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During the first two seasons of the current “direct qualification” arrangement, no unranked teams made it through to the Baseball National Championship in Lewiston. The lowest ranked team to get to Lewiston was Tennessee Wesleyan, ranked #24 at the end of the 2010 season.
This season turned out differently. Concordia-Irvine (ISR #14) and Tennessee Wesleyan (ISR #28) will be in the Baseball National Championship field.
Concordia-Irvine won the Riverside bracket, defeating #3 Cal Baptist 4-2 in the final. DH Bryan Nicholson hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning to win it for the Eagles. Brent Clapper, who allowed six hits in 7 1/3 innings, got the win.
The was the Eagles' eighth straight win, and their 20th win in their past 22 games.
Tennessee Wesleyan won the Paducah bracket, defeating #5 Cumberland 9-2 in the “if necessary” game. DH David Bergin hit two home runs and had six RBI for Wesleyan in the all-Bulldogs matchup. Josh McDaniel, pitching for Wesleyan on short rest, went six innings, allowed no earned runs on two hits. Corey Collins went the rest of the way, held Cumberland scoreless; both of Cumberland's runs came in the first inning.
Cumberland defeated Wesleyan 19-10 earlier the same day. LF Jesse Bowman went 4-5 with six RBI for Cumberland; Bergin hit two home runs for Wesleyan in this game, too, and he now has 23 on the season.
Wesleyan defeated Cumberland 5-3 earlier in the tournament, and the starters were Bergin and Aaron Wilkerson. Neither got a decision, but Bergin got the best of the matchup, went 6 1/3 innings, allowed three runs on six hits, struck out seven. Wilkerson, making the last appearance of his career, went three innings, allowed three runs on eight hits. His numbers for 2011 are 12-0, 1.49 ERA, and 90 strikeouts. He had 26 straight wins in his two seasons at Cumberland. He got the only at-bat of his career in a 14-7 win over William Jewell in this tournament; he came in as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning, and reached on a fielder's choice.
The locations and seeding for the NAIA National Championship Opening Round tournament, May 12-16 at nine locations:
|
Location and Seedings
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Coaches'
Poll
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ISR
|
How Qualified
|
|
Daytona Beach Bracket
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No. 1 Embry-Riddle (FL)
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1
|
2
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CC
|
|
Hosted by Embry-Riddle - Daytona Beach, FL Tournament site
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No. 2 Brewton-Parker (GA)
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15
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10
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AL
|
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No. 3 Campbellsville (KY)
|
|
34
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CC
|
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No. 4 William Carey (MS)
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52
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CR
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No. 5 Edward Waters (FL)
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90
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CC
|
|
Oklahoma City Bracket
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No. 1 Oklahoma City
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2
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2
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AL
|
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Hosted by Oklahoma City - Oklahoma City, OK Tournament site
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No. 2 Fresno Pacific (CA)
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18
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11
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AL
|
|
No. 3 Belhaven (MS)
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20
|
21
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CC
|
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No. 4 Texas-Brownsville
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46
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CR
|
|
No. 5 Doane (NE)
|
|
82
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CC
|
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Riverside Bracket
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No. 1 California Baptist
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3
|
4
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CC
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|
Hosted by California Baptist - Riverside, CA Tournament site
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No. 2 British Columbia
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17
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5
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CC
|
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No. 3 Concordia-Irvine (CA)
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14
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CC
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No. 4 California State-San Marcos
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25
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CC
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No. 5 St. Thomas (FL)
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53
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CR
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Joliet Bracket
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No. 1 Oklahoma Baptist
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4
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9
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CR
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Hosted by Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference and St. Francis (Ill.) - Joliet, Ill. Tournament site
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No. 2 Biola (CA)
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13
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8
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AL
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No. 3 St. Francis (IL)
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60
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CC
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No. 4 Robert Morris (IL)
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83
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CC
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No. 5 Jamestown (ND)
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31
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CC
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Paducah Bracket
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No. 1 Cumberland (TN)
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5
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6
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AL
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Hosted by Paducah CVB/Brooks Stadium - Paducah, KY Tournament site
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No. 2 Southern Polytechnic (GA)
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19
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26
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AL
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No. 3 Tennessee Wesleyan
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28
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CC
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No. 4 Bellevue (NE)
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67
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CC
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No. 5 William Jewell (MO)
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75
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CC
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Montgomery Bracket
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No. 1 LSU-Shreveport (LA)
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6
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13
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CC
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Hosted by Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) - Montgomery, Ala. Tournament site
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No. 2 Auburn-Montgomery (AL)
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10
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16
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AL
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No. 3 Union U. (TN)
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22
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23
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CC
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No. 4 William Woods (MO)
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35
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CC
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No. 5 Huntington (IN)
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129
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CC
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Cleveland Bracket
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No. 1 Lee (TN)
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7
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15
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AL
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Hosted by Lee (Tenn.) - Cleveland, Tenn.
