Midland

Jason Dannelly, long-time proprietor of the Victory Sports Network, has been named Director of Athletic Operations at Midland University, formerly known as Midland Lutheran College, in Fremont, NE. Midland had 962 students during the past school year.

The Warriors field teams in 21 sports. The baseball team, coached for the past 17 seasons by Jef Field, went 26-20 last season, and made it to the final of the Great Plains Athletic Conference tournament. They were ranked #93 in the ISR. They were 42-15 in 2006; they won the GPAC pennant, but lost out in the conference tournament.

Dannelly founded VSN in 2002, and it has been a primary news outlet for the NAIA since then. Dannelly published a pre-season football magazine, and organized the NAIA Football First Down Classic, a Spring all-star game. VSN features message boards for several sports, and a basketball tournament pool. He did a weekly radio program about NAIA sports for a while. Click here for a press release.

Dannelly will continue as owner of VSN, but will be stepping away from its day-to-day operations.

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.

#9 Missouri Baptist(#1 according to Perfect Game) had four scheduled games canceled. They will play in a tournament at Campbellsville Feb. 26-28, against Campbellsville and Saint Francis (IN), but it's not clear if those games will happen, either (video).

#1 Cumberlandhad five scheduled games canceled. They are scheduled to host Freed-Hardeman Feb. 24 (video), visit #6 Georgia Gwinnett Feb. 25, and host Marygrove, a new baseball program, Feb. 27-28 (video). Marygrove also lost some games to weather, so the series at Cumberland will be their first-ever baseball games.

#2 Lewis-Clark Statesplit four games with Division II Western Oregon, 11-0, 4-6, 8-4, and 0-5. Beau Kerns pitched a complete game shutout in the first game. He allowed six hits, recorded nine strikeouts. It was his third straight complete game, and he has an ERA of 1.00. 2B Cabe Reiten and 1B Seth Brown both hit three-run home runs. Reiten also hit a double, and was 3-for-4. C Chadwick Ka'alekahi was also 3-for-4 with a double. Story The Wolves led the second game the entire way, starting with a two-RBI double by LF Matt Taylor in the first inning. Reiten went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in the third game, and he has had at least one hit in every game the Warriors have played this year. Story Michael Bennett, Shawn Domke, and Jacob Storedahl combined for the shutout in the fourth game. Three of the Wolves' runs came on a mis-played popup by Taylor. Story

The Warriors are now 10-5. They don't play again until March 7, when they host Corban.

#1 Faulknerwent 2-2 on the weekend, making their record 5-2. They split two games with #4 Missouri Baptist,winning 5-4, and losing 4-3. In the first game, DH Randy Joung, who reached on an error, scored the winning run on a balk by Carl Jameson in the bottom of the sixth of a seven-inning game. Labradford Griffis got a save; he struck out RF Enrique Pagan in the top of the seventh with the tying run at third base. 2B Jeff Smith hit a solo home run in the second inning for the winning run in the second game. Ryan Stapp got the win; he combined with two other pitchers to hold the Eagles to four hits.

The Eagles' other loss was to #15 Lindsey Wilson, 4-1. The Eagles held a 1-0 lead going into the seventh inning, but several errors in the seventh allowed the Blue Raiders to win it. LHP Jason Turner went the seven-inning distance for the Blue Raiders, allowed five hits. Jeremy Holcombe, who allowed only three hits, and struck out seven, got the loss.

The Eagles finished the weekend with a 7-4 win over #10 Cumberland. LHP Thomas Dorminy went the seven-inning distance for the Eagles, allowed two earned runs on four hits, struck out eight. LF Esteban Paula went 2-for-2 with two RBI.

The Eagles visit Blue Mountain Feb. 14-15.

Missouri Baptist is 1-3; they lost 6-5 (12 innings) to Lindsey Wilson, and 5-4 to Cumberland. Derek Shugart hit an RBI triple in the 12th for the win for the Blue Raiders. Sam Ross got the win, pitched five innings in relief. DH Richie Seaton hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning to win it for Cumberland. The Bulldogs out-hit the Spartans 11-5, and SS Josciel Veras went 3-for-3 with two RBI for the Bulldogs. The Spartans play Campbellsville Feb. 13, Saint Francis Feb. 14, and Belhaven Feb. 15; all three games are at Belhaven.

The Blue Raiders split a double-header with Auburn-Montgomerythe following day, making their record 3-4. They visit Point Feb. 14-15.

The Bulldogs also split a double-header with Auburn-Montgomery, making their record 2-2. They host Union U. (TN) Feb. 11, and Taylor Feb. 14-15. The Warhawks are 5-3, and they visit Brewton-Parker Feb. 14-15.

A four-team tournament at #2 Lewis-Clark State was cancelled by snow. They host Division II Montana State-Billings Feb. 14-16.