A near-capacity crowd at Estadio Màrtires de Barbados in Bayamo got to see an excellent ball game.

Pinar del Rio was in control of this game for the first eight innings. They got two runs in the top of the first on an RBI double by DH Donal Duarte, and an RBI single by  1B Ramon Lunar. They added a run in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly by 3B Osniel Madera.

It looked for a long time like these three runs would be enough. Pinar del Rio got an excellent start from Erlis Casanova, who held Granma scoreless for five innings. Both he and reliever Livan Moinelo got some key strikeouts, and were also helped by double plays in the bottom of the first and fifth innings, a strikeout followed by a throw-out at second to end the second inning, and a good play by SS Yanciel Ajete to end the fourth inning with two runners left on base. Granma started the sixth inning with a base hit by SS Adrian Moreno, and Casanova turned the ball over to Moinelo. A long at-bat by LF Guillermo Jose Aviles resulted in a ground ball and Moreno out at second.

My first visit to a baseball game in Cuba was stopped by the mercy rule (“regla chili” in Spanish) after 6 1/2 innings.

Granma loaded the bases in each of the first three innings. In the first inning, they got a run on an RBI double by 1B Guillermo Jose, a two-RBI double by RF Urmani Guerra, and another RBI double by 3B Lazaro Alfredo. They left the bases loaded in the second inning, but in the third inning, they loaded the bases on singles by Guerrai and C Yulexis La Rosa, and an intentional walk, then SS Adrian Moreno hit a grand slam. It was 8-0 after three innings. Granma made it 12-0 in the fifth, with a sacrifice fly by Jose, a two-RBI single by 1B Yordanis Samon, and an RBI single by Guerra.

Granma starter Lazaro Blanco had a shutout with two out in the bottom of the sixth. He should have gotten out of the inning with a double play, but a suspect call at first kept the inning going. On the next play, the shortstop lost the handle on a routine ground ball. DH Alberto Toledo ended the shutout with an RBI single, and RF Lazaro D. Perez hit a shallow single that scored another run. Blanco left the game after that with six hits (three of them in the sixth inning, and two more by CF Robersis Ramos), zero earned runs, and 3 strikeouts.

Defending champion Cumberland starts the 2015 season ranked #1.

First place votes: Cumberland 19, Oklahoma Wesleyan 1

Northwood (FL) C Carlos Contreras and British Columbia LHP Conor Lillis-White are the headliners of the 2015 NAIA Preseason All-America Team.

Contreras transfered from Northwood (TX), which shut down their athletic program. He hit .453 there, with a slugging percentage of .753, fourth-highest in the NAIA.

Lillis-White had the lowest ERA in the NAIA last season, 0.46. He is already 2-0, 0.82 ERA this season.

The Diablos Rojos (Red Devils) of Mexico City and the Rieleros (Railroaders) of Aguascalientes split a double header (two seven-inning games) before a good crowd in Aguascalientes.

First game: This was a good one. The Diablos led the game until the bottom of the seventh. RF Doug Clark got the Diablos on the board with a two-run home run in top of the first inning. They added two more runs in the second inning. LF Ivan Terrazas hit a single, and C Gabriel Gutierrez hit a double. Terrazas scored when SS Juan Carlos Gamboa reached on a fielder's choice.

CF Rubén Rivera made a good catch in center field on a ball hit by 1B Japhet Amador in the top of the third inning. The Rieleros got two runs in the bottom of the third. RF Carlos Peñuelas hit a leadoff single, and scored on a double by LF Oscar Lemus. 2B Ivan Bellazetin hit a bunt single, moving Lemus to third. Lemus scored on a single by 3B Jesse Castillo. The Rieleros added another run in the bottom of the fourth when Peñuelas hit a slash bunt to score Rivera, who had reached on a single. So, the Diablos led 4-3 after four innings.

The Diablos Rojos (Red Devils) of Mexico City lead the North Division of the Mexican League by nine games, with a 62-35 record going into this game. The Rieleros (Railroaders) of Aguascalientes are in seventh place in the North Division, with a 44-52 record, and they will miss the playoffs. Tonight, however, belonged to the Rieleros.

The Diablos took the early lead in the top of the second, with a solo home run by 3B Emmanuel Ávila, and an RBI single by CF Carlos Figueroa. Figueroa bounced a line drive off Rieleros starter RHP Oswaldo Pacheco. (Pacheco got in the way of another line drive in the sixth inning, but was able to recover, pick up the ball, and get the out at first.)

The Rieleros answered with a solo home run by CF Rubén Rivera in the bottom of the second. It was his 20th HR of the season. C Oscar Lemus hit a ground rule double with two out, but a strikeout by Diablos starter LHP Marion Arias ended the inning.

Rivera made a good play in center field in the top of the third, taking away a home run from 1B Japhet Amador. The Rieleros tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the third on an RBI double by SS Carlos Orrantia. Orrantia went to third on a wild pitch, then scored to put the Rieleros ahead for good on a fielder's choice by 3B Jesse Castillo.

Matt Parker is the Head Coach at Oklahoma Wesleyan University in Bartlesville.

Bob Broughton, courtesyrunner.com: You've been the Head Coach at Oklahoma Wesleyan for three years, and have had a winning record all three years. You took the Eagles for their first trip to the Baseball National Championship. What were the big factors in turning things around?
Matt Parker: I think the biggest thing for us in the process has been recruiting guys who fit our program and our University. Our coaching staff has really focused on finding those tough, gritty kind of players who fit our style of play. The other factor has been getting guys who buy into and believe in our program and the direction it is headed.

