The Memorial Day prime-time game was a ten-inning barn burner. Cumberland's starter was pulled after giving up three runs and not recording an out. Clint Meadows took over, and made a ten-inning relief appearance, allowed four runs on nine hits. Richie Seaton singled in the winning run with two out in the bottom of the tenth. Story by Brian Adamowsky: Cumberland Continues Magical Run with Walk-Off Win

Top seed Oklahoma Baptist dodged a bullet. They gave up two runs in the first, and left the bases loaded. They held defending champion Faulkner off the scoreboard the rest of the way, but didn't put the game away until they scored five runs in the eighth inning. The Bison play Cumberland in a matchup of unbeaten teams at 6:30 PM PDT.

Lewis-Clark State stayed in the tournament with a 9-1 win over Southern Polytechnic, in a game that was close until the eighth inning. The Warriors play Faulkner in a loser-out game at noon PDT.

Tabor stayed in the tournament with another one-run win, 6-5 over Georgia Gwinnett. The Bluejays came up with two runs in the bottom of the ninth to do it. They tied it with an RBI double by Grant Silva. Silva stole third, then scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly by Kevin Seeger. The Bluejays were out-hit 13-6. They play Oklahoma Wesleyan in a loser-out game at 3 PM.

Dakstats page with results, box scores

NAIA Schedule and Results page with links to recaps

Live video from nmnathletics

Live radio from KOZE

Of the eight games played so far, four of them were decided by one run. Cumberland got two big wins. The fans saw excellent pitching performances by Julian Merryweather of Oklahoma Baptist and Anthony Gomez of Cumberland. Saturday night's game drew 4,175. Unless you're a fan of San Diego Christian or Georgetown College, this tournament is going well.

Dakstats page with results, box scores

NAIA Schedule and Results page with links to recaps

Live video from nmnathletics

Live radio from KOZE

A slide show of pictures taken by The Master's College photographer Tony Berru:

Results from the third day of the Opening Round tournament in Santa Clarita, CA:

British Columbia 4, Davenport 3
San Diego Christian 2, British Columbia 0

British Columbia 4, Davenport 3 (Davenport eliminated)

The Thunderbirds trailed 3-2 going into the bottom of the ninth. SS Tyson Popoff led off with a single. CF Bryan followed with a double. The Panthers brought in Ryan Butzer to replace reliever Jonanthan Cheshire, and RF Jerod Bartnik was intentionally walked. With the tying run on third and nobody out, the Panthers had the infield at double-play depth. LF Tyler Enns hit a single to score Popoff and tie the game. With the bases still loaded, 3B Kevin Biro was hit by a pitch, scoring Arthur to end the game.

The Panthers led the game most of the way. They got on the board first when DH E.J. Grochowalski came home on a double play in the fourth inning. They took a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning on an RBI double by SS Derek Dennis and a sacrifice fly by Grochowalski.

Results from the second day of the Opening Round tournament in Santa Clarita, CA:

Vanguard 2, The Master's 0 (The Master's eliminated)
San Diego Christian 2, Davenport 1
British Columbia 10, Vanguard 4 (Vanguard eliminated)

Vanguard 2, The Master's 0 (The Master's eliminated)

RHP Eddie Rivera pitched the third shutout of the tournament in four games, and the host team went two-and-out without scoring a run. Rivera held the Mustangs to one hit, struck out three, walked two, threw 106 pitches.

The winning run came in the second inning, on a classic example of small ball. CF Thomas Mobley led off with a double, was bunted to third base by RF John Schwer, then scored on a sacrifice fly by 2B Taylor McKnight. The insurance run came in the eighth inning, when SS Nick Rodda scored on a single by LF Brandon Sandoval. Rodda reached on a fielder's choice, then went to third on a bad pickoff attempt.

British Columbia 1, Vanguard 0
Davenport 4, The Master's 0
San Diego Christian 12, British Columbia 2

British Columbia 1, Vanguard 0

RF Jerod Bartnik led off the eighth inning with a home run off RHP Clayton Voechting for the only run of the game. Voechting had struck out the side in the previous inning, and the home run was only the second hit he had allowed.

LHP Conor Lillis-White, LHP Sean Callegari, and RHP Matt Thornton combined for the shutout, and allowed a total of six hits; Callegari got the win. However, much of the credit should go to the Thunderbirds' defense, which has traditionally been among the best in the NAIA. The Thunderbirds and second in the NAIA with a fielding percentage of .975. (The Master's is first, at .978.)

