Trevecca Nazarene

#21 Belhavenwon the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament, defeating William Carey in the final 16-5. The Blazers put it away with ten runs in the third inning, led by a grand slam home run by C Ryan Saunders; all of the runs were scored with two out.

Belhaven, Lee, and Auburn-Montgomery will be in the Opening Round tournament. Faulkner, Southern Polytechnic,and Brewton-Parkerwill have to wait until the final coaches' poll next week.

Results from the TranSouth Conferencetournament in Jackson, TN:

#4 Cumberlandwas upset by Bethel (TN) (ISR #59) 9-7 in the first round. The Bulldogs led 5-2 after five innings, but the Wildcats scored four runs in the sixth inning on no hits, three bases on balls, and three errors. The winning run came in the seventh inning on a two-RBI double by LF Jay Lowery.

#22 Trevecca Nazarenedefeated Freed-Hardeman4-1. The winning run came on a sacrifice fly by DH Jordan Foreman.

Martin Methodistdefeated Union U. (TN)(ISR #23) 2-1. Martin Methodist starter Jerry McMurtry went eight innings, allowed one run on five hits, struck out ten, threw 128 pitches. Jeremey Stack went the distance for Union U.; he allowed two runs on seven hits, struck out seven, threw 126 pitches. The winning run came on a wild pitch by Stack.

Results from the TranSouth Conferencetournament in Jackson, TN:

#4 Cumberlanddefeated Freed-Hardeman9-3, eliminating Freed-Hardeman. Aaron Wilkerson got his 12th win of the season, went six innings, allowed three runs on seven hits, struck out seven, threw 114 pitches. Daniel Kern got a save; he retired all nine batters he faced, struck out two. SS Tommy Winegardner hit a three-run home run.

Union U. (TN)defeated Bethel (TN)10-5.

Martin Methodistdefeated #22 Trevecca Nazarene 4-3, in ten innings. CF Tony Allen singled in the winning run; he went 3-4 for the game. Both starters went the distance; Travis Garcia got the win, allowed five hits, struck out ten, threw 134 pitches. P.J. Francescon got the loss, allowed eight hits, struck out 14, threw 140 pitches.

#1 Embry-Riddle won their third straight The Sun Conferencetournament, defeating Saint Thomas 10-2. The Eagles got all the runs they needed in the third inning. SS Jordan Romero scored on a throwing error, 3B Steve Sabins hit an RBI double, and 1B Ben Kline hit a single to score Sabins. Daniel Eaton got the win, went eight innings, scattered nine hits. Kline was 10-19 for the tournament, with two home runs and ten RBI.

Concordia-Irvine(ISR #24) won their first-ever Golden State Athletic Conferencetitle, defeating Biola14-4. Concordia out-hit Biola by only 13-11, but Concordia got it started with four runs in the second inning; a two-RBI by 2B Robbie Knowles, a sacrifice fly by SS Edgar Guillen, and an RBI single by CF Matt Ivanoff. They got the winning run an inning later, when courtesy runner Sean Costella scored when 3B Danny Casey was hit by a pitch. Costella scored two more runs in the game, including a acrobatic move to avoid a tag coming home on a double by DH Bryan Nicholson. Story (with video) from Concordia-Irvine site.

Cumberlandgot their first loss of the season against McKendree, 2-1. The Bearcats scored both of their runs in the bottom of the seventh of a seven-inning game. Will Locante of the Bulldogs went the distance, allowed only three hits, but two of those hits, and the only walk issued by Locante, came in the seventh inning. C Kyle Moll hit an RBI single to tie it. Moll then scored the winning run on a squeeze bunt.

The Bulldogs rebounded with a 12-3 win over McKendree, then defeated Belhaven4-2. Aaron Wilkerson got the win over Belhaven, went seven innings, allowed four hits, struck out seven. The Bulldogs out-hit the Blazers by only 7-6, but two of the Bulldogs' hits were home runs by RF Cory Farris; he batted in all four runs. Farris hit another home run earlier in the day against McKendree.

The Bulldogs host Brewton-Parker Feb. 25-26, and Indiana Tech Feb. 27. Brewton-Parker is 10-1 (see below). The Blazers, who are 7-2, host Bethel (TN)Tuesday and Wednesday, and LSU-AlexandriaFeb. 25-26.

