Last Updated 6:11 PM, June 10, 2023
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Angelo State wins 2023 DII baseball championship

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Angelo State wins the 2023 DII baseball championship
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Angelo State wins 2023 Divison II baseball championship

No. 3 Angelo State won the 2023 DII baseball national championship over No. 4 Rollins 6-5 in the first-ever DII national title game appearance for both squads. 

The Rams were undefeated in the tournament, but Rollins tested them through the last pitch. To start the ninth Angelo State held a healthy 6-2 lead, but Rollins didn’t let up. Rollins loaded the bases and scored three runs to cut the deficit to 6-5. 

But ultimately, Angelo State escaped with a final strikeout to win the Rams’ first national championship in program history.

9:38 pm, June 9, 2023

Rollins and Angelo State to compete in 2023 championship

No. 4 Rollins will face No. 3 Angelo State on Saturday in the 2023 DII baseball national championship game. The Angelo State Rams must fend off Rollins once for the title, whereas Rollins must win two games over Angelo State to collect the natty.

The Rams boast a perfect record in the tournament so far, bulldozing through No. 6 Southern New Hampshire twice and No. 2 North Greenville for their national title berth. The Rollins Tars have faced a bit more adversity in the tournament at the hand of Cal State San Bernardino — after the Tars beat CSUSB 7-1 in Game 1 and topped No. 1 Millersville 17-4 in Game 6, they fell to CSUSB in Game 11, which forced an if-necessary Game 13. On Friday, Rollins outlasted the Coyotes 10-8, earning its ticket to the national championship game.

Saturday's matchup will be the first time that either program has played in the national championship. Tune into the live stats at 1:30 p.m. here.

12:17 am, June 7, 2023

Angelo State beats North Greenville, moves to national semifinal

No. 3 Angelo State moved to 12-1 in postseason play with a 6-2 win over No. 2 North Greenville in the 1-0 game of the 2023 NCAA DII baseball tournament. With the win, the Rams advance to the national semifinal, where they will face the winner of North Greenville and Southern New Hampshire.

Kade Bragg was the primary reason for Angelo State's win on Tuesday. He pitched eight innings, allowing just five hits and two runs while striking out eight batters along the way. Scott Ellis closed out North Greenville in the bottom of the ninth, with a busy, yet effective inning of work.

Angelo State's potent offense needed just six hits in the win, but it was more than enough as Bragg and Ellis limited the Crusaders to just the two runs.

North Greenville will meet Southern New Hampshire in an elimination game at 2:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The winner will need to beat Angelo State twice to advance to the championship series.

8:39 pm, June 6, 2023

Southern New Hampshire beats Augustana to stave off elimination

Nick Schwartz' three-run homerun helped keep the SNHU Penmen alive in the 2023 DII baseball tournament.

After losing to No. 3 Angelo State on Sunday, SNHU needed a win over Augustana to keep their 42-win season alive. Despite a shaky start from Josh Roberge, the Penmen's bullpen and offense picked up the slack, leading to a 10-6 win over No. 7 Augustana.

SNHU will meet the loser of Angelo State vs. North Greenville in another elimination game on Wednesday afternoon.

📲Click here to see the bracket

📊Click here to see stats from SNHU's win

5:21 pm, June 4, 2023

DII baseball championship Day 1️⃣ recap

2023 DII baseball championship: day one recap
9:08 pm, May 29, 2023

What to know about the final 8 teams in the DII baseball finals

And then there were eight. The 2023 DII baseball championship is heading to North Carolina for a week of baseball that will conclude with the next national champion.

Six of the super regionals were pretty easy to decide as Millersville, Southern New Hampshire, UIndy, Rollins, North Greenville, Angelo State and Cal State San Bernardino all swept their way to Cary. The field is stacked with familiar faces as four of the teams are the same as last year (North Greenville, Angelo State, Rollins and Southern New Hampshire) with a pair of former national champions still alive. 

FOLLOW LIVE: Tournament scores and updates from Cary

And yes, I got only half the field correct. Not my best season, but that means more of the unexpected and hopefully great baseball is on its way.

8 for Cary: What to know

Millersville. The Marauders are heading back to Cary for the first time since their 2016 national runner-up campaign. The super regional against Seton Hill was a matchup of two of the best pitching staffs in DII baseball, and the Marauders seemingly didn’t care, piling up 20 runs in two games. This is the fourth trip to Cary for Millersville, and the third since 2011. It is also the first time the Marauders advanced as the host seed in both the regionals and super regionals. Not to sound like a broken record, but Bren Taylor, who went 5 for 9 in the super-regional sweep, has been amazing all year and earned Atlantic Region player of the year honors.

