Friday, 10 February 2017 10:55

Midland 9, LSU-Shreveport 8

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.

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.

Wednesday, 08 February 2017 07:36

Tabor 7, Wiley 3

The Tabor Bluejays (ranked #10 pre-season) got a win in their season opener, and the Wiley Wildcats are still looking for their first win. This was the Wildcats’ home opener.

The Wildcats had a chance. They took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth (of a seven-inning game) when Jerry Johnson, pinch-running for 3B Ruben Hancock, scored on a squeeze bunt by SS Trevor Spear. Hancock opened the inning with a double. A failed bunt attempt left him at second. He went to third on a single by 2B James Richey, and was replaced by Johnson. The inning ended when C Oswaldo Palacios grounded out, stranding runners at second and third.

The wheels came off in the top of the sixth. The Wildcats brought in reliever RHP Tre’von Thomas. He walked the first batter he faced, SS Abdiel Alicea (San Juan, Puerto Rico). The next batter flied out, then a pickoff throw from the catcher to first base went over the head of the first baseman, and nearly all the way to the right field fence. Alicea scored all the way from first, tieing the game 3-3. C Braxton Byfield, who was at bat, doubled, and was replaced by courtesy runner Kyle James, who went to third on a bad pickoff attempt by Thomas. James scored on a single by 2B Jacob Jones, giving the Bluejays a 4-3 lead. Jones ended up going to third on a passed ball, then scored when a ground ball by CF Brent McClure was bobbled by the shortstop. The inning ended with the score 5-3, and the Bluejays added two more runs in the top of the seventh, when Alicea scored on a wild pitch, and 1B Colton Flax hit an RBI double.

Saturday, 11 June 2016 20:50

2016 MLB draft

Players from NAIA schools taken in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft:

Pick Round Team Player Story School Pos.
46 2 Milwaukee Brewers Lucas Erceg story Menlo (Calif.) 3B
119 4 Arizona Diamondbacks Curtis Taylor story British Columbia RHP
209 7 Arizona Diamondbacks Jordan Watson   Science & Arts (Okla.) LHP
234 8 San Diego Padres Benjamin Sheckler story Cornerstone (Mich.) LHP
258 9 Cincinnati Reds Alex Webb   British Columbia RHP
266 9 Chicago White Sox Max Dutto   Menlo (Calif.) SS
277 9 Houston Astros Ryan Hartman story Tennessee Wesleyan LHP
309 10 Texas Rangers Josh Merrigan story Georgia Gwinnett OF
379 13 Atlanta Braves Brandon White story Davenport (Mich.) RHP
416 14 Chicago White Sox Bryan Saucedo story Davenport (Mich.) RHP
425 14 San Francisco Giants Conner Menez story The Master's (Calif.) LHP
445 15 Detroit Tigers John Schreiber story Northwestern Ohio RHP
464 15 Chicago Cubs Jed Carter story Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) RHP
474 16 San Diego Padres Chris Mattison story Southeastern (Fla.) C
480 16 New York Mets Jacob Zanon story Lewis-Clarke State (Idaho) CF
575 19 San Francisco Giants Brandon Van Horn   The Master's (Calif.) SS
604 20 Washington Nationals Jake Barnett   Lewis-Clarke State (Idaho) LHP
694 23 Washington Nationals Michael Rishwain story Westmont (Calif.) RHP
708 24 Cincinnati Reds Bruce Yari story British Columbia 1B
744 25 San Diego Padres Luis Anguizola   Loyola (La.) C
778 26 Boston Red Sox Jared Oliver   Truett-McConnell RHP
799 27 Atlanta Braves Corbin Clouse   Davenport (Mich.) LHP
801 27 Milwaukee Brewers Nick Cain   Faulkner (Ala.) RF
860 29 Colorado Rockies Josh Shelley   Mobile (Ala.) RHP
886 29 St. Louis Cardinals Noel Gonzalez   Lewis-Clarke State (Idaho) RHP
903 30 Minnesota Twins Quin Grogan   Lewis-Clarke State (Idaho) RHP
909 30 Texas Rangers Christian Torres   Faulkner (Ala.) LHP
922 31 Oakland Athletics Sam Sheehan   Westmont (Calif.) RHP
953 32 Miami Marlins Chevis Hoover   Tennessee Wesleyan RHP
965 32 San Francisco Giants John Timmins   Bellevue (Neb.) RHP
969 32 Texas Rangers Travis Bolin   Davenport (Mich.) OF
976 32 St. Louis Cardinals Leland Tilley   Bellevue (Neb.) RHP
982 33 Oakland Athletics Jarrett Costa   Westmont (Calif.) C
999 33 Texas Rangers Mark Vasquez   Faulkner (Ala.) RHP
1056 35 Los Angeles Angels Sean Issac   Vanguard (Calif.) RHP
1086 36 Los Angeles Angels Jose Rojas   Vanguard (Calif.) SS
1121 37 Los Angeles Dodgers Enrique Zamora   Calument (Ind.) RHP
1134 38 San Diego Padres Will Solomon   Georgia Gwinnett LHP
1161 39 Milwaukee Brewers Jose Gomez   St. Thomas (Fla.) CF