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No. 2 Missouri Baptist
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14
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18
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AL
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No. 3 Culver-Stockton (MO)
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25
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44
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CC
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No. 4 Indiana Tech
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39
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CC
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No. 5 Shawnee State (OH)
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51
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CC
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Kingsport Bracket
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No. 1 Union C. (KY)
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8
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17
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AL
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Hosted by Kingsport CVB and Appalachian Athletic Conference - Kingsport, TN Tournament site
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No. 2 Faulkner (AL)
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12
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12
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AL
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No. 3 IU Southeast
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45
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CC
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No. 4 Iowa Wesleyan
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33
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CC
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No. 5 Mount Vernon Nazarene (OH)
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32
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CC
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Lubbock Bracket
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No. 1 Lubbock Christian (TX)
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9
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7
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AL
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Hosted by Lubbock Christian - Lubbock, TX Tournament site
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No. 2 Rogers State (OK)
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15
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22
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CC
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No. 3 Northwood (TX)
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21
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24
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AL
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No. 4 Kansas Wesleyan
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73
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CC
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No. 5 Hastings (NE)
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121
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CC
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First place votes: Embry-Riddle 20, Oklahoma City 1, Lewis-Clark State 1; Lewis-Clark State was #11 in the coaches' poll, #1 in the ISR
How qualified: CC = conference champion, CR = conference runner-up, AL = at large
Left out: College of Idaho (ISR #19), Trevecca Nazarene (ISR #20), Point Park (coaches' #23), York (coaches' #24)
Union U. (TN) won the TranSouth Conference tournament, defeating Bethel (TN) 11-2 in the final. DH Bryan Hill went 4-5, and CF Brett Pawlen went 3-4 with three RBI. Derek Roof went the distance for the Bulldogs, scattered nine hits.
Union defeated Martin Methodist 12-7 to get to the final. Story from Union U. site.
#19 Rogers State won their first-ever Sooner Athletic Conference tournament, defeating #5 Oklahoma Baptist 12-7 in the final. DH Cody Campbell went 3-5 with a double and a two-run home run. The home run provided the winning run for the Hillcats. Eric Faust got the win. Story from Rogers State site.
 #20 British Columbia won their third straight NAIA West title, defeating College of Idaho 13-8 in the "if necessary" game. LF Andrew Madsen batted in three runs. He hit two doubles in four at-bats, and got a huge assist, throwing out a baserunner at the plate. Shawn Hetherington got the win in relief. He came on in the sixth inning, went 2 2/3 innings, allowed no runs on two hits. Story from British Columbia site
#1 Embry-Riddle won their third straight The Sun Conference tournament, defeating Saint Thomas 10-2. The Eagles got all the runs they needed in the third inning. SS Jordan Romero scored on a throwing error, 3B Steve Sabins hit an RBI double, and 1B Ben Kline hit a single to score Sabins. Daniel Eaton got the win, went eight innings, scattered nine hits. Kline was 10-19 for the tournament, with two home runs and ten RBI.
Concordia-Irvine (ISR #24) won their first-ever Golden State Athletic Conference title, defeating Biola 14-4. Concordia out-hit Biola by only 13-11, but Concordia got it started with four runs in the second inning; a two-RBI by 2B Robbie Knowles, a sacrifice fly by SS Edgar Guillen, and an RBI single by CF Matt Ivanoff. They got the winning run an inning later, when courtesy runner Sean Costella scored when 3B Danny Casey was hit by a pitch. Costella scored two more runs in the game, including a acrobatic move to avoid a tag coming home on a double by DH Bryan Nicholson. Story (with video) from Concordia-Irvine site.
Results from the TranSouth Conference tournament in Jackson, TN:
#4 Cumberland defeated Freed-Hardeman 9-3, eliminating Freed-Hardeman. Aaron Wilkerson got his 12th win of the season, went six innings, allowed three runs on seven hits, struck out seven, threw 114 pitches. Daniel Kern got a save; he retired all nine batters he faced, struck out two. SS Tommy Winegardner hit a three-run home run.
Union U. (TN) defeated Bethel (TN) 10-5.
Martin Methodist defeated #22 Trevecca Nazarene 4-3, in ten innings. CF Tony Allen singled in the winning run; he went 3-4 for the game. Both starters went the distance; Travis Garcia got the win, allowed five hits, struck out ten, threw 134 pitches. P.J. Francescon got the loss, allowed eight hits, struck out 14, threw 140 pitches.
