Episode 85: 2022 South Region (Region 6) Preview

Welcome to Episode 85 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. We head to the South, home to some of the strongest teams in D-III, including the defending champs. We have a quick discussion about what Pool B is (at 3:50), why the C2C teams are now in it, and how that impacts the postseason field before previewing all the favorites in the South (Region 6). In order: C2C (at 8:45) Salisbury seems as good a bet as any in recent memory to repeat as national champs, but that's much easier said than done Christopher Newport is playing a loaded schedule, as they'll need to in Pool B, but will need some younger guys to step up to win enough games against all that top-tier competition ODAC (at 22:50) Lynchburg is being super underrated by the pre-season polls and has the talent to make a legit World Series run Shenandoah has a ton of experience coming back and is always good Roanoke has almost their entire pitching staff back and enough offense to compete We always trust Randolph-Macon to be good but they lost a huge chunk of their team to graduation so a lot more question marks this year Other teams like Hampden-Sydney, Bridgewater, and Washington & Lee should compete for spots in the conference tourney SAA (at 44:45) Birmingham-Southern is one of the best programs left in D-III without a title; could this be the year? Rhodes should always be taken seriously Berry was so good in 2021 but have a lot to replace this season USA South (at 54:15) NC Wesleyan ascended in a big way in 2021 and look primed for another huge season LaGrange is still trying to get over the regional hump and certainly has the talent to finally do it in 2022 This conference is enormous so there are a ton of other teams that could be in the mix UAA (at 1:03:55) Emory has been trying to get back to contender status for a while now; maybe this is the year1 We conclude (at 1:06:50) with our player and pitcher of the year picks, and our teams to beat. Then we say goodbye.  Follow us on Twitter @d3baseballpod (DMs are open if you want to reach us there) and @CespedesBBQ.  Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to [email protected] Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-podcast-about-division-iii-baseball/id1342691759