The Thunderbirds had a double play in the first inning. 2B Matt Spillman made a good defensive play to prevent a run from scoring in the third inning. CF Bryan Arthur robbed 1B Ian Sakry of a hit in the fifth inning. In the bottom of the seventh, a bunt attempt with runners at first and second with nobody out resulted in a force out at third. C Brody Hawkins caught courtesy runner Justin Davis attempting to steal third for the second out of the inning, then threw out Sakry attempting to steal second to end the inning. Callegari picked off a baserunner at first in the eighth inning.

The Opening Round tournaments are scheduled for May 12-15. Click here for the Dakstats schedule and results page. Click here for the NAIA's announcement.

Kingsport  Bracket
Hunter Wright Stadium | Hosted by Appalachian Athletic Conference

Host site

1. Missouri Baptist - ISR #13
2. Brewton-Parker (Ga.) - 12
3. Cumberland (Tenn.) - 15
4. Bryan (Tenn.) - 72
5. Culver-Stockton (Mo.) - 80

Jackson Bracket
Smith-Willis Stadium | Hosted by Belhaven University (Miss.)

Host site (includes video)

1. Oklahoma Wesleyan - 4
2. Oklahoma City - 23
3. Belhaven (Miss.) - 26
4. Sterling (Kan.) - 43
5. Houston-Victoria (Texas) - 107

Marion Bracket
Wildcat Field | Hosted by Crossroads League

Host site

1. Georgetown (Ky.) - 2
2. Point Park (Pa.) - 35
3. Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) - 42
4. Midland (Neb.) - 29
5. Spring Arbor (Mich.) - 74

Daytona Beach Bracket
Sliwa Stadium | Hosted by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Fla.)

Host site (includes video)

1. Southern Poly - 9
2. Embry-Riddle (Fla.) - 21
3. Talladega (Ala.) - 67
4. Tennessee Wesleyan - 44
5. LSU Alexandria (La.) - 37

Montgomery Bracket
Harrison Field | Hosted by Faulkner University (Ala.)

Host site (includes audio)

1. Faulkner (Ala.) - 3
2. LSU Shreveport (La.) - 25
3. MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) - 31
4. Judson (Ill.) - 53
5. Point (Ga.) - 85

Lawrenceville Bracket
Grizzly Baseball Complex | Hosted by Georgia Gwinnett College

Host site (includes video)

1. Georgia Gwinnett - 5
2. Southeastern (Fla.) - 17
3. William Woods (Mo.) - 16
4. Westmont (Calif.) - 7
5. St. Francis (Ill.) - 77

Shawnee Bracket
OBU Baseball Complex | Hosted by Oklahoma Baptist University

Host site (includes video)

1. Oklahoma Baptist - 8
2. Bellevue (Neb.) - 22
3. Northwestern (Iowa) - 30
4. Friends (Kan.) - 82
5. Bacone (Okla.) - 52

Hutchinson Bracket
Hobart-Detter Field | Hosted by Tabor College (Kan.)

Host site (includes video)

1. Tabor (Kan.) - 18
2. Doane (Neb.) - 20
3. Jamestown (N.D.) - 34
4. Mayville State (N.D.) - 79
5. Viterbo (Wis.) - 49

Santa Clarita Bracket
May 12 - 15 | Reese Field | Hosted by The Master's College (Calif.)

Host site (includes video)

1. San Diego Christian (Calif.) - 10
2. The Master's (Calif.) - 14
3. Davenport (Mich.) - 24
4. Vanguard (Calif.) - 19
5. British Columbia - 6

The NAIA Coaches' Poll for April 29, 2014, with Boyd Nation's ISR ranking.

First place votes: Oklahoma Baptist 19, Faulkner 1, Lewis-Clark State 1
#7 San Diego Christian is #1 in Strength of Schedule

#1 Oklahoma Baptist swept Saint Gregory's, 18-11, 12-4, and 16-5. The first game was closer than the score indicates; both teams had twelve hits, and the Bison didn't put it away until they scored five runs in the top of the ninth inning. CF Joey Szczepanski went 4-for-6 with a three-run home run, five RBI, and four runs scored. 1B Steven Knudson hit two home runs in the second game, batted in three runs. Julian Merryweather got the win, went eight innings, allowed four runs on ten hits. Knudson got another home run in the third game, went 3-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored. Jinny Parra got the win, allowed four runs on six hits, struck out seven. Parra's record is 6-1, 1.99 ERA.