#21 Belhaven won the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament, defeating William Carey in the final 16-5. The Blazers put it away with ten runs in the third inning, led by a grand slam home run by C Ryan Saunders; all of the runs were scored with two out.
Belhaven, Lee, and Auburn-Montgomery will be in the Opening Round tournament. Faulkner, Southern Polytechnic, and Brewton-Parker will have to wait until the final coaches' poll next week.
Results from the TranSouth Conference tournament in Jackson, TN:
#4 Cumberland was upset by Bethel (TN) (ISR #59) 9-7 in the first round. The Bulldogs led 5-2 after five innings, but the Wildcats scored four runs in the sixth inning on no hits, three bases on balls, and three errors. The winning run came in the seventh inning on a two-RBI double by LF Jay Lowery.
#22 Trevecca Nazarene defeated Freed-Hardeman 4-1. The winning run came on a sacrifice fly by DH Jordan Foreman.
Martin Methodist defeated Union U. (TN) (ISR #23) 2-1. Martin Methodist starter Jerry McMurtry went eight innings, allowed one run on five hits, struck out ten, threw 128 pitches. Jeremey Stack went the distance for Union U.; he allowed two runs on seven hits, struck out seven, threw 126 pitches. The winning run came on a wild pitch by Stack.
The NAIA Coaches' Top 25 for May 3, with Boyd Nation's ISR rankings. Recap below the fold:
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RANK
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LAST
WEEK
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ISR
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SCHOOL
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2011
RECORD
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TOTAL
POINTS
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1
|
1
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2
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Embry-Riddle (FL)
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43-9
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586
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2
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2
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1
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Oklahoma City
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41-9
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572
|
|
3
|
3
|
5
|
California Baptist
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41-12
|
552
|
|
4
|
5
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3
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Cumberland (TN)
|
42-12
|
539
|
|
5
|
7
|
8
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Oklahoma Baptist
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39-11
|
506
|
|
6
|
4
|
11
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Lee (TN)
|
44-12
|
489
|
|
7
|
8
|
13
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Union C. (KY)
|
42-9
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464
|
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8
|
9
|
10
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LSU-Shreveport (LA)
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40-13
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461
|
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9
|
10
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6
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Lubbock Christian (TX)
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41-11
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433
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10
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6
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12
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Auburn-Montgomery (AL)
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40-17
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431
|
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11
|
13
|
9
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Faulkner (AL)
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45-11
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378
|
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12
|
14
|
4
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Lewis-Clark State (ID)
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34-13
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376
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|
13
|
12
|
16
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Biola (CA)
|
33-18
|
373
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|
14
|
11
|
17
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Missouri Baptist
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36-10
|
359
|
|
15
|
15
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14
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Fresno Pacific (CA)
|
30-17
|
314
|
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16
|
16
|
7
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Brewton-Parker (GA)
|
33-15
|
310
|
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17
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17
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18
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Northwood (TX)
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36-15
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265
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18
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19
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21
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Southern Polytechnic (GA)
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40-14
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258
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19
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18
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22
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Rogers State (OK)
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42-12
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238
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20
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20
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19
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British Columbia
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27-14
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215
|
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21
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22
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20
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Belhaven (MS)
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41-15
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209
|
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22
|
24
|
15
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Trevecca Nazarene (TN)
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34-20
|
164
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23
|
25
|
49
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Point Park (PA)
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36-11
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130
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24
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23
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40
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Culver-Stockton (MO)
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36-14
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119
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25
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RV
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60
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Madonna (MI)
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30-12
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102
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|
|
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23
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Union U. (TN)
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34-14
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|
|
|
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24
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Concordia-Irvine (CA)
|
31-18
|
|
|
|
|
25
|
Tennessee Wesleyan
|
33-18
|
|
First place votes: Embry-Riddle 15, Oklahoma City 4, Cal Baptist 1, Cumberland 1
Third round action at the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament in Columbus, GA:
#13 Faulkner and #19 Southern Polytechnic joined the list of ranked teams that have been taken out of this tournament. Faulkner lost 7-4 to #16 Brewton-Parker 7-4. The winning run for the Barons came in the sixth inning; 2B Errick Fox scored when LF Randall Shepherd drew a bases-loaded walk. Fox went 3-5 with an RBI for the game.
