The Bravos de León (17-34) trailed the Sultanes de Monterrey (36-13) 4-3 going into the bottom of the eighth inning, but the Bravos got three solo home runs in the bottom of the eighth for a 6-4 win at Estadio Domingo Santana in León on May 28.

The deciding inning started with a fly out. Then, 2B Carlos Valencia hit a home run to left field. The next batter, RF Brandon Macias, hit another home run to left field, and that one got out of the ball park in a hurry. The Sultanes replaced RHP Marcos Rivas with LHP Edgar Torres. Torres recorded a strikeout, but the next batter, C Marco Chicuate, completed the scoring with yet another home run over the left field fence. The Bravos sent in their closer, RHP Craig Stern, to pitch the top of the ninth, and he retired three of the four batters he faced.

The Bravos out-hit the Sultanes 14-7, but missed some opportunities in the early going. A single by Valencia in the third inning scored a run, giving the Bravos a 3-1 lead, but SS Niko Vasquez was tagged out at third; a review of the play upheld the call on the field. After a fly out, Valencia went to second on a single by 1B Leslie Anderson. The next batter, Chicuate, hit a single to left field, but Valencia was tagged out at home after a excellent throw by LF Zoilo Almonte.

The Sultanes opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first without a hit. CF Chris Roberson led off with a walk, went to second on a wild pitch, stole third, and came home on another wild pitch. The Bravos answered with a run walked in, RBI to Valencia. However, the Bravos left the bases loaded when Macias struck out. The Bravos got a runner on first in the bottom of the second, but 3B Agustin Murillo made a great catch of a line drive to prevent any damage.

The Sultanes tied it 3-3 with a two-run home run by Murillo in the top of the fourth. They went ahead 4-3 with a home run by Almonte in the sixth. They were kept off the board the rest of the way by relievers RHP Mitch Lively (seventh inning, one hit), RHP Gerardo Sanchez (eighth inning, no hits), and Stern.

Read more: Bravos de León 6, Sultanes de Monterrey 4

Schedule for the first two days of the 61^st NAIA Baseball National Championship, Friday-Saturday, May 26-27, Harris Field, Lewiston, ID (all times PDT):

8:30 AM: #7 seed Science and Arts of Oklahoma (47-15) vs. #10 The Master's (39-21)

Science and Arts of Oklahoma (Chikasha, OK) is making their second appearance at the Baseball National Championship. They went two-and-out last year, and were taken out by The Master's. The Drovers win the United Nations award for the second straight year; they have an Australian, five Puerto Ricans, and a Dominican Republican.
Nickname: Drovers
Rankings: #19 in coaches' poll, #27 in ISR. Strength of Schedule: #37
Quality wins: 3-1 vs. Bellevue, Davenport, 3-1 vs. Friends, Oklahoma Baptist
Top position players: UTL Christian Perez (.434, 10 HR, 59 RBI, Bayamon, Puerto Rico), RF Randy Ventura (.429, 10 HR, 52 RBI, Carolina, Puerto Rico), C Dillon White (.410, 15 HR, 80 RBI). White's 80 RBI are fifth-best in the NAIA.
Top pitchers: LHP Francis Ventura (10-1, 1.64 ERA, 88 K), LHP Jose Hidalgo (9-1, 2.04 ERA, 85 K), RHP Ruddy Estrella (1-1, 2.49 ERA, 29 K), LHP Carson Korff (8-0, 2.56 ERA, 52 K). Ventura's ERA is third-lowest in the NAIA, and lowest of the pitchers in this tournament. Hidalgo's ERA is 15^th-lowest.
Coach: Mike Ross, 13^th season
Outlook: The Drovers had to beat a really good Bellevue team twice and a good Davenport team to get here. This is a tough first round matchup for both teams.

The Master's (Santa Clarita, CA) is making their fourth appearance at the Baseball National Championship. They went 1-2 in last year's tournament. The win was 6-1 over Science and Arts of Oklahoma; RHP Brad Lohse pitched a complete game. They won the Golden State Athletic Conference tournament by winning five straight after losing the opening game.
Nickname: Mustangs
Rankings: Unranked in coaches' poll, #7 in ISR. SoS: #6
Quality wins: 4-1 vs. Menlo, 2-0 vs. Georgia Gwinnett. Defeated Hope International twice in GSAC tournament.
Top position players: C Jonah Jarrard (.413, 12 HR, 46 RBI), 3B Michael Sexton (.401, 16 HR, 59 RBI), CF Max Maitland (.351), SS Aaron Shackelford (.316, 14 HR, 50 RBI), 1B David Sheaffer (262, 8 HR, 59 RBI)
Top pitchers: RHP Danny Lutz (2-1, 2.53 ERA, 29 K), RHP Aaron Alexander (10-4, 2.84 ERA, 95 K), RHP Robert Winslow (8-5, 2.92 ERA, 97 K), RHP Jason Karkenny (5-2, 4.28 ERA, 49 K)
Coach: Monte Brooks, 21st season
Outlook: After a slow start, the Mustangs went 24-4 since March 25, and enter this tournament with a nine-game winning streak. Preview from The Master's College.