The Bison then defeated now-Division II Rogers State 3-2 in twelve innings. Szczepanski hit an RBI double for the winning run in the 12th. Frankie Wright, who allowed one hit over the last two innings, got the win. Szczepanski had another double, was 3-for-6 for the game.

Merryweather is 9-2, 1.39 ERA, 91 K. The Bison have won 15 straight, and they won the Sooner Athletic Conference pennant. They are co-hosting the SAC tournament May 2-5. Live video The Bison play Mid-America Christian in the first round. #16 Oklahoma City plays Southwestern Assemblies of God.

#2 Lewis-Clark State dropped their first game against Division II Northwest Nazarene 11-10, then won the remaining three games 12-5, 9-0, and 1-0. The Warriors were charged with four errors in the first game. The Crusaders got the winning run on a sacrifice fly by CF Josh Hatfield in the eighth inning; Hatfield had three RBI's for the game. Aaron Vaughn got the win for the Crusaders, despite giving up eight earned runs on 14 hits over eight innings. The Warriors didn't over the second game until the seventh inning, when they scored four runs, two of them on a single by RF Cody Lavalli. CF Ryan Sells went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI. Ty Jackson and Nick Lemoncelli combined for the shutout in the third game. They allowed two hits apiece, and Lemoncelli struck out five in three innings of work. Lavalli, 1B Jacob Cano, and LF Zach Holley hit home runs. The only run of the fourth game came from an RBI double by DH Jake Shirley in the top of the ninth. The Crusaders loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, but David Murillo got a strikeout to end the game. Shirley was 4-for-5 for the game. J.T. Kaul, Beau Kerns, Joe Mello, and Murillo combined for the shutout; Mello got the win.

The Warriors finished the weekend with a 2-1 win in a non-conference game at nearby C. of Idaho. The Warriors' only runs came from a two-run home run by Jackson, playing first base in this one. Cody Chartrand got the win, went five innings, allowed a run on five hits. Gunnar Swanson and Michael Noteware held the Coyotes hitless the rest of the way.

Lavalli has 13 home runs, which ties him with seven other players, including Knudson of Oklahoma Baptist and Ruiz of Oklahoma Wesleyan, for second-best in the NAIA. (Forrest Smith of Oklahoma City leads the NAIA with 16.) The Warriors visit Division II Western Oregon May 2 and 4, and visit Linfield, ranked #1 in Division III, May 3.

The NAIA Coaches' Poll for April 22, 2014, with Boyd Nation's ISR ranking.

First place votes: Oklahoma Baptist 18, Faulkner 2, Lewis-Clark State 1
#7 San Diego Christian is #1 in Strength of Schedule

#1 Oklahoma Baptist swept Southwestern Assemblies of God, 17-0, 6-2, and 14-0. Jordan Morales, Tallen Parker, and Jeff Gunter combined for the shutout in the first game. Morales got the win (he is 10-0, 1.96 ERA for the season), pitched five innings, allowed three hits, struck out six. Jinny Parra got the win in the second game. RHP Julian Merryweather and Andrew Millner got the mercy-rule-shortened shutout in the third game. Merryweather pitched six innings, allowed two hits, struck out six. 3B Garrett Roberts went 3-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored.

The Bison have won ten straight, and lead the Sooner Athletic Conference by 2½ games over #14 Oklahoma City and Wayland Baptist. The Bison visit Saint Gregory's April 24 and 26, end their home season against Saint Gregory's April 25 ( Live video), and end their regular season against now-Division II Rogers State April 29 in Tulsa.

