Oklahoma City (ISR #1) has won 23 straight. They defeated Division II Southwestern Oklahoma State 5-3 in mid-week, then swept U. Of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, 8-4, 3-2, and 4-2. The Stars came from behind in the first game, and had to shut down late rallies by USAO in the second and third games. Corey Theriot, Allen Townsend, and Rich Hawkins got the wins.
The Stars lead the NAIA in fielding, with a .980 average. They host Division II Southeastern Oklahoma State on Tuesday, Hastings on Wednesday, and Saint Gregory's on Thursday. They visit Saint Gregory's on March 26.
Fresno Pacific (#2) won three of four against Cal Baptist (#3), and two of the wins were shutouts. Jesse Darrah pitched the first one, allowed two hits, walked none, struck out 12. The Sunbirds won 3-0 on home runs by 1B Wes Dorrell and C Michael Vaughn. The second shutout was 6-0; Aaron Lynn also allowed only two hits, struck out nine, and had a no-hitter going into the seventh inning. DH Michael Rivera hit a three-RBI double. Rivera got a save in the fourth game of the series, a 4-2 win for the Sunbirds. The Lancers' win was 4-3 in the second game of the series. 1B John Manzano hit an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth to win it; Patrick Smith got the win in relief.
The Sunbirds are 17-9. Biola (#13) leads the Golden State Athletic Conference with an 11-4 record, and the Sunbirds and Lancers are tied for second place with an 11-5 record. The Sunbirds host Point Loma Nazarene on Wednesday, and visit Point Loma on March 26.
The Lancers are now 24-7. They host The Master's Wednesday and Thursday, and visit The Master's on March 26.
British Columbia (#4) swept four games at Concordia-Portland, 2-1, 7-2, 8-4, and 4-3. Sheldon McDonald got the win in the first game, but the Thunderbirds got a major save from Luke Webster, who came in with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, and got the Thunderbirds out of the inning with a strikeout and a ground out. The Thunderbirds were out-hit 8-2. Eric Brown, Brandon Kaye, and Miles Verweel got the wins in the other three games. In the fourth game, the Thunderbirds got the winning run in the last inning of a seven-inning game; RF Sean Pisarski hit a triple with one out, then scored on a squeeze bunt by 3B Andrew Firth. McDonald is 5-1, 1.67 ERA, with 44 strikeouts.
The Thunderbirds are 16-6, and don't play again until April 1, when they play six games in three days against Corban.
Brewton-Parker (#5) lost to Division II Georgia Southwestern 3-2 in ten innings. The Barons then swept three games at Southern Polytechnic (#18), 10-7, 5-4, and 13-3. 2B Errick Fox went 8-11 for the series; Fox is second in the NAIA with a .518 batting average.
The Barons are 19-7. They visit Thomas U. (GA) on Tuesday, and host Emmanuel March 25-26.
Faulkner (#6) swept three games against Southern Wesleyan, 10-0, 8-7, and 4-3 (12 innings). R.L. Eisenbach, who transferred from Lubbock Christian, got the shortened-by-mercy-rule shutout, alllowed four hits, struck out nine. CF Tucker Willard scored the winning run in the third game on a dropped fly ball hit by SS Kenny Miramontes. Jason Rodriguez pitched the last three innings, retired all nine batters he faced, struck out three of them.
The Eagles are 23-6, and Eisenbach is 6-1, 1.20 ERA, with 47 strikeouts. The Eagles host Spring Hill March 25-26; all Faulkner home games are available on streaming video.
Embry-Riddle (#8) lost twice to Indiana Tech (#26), 7-5 and 3-2. In the second game, Tucker Jensen and Brandon Creath combined to strike out 15 batters, but the Eagles couldn't solve Indiana Tech's Jason Ferrell, who went eight innings, allowed five hits. The Eagles got a third straight loss at Florida Memorial, 6-2; Ryan Vigue got his first loss of the season. Frank Sigler got the win for Florida Memorial. The Eagles still won the series against Florida Memorial, however, winning the next two games 8-3 and 6-2. Tucker Jensen and Kevin Maloney got the wins.
The Eagles then lost to Union U. (TN) (#27) 10-0. Brett Pawlan went 3-3 with two home runs and two RBI for Union U. Derek Roof pitched the complete-game shutout, allowed four hits. On the same day, the Eagles got a 13-11 (12 innings) win over Cumberland (#14). Philip Reamy got the win, and 1B Chris Page hit a home run in the top of the 12th for the winning run.
The Eagles are 25-7, and lead The Sun Conference with a 16-2 record. They play another game at Cumberland on Tuesday, and host Saint Thomas March 25-26.
LSU-Shreveport (#10) won two of three against Northwood (TX) (#12). The Pilots won the first game 12-3, led by a grand slam home run by Kevin Smith. The Knights won the second game 13-9, and the Pilots won the third game 21-4; the Pilots scored ten runs in the top of the first, four of which came from another grand slam by Smith.
The Pilots are 23-8, and lead the Red River Athletic Conference with a 14-1 record. They host Huston-Tillotson March 25-26. The Knights are 24-8, and are second in the RRAC with a 13-2 record. The Knights host Southwest Assemblies of God on Tuesday, and visit Texas-Brownsville March 25-26. Streaming video of the Texas-Brownsville series is available here.
Rogers State (#16) lost to Division II Northeastern Oklahoma State 4-3, and won two of three against Wayland Baptist, winning 6-5, losing 9-0, and winning 6-5.
The Hillcats visit Bacone on Tuesday, and host Northwestern Oklahoma State March 25-26.
Concordia-Irvine is #1 in the ISR strength of schedule, and ranked #7. Fresno Pacific is #2 in SoS, and Cal Baptist is #3.