Episode 108: 2023 South (Region 6) Preview

The Podcast About Division-III Baseball

Welcome to Episode 108 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. It's our second of ten 2023 regional preview pods as we head to the South, home to some of the strongest teams in D-III. We review them all, in the following order:

• C2C (at 5:30)
  • An enormous percentage of the Salisbury team that has made back-to-back championship series is back in 2023 as the Sea Gulls look like a juggernaut once again
    • IMPORTANT NOTE: We were informed after recording this episode that Salisbury is actually now in Region 5, one of the two Mid-Atlantic regions. We will discuss the ramifications of that move on the Region 5 preview pod but it doesn't change much about how we feel about the actual team so we left the Sea Gulls convo in the pod as is.
  • Christopher Newport's pitching staff can rack up the strikeouts but they'll need more offensive firepower to really elevate into the elite tier of teams this season
• ODAC (at 21:00)
  • Lynchburg lost some key pieces but still has multiple All-Region-types on the roster that could carry them for another deep postseason run
  • Shenandoah's lineup was already going to be loaded and now they get one of the best players in America back from injury
  • Roanoke is a balanced squad that is extra motivated after being snubbed from the postseason in 2022
  • Randolph-Macon's young team in 2022 was better than expected -- can they compete with the older rosters atop this loaded conference?
• SAA (at 37:30)
  • Birmingham-Southern should have an elite offense again but will need some arms to step up big time
  • Count on Rhodes, Hendrix and Berry to challenge the Panthers atop this conference
• USA South (at 45:50)
  • NC Wesleyan is now in great position as the favorite of this shrunken conference
  • Methodist, Pfeiffer and William Peace are all solid and could benefit from extremely old rosters
• Collegiate Conference of the South (at 50:15)
  • Few teams as many total bases to replace as LaGrange but they still have one of the best hitters in the country back and a good amount of top-end pitching, making them the favorite
  • Belhaven might just step right in from the SCAC and become LaGrange's biggest challenger, but keep there are a lot of solid programs in this newly formed conference: Huntingdon, Maryville (TN), Piedmont, Brevard, Covenant
• UAA (at 59:35)
  • Emory has been solid recently but still looking to rediscover its incredible peak from a decade ago

We conclude (at 1:02:00) with our player and pitcher of the year picks, and our teams to beat. Then we say goodbye.

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