#2 Faulkner completed their season sweep of #6 Georgia Gwinnett, winning the third game of the season 5-4. The defending champions led 3-0 after four innings, and 5-1 after seven, but the Grizzles scored three runs in the top of the ninth to make it interesting. The Grizzlies had the tying run on third, but Kurt Lipscomb got a strikeout to end it. Jay Gause got the win, pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowed a run on four hits, struck out 11. SS Dauris Holguin went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

The Eagles won two of three at Southern Wesleyan, 5-3, 8-1, and 6-7. In the first game, each team scored three runs in the first inning, but Jeremy Holcombe and Patrick McGrady held the Warriors off the board the rest of the way. RF Michael Cruz scored the winning run on a ground out; he was 1-for-4 with three RBI for the game. Thomas Dorminy got the win in the second game, pitched five innings, allowed no runs on two hits. The Eagles led the third game 6-1 going into the bottom of the ninth, but the Warriors came up with six runs in the bottom of the ninth to win it. The comeback was led by a bases-loaded triple by CF Michael Hyman. Two hit batters and a walk tied it, and 1B Stephen Wyatt scored the winning run on a bunt single by SS J.J. Julian. Matt Craig Went the distance for the Warriors, recorded seven strikeouts.

Robert Llera is batting .442 for the Eagles. The Eagles lead the Southern States Athletic Conference by 1 1/2 games over #15 Southern Polytechnic, and two games over #10 Brewton-Parker. The Eagles host Martin Methodist April 24-25. Live video

#3 Lewis-Clark State won three of four against Corban (ISR #21), 0-5, 4-3 (13 innings), 5-2, and 12-4. Jacob Kopra pitched the shutout for Corban in the first game. He allowed five hits, struck out one, and walked three. He is 9-0, 1.44 ERA, 64 K, and this was his third shutout of the season. 1B Daniel Orr hit a sacrifice fly for the winning run in the first inning, went 4-for-4 with a double and two RBI for the game. Corban led the second game 3-1 after five innings, but were kept off the scoreboard the rest of the way by Gunnar Swanson (4 1/3 IP, 4 hits, 8 K) and David Murillo (3 2/3 IP, 3 hits, 7 K); Murillo got the win. Two of his strikeouts came after he entered the game with one out in the top of the tenth, and runners at second and third. L-C State tied it with two runs in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single by C Jake Shirley and a sacrifice fly by CF Ryan Sells. Sells scored the winning run on a wild pitch. Corban won a 15-inning game against British Columbia the previous weekend. Story Corban out-hit L-C State in the third game 8-7, but three of L-C State's hits were two home runs and a triple by RF Cody Lavalli; he batted in two runs, and scored two more. Beau Kerns got the win in relief, pitched four innings, allowed no runs on two hits. Sells went 2-for-3 in the fourth game with a home run, three RBI, and three runs scored.

Lavalli has 11 home runs, which ties him with four other players for fifth-best in the NAIA. (Forrest Smith of Oklahoma City leads the NAIA with 15.) L-C State visits Division II Northwest Nazarene April 24-26, and plays a non-league game at nearby C. of Idaho (ISR #23) April 27. Corban finished in a three-way tie for third place with C. of Idaho and Concordia-Portland in NAIA West; the NAIA West tournament will be in Vancouver May 2-5.

The NAIA Coaches' Poll for April 8, 2014, with Boyd Nation's ISR ranking. Locations for the Opening Round tournaments appear at the end of this article.

First place votes: Oklahoma Baptist 12, Lewis-Clark State 5, Faulkner 2, Georgia Gwinnett 1
Westmont (ISR #5) is #1 in Strength of Schedule

#1 Oklahoma Baptist defeated Division II East Central 23-4, and swept Mid America Christian, 15-2, 15-1, and 11-0. All four games were mercy-ruled. Move along, folks, nothing to see here.

Matt Page has batted in 57 runs for the Bison, and Page and Steven Knudson have hit nine home runs apiece. The Bison now lead the Sooner Athletic Conference by ½ game over #10 Oklahoma City. The Bison visit Southwestern Assemblies of God April 17-18.

#2 Lewis-Clark State swept Simpson, 14-0, 9-4, 15-6, and 13-1. Not much to see here, either; Simpson is 1-39, and the first and fourth games were mercy-ruled. Michael Noteware and J.T. Kaul combined for the shutout in the first game. The second game was tied 3-3 after seven innings, but the Warriors pulled away with four runs in the eighth inning. An RBI double by pinch-hitter Chris Walker brought in the winning run. Carsen Nylund got the win.

Noteware's record is 5-0, 0.88 ERA, 53 K. The Warriors have have won 14 straight, and have clinched the NAIA West pennant. (They don't compete in the NAIA West tournament.) The Warriors concluded their home season against a good Corban team (ISR #19) April 18-19.