3 NC teams & 5 PBC teams in top 30 poll

Led by Mt. Olive at #3, NC placed two other teams in the top 15. UNC Pembroke rose five spots to #7 after sweeping GA College over the weekend, and Catawba made a jump of six spots to #15.

The PBC is well represented by #7 UNCP, #12 FrancisMarion (up three spots), #19 Columbus State (up ten spots), #20 Armstrong Atlantic (down nine spots), and GA College (down 15 spots) to #24.

 

PBC UNCP

remarkable -

to what do you attribute the success?

better players in general?

better pitching?

it would appear that UNCP - IS a "Baseball School."
and i mean that in a good way - a school where the school community supports the drive to field a first class program.

 

I think the reason is because in the last 10 years the talent in North Carolina has caught up or even past tradional baseball states ,, like Florida, California, Texas and Georgia. The players now realize they can go to smaller D1, D2 and even D3 schools and play great caliber baseball, be seen by pro scouts, and more importantly , play immediately instead of going to the big D1 schools and not play until they are Juniors and Seniors. With the crazy NCAA Baseball rules, these smaller schools will continue to get better and better.

 

There's some talent in the Peach Belt & Conference Carolinas, that's for sure. Obviously, playing right away is a huge factor in a player's college decision. You can cite a few examples of players who were sitting the bench at a D1 school and became instant superstars after transferring. Nobody wants to sit on the bench for two years, without any playing time. Alot of players are doing it thou. Also, there's no guarantee after 2 years of sitting on the bench, that you're going to ever get any playing time. These college coaches are bringing in plenty of new guys to take your place.

 

Would love for one of these local teams to make it to Cary this summer for the DII Championship.

 

I am not a baseball guru like other members of TBR but I will throw in my two cents worth.

First and foremost, as the other members already noted, is playing time. Plenty of underclassmen get on the field. The UNCP starting line up this year only has three seniors with others in the wing ready to get on the field next year. This year there are two freshman starting pitchers and three other freshmen playing in the field or batting. Good competition amongst the players keeps everybody working harder for a spot.

Competition – each year UNCP Coach O’Neil keeps putting a competitive team on the field. This is the seventh year in a row that the Braves have won 30 plus games. Playing in the Peach Belt Conference requires that you get better if you want to compete in the post season.

Pitching – this year the weekend UNCP starters are all seniors. Combined ERA is 2.76. The closer ERA is 0.00 after 29 innings. Opponent pitchers ERA is 6.27.

That takes us to the offense – the Braves have been known as an offensive team. This past weekend I was sitting with the series opening pitcher for GA College (great kid from IL that will be drafted so write down his name Mike Guinane, who is now 7-1 after his weekend 4-2 loss to UNCP) and asked him who he thought was the toughest team in the PBC – UNCP. I asked why – very simple reply was “the hitting.” The Braves team BA is .313 and opponents are .229.

There are plenty of quality D2 schools out there. Come out to Cary, NC to the USA Baseball Complex where the D2 Championship will be held 5/28 to 6/4/11 once again. I was out there last year and there is some excellent baseball to be seen.

The D2 Championship link is http://www.ncaa.com/championships/baseball/d2

 

Peach Belt Tournment bracket

http://www.peachbelt.com/information/11basetournament/11_tournament_bracket.pdf

 

I agree wholeheartedly with pirates 05.