Read more: National Championship preview

2B-3B Brandon Macias batted in five runs to lead the Bravos de León (11-20) to a 12-3 win over the Olmecas de Tabasco (10-20) at Estadio Domingo Santana in León on May 6.

This was the first game for the Bravos' new manager Luis Carlos Rivera and new pitching coach Ray Loya. It was also the first game for 1B Leslie Anderson, who went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and three runs scored.

The Olmecas opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first on a triple by CF Yordanys Linares, who scored on a single by DH Sandy Madera. Olmecas starter LHP Carlos Teller didn't allow a hit until the forth inning. With two out and the bases empty, he walked LF Alfredo Marte. Anderson got the Bravos' first hit of the game. Teller then walked Macias to load the bases, then hit DH Joshua Banuelos to tie the game. The next batter, 3B Miguel Torrero, hit a two-RBI single, and the Bravos led 3-1 after four innings.

The Bravos got a "small ball" run in the fifth. CF Sergio Garcia opened the inning with a single. He moved to second on a hit batter (Teller hit three of them), and third on a line drive out. He then scored on a sacrifice fly by Marte. Teller was relieved by RHP Rodolfo Aguirre after walking the next batter.

Read more: Bravos de León 12, Olmecas de Tabasco 3

C Israel Nunez hit a two-RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning to break a 4-4 tie and give the Bravos de León (9-12) a win over the Toros de Tijuana (14-7) at Estadio Domingo Santana in León on April 23. Nunez was followed by SS Hector Hernandez, who hit an RBI double to make the final score 7-4.

RHP Edwin Quirarte to0k the mound for the Toros at the start of the deciding inning. He retired the first two batters he faced, and didn’t retire another one. With two outs and the bases empty, he walked the Bravos’ leading hitter, LF Alfredo Martes. 3B Miguel Torrero hit a single to move Martes to third, and DH Adam Munoz walked to load the bases for Nunez. It was Martes who scored the winning run.

Neither of the starters, LHP Miguel Pena for the Toros and RHP Fernando Villalobos for the Bravos, made it to the fifth inning. The game was scoreless going into the fourth, and Villalobos allowed only one hit over the first three innings. That changed quickly in the top of the fourth. RF Dustin Martin started the inning with a double, LF Cyle Hankerd hit a single, and 3B Alex Liddi hit a single, scoring Martin. CF Corey Brown then hit a three-run home run, chasing Villalobos with the Toros ahead 4-0, but that ended the scoring for the Toros. The Bravos answered with a two-run home run by Munoz, and another two-run home run by CF Rico Noel. The score remained 4-4 until the seventh. The Bravos got double plays in the fifth and seventh.

Read more: Bravos de León 7, Toros de Tijuana 4

RHP Luke Gregerson, who played college ball at Saint Xavier, and LHP J.C. Romero, who played for Mobile, played in the final of the World Baseball Classic in Los Angeles. Gregerson played for the champion, U.S.A., and Romero played for the runner-up, Puerto Rico.

Read more: Gregerson, Romero in World Baseball Classic final

Duane Monlux is the Head Coach of the Bellevue University Bruins. The Bruins finished third at the NAIA Baseball National Championship last season His record at Bellevue over seven seasons is 256-97-3. He was selected as Coach of the Year by the North Star Athletic Association for the 2016 season. This interview took place on February 12, 2017, after the Bruins split a double-header with the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma Drovers.

Bob Broughton, courtesyrunner.com: I hadn’t originally planned on talking to you about today’s games [vs. Science and Arts of Oklahoma], but USAO’s got some pitching.

Duane Monlux: Yeah, they do. They had some good arms in both games, and not only that, in the games they played previously. They have some really good starting pitchers, they have the ability to strike people out. They’re a good team. They hit the ball well today, and they’re going to beat a lot of teams, that’s for sure.

BB: We had a lot of balls bobbled by the infielders,but they came up with a couple of big defensive plays in the outfield when they needed them [by RF Randy Ventura]. I’m thinking specifically of the sixth inning of the first game. The right fielder robbed you guys of an extra-base hit, at a point when it really mattered.

DM: Well, we got it back to 4-2, and that would have changed that inning. That was a heck of a play. They played a clean game. They’re a very good baseball team, with good pitching, good hitting, and pretty good defense. They went through the whole nine-inning game with no errors, and they’re absolutely a World Series-caliber team.

