#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:

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.

The NAIA Coaches' Top 25 for April 26, with Boyd Nation's ISR rankings. Recap below the fold:

First place votes: Embry-Riddle 17, Oklahoma City 3, Lee 1

This article was originally published at the Canadian Baseball Network.

Gary Picone took over as head baseball coach at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Id. last September, replacing Hall of Fame coach Ed Cheff, who had been the head coach there for 34 years.

Picone (Trail, BC) moves into one of the most prestigious jobs in college ball. Lewis-Clark State has won 16 NAIA national championships, and they have sent 14 players to the majors, including Keith Foulke of the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, and Oakland A’s, and Marvin Benard of the San Francisco Giants.

Picone served a remarkably long apprenticeship for the job. He was the athletic director for four years prior to taking on the head coach job, and served another stint as AD previously. He was heavily involved in the planning and project approval process for L-C State’s activity center, a facility that many Division I schools would envy. Although L-C State is known primarily for baseball, they have had strong men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball programs for many years.

After participating in Trail’s local baseball programs as a teenager, he went to Bellevue Community College as an outfielder. He transferred to L-C State, and played there for three years. He was good enough to be invited by coach Wayne Norton (Port Moody, BC) to play for the Canadian entry in the Baseball World Cup in Nicaragua in 1973.

Lambuth University in Jackson, TN is closing its doors at the end of June. The school has been in financial trouble since 2008, and has operated without accreditation for the past year.

The baseball team is scheduled to play their final two games at home against Southern Arkansas, a good Division II team. This will be the last athletic event in the school's history. The Eagles are 12-29. Update on April 26: The games vs. Southern Arkansas were canceled.

Update on Sept. 14: The Lambuth campus was purchased by the University of Memphis. No word on whether there will be any sort of athletic program.

Story from Inside Higher Ed: End of the Road for Lambuth U.

The NAIA Coaches' Top 25 for April 19, with Boyd Nation's ISR rankings. Recap below the fold:

First place votes: Lee 16, Embry-Riddle 4, Oklahoma City 2

The NAIA Coaches' Top 25 for April 12, with Boyd Nation's ISR rankings. Recap below the fold:

First place votes: Lee 14, Embry-Riddle 2, Oklahoma City 7