D3baseball.com Daily Dose

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The northeast corner of our nation is still in practice mode but a few teams are starting to make a trip to play a little baseball. Wesley (1-0) started the season with a win against St. Mary’s and Rowan (2-1) took 2 out of three on a road trip to Virginia. There is still is several weeks before all are out on the diamond and I know the fans are anxious to hear the crack of the bat (or is it a ping).

The South region continues to see a lot of action. Averett is the first 10 game-winner in the nation as they explode to a 12-1 record. They face a stiff test this weekend in my game of the week as they start their conference schedule at homed against Christopher Newport. Players of the week are Trea Bailey, CNU and Travis Reynolds, Averett. Bailey .467 (7-for-15) with seven RBI, three doubles and one triple as the Captains went 3-1 last week. Reynolds appeared in three games last week and earned two victories, including a seven-inning complete-game in a 10-1 victory over Neumann. In the win, Reynolds did not allow an earned run while giving up four hits and striking out nine batters. .In the Capital AC, Salisbury (4-1) is riding a 4 game win streak. In the Great South AC all four teams got their first win last week, going 9-5 since my last report. Virginia Wesleyan (3-0) in the Old Dominion AC has all their wins against ranked teams – first Salisbury, then Rowan, now a victory against the region favorite, NC Wesleyan. Rhodes (4-1) and Millsaps (5-2) hold the top spot in the Southern Collegiate AC with conference play not yet started. Nathan Skeen, Hendix and Robert Flanagan, Rhodes were players of the week in the SCAC. Flanagan (3-0, 0.92 ERA) pitched a gem against 13th-ranked Millsaps as the Lynx upset the Majors 8-5. He worked 7.2 innings, giving up just two hits and no earned runs while allowing just a walk and striking out seven to earn his third win of the season. Skeen had six hits in 11 trips to the plate (.545) and knocked in the winning run in the 10th inning in Hendrix’s 6-5 win against Rhodes on Friday, and on Sunday, knocked in the winning run in the ninth inning against Sewanee.

The Mideast, Central and Midwest regions are all preparing for their spring trips to points south.

The action in the west was in Texas as the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs (7-0) gave their coach, Bill Miller, his 500th victory. Joining Texas Lutheran in as an unbeaten is Texas-Tyler (5-0). Brett Amyx, Texas Tyler and Marcus Volz, Mary Hardin-Baylor were the hitters of the week while Andrew Cantrell, East Texas Baptiost and Nick Schafer, McMurry were pitchers of the week in the American Southwest Conference. Amyx was 6-7 with 3 hone runs and eight RBI and Volz was 10-16 with 3 stolen bases. Cantrell and Schafer allowed just a single run in their games this weekend. Cantrell got a complete-game five-hitter against Mary Hardin-Baylor and Schafer handed Chapman their only loss of the season scatting five hits in eight innings of work. The Chapman Panthers (9-1) continue to roll with 2 of 3 from McMurray over the weekend. Kyle Reading (.559) and Kurt Yako (.475, 18 RBI) have continue their hot hitting this season. George Fox (5-0) continues to be unbeaten, although they are a game behind Lewis and Clark (2-4) in the conference, with Lewis and Clark’s only two wins against conference foe, Willamette.

Game of the Week: Christopher Newport at Averett
Last week: George Fox 12, Redlands 2. Bringing back memories of their last meeting in the 2006 NCAA Division III West Regional, the George Fox University Bruins blasted the University of Redlands Bulldogs 12-2. Chris Albrecht (1-0) was the winning pitcher last year when the Bruins defeated the Bulldogs 10-3 in the opening game of the regional, and he was on the mound again for the Bruins’ Desert Classic win. The senior southpaw was superb, throwing seven shutout innings while scattering six hits, walking none, and striking out three. The Bruins banged out 12 hits to defeat righthander Pat Whalen (0-1), breaking open a tight 1-0 game with a five-run outburst in the 4th. Drew Johnson dropped a bases-loaded bunt for a single for the first run, and Dan Wentzell and Matt Wyckoff added two-run singles later in the frame. Wentzell slugged a tape-measure two-run homer, and Ryan Fobert added a solo home run.