[Mr.Kimball]

I wouldn't go that far. Some NAIA schools might slip up and beat a D-1 school but I would say 7 out of 10 times the D-1 would roll over the NAIA. When D-1 schools play NAIA they rarely throw any starters weekend or mid-week. It is usually some guys out of the pen that need work and this is a good situation for them to face some hitters. The big difference between the two is the overall athletic ablility from top to bottom on the roster. Generally the D-1 and D-2 schools have more. Not to say there aren't kids on the NAIA squads that can't play D-1 because I have seen many that could.

Univ. of the Cumberlands, Union, Cumberland U., Tennessee Wesleyan, and Lee University would be right in the mix for an OVC championship. Most seasons you can add Campbellsville. Last season the Mid South doormat, West Virginia Tech, not only beat Marshall but threw a no-hitter at their starters. Lindsey Wilson beat Morehead by an ungoodly score of something like 25-2. A very mediocre Georgetown team also beat both Morehead and EKU last season as well.

Ask Matt Fyffe what Georgetown did to him and EKU last week. Kind of a humbling experience , I would say. He and every other "D1" pitcher they threw at Georgetown was ponded and pounded hard, and then Cumberland rolls over Georgetown 4 straight games this weekend like they were a middle school team. Say what you want Eastern played their starters and they could not hit very mediocre and sometimes sub standard Georgetown pitching.

The big difference is depth, not so much the quality of the starting lineups. Even in these matchups , the D1 programs still start their every day position starters. Dont take too lightly the caliber of the pitchers that the D1's throw in these games either. Remember all these guys were recruited as a player that was deemed to be in someones eyes as "D1" quality. The lack of available scholarship money in all divisions is what makes baseball a lot more balanced and equitable between the divisions. And dont think for a second that the NAIA's are throwing their confernence starters either for that matter , because they are all right in the middle of their conference seasons as well, and they sure as heck aint gonna burn their starters on a mid week game either. So tell me what the difference is. Conference wins are way too important.

As far as DII, a lot of these schools regularly go back and forth between being either affiliated with the NCAA or the NAIA. They are basicly the same in many aspects. It is based on the school enrollment size in what determines what is defined as a D1 school and a DII school, not in the quality of athlete that they attract.