursday, so Kutztown was unable to clinch the Eastern Divisional Title.  These two teams are off from conference play until Tuesday April 14th.  On that date Kutztown will again have a chance to clinch the East Divisional Title when they play at East Stroudsburg.  Shippensburg will also play that day at home, hosting Millersville.

Conference Carolinas

Mount Olive is your clubhouse leader having finished the season at 11-5.  Three teams are left on the course, and all need to reach 14-6 to win the title over Mount Olive.

Pfeiffer swept Belmont Abbey on Thursday.  Pfeiffer now will host Anderson (S.C.) (3-9 in conference) on Friday.  If they win both games, they will knock Mount Olive off the top spot and become the new clubhouse leader.  If they lose either game they will be eliminated from conference title contention.

Queens (N.C.) swept Barton on Thursday meaning they are still in contention for the conference title.  They will play again on April 11th.

Limestone swept Anderson (S.C.) on Thursday.  Limestone continues to control their own destiny and gets to take the next step tomorrow when they travel to Erksine.  They must go 4-2 in the final 6 games to clinch a share of the conference and title and 5-1 to clinch the conference title outright.

Mount Olive now needs to see the following happen to stay in the lead and win the conference:

• See Pfeiffer go 1-1 or worse
• See Queens (N.C.) go 4-2 or worse
• See Limestone go 2-4 or worse

If any of those don’t happen, they will be eliminated.

So after tomorrow we’ll be down to 3 contenders.  Pfeiffer or Mount Olive, who will it be?  Pfeiffer is definitely my pick to stick around.

Peach Belt Conference

Tomorrow could be the day for North Georgia as they travel to Georgia Southwestern for two games.  North Georgia is currently up 2 games on Georgia College and will clinch a share of the conference title with a split in this series, and the outright conference title with 2 wins.

D2 Softball – 4/10

4/9 Preview

Atlantic Region

(#2) Kutztown @ (#5) Shippensburg – PSAC GOTW – Game of the Day – Shippensburg wins 2-1, loses 1-3 (More info here)

Shippensburg with a big win in game 1 meaning they are still in the running for the East Divisional Title.  It’s the first loss for Kutztown in conference, and their first loss since losing to West Virginia State on March 20th.

East Region

(#2) C.W. Post @ Merrimack – C.W. Post wins 7-0, 10-0 (More info here)

Merrimack was only down 1-0 entering the 7th in game 1 and 5-0 in game 2.  Disappointing loss for Merrimack though who was hoping to make a statement today.  Now to get back to trying to win the NE-10 for Merrimack.

Southern New Hampshire @ (#10) Bentley – Bentley wins 3-1, 7-1 (More info here)

Bentley really had to have these games, and got them both to stay around in the NE-10 race.  They are now 8-6. Southern New Hampshire missed a chance here and fell to 8-4.

South Region

(#8) Tampa @ (#6) Rollins – Rollins wins 3-0 (More info here)

Big win for Rollins who moves within 2.5 games of Tampa in the SSC.  They get 2 more chances to close the gap tomorrow.

(#5) Nova Southeastern @ (#10) Barry – Barry wins 2-1 (More info here)

Barry gets a great win here with 2 runs in the 5th.  Barry needs to get another win tomorrow and would love two as they try to get into the playoffs.

South Central Region

Incarnate Word @ (#8) West Texas A&M – HC GOTW – West Texas A&M wins 17-9 (5), 10-2 (5) (More info here and here)

Big sweep for West Texas A&M who gets two wins that might help their profile and raise their Regional Ranking… well probably not but they help more than 2 losses!

West Region

(#8) Cal State Dominguez Hills @ (#9) San Francisco State – Postponed

4/10 Review

Atlantic Region

Virginia State @ Fayetteville State –  CIAA GOTW

Two of the best teams in the Conference, Virginia State has started things off 6-0, Fayetteville State 11-1.  Both team lead their divisions.

(#6) West Chester @ (#7) East Stroudsburg

These two are both out of contention for the East Division Title of PSAC, but are battling for the 3rd spot. East Stroudbsurg has a 1 game lead right now, and can double that lead with a win today.  Both teams also are fighting for the last playoff spot as only the top 7 will likely be able to get a regional at-large bid.

East Region

Pace @ (#6) Southern Connecticut State

Pace is sitting 3 games out already, but Southern Connecticut State is only 1 game out.  Southern Connecticut State has to have these games if they want to challenge Merrimack for the title.

American International @ Southern New Hampshire

American International is probably out at 4 games back, but if not they will need this pair. Southern New Hampshire is only 2 games back and this is a must win for them, they should have them if they want to contend.

Midwest Region

(#3) Ashland @ (#2) Wayne State (Mich.)