#22 Belhaven is now in the driver's seat in this tournament. The Blazers defeated host William Carey 7-1. Both teams had six hits, but four of the Blazers' came in the fifth inning; they scored six runs, four of which came on a grand slam home run by CF Tyler Wrinkle. Brandon McHenry got the win; he went seven innings, allowed no runs on five hits, struck out six.
Shorter took out Southern Polytechnic 4-3. The Hawks trailed 3-2 going into the bottom of the ninth, but pinch-hitter Shannon Houston hit a two-RBI single to win it. Tim Day got the win in relief, but a good effort by starter Stephen Adkins kept the Hawks in the game; he went seven innings, allowed three runs on seven hits.
Schedule for Tuesday (times EDT): Brewton-Parker vs. Belhaven, 1 PM, audio webcast; William Carey vs. Shorter, 4 PM.
Third round action at the Red River Athletic Conference tournament in Shreveport:
#9 LSU-Shreveport continued their domination of this tournament, defeating Texas-Brownsville 11-4. This game was tied 2-2 after four innings, but the Pilots scored seven runs in the bottom of the fifth; SS Manny Estrada and DH Kyle Pearson hit RBI doubles, and 1B Kevin Smith, 2B Michael Diffie and CF Justin Brodnax hit RBI singles. Pearson finished 3-4 with two RBI.
#17 Northwood (TX) stayed in the tournament by defeating Wiley 8-2.
Schedule for Tuesday (times CDT): Northwood vs. Texas-Brownsville, 11:30 AM; LSU-Shreveport vs. Northwood-Texas-Brownsville winner, 3:00 PM, audio webcast.
The start of the TranSouth Athletic Conference tournament in Jackson, TN was postponed until Tuesday due to weather. The Sun Conference tournament starts Tuesday in Fort Myers, FL. The Golden State Athletic Conference tournament starts in Riverside, CA on Tuesday. The Sooner Athletic Conference tournament starts in Lubbock, TX on Wednesday. The NAIA West tournament starts in Atherton, CA on Wednesday.
Second round action at the Red River Athletic Conference tournament in Shreveport:
#9 LSU-Shreveport defeated Texas Wesleyan 11-0. Jared Mortenson went eight innings for the Pilots, allowed four hits, struck out 13. 1B Kevin Smith hit a grand slam home run, went 2-2 with two runs scored. The Pilots have out-scored their opponents 25-4 so far in this tournament.
Texas-Brownsville defeated #17 Northwood (TX) 13-12. The Scorpions led 13-5 going into the ninth inning, but the Knights send 11 batters to the plate and scored seven runs in the ninth to make it a one-run game. LF Matt Warner went 3-5 with a home run and four RBI for the Scorpions.
Wiley defeated Texas College 11-1.
Schedule for Monday (times CDT): LSU-Shreveport vs. Texas-Brownsville, 11:30 AM, audio webcast; Wiley vs. Northwood, 3:00 PM.
The Southern States Athletic Conference tournament resumes in Columbus, GA on Monday. The TranSouth Athletic Conference tournament starts Monday, in Jackson, TN. The Sun Conference tournament starts Tuesday in Fort Myers, FL. The Golden State Athletic Conference tournament starts in Riverside, CA on Tuesday. The Sooner Athletic Conference tournament starts in Lubbock, TX on Wednesday. The NAIA West tournament starts in Atherton, CA on Wednesday.
Blowouts in Shreveport, and upsets in Columbus, GA.
At the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament in Columbus:
#4-ranked Lee went two-and-out. They were taken out by #19 Southern Polytechnic 7-4. The Hornets won it with four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on only one hit; the winning run was scored by courtesy runner Conrad Boron when pinch-hitter Blake Parrot drew a bases-loaded walk. The Hornets drew a total of eight walks and two hit batters. Brad Hutson got the win in relief; starter Josh Strawn put in a good effort for the Hornets, recorded eleven strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings, allowed three earned runs on eight hits.
#6 Auburn-Montgomery also went two-and-out, losing to #16 Brewton-Parker 8-7 (10 innings). 1B Jacob Evors hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to send it into extra innings, then hit a bases-loaded single in the tenth to win it. Evors finished the game 3-6 with five RBI. The Barons used six pitchers; Ben Gillespie got the win, faced two batters, threw nine pitches. Story from Auburn-Montgomery site: No. 6 AUM Falls in Extras to No. 16 Brewton-Parker, 8-7
#13 Faulkner is still in the tournament, but they're in the losers' bracket. The Eagles lost to host William Carey 7-6. RF Javier Ortiz scored the winning run in the seventh; he reached base on a walk, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a wild throw. Starter Scotty Reese got the win for the Crusaders; Ortiz finished the game 2-3 with a double and two runs scored.
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