The DII baseball championship finals head to Cary, North Carolina, with first pitch coming at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, May 30. It is quite the mix in the field this year — you have Cary regulars in Central Missouri and Tampa mixed in with five programs making their final-eight debut.
🏆 Follow the tournament
📊 The previous Power 10
🔥 Kings of the hill: Breaking down some of DII baseball’s best pitchers
🔮 Wayne’s way-too-early guesses on the eight for Cary
🏆 Tampa looks to set the record for most DII baseball championships
That makes for some intriguing baseball. With so many teams in uncharted territory and playing some of their best baseball at the right time, anything can happen in this double-elimination style of play. Let’s take a look at each of the eight teams left standing.
The DII baseball championship finals, by the numbers
| Stats | UCM | ESU | Felician | LRU | NU | NNU | Tampa | UTT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record | 43-11 | 40-14 | 43-20 | 48-13 | 40-20 | 44-14 | 49-8 | 48-11 |
| Miles from Cary | 1,030 | 500 | 502 | 161 | 774 | 2,449 | 658 | 1,091 |
| Runs scored | 508 | 378 | 483 | 582 | 411 | 453 | 527 | 561 |
| Batting average | .324 | .296 | .313 | .346 | .301 | .319 | .323 | .349 |
| Home runs | 86 | 49 | 39 | 130 | 27 | 58 | 47 | 72 |
| ERA | 4.58 | 3.93 | 5.08 | 4.73 | 4.25 | 4.15 | 3.34 | 3.82 |
| WHIP | 1.39 | 1.45 | 1.55 | 1.44 | 1.44 | 1.37 | 1.27 | 1.40 |
| K/9 | 9.1 | 7.6 | 8.2 | 9.5 | 7.34 | 8.26 | 7.9 | 8.8 |
A team-by-team breakdown of the Cary 8
Central Missouri. The Mules are back in Cary for the second year in a row and third time in the PPE (post-pandemic era), making it to the final game against Tampa in 2021. With both teams back in Cary, it is safe to assume the Mules are looking to avenge that loss. This is a program that has been and remains a model of consistency, sweeping Pittsburg State for their 21st Central Region title.
The Mules have a pitching staff whose strength is in the strikeout and a deep bullpen. Where they really win games is with that lineup. Vance Tobol, Dayvin Johnson, Jacob Steele and Isaiah Keller give the Mules four verified sluggers, each with 12 or more home runs and at least 53 RBIs. And they have been putting up runs a plenty in the tournament with a 21-run onslaught, a 13-run outburst and a 10-run victory over nationally ranked Pittsburg State to once again advance to Cary.
East Stroudsburg. The Warriors showed that getting hot at the right time is sometimes all you need. East Stroudsburg was just outside the Power 10 conversation for the bulk of the season until a horrid final two weeks saw the Warriors close the regular season being swept by Millersville and then upset and bounced from the PSAC tournament by Indiana (PA). They then turned it on — with pitching leading the way — and won all five of their DII tournament games by not allowing more than three runs in any game and winning by at least three runs in all five to advance to their first DII baseball finals in program history.
It’s not so much the aces atop the rotation like East Stroudsburg has had in recent years, but the depth of this pitching staff that is an advantage for the Warriors. Caden Parker (10 saves, 0.77 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) is one of the best closers in DII and they have a handful of relievers that can get big outs if healthy. At the plate, Dennis Pierce put up big numbers, hitting .369 with a 1.241 OPS, a team-high 18 home runs, 63 RBIs and eight stolen bases.
Felician. The Golden Falcons are one of the five teams making their DII baseball finals debut, and what a cinematic way they pulled it off. Felician trailed by three runs or more in each of its super regional wins against Franklin Pierce, but came storming back, reaching Cary off the bat of Jaxson Wall and his walk-off home run in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the super regionals to advance.
The Golden Falcons continue to make program history, first with their season win total and now making it to Cary. Wall has been the standout hitter all season, leading the team with a .413 average and 37 stolen bases to go with a 1.012 OPS, 53 runs scored and 51 RBIs. The pitching will have to really step it up, especially with first-round opponent Tampa waiting in the wings. For the past four years, the East Region has been Southern New Hampshire and everyone else. Now that a new East team is in the finals, they will be sure to bring everything and leave their mark.