Wayne State (Mich.) is 2nd in conference by 2 games, and Ashland only trails them by 1 game.  Big time series for conference title implications as well as a big time series at the top of the Regional Rankings.  The #2 team will get to host a 4-team regional while the #3 team will have to go to that regional.  Big time implications here.

(#9) Northern Kentucky @ (#4) Missouri-St. Louis –  GLVC GOTW

Missouri-St. Louis is alone at the top. Northern Kentucky is a surprise regionaly ranked team to me who doesn’t seem to have much going on.  If they do want to make the tourney they need to move up and this would be a good chance for a big win.

South Region

(#1) Alabama Huntsville @ (#4) West Florida – Game of the Day

It’s a great chance for West Florida to knock off the #1 team in the country as they host Alabama-Huntsville.  They are 4 games back, so this is their last chance to really cut into that lead as well.

(#8) Tampa @ (#6) Rollins –  SSC GOTW

Tampa is tied for the conference lead and can’t afford to lose more games here at a Rollins team which has underacheived so far in conference.

(#5) Nova Southeastern @ (#10) Barry

Nova Southeastern is only 1.5 games out in conference, Barry 2 games out.  Both could really use the sweep today, Barry probably more so.

South Central Region

Tarleton State @ (#3) Abilene Christian

Abilene Christian has a chance to really seperate themselves and Angelo State from Tarleton State by sweeping them today.  The lead is currently 2 games.

Southeast Region

(#5) Newberry @ (#10) Carson Newman

Newberry is right in the thick of things as far as the conference title goes, but Carson-Newman is middling at 5-5.  They really need to get some big wins to try and move into the top 8, and this is a great chance for them here today.

West Region

(#3) Cal State Stanislaus @ (#1) Humboldt State – CCAA GOTW

Humboldt State has a 2 game lead at the top of the conference but after a shaky last week they are under some pressure against a Cal State Stanislaus team who has a great regional ranking but is sitting 5th in conference.  They would get a huge boost out of a couple wins today.

Western Oregon @ (#7) Montana State-Billings

Montana State-Billings is up 3.5 games on Western Oregon going into this 4 game series and could either fall from the lead or get a 7.5 game lead on Western Oregon depending on how things go. Central Washington (who is 2 games out) will be watching this one with great interest.

D2 Softball – Conference Title Watch – 4/9

Well there are several conferences which are getting very close to wrapping up Conference or Divisional Titles… so it’s time to start covering the big games down the stretch.

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s Eastern Division

In the PSAC East, Kutztown is currently up 3 games on Shippensburg.  These are the only two teams left in contention.  Kutztown has 6 games to go, but the first two are a series at Shippensburg today (Thursday April 9th).  If they sweep this series, they will eliminate Shippensburg from contention and clinch the Eastern Division Title.  If they split or get swept, we’ll have to see what happens on April 14th, 17th, and 18th to determine which team gets the Title.

Conference Carolinas

Conference Carolinas has provided a delightful 4 team race for the title.  Mount Olive is your clubhouse leader having finished the season at 11-5.  Three teams are left on the course, and all need to reach 14-6 to win the title over Mount Olive.  All 3 will have 2 games on Thursday.  We’ll go through all 3 teams, and see what they need to do.

Pfeiffer is hosting Belmont Abbey.  Pfeiffer needs to win all 4 of their remaining games as they are currently 10-6, but the good news is all 4 games are at home and are very winnable (the two worst teams in the conference).  Belmont Abbey is 3-15 in conference.  Tomorrow they will host Anderson (S.C.) (3-9 in conference).  If they win all 4 games, they will knock Mount Olive off the top spot and become the new clubhouse leader.

Queens (N.C.) is travleing to Barton on Thursday.  Queens is 7-5 currently, but has 8 games left.  If they win all 8, they’ll eliminate Pfeiffer.  They can afford one loss to get to 14-6, but 2 losses will mean they have no chance to pass Mount Olive.

Limestone is hosting Anderson (S.C.) on Thursday. As mentioned previously, Anderson is 3-9, and this looks like the easiest of the remaining games for Limestone.  Limestone is sitting at 9-3 and controls their own destiny.  If they go 6-2 in their final 8, they’ll win the conference title outright.  If they go 5-3, they at worst will share the conference title. This looks very doable as they won’t face any of the other 3 top teams, and are home for 4 of the 8 games.

Mount Olive needs to see the following happen to stay in the lead and win the conference:

• See Pfeiffer go 3-1 or worse
• See Queens (N.C.) go 6-2 or worse
• See Limestone go 4-4 or worse

If any of those don’t happen, they will be eliminated.

We’ll update the picture tomorrow, and we’ll cover two more conferences which will have big games tomorrow (the Lone Star Conference and the Peach Belt Conference).