Augustana (SD). The Vikings are no strangers to Cary, heading back to the DII baseball mecca for the first time since their national championship run in 2018. It is just the program's second trip, so they are looking for the same magic from four tourneys ago when they entered the field of eight as the No. 5 seed. The Vikings and Mavericks were one of just two super regionals that went the distance, and Augustana had to win the final two games in a row to advance. Nick Banowetz had a big series, going 6 for 16, while red-hot Jack Hines has now picked up at least one hit in each NCAA tournament game thus far.

Southern New Hampshire. This is the Penmen’s third straight trip to Cary and the fourth time in the past five tournaments. They are now 41-24 all-time in the NCAA tournament and certainly have made a good habit of heading to North Carolina. However, one interesting note is that the Penmen haven’t won in Cary since their semifinals run back in 2018, getting bumped in two straight games in each of the past two seasons. Jeffrey Praml (11-3, 2.41 ERA, 1.13 WHIP) and Frankie Sanchez (7-1, 2.73 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 64 strikeouts in 59.1 innings), the likely Game 1 and 2 starters, will have a large say in changing that trend.

UIndy. The Greyhounds are heading to Cary for the third time in program history, but it's the first trip in more than a decade. And what a way to do it. They had to defeat nationally ranked Illinois Springfield in the first game of the regionals and then beat top-five Quincy in the super regionals. What a series it was for UIndy's Brandon DeWitt. He picked up the complete-game victory in the first win over Quincy, striking out 10 in the process, and then went 2 for 4 in the second game while making the game-winning catch in centerfield. That's the story for the Greyhounds: versatility. Let's not forget, this is the same team that had Brady Ware hit for a cycle while throwing a no-hitter.

HISTORY: These schools have the most DII baseball national championships

Rollins. Guess who's back? Back again? Rollins swept Barry to reach Cary for a second consecutive year. The Tars find another gear in the postseason and are now 5-1 in the 2023 tournament. They have also scored at least seven runs in each victory, so you'll have to keep up if you are the opposing lineup. Last year, despite losing the first game in Cary, the Tars made a run to the semifinals before falling to Point Loma. Do they have that deep run in the tank this year? You'd be foolish to think they don't as this team just keeps on winning huge games. 

Angelo State. Like Southern New Hampshire, the Rams are back in Cary for a third straight year. Last year, the two Cary stalwarts faced off in the opening round of the finals, a game won by Angelo State 7-4. It would be fun to see them meet again and form a bit of a postseason rivalry as two DII baseball powerhouses. Angelo State has arguably the best offense in the field (statistically speaking) and defeated Colorado Mesa's mighty offense in a two-game sweep by a combined score of 14-2. That's mainly because, as I have said all along, this may be the best pitching the Rams have had in their recent dominance of the South Central. That makes them a strong contender for their first title. 

North Greenville. The Crusaders are looking to be the first repeat DII baseball national champions since Tampa did it in 2006-07. Keep in mind, North Greenville has never lost in Cary, sweeping through its four games to the title last year. Per usual, the Crusaders' bullpen came up big and will be a tremendous asset in the long days and sometimes brutal heat that takes its toll on pitchers in Cary. Catcher John Michael Faile, who now owns the all-time DII home run and RBI marks, had an absolute monster of a super regional, going 5 for 9 with four home runs, six runs scored and nine RBI. Think he wants to add a second ring to his already ridiculous resume? He's also one of six Crusaders with at least 11 home runs on the season, so pitchers beware.

ALL-TIME 9: The DII baseball starting lineup for this century — so far

Cal State San Bernardino. The Coyotes are the newbies of the bunch, as the lone team making its DII baseball finals debut. And I underestimated this team all year long, primarily because I didn't know if the pitching would hold up down the stretch. What we learned is that it doesn't matter because this lineup just keeps piling up runs. The Coyotes' games have all been high-scoring thrillers, winning by scores of 8-7, 10-9, 11-2, 8-6 and 14-8. Giovanni Del Negro (.387, 14 doubles, 13 home runs) leads an offense that has four players with double-digit home runs and four players with 54-plus RBI. This offense can come at you from all spots of the lineup.

Tale of the tape

Here is a statistical breakdown of the final eight teams. A bolded stat indicates that team has the best mark of the remaining eight teams in that statistical category.