BB: Your team certainly got their money's worth in Lewiston: a ten-inning loss to eventual champion Cumberland, a 12-inning win over Tabor, and an 11-inning win over #1 Oklahoma Baptist. Let's talk about that Cumberland game first. How often does anyone come up against a ten-inning relief appearance?
MP: We definitely got all we bargained for in Lewiston. The relief appearance by the guy from Cumberland [RHP Clint Meadows] was tremendous! If you are going to win a National Championship, you need someone to step up and do something out of the ordinary, and he certainly did that. He really saved their bullpen that night. I thought we did a good job swinging the bat against him. I think we scored 7 runs that game, but he was good at dodging the big inning and keeping it small for them.

BB: And you missed a chance to win it in the ninth with a baserunning mistake. What happened there?
MP: We did have a chance. To be honest, I’m not exactly sure what happened on the play. I know that Jose Ruiz drove the ball down the right field line with Jeff Butler on first. Jeff is a tremendous base runner, but I think got deked a little bit by the ball. I guess he lost the ball in the lights and turned around to see the outfielder catch it off the bounce. Jeff thought he had caught it in the air and began to return to first to tag up. By the time he and Jose saw each other, it was too late and they had passed one another.

Southern Polytechnic State University, in Marietta, GA, announced that they are discontinuing all athletic programs, effective July 1, 2014. The decision was fallout from Southern Polytechnic's merger with Kennesaw State. Press release

This is the loss of a successful baseball program. The Hornets made three trips to the Baseball National Championship. The most recent one was this season, where they got a win over Georgetown College before being taken out by Lewis-Clark State. They were ranked #8 at the end of the season. They got into the Opening Round by winning the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament.

The Hornets has a record of 350 wins and 137 losses since 2007. They won four other conference tournaments.

Also, Virginia Intermont College in Bristol closed its doors in May. The Cobras were 29-18 in 2013, and and 21-30 in 2014.

Players for NAIA schools taken in the 2014 MLB draft:

RHP Julian Merryweather, Oklahoma Baptist, Indians, fifth round (#158) story

LHP Brad Wieck, Oklahoma City, Mets, seventh round (#205) story

RHP Chris Pike, Oklahoma City, Rays, ninth round (#277) story

RHP Daniel Poncedeleon, Embry-Riddle, Cardinals, ninth round (#285) story

RHP Jay Gause, Faulkner, Astros, tenth round (#286) story

LHP Thomas Dorminy, Faulkner, Padres, tenth round (#297) story

RF Matthew Page, Oklahoma Baptist, Nationals, tenth round (#304) story

LHP Emilio Ogando, Saint Thomas, Royals, 12th round (#363) story

C Darryl Knight, Embry-Riddle, Mets, 14th round (#415) story

LHP Brennan Henry, Bellevue, Royals, 17th round (#513) story

LHP Michael Nolan, Oklahoma City, A's, 18th round (#552) story

RHP Jacob Webb, Tabor, Braves, 18th round (#553) story

CF Blake Drake, Concordia-Portland, Cardinals, 18th round (#555) story

RHP Tyler Wilson, Tennessee Wesleyan, Padres, 20th round (#597)

SS Osvaldo Vela, Oklahoma Baptist, Dodgers, 21st round (#639) story

1B Bryan Muniz, Southeastern, Astros, 22nd round (#646) story

C John Fidanza, Georgia Gwinnett, Diamondbacks, 23rd round (#690) story

RHP Zeke McGranahan, Georgia Gwinnett,  Orioles, 23rd round (#691) story

RHP Gabriel Hemmer, San Diego Christian, Tigers, 24th round (#730) story

RHP Tyler Carpenter, Georgia Gwinnett, Angels, 25th round (#749) story

LHP Kyle Kinman, Bellevue, Braves, 25th round (#763) story

CF Cade Gotta, San Diego Christian, Rays, 26th round (#787) story

2B Trevor Sprowl, Auburn-Montgomery, Braves, 26th round (#793)

1B Ryan Jones, Arizona Christian, White Sox, 27th round (#797)

RF Cody Lavalli, Lewis-Clark State, Angels, 27th round (#809) story

RHP Evin Einhardt, Brewton-Parker, White Sox, 29th round (#858)

RHP Jacob Butler, Saint Francis (IL), Tigers, 29th round (#880)

SS Josciel Veras, Cumberland, Reds, 30th round (#905)

LHP Timothy Hill, Bacone, Royals, 32nd round (#963)

OF Edwin Medina, Saint Thomas, Astros, 33nd round (#976)

RHP Keegan Yuhl, Concordia-Irvine, Astros, 35th round (#1036)

RHP Joey Aquino, San Diego Christian, Blue Jays, 35th round (#1044) story

LHP Spencer Hermann, Fisher, Mariners, 36th round (#1071)

C Brandon Gildea, Westmont, Astros, 36h round (#1079) story

RHP Cody Chartrand, Lewis-Clark State, Rangers, 36th round (#1086) story

RHP Andre Del Bosque, Houston-Victoria, Mets, 38th round (#1142)

Oklahoma Baptist, Georgia Gwinnett, and San Diego Christian each had three players drafted.

The Cumberland Bulldogs won their third national championship by defeating Lewis-Clark State 3-0. Anthony Gomez pitched his second complete game of the tournament, allowed six hits, threw 138 pitches. It was his second win of the tournament over the Warriors. The only run he allowed in the previous game was unearned.

RF Richie Seaton hit a two-RBI double in the second inning for the winning run. Attendance: 5,010

Box score and play-by-play

2B Sam Lind was the tournament MVP. Jeff Butler of Oklahoma Wesleyan won the Charles Berry Hustle Award.

Story from NAIA: Cumberland (Tenn.) Wins Third All-Time World Series

Story from Cumberland site: Bulldogs claim third national title with 3-0 victory