Cal Baptist(ISR #1) split four games with Azusa Pacific(#16), winning 2-1, losing 5-1, winning 10-3, and losing 7-3. Taylor Siemens went the distance in the first game, scattering eight hits and striking out 11, and not walking a batter. The Lancers' runs came from solo home runs by SS Brian Sharp and 1B Josh Manzano. Morgan Wynne got the win for the Cougars in the second game. Erik Wallace got the win for the Lancers in the third game, went eight innings, allowed four hits. In the fourth game, 1B Johnathan Erb went 2-3 and batted in three runs for the Cougars; Nolan Rudman got a win in his first start of the season; he allowed four hits over six innings, struck out seven.

The Lancers are now 23-4, and they remain at the top of the Golden State Athletic Conference standing with a 10-2 record. Next up is Fresno Pacific(#3), at home on Wednesday, and away on March 19. The Sunbirds are 13-8, and swept four games against The Master's last week.

Oklahoma City (#2)has won 19 straight. They started the week with a 6-5 win over Iowa Wesleyan. Courtesy runner Brian Fisher scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on a wild pitch. Steve Styck, who pitched the final inning, got his second win of the season. The Stars then swept three games from Northwestern Oklahoma State, 17-7, 2-1, and 4-1 (eight innings). Allen Townsend got the 2-1 win, struck out eight, didn't allow an earned run. Matt Presley batted in the winning run in the third game. Rich Hawkins went the eight-inning distance for the Stars. Hawkins is 3-2, 2.05 ERA.

The 19-2 Stars visit Division II Southwestern Oklahoma State on Tuesday, U. Of Science and Arts of Oklahomaon Thursday, and host USAO on March 19.

Embry-Riddle(#4) started the week with a 10-2 win over Jamestown; SS Ben Kline went 3-4 with two doubles. Brandon Creath went seven innings, allowed two hits, struck out eight. The Eagles then won two games against Tennessee Wesleyan, 8-2 and 8-5. Ryan Vigue and Robbie Ratliff got the wins. Next, their 13-game winning streak was broken by South Carolina-Beaufort, 7-6 in 11 innings. The Eagles led 5-0 at one point, but needed a sacrifice fly by CF Aaron Glaum in the top of the ninth to send it into extra innings. The Sand Sharks loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the 11^th, and Larry Perry hit a single with two out to win it. Andrew Barrineau, who pitched the last three innings for the Sand Sharks, got the win.

The Eagles swept a double-header against the Sand Sharks the next day, 2-0 and 10-7 (11 innings). This was described in Embry-Riddle's press release as “one of the most intense doubleheaders in recent history.” Ryan Vigue got his second win of the week in the complete-game shutout. He allowed only four hits, and struck out 11. The Eagles got the winning run in the first inning on an RBI single by 3B Steve Sabins. The only other run of the game came on an RBI single by C Adam Cellini in the seventh inning. The Sand Sharks had the tying run at first in the bottom of the eighth, but Vigue got LF/RF Ty Main to ground out to end the only scoring threat of the game by the Sand Sharks.

Oklahoma Citygot a 17-6 mid-week win against Briar Cliff, then swept a three-game series against Lubbock Christian, 1-0, 5-3, and 7-4, giving the Chaparrals their first losses of the season. Corey Theriot pitched a complet-game shutout in the first game, allowed four hits, struck out five. 2B/3B Dearth Parker hit an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth to score the only run of the game. Paul Gonzalez, who pitched a complete game for the Chaparrals, got the loss. In the second game, the Stars lit up Chaparral starter Lucas Whitmore for five runs in the first two innings, and the Chaparrals left the bases loaded three times. Allen Townsend got the win. Story from Oklahoma City site: Stars finish off Lubbock Christian 1-0, 5-3. The Stars trailed the third game most of the way, but scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth, led by a two-RBI triple by CF Ruben Sosa. The Stars were also helped by two Chaparral errors in the inning. Rich Hawkins got the win in relief; he went five innings, allowed two runs on three hits. Story from Oklahoma City site: Stars sweep Lubbock Christian with 7-4 win.

The Stars and Chaparrals will not meet again until the Sooner Conference tournament. The three losses dropped the Chaparrals to 14-3. The Chaparrals visit Kansas Wesleyan on Tuesday, host York(8-6) on Wednesday, and host Rogers State (17-1) March 11-12.

The Stars finished the week with a 22-8 win over Iowa Wesleyan, to run their record to 15-2. SS Kirk Walker, 1B Austin Messerli, and CF Terrance Jackson hit home runs. The Stars play one more game against Iowa Wesleyan on Tuesday, host Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday, and visit Northwestern Oklahoma State on March 12.