STATS MILLERSVILLE AUGUSTANA (SD) SNHU UINDY
Avg. .310 .291 .327 .322
Runs scored 397 468 507 499
Home runs 50 78 83 50
ERA 3.27 4.25 3.38 5.35
WHIP 1.23 1.35 1.25 1.66
Strikeouts 432 573 474 504
STATS ROLLINS ANGELO STATE NORTH GREENVILLE CSUSB
Avg. .312 .346 .330 .323
Runs scored 431 578 553 485
Home runs 76 50 109 83
ERA 4.91 3.45 4.12 5.01
WHIP 1.49 1.25 1.43 1.50
Strikeouts 344 535 531 420
8:07 pm, May 28, 2023

Championship field, schedule, matchups

angelo state baseball

Championship Schedule:

Semifinal Schedule: 

Third round results:

Second round results:

First-round results:

The DII championship is split into two double-elimination brackets with the winner of each bracket facing off in the national championship. 

3:07 am, May 15, 2023

2023 DII baseball championship selections announced

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA Division II Baseball Committee has selected the 56 teams that will participate in the 2023 NCAA Division II Baseball Championship. 

The championship provides for eight regional sites hosting three teams and eight regional sites hosting four teams, for a total of 16 regional sites.  All regionals are double-elimination tournaments and will be played May 18-21. Regional winners will advance to the best-of-three super-regional competition May 26-27. Super Regional winners will advance to the double-elimination championship finals June 3-10 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. The finals will be hosted by the University of Mount Olive and Cary.

Twenty-two conferences will receive automatic qualification into the 2023 championship.  Each conference and its automatic qualifier are listed below:

  • California Collegiate Athletic Association – California State University, Monterey Bay
  • Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference – Felician University
  • Conference Carolinas – University of Mount Olive
  • East Coast Conference – Queens College (New York)
  • Great American Conference – Southern Arkansas University
  • Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wayne State University (Michigan)
  • Great Lakes Valley Conference – Quincy University
  • Great Midwest Athletic Conference – Northwood University
  • Great Northwest Athletic Conference - Western Oregon University
  • Gulf South Conference – University of West Florida
  • Lone Star Conference – Angelo State University
  • Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association – University of Central Missouri
  • Mountain East Conference – Charleston (WV) 
  • Northeast-10 Conference – Pace University
  • Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference – St. Cloud State University
  • Pacific West Conference – Azusa Pacific University
  • Peach Belt Conference – Georgia Southwestern State University
  • Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Seton Hill University
  • Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Colorado Mesa University
  • South Atlantic Conference – Newberry College
  • Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Spring Hill College
  • Sunshine State Conference – University of Tampa

In the 2022 championship, North Greenville University captured its first national championship title in school history with a 5-3 victory over Point Loma Nazarene University. 

Click or tap here to view the regional bracket

1:35 pm, May 7, 2023

Championship schedule

DII baseball championship schedule for the 2023 tournament

Here's the overall schedule for the 2023 DII baseball tournament:

ROUND DATES
Selection Show 11 p.m. ET May 14 on NCAA.com
Regionals May 18-21 (on the campus of one of the competing institutions)
Super Regionals May 26-27 (on the campus of one of the competing institutions)
Finals June 3-10 | Location: USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina
1:32 pm, May 7, 2023

Selection Show Information

The 2023 selection show will take place at 11 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 14 on NCAA.com. The full 64-team field will be announced. 

