Madonna

#1 Georgia Gwinnettswept through the Association of Independent Institutions tournament, defeating Fisher13-3, Mount Mercy9-1, and Clarke6-3 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 Statewon the NAIA West tournament, without giving up a single run. The defending champions defeated Corban7-0, British Columbia3-0, and C. of Idaho5-0. 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, #1in strength of schedule) and C. of Idaho (ISR #12) will be playing in the Opening Round.

In everyconference listed here (except the the Southern States Athletic Conference, which had a winner-take-all final), the title was decided by an “if necessary” game. ISR's mentioned here are as of May 6.

Cal State San Marcos(ISR #13) won the Association of Independent Institutions championship for the third time in five years. They lost the first “final” to #1 Georgia Gwinnett 2-1. The Grizzlies out-hit the Cougars 11-5, and SS Ernesto Vasquez hit an RBI single for the winning run. CSUSM won the deciding game 11-5. The Cougars got five runs in the first inning, and added four more in the second. LF Clinton Perez hit an RBI single for the winning run. Emilio Esquibel got his second win of the tournament, and ran his record to 12-1, 2.43 ERA. Story Georgia Gwinnett will host an Opening Round bracket.

#2 Oklahoma Citywon the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament, defeating #3 Oklahoma Baptisttwice, 9-6 and 7-5. The Stars trailed in the late innings of both games. They scored four runs in the eighth inning of the first one. In the second one, C Connor Lynch hit a grand slam home run in the bottom of the ninth. Story Both Oklahoma City and Oklahoma Baptist are hosting Opening Round brackets.

NAIA baseball action during the past week.

#1 Tennessee Wesleyan defeated Georgia Gwinnett 2-1, and won two of three against Saint Andrew's, 2-0, 6-5, and 2-3. The winning run against Georgia Gwinnett came on an RBI single by SS Wes Minton in the bottom of the ninth. Corey Rhoney and Noah Piard combined for the shutout in the first Saint Andrew's game; Rhoney went eight innings, allowed four hits, struck out seven. In the second game, the Knights out-hit the Bulldogs 12-7; the Bulldogs scored all six of their runs in the first inning. CF Travis Burnside hit a two-RBI single, then scored the winning run on a misplayed ground ball. In the third game, the defending champions were held to six hits by Joe McCarty and Evan Tucker. RF Michael Durig batted in all three of the Knights' runs.

The Bulldogs are now 15-5. They visit Belhaven March 5-6, host Milligan March 9-10, and host Ohio Christian March 11.

#2 LSU-Shreveport got an easy 15-5 mid-week win over Division III Louisiana College, but was swept by Texas Wesleyan, 5-1, 12-8, and 6-5. Derek Vaughn got the win for the Rams in the first game; he went six innings, allowed one run on two hits, struck out four. Connor Zamora and Nolan Barbee kept the Pilots off the board the rest of the way, and Zamora struck out three of the six batters he faced. CF Trevor Moon singled in the winning run (story). In the second game, the Rams scored ten runs in the second inning, capped by a three-RBI double by SS David Kiriakos. The Pilots out-hit the Rams 11-7 in the third game. They got within one run in the top of the ninth, and had the go-ahead run on first with nobody out. However, reliever Patrick Stanley got two strikeout and a fly out to end the game and get a save (story).

Northwood (TX), who has won seven straight, has the lead in the Red River Athletic Conference. The Rams are two games back, and the Pilots are three games back. The Pilots visit LSU-Alexandria March 5, and host Huston-Tillotson March 8-9. Streaming audio

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

The NAIA coaches' poll for March 10. Recaps below.

NAIA coaches' poll for March 15, 2016. Recaps below.

The NAIA Coaches' Poll for March 25, 2014, with Boyd Nation's ISR ranking.

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

#1 Faulknerwon a mid-week game over #6 Georgia Gwinnett, 4-2. The Eagles got all four of their runs on the third inning, and Patrick McGrady got the win in relief; he pitched 2 1/3 hitless innings. The loss broke a 20-game winning streak for the Grizzlies.

The Eagles then won two of three at William Carey,10-5, 1-2, and 14-0. C Robert Liera hit an RBI double in the seventh inning for the winning run in the first game. The Eagles added four insurance runs in the eighth inning. Thomas Dorminy got the win, went seven innings, allowed seven hits. Both of the Crusaders' runs in the second game were unearned; they came in on a single by CF Jeremy Ferguson. Gavin Culpepper went the seven-inning distance for the Crusaders, allowed two hits, struck out four. The Eagles scored ten runs in the first inning of the third game. Kurt Lipscomb, Jay Gause, and Vinny Lujan combined for the two-hit mercy-rule-shortened shutout. Gause allowed both Crusader hits, but also recorded four strikeouts in two innings of work.

The defending champions have a two-game lead over #8 Belhaven and #17 Brewton-Parker in the Southern States Athletic Conference. They host U. of Mobile March 28-29. Live video

Georgia Gwinnett swept three games against non-NAIA Hiwassee, 10-2, 5-3, and 10-7. The Grizzlies then defeated Truett-McConnell10-0. Five Grizzlies pitchers combined for the shutout, and RHP Jonathan Spitler got the win. C Sloan Strickland batted in three of the Grizzlies' runs. The Grizzlies host Emmanuel March 28, and visit Emmanuel March 29.

#2 Oklahoma Baptistwon two of three over #11 Oklahoma City, 3-5, 12-1, and 17-4; both of the wins were mercy-ruled. Chris Pike, coming off a perfect game and a no-hitter, got the win in the first game. He pitched 7 2/3 innings, allowed two earned runs on nine hits, and struck out nine. 1B Forrest Smith hit two two-run home runs for the Stars. 3B Garrett Roberts went 2-for-3 with a triple, a double, three RBI, and two runs scored for the Bison in the second game. Jordan Morales went the distance for the Bison, allowed one run on five hits, struck out eight. 2B Ridge Hoopii-Haslam went 2-for-5 with a triple and three RBI in the third game.

The Bison host #20 Wayland Baptist March 28-29. Live video Wayland Baptist has a 2 ½ game lead over the Bison in the Sooner Athletic Conference. The Stars host Texas Wesleyan March 28-29. Live video