Read more: Interview with Bellevue Coach Duane Monlux

The Bellevue Bruins (3-1, ranked #3 pre-season) and the Science and Arts of Oklahoma Drovers (7-4, ranked #7 pre-season) split a double-header with a stiff wind blowing, at USAO. The Drovers won the first game 7-2, and the Bruins won the second game 1-0. Both games were scheduled for seven innings, but it took nine innings to decide the second game.

First game: The Drovers jumped on starter RHP Todd Nicks for four runs on six hits and three walks in the first two innings. The scoring started with an RBI single by 3B Christian Perez in the bottom of the first. RF Randy Ventura scored on a double play ball, and Frankely Gonzalez hit an RBI single. Nicks walked in a run in the second inning.

The Drovers got an excellent pitching performance from RHP Stephen Wright. He went the seven-inning distance, allowed six hit, struck out nine, and didn’t allow an earned run. The Bruins didn’t get on the board until the fifth inning, when C Jake Browne walked, then scored on an error after a single by 2B Blake Macdonald. Macdonald scored when 3B Matt Evans reached on an error.

Read more: Science and Arts of Oklahoma 7, Bellevue 2; Bellevue 1, Science and Arts of Oklahoma 0 (9 innings)

The Texas Wesleyan Rams (5-2) swept a double-header (two eight-inning games) at home against the Jarvis Christian Bulldogs (7-6) by identical scores of 8-7.

First game: The Rams took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by 1B Julio Ibarra (Caracas, Venezuela) and a two-RBI single by C Aidan Laurini. They led the rest of the way. The Bulldogs got one back in the top of the second on an RBI single by DH Chase Martinez, and another in the fourth on a solo home run by C Carlos Andrade. The Rams added another run in the fifth on an RBI single by SS Casey Moses, and two more in the sixth on an RBI single by DH Dylan Measells (Stuttgart, Germany) and Ibarra scoring on a wild pitch. The Rams led 6-2 after six innings.

The Bulldogs got back into it with three runs in the top of the seventh. CF DeAndre McGuire hit a single into left field with two runners on base. The left fielder lost track of the ball. McGuire came all the way around to score, and it was a one-run ball game. The Rams answered with two runs in the bottom of the seventh; LF Blake Seaton hit an RBI double, was bunted over to third, then scored on a sacrifice bunt by C Garett Crook.

Read more: Texas Wesleyan 8, Jarvis Christian 7; Texas Wesleyan 8, Jarvis Christian 7

DH Robert Cummins hit a walkoff RBI single with two out in the bottom of the seventh to give the Midland Warriors a 9-8 come-from-behind victory over the LSU-Shreveport Pilots. The game was part of a tournament hosted by Dallas Christian College.

A stiff wind blowing throughout the game made every fly ball an adventure, and Cummins’ game-winning hit was no exception. It was a high popup that dropped between the first baseman and right fielder.

The Pilots led 8-6 going into the bottom of the seventh, and Pilots reliever LHP Pat Day struck out the first two batters. LF Buddy Balsino walked to keep the Warriors alive. RF Nathan Virgen doubled, then pinch-hitter Chris Foster hit a two-RBI single to tie the game, and he went to second on a wild throw. He was then batted in by Cummins.

Read more: Midland 9, LSU-Shreveport 8

The Jarvis Christian Bulldogs (6-4) and the Tabor Bluejays (2-1, ranked #10 pre-season) split two seven-inning games. The Bulldogs won the first game 9-7, and the Bluejays won the nightcap 6-3.

First game: The Bulldogs took a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. RF Christopher White got it started with a one-out single. 2B Alex Garcia walked, then CF DeAndre McGuire laid down a good bunt. So good that Tabor 3B Kyle James had to rush the throw to first. It was off-target, and the result was, McGuire got two RBI on the bunt. McGuire then scored The next batter, 1B Carlos Andrade, walked. DH C.J. Tyler hit an infield single, then LF Spencer Thomas hit a three-run home run.

The Bluejays got two back in the top of the fourth, on RBI singles by DH Blake Standiford and James. C Braxon Byfield hit a sacrifice fly on a good turn at bat in the top of the fifth. The Bulldogs got a run in the bottom of the first when McGuire singled, then scored when a fly ball hit by Thomas was dropped. That made the score 7-3 for the Bulldogs.

The Bluejays tied it in the top of the sixth. 1B Colton Flax hit a leadoff double, and scored when CF Brent McClure hit another double. McClure scored on a single by James. James stole second, then scored on a single by SS Abdiel Alicea (San Juan, Puerto Rico). He scored on a single by RF Jordan Harris, on a good at-bat.

Read more: Jarvis Christian 9, Tabor 7; Tabor 6, Jarvis Christian 3