 

Monday, 23 May 2016 13:21

National Championship preview

Schedule for the first two days of the 60th NAIA Baseball National Championship, Friday-Saturday, May 27-28, Harris Field, Lewiston, ID (all times PDT):

9 AM: #7 seed Sterling (48-14) vs. #10 Point (33-25)

Sterling (Sterling, KS) is making their second appearance at the Baseball National Championship. Their previous appearance was in 2013, and they went 0-2. They won the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
Nickname: Warriors
Rankings: #9 in coaches' poll, #21 in ISR. Strength of schedule: #14
Quality wins: 2-1 vs. Missouri Baptist, 5-2 vs. York
Top position players: 1B Andrew Dorado (.417, 15 HR, 53 RBI), 2B Beau Kallas (.415, 18 HR, 66 RBI), RF Kendall Radcliffe (.376, 19 HR, 64 RBI). Radcliffe was tied for seventh in the NAIA in home runs. Kallas was tied for ninth in home runs.
Top pitchers: LHP Kade Wagner (11-2, 1.53 ERA, 79 K), LHP Brad Williams (from Perth, Australia; 10-3, 2.09 ERA, 115 K), RHP Ryan Pope (3-1, 2.14 ERA, 59 K, 15 saves). Wagner has the sixth-lowest ERA in the NAIA.
Coach: Adrian Dinkel, fifth season
Outlook: The Warriors will win a game.

Point (West Point, GA) is making their first appearance at the Baseball National Championship.
Nickname: Skyhawks
Rankings: Unranked in coaches' poll, #33 in ISR. SoS: #11
Quality wins: Faulkner, 4-1 vs. Bryan, South Carolina-Beaufort, 2-1 vs. Campbellsville
Top position players: 3B Omar Smith (.341), C Juan Reyes (from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; .336, 7 HR, 25 RBI), CF Riliani Familia (also from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; .322, 10 HR, 44 RBI)
Top pitchers: RHP Payne Kosobucki (7-1, 2.39 ERA, 70 K), RHP Josh Nestlehutt (8-6, 3.14 ERA, 89 K), RHP Dylan Griffin (9-2, 4.09 ERA, 115 K)
Coach: Jeremy Christian, second season
Outlook: The Skyhawks did well to get this far, but they're in tough here.

Thursday, 12 May 2016 14:18

2016 conference tournament recap

#1 Georgia Gwinnett swept through the Association of Independent Institutions tournament, defeating Fisher 13-3, Mount Mercy 9-1, and Clarke 6-3 and 14-1. In the first game against Clarke, CF Josh Merrigan hit an RBI single for the winning run. RHP Nikolay Uherek got the win, pitched seven innings, allowed two earned runs on nine hits, struck out six. Story

Zac Rinehart is second in the NAIA in hitting with a .476 average. The Grizzlies are hosting an Opening Round bracket May 17-20. video

#2 Bellevue won the North Star Athletic Association tournament. They hit eight home runs in the final against Mayville State, and won 14-1. LF Joe Moran hit two of the home runs. RHP Ben McKendall had a shutout going into the eighth inning before giving up a home run by LF Aaron Miller. The Comets had to play an "if necessary" game to get to the final, and ran out of pitchers in the seventh inning, when the Bruins scored ten runs. Story None of the games the Bruins played in the tournament were close. RHP Todd Nicks and RHP John Timmins combined for an 11-0 shutout over Waldorf; Nicks struck out 14. Story

McKendall is now 11-1, 1.53 ERA (ninth-best in the NAIA), with 111 strikeouts (tied for sixth-best in the NAIA). The Bruins now wait to learn their Opening Round location.