Lenoir-Rhyne. The Bears came into this season with a lot of momentum, even before the first pitch. I predicted they would be the SAC power to beat back in October and that Mackenzie Wainwright would be newcomer of the year. Wainwright exceeded expectations — becoming one of the best all-around players in DII — and the Bears are heading to their first DII baseball finals in program history.
The closest team to Cary, the Bears should benefit from a “home-field” feel. This is one of the most potent lineups in DII, already with 130 home runs. Wainwright leads the way (.433 average, 1.382 OPS, 25 doubles, 95 runs scored, 25 home runs, 76 RBIs and 23 stolen bases), but this lineup has three more players — Cole Stanford (20 home runs), Sal Carricato (23 home runs) and Owen Blackledge (13 home runs) that absolutely rake. Opponents’ pitching will have to execute almost flawlessly to survive this offensive onslaught.
Northwood. The Timberwolves are also making their DII baseball finals debut, and what a run to pull it off. The Midwest Region was surprisingly loaded at the top this year with both Davenport and Grand Valley State top 20 teams all season and UIndy getting hot looking to defend its consecutive Midwest championships. Instead, it is Northwood that survives, sweeping Grand Valley State and putting up 27 total runs in its two wins over UIndy.
This isn’t simply a record-setting season for baseball. It was the first regional championship in school history. That’s not too shabby for a team that wasn’t even expected to win its own division. Of course, it isn’t too surprising, as way back in December I said, “don’t be surprised if Northwood sneaks by Ashland and doesn’t stop there but makes it all the way to Cary. The Midwest Region is the ultimate wild card, and I like the numbers on two of the big pitchers the Timberwolves brought in add depth to their staff.” That pitching staff got red-hot in the G-MAC tournament, posting a 1.88 ERA on its way to the G-MAC title.
Northwest Nazarene. The Nighthawks are back in Cary for the first time since their breakthrough season in 2021. This team is arguably even better than that version, piling up 44 wins with a slew of stars in both the rotation and lineup.
Cole Calnon — the GNAC pitcher of the year and one of the best pitchers in DII this year — and Ernesto Lugo-Canchola anchor the rotation and became just the second and third All Americans in program history. The duo has combined for a 23-0 record with a combined 2.12 ERA in leading the Nighthawks to a record-setting season. Nin Burns II — who I predicted would be GNAC newcomer of the year in December — had a monster first season with NNU, hitting .345 and leading the team with 68 runs scored, 14 home runs and 52 RBIs while adding the second-most stolen bases with 18.
Tampa. The Spartans are coming off their 21st South Region championship, sweeping West Florida quite handedly in the super regionals, winning both games by a combined score of 17-5. They are now looking for their 10th national championship, which would break the tie and give them the most in DII history.
I’m not really sure what to say about this team that hasn’t been said all season. They have been atop the Power 10 rankings for essentially the whole year (minus a few weeks locked in a tie at No. 1 with Angelo State), their pitching staff has the second-best ERA (3.34) and fifth-best WHIP (1.27) in DII, they have the fastest guy in DII in Jordan Williams with 74 stolen bases, and a slew of hitters from the leadoff spot to the nine-hole that barrel it up and cause damage. Head coach Joe Urso has built another monster of a team and it will be tough to beat them.
UT Tyler. We need to talk about what these Patriots are doing right now. Sweeping the four-time South Central Region champion Angelo State is impressive, but not entirely surprising. On Sept. 19, I said, ‘Don’t be surprised if UT Tyler makes the DII tournament. That pitching depth, plus the addition of Justin Williams, who hit at the DI level, is kind of scary.” This team is plenty good, and didn’t lose a single series to the Lone Star Conference superpowers (Angelo State, Lubbock Christian, St. Edward’s (TX) or West Texas A&M) all season. What is more impressive is this DII tournament romp with it being just the Patriots’ second trip to the bracket since transitioning in 2019 and now, their first trip to Cary.
The Patriots won their three regional games by an average of 8.3 runs per game and then took Game 1 from Angelo State 12-3. Tanner Hornback has been on fire, recording at least two hits in every tournament game, including a pair of four-hit performances with seven runs scored and 10 RBIs.
Wayne Cavadi has covered all things Division II sports for NCAA.com since 2016. He hosts the weekly DII Nation Podcast available on Spotify and YouTube. His work has appeared on Bleacher Report, MLB.com, AJC.com, SB Nation and FoxSports.com and in publications like The Advocate and Lindy’s Sports. Follow him on Twitter at @WayneCavadi_D2.
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