1:32 pm, May 7, 2023

Championship history

YEAR CHAMPION (RECORD) COACH SCORE RUNNER-UP SITE
2022 *North Greenville (54-10) Landon Powell 5-3 Point Loma Cary, N.C.
2021 Wingate (39-13) Jeff Gregory  5-3 Central Missouri Cary, N.C.
2020 Canceled due to Covid-19 -- -- -- --
2019 *Tampa Joe Urso 3-1 Colorado Mesa Cary, N.C.
2018 *Augustana (SD) (52-9) Tim Huber 3-2 Columbus State Cary, N.C.
2017 *West Chester (44-11) Jad Prachniak 5-2 UC San Diego Grand Prairie, Texas
2016 *Nova Southeastern (44-16) Greg Brown 8-6 Millersville Cary, N.C.
2015 Tampa (43-13) Joe Urso 3-1 Catawba Cary, N.C.
2014 Southern Indiana (49-13) Tracy Archuleta 3-2 (12) Colorado Mesa Cary, N.C.
2013 Tampa (47-12) Joe Urso 8-2 Minn. St.-Mankato Cary, N.C.
2012 West Chester (46-10) Jad Prachniak 9-0 Delta State Cary, N.C.
2011 West Florida (52-9) Mike Jeffcoat 12-2 Winona State Cary, N.C.
2010 Southern Indiana (52-14) Tracy Archuleta 6-4 UC San Diego Cary, N.C.
2009 Lynn (46-16) Rudy Garbalosa 2-1 Emporia State Cary, N.C.
2008 *Mount Olive (58-6) Carl Lancaster 6-2 Ouachita Baptist Sauget, Ill.
2007 *Tampa (53-10) Joe Urso 7-2 Columbus State Montgomery, Ala.
2006 *Tampa (54-6) Joe Urso 3-2 (12) Chico State Montgomery, Ala.
2005 Florida Southern (51-11) Pete Meyer 12-9 North Florida Montgomery, Ala.
2004 Delta State (54-11) Mike Kinnison 12-8 Grand Valley State Montgomery, Ala.
2003 Central Missouri (51-7 Brad Hill 11-4 Tampa Montgomery, Ala.
2002 Columbus State (48-15) Greg Appleton 5-3 Chico State Montgomery, Ala.
2001 St. Mary's (Texas) (50-13) Charlie Migl 11-3 Central Missouri Montgomery, Ala.
2000 *Southeastern Oklahoma (43-12) Mike Metheny 7-2 Fort Hays State Montgomery, Ala.
1999 Chico State (50-17) Lindsay Meggs 11-5 Kennesaw State Montgomery, Ala.
1998 *Tampa (46-14) Terry Rupp 6-1 Kennesaw State Montgomery, Ala.
1997 *Chico State (52-11) Lindsay Meggs 13-12 Central Oklahoma Montgomery, Ala.
1996 *Kennesaw State (48-17) Mike Sansing 4-0 St. Joseph's (Ind.) Montgomery, Ala.
1995 *Florida Southern (51-10) Chuck Anderson 15-0 Georiga College Montgomery, Ala.
1994 Central Missouri (51-11) Dave Van Horn 14-9 Florida Southern Montgomery, Ala.
1993 *Tampa (43-21) Lelo Prado 7-5 #Cal Poly Montgomery, Ala.
1992 Tampa (42-19) Lelo Prado 11-8 Mansfield Montgomery, Ala.
1991 Jacksonville State (41-12) Rudy Abbott 20-4 Missouri Southern State Montgomery, Ala.
1990 Jacksonville State (43-9) Rudy Abbott 12-8 Cal State Northridge Montgomery, Ala.
1989 #Cal Poly (38-25) Steve McFarland 9-5 New Haven Montgomery, Ala.
1988 *Florida Southern (48-10) Chuck Anderson 5-4 (10) Cal State Sacramento Montgomery, Ala.
1987 *Troy (38-10-1) Chase Riddle 7-5 Tampa Montgomery, Ala.
1986 Troy (46-8) Chase Riddle 5-0 Columbus State Montgomery, Ala.
1985 *Florida Southern (48-10) Chuck Anderson 15-5 Cal Poly Pomona Montgomery, Ala.
1984 Cal State Northridge (46-21-1) Bib Hiegert 10-5 Florida Southern Riverside, Calif.
1983 *Cal Poly Pomona (41-22) John Scolinos 9-7 Jacksonville State Riverside, Calif.
1982 *UC Riverside (36-23) Jack Smitheran 10-1 Florida Southern Riverside, Calif.
1981 *Florida Southern (55-8) Joe Arnold 9-0 Eastern Illinois Riverside, Calif.
1980 *Cal Poly Pomona (42-25-1) John Scolinos 13-6 New Haven Riverside, Calif.
1979 Valdosta State (47-14) Tommy Thomas 3-2 Florida Southern Springfield, Ill.
1978 Florida Southern (41-8) Joe Arnold 7-2 Delta State Springfield, Ill.
1977 UC Riverside (43-19) Jack Smitheran 4-1 Eckerd Springfield, Ill.
1976 Cal Poly Pomona (40-27-1) John Scolinos 17-3 SIU-Edwardsville Springfield, Ill.
1975 Florida Southern (35-10) Hal Smeltzly 10-7 Marietta Springfield, Ill.
1974 UC Irvine (48-8) Gary Adams 14-1 New Orleans Springfield, Ill.
1973 *UC Irvine (44-12) Gary Adams 9-6 Ithaca Springfield, Ill.
1972 Florida Southern (31-6) Hal Smeltzly 5-1 Cal State Northridge Springfield, Ill.
1971 Florida Southern (34-4) Hal Smeltzly 4-0 Central Michigan Springfield, Mo.
1970 Cal State Northridge (41-21) Bob Hiegert 2-1 Nicholls State Springfield, Mo.
1969 *Illinois State (33-5) Duffy Bass 12-0 Missouri State Springfield, Mo.
1968 *Chapman (35-18) Paul Deese 11-0 Delta State Springfield, Mo.