#3 Lewis-Clark State won the NAIA West tournament, without giving up a single run. The defending champions defeated Corban 7-0, British Columbia 3-0, and C. of Idaho 5-0. RHP Kevin Hamann, RHP Noel Gonzalez (in relief), and RHP Connor Brogdon got the wins; Hamann went the distance. The game against British Columbia was probably the best of the three. It was scoreless until the eight inning, and a good pitching duel between RHP Curtis Taylor of the Thunderbirds (6 IP, 4 hits, 10 strikeouts, no walks) and RHP Quin Grogan of the Warriors (7 2/3 IP, 3 hits, seven strikeouts, three walks). The Warriors got the only run they needed on an RBI double by CF Logan Griffin, off reliever RHP Christian Botnick. LF Jacob Zanon completed the scoring with a solo home run. Story 1B Tyler McDowell went 4-for-4 with two triples and a stolen base in the game against C. of Idaho. Story

The Warriors are idle until the Baseball National Championship tournament May 27-June 3. Both the Thunderbirds (ISR #9, #1 in strength of schedule) and C. of Idaho (ISR #12) will be playing in the Opening Round.

Tuesday, 03 May 2016 11:42

Top 25 and recap for May 3

NAIA coaches' poll for May 3, 2016, with Boyd Nation's ISR. Recaps below.

RANK

ISR

PRVS

SCHOOL

RECORD

TOTAL
POINTS

1

2

1

Georgia Gwinnett

21-4

498

2

12

2

Bellevue (NE)

43-9

467

T3

1

4

Lewis-Clark State (ID)

45-7

461

T3

4

3

Faulkner (AL)

42-12

461

5

3

5

Tennessee Wesleyan

39-11

439

6

5

6

Westmont (CA)

41-9

416

7

6

7

Auburn Montgomery (AL)

39-14

397

8

7

8

South Carolina-Beaufort

41-10

394

9

29

9

Tabor (KS)

41-14

370

10

17

11

Missouri Baptist

37-11

353

11

44

10

Jamestown (ND)

47-7

334

12

14

16

York (NE)

41-13

315

13

11

13

Vanguard (CA)

37-13-1

307

14

8

14

Middle Georgia State

39-14

284

15

28

12

Sterling (KS)

43-12

270

16

15

17

Science & Arts (OK)

41-11

265

17

38

18

Freed-Hardeman (TN)

38-15

228

18

23

20

Campbellsville (KY)

33-15

194

19

26

23

Indiana Southeast

38-11

192

20

9

RV

Madonna (MI)

34-14

184

21

22

21

Bryan (TN)

36-16

179

22

47

22

Texas Wesleyan

35-15

166

23

18

19

William Carey (MS)

35-17

129

24

37

RV

Wayland Baptist (TX)

41-14

118

25

16

24

St. Thomas (FL)

33-18

102

 

10

 

British Columbia

31-18

 

 

13

 

C. of Idaho

35-18

 

 

19

 

The Master's (CA)

33-16

 

 

20

 

Davenport (MI)

35-13

 

 

21

 

Keiser (FL)

33-20

 

 

24

 

Lindsey Wilson (KY)

34-20

 

 

25

 

Menlo (CA)

33-20

 

Tuesday, 26 April 2016 14:40

Top 25 and recap for April 26

NAIA coaches' poll for April 26, 2016, with Boyd Nation's ISR. Recaps below.

RANK

ISR

PRVS

SCHOOL

RECORD

TOTAL
POINTS

1

1

1

Georgia Gwinnett

47-4

498

2

9

2

Bellevue (NE)

39-7

477

3

2

3

Faulkner (AL)

41-11

460

4

4

4

Lewis-Clark State (ID)

40-7

451

5

3

6

Tennessee Wesleyan

36-10

437

6

6

7

Westmont (CA)

39-7

424

7

5

8

Auburn Montgomery (AL)

38-13

388

8

7

5

South Carolina-Beaufort

37-9

385

9

22

11

Tabor (KS)

38-13

366

10

36

10

Jamestown (ND)

44-5

353

11

14

12

Missouri Baptist

36-11

339

12

24

17

Sterling (KS)

40-11

316

13

28

9

Vanguard (CA)

35-12-1

308

14

8

13

Middle Georgia State

38-13

288

15

10

19

Davenport (MI)

34-10

275

16

26

14

York (NE)

37-13

241

17

17

22

Science & Arts (OK)

38-10

238

18

39

15

Freed-Hardeman (TN)

35-14

221

19

11

21

William Carey (MS)

34-15

192

20

18

16

Campbellsville (KY)

31-15

189

21

16

18

Bryan (TN)

33-15

173

22

42

20

Texas Wesleyan

33-15

166

23

19

25

IU Southeast (IN)

