Who's hot; who's not, Feb. 14

Sizzlin'

* Anderson -  The 6-0 start is by far the program's best since at least 2003, the first season I could find results for. Three of the wins have come by one run, including Sunday's extra-inning thriller at Limestone. Nick Vella has a .417 batting average and has hit safely in every game. The staff ERA is 2.33 and Trojans pitchers are striking out 11 per nine innings.

* Erskine - After compiling a .226 batting average for their first three games, the Flying Fleet hit .347 with 41 hits and 41 runs in its four-game sweep of Jefferson. Allan Saathoff has 18 strikeouts in 11 innings.

* Francis Marion - The Patriots are batting .361 and averaging more than 12 runs scored per game. Naphis Llanos, Todd Mattox, Darius Nobles, Jack Hegan and Bill Hanna all have five-game hitting streaks, with Llanos hitting a torrid .526.

* Newberry - The Wolves have stolen at least three bases in every game and have 30 through seven victories. Jacob LeBron is batting a team-high .429 and has a seven-game hitting streak.

* USC Union - The Bantams are off to a 3-1 start. Trent Turner (.545, 4 doubles) and Burton Hahn (.385, 3 doubles, 1 homer) have been offensive leaders. Trevor Linaman has pitched brilliantly (0.90 ERA, 11 strikeouts in 10 innings), but has only two no decisions to show for it.

Shiverin'

* Benedict -  Coach Selwyn Young's Tigers traditionally rank at or near the top of NCAA Division II in stolen bases. They're off to a strong start in that category again, with 24 steals through four games. But an 11.89 staff ERA and .208 team batting average dwarf the bases-pilfering success. The Tigers were outscored 51-5 in losing four games to Glenville State. Still, Jamell Mitchell and Bradon O'Connor stole eight bases apiece.

* Bob Jones - To say the Bruins were cold on offense is an understatement. A 3-for-19 (.158) performance in the series finale against Milligan raised the team batting average to .111. Seven of BJU's eight weekend hits were singles. Game 3 featured the indignity being halted after five innings with a 13-1 loss. The visiting Buffaloes scored all 13 runs in the second inning.

* Limestone - The Saints' 0-7 record has come against opponents with a combined 18-1 record. While that may not be much comfort for first-year coach Brett Harker, the Saints are not despairing once they get behind. They rallied from three runs down Sunday to force extra innings against Anderson. On Saturday, Harker had former Atlanta Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone speak to the team. From my days covering Mazzone when he was with the Greenville Braves, I can guarantee you the current Upstate resident sprinkled some colorful metaphors among an inspirational talk.

* Southern Wesleyan - A promising 2-0 start for interim coach Hunter Hubbard has been followed by a five-game losing streak. Granted, the final three losses were to a red-hot Newberry team. 

* Voorhees - The Tigers have started 0-8, stretching their overall losing streak to 13 dating back to 2021. I'd provide more insight if I could.

So-so

* Columbia International - The Rams' 4-8 record looks mediocre, but eight of the games were against teams in the NAIA Top 20. Most recently, CIU upended No. 6 Faulkner in extra innings to salvage the final game in the Southeast Rumble in north Georgia. Nine more games against ranked teams remain. Spartanburg Methodist transfer Ward Hacklen has been a recent offensive spark. He has two homers and a .452 on-base percentage.

* Florence-Darlington Tech - After a trip to the Junior College World Series in 2021, the Stingers are hungry for a return visit. Coach Preston McDonald has challenged his team with a brutal pre-Region 10 schedule and a 4-5 record has been the result. Sunday had a couple of positives, with two wins over recent NJCAA Division II  power Catawba Valley. The Stingers scored four in the seventh inning of Game 2 to force extra innings, then won it in the 10th. Landon Gaddis has a win, two saves and 12 strikeouts in seven innings covering four appearances.