30-11

142

24

13

RV

St. Thomas (FL)

31-17

122

25

34

RV

Southwestern Christian (OK)

39-7

96

 

12

 

Madonna (MI)

29-14

 

 

15

23

Keiser (FL)

32-19

 

 

20

24

Lindsey Wilson (KY)

33-20

 

 

21

 

British Columbia

34-17

 

 

23

 

The Master's (CA)

31-15

 

 

25

 

Menlo (CA)

32-18

 

Tuesday, 19 April 2016 14:21

Top 25 and recap for April 19

NAIA coaches' poll for April 19, 2016, with Boyd Nation's ISR. Recaps below.

RANK

ISR

PRVS

SCHOOL

RECORD

TOTAL
POINTS

1

1

1

Georgia Gwinnett

43-4

486

2

8

3

Bellevue (NE)

34-6

481

3

3

4

Faulkner (AL)

38-10

462

4

4

2

Lewis-Clark State (ID)

36-7

451

5

6

5

South Carolina- Beaufort

36-6

437

6

2

6

Tennessee Wesleyan

33-9

425

7

7

7

Westmont (CA)

35-7

408

8

5

8

Auburn Montgomery (AL)

34-12

384

9

19

11

Vanguard (CA)

34-9-1

353

10

48

9

Jamestown (ND)

39-4

344

11

20

12

Tabor (KS)

34-13

342

12

17

10

Missouri Baptist

34-10

322

13

9

14

Middle Georgia State

36-11

318

14

13

18

York (NE)

34-11

277

15

34

16

Freed-Hardeman (TN)

34-11

272

16

15

19

Campbellsville (KY)

30-12

267

17

23

20

Sterling (KS)

36-11

232

18

12

17

Bryan (TN)

32-13

225

19

14

21

Davenport (MI)

28-9

215

20

37

RV

Texas Wesleyan

31-14

177

21

11

22

William Carey (MS)

31-15

156

22

21

23

Science & Arts (OK)

35-10

151

23

10

RV

Keiser (FL)

30-16

138

24

16

25

Lindsey Wilson (KY)

32-17

130

25

27

RV

IU Southeast (IN)

27-11

103

 

18

 

Saint Thomas (FL)

28-18

 

 

22

 

Southeastern (FL)

30-17

 

 

24

 

Webber International (FL)

30-17

 

 

25

 

Madonna (MI)

23-14

 

Tuesday, 05 April 2016 13:06

Top 25 and recap for April 5

NAIA coaches' poll for April 5, 2016, with Boyd Nation's ISR. Recaps below.

RANK

ISR

PRVS

SCHOOL

RECORD

TOTAL
POINTS

1

1

1

Georgia Gwinnett

38-1

498

2

5

2

Lewis-Clark State (ID)

30-5

481

3

9

4

Bellevue (NE)

27-5

458

4

2

3

Faulkner (AL)

30-9

446

5

6

6

USC Beaufort (SC)

31-5

429

6

4

5

Auburn Montgomery (AL)

29-9

418

7

8

7

Westmont (CA)

27-7

407

8

3

9

Tennessee Wesleyan

25-9

374

9

11

12

Missouri Baptist

29-6

373

10

17

8

Jamestown (ND)

34-2

372

11

25

11

Tabor (KS)

28-11

312

12

36

13

Oklahoma City

28-11

295

13

16

15

Vanguard (CA)

26-9-1

293

14

37

17

Freed-Hardeman (TN)

27-9

275

15

10

20

Bryan (TN)

28-9

271

16

29

14

MidAmerica Nazarene (KS)

24-7

267

17

12

18

Middle Georgia State

29-11

260

18

28

16

York (NE)

26-9

235

19

7

19

Keiser (FL)

27-11

220

20

20

22

Davenport (MI)

22-7

189

21

26

RV

Campbellsville (KY.)

22-11

162

22

38

25

Wayland Baptist (TX)

32-9

154

23

31

21

Sterling (KS)

26-11

135

24

15

10

Lindsey Wilson (KY)

26-14

127

25

13

24

St. Thomas (FL)

25-13

98

 

14

 

William Carey (MS)

25-11

 

 

18

 

Menlo (CA)

25-14

 

 

19

 

Madonna (MI)

17-13

 

 

21

 

Science and Arts of Oklahoma

25-10

 

 

22

23

Indiana Tech

20-5

 

 

23

 

Southeastern (FL)

25-15

 

 

24

 

The Master's (CA)

24-12

 

 

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