Union U. (TN)

#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.

Union U. (TN)won the TranSouth Conferencetournament, defeating Bethel (TN) 11-2 in the final. DH Bryan Hill  went 4-5, and CF Brett Pawlen went 3-4 with three RBI. Derek Roof went the distance for the Bulldogs, scattered nine hits.

Union defeated Martin Methodist12-7 to get to the final.  Story from Union  U. site.

#19 Rogers State won their first-ever Sooner Athletic Conferencetournament, defeating #5 Oklahoma Baptist 12-7 in the final. DH Cody Campbell went 3-5 with a double and a two-run home run. The home run provided the winning run for the Hillcats. Eric Faust got the win. Story from Rogers State site.

#20 British Columbiawon their third straight NAIA Westtitle, defeating College of Idaho13-8 in the "if necessary" game. LF Andrew Madsen batted in three runs. He hit two doubles in four at-bats, and got a huge assist, throwing out a baserunner at the plate. Shawn Hetherington got the win in relief. He came on in the sixth inning, went 2 2/3 innings, allowed no runs on two hits. Story from British Columbia site

Results from the second day of the NAIA Baseball Opening round:

At Hardeeville, SC:

South Carolina-Beaufort 7, Faulkner 3: The #5-ranked Eagles went two-and-out, and the Sand Sharks gave Corey Black his second loss of the season. The Sand Sharks scored five runs in the last two innings, and the winning run came on a pinch-hit RBI single by Blake Cilwick. Miles Galvin got the win for the Sand Sharks, struck out eleven. The Sand Sharks play Union U. (TN) on Saturday, and the winner plays Saint Thomas.

Saint Thomas (FL) 6, Union U. (TN) 3: The Bobcats go to 2-0 in the tournament. Pinch-hitter Oscar Romero hit a two-RBI single for the winning run.

At Paducah, KY:

LSU-Shreveport 1, Lindsey Wilson 0: Lindsey Wilson starter Darren Travers gave up a run in the first inning on an RBI single by 1B Greg Friesen, and held the Pilots scoreless the rest of the way. The Pilots needed a shutout from Jared Mortensen, and got one. Mortensen held the Blue Raiders to four hits, struck out ten, and walked only one. The Pilots will face the Peru State-Lindsey Wilson winner tomorrow for the championship.

LSU-Shreveport, Tennessee Wesleyan, Embry-Riddle, Point Park, and Rogers State have qualified for the Baseball National Championship tournament. Results from the third day of the NAIA Baseball Opening round:

At Paducah, KY:

LSU-Shreveport 5, Lindsey Wilson 1: Logan Norris pitched a three-hitter for the Pilots, struck out six, walked three. RF Kade Billeaudeaux hit a sacrifice fly for the winning run. Billeaudeaux went 2-for-3 with two RBI.

At Kingsport, TN:

Tennessee Wesleyan 14, Saint Francis (IL) 4: The Bulldogs got all the runs they needed in the third inning, on RBI singles by 1B Jake Stone and 3B Taylor Oldham, and a three-RBI double by DH Drew Levi. Levi went 3-for-5 with four RBI. Jeremy Fitzgerald got the win. Saint Francis used eight pitchers.

Union U. (TN) 3, Faulkner 1: (at Hardeeville, SC): After defeating Asbury 7-1 earlier in the day, the Bulldogs defeated #5 Faulkner with a complete game by Will Irwin.

Irwin, a transfer from Auburn, held the Eagles to six hits, and the only run the Eagles scored was unearned. Irwin struck out eight, didn't walk a batter, and most of the balls put in play by Eagles batters were harmless ground outs. He threw 125 pitches. He was also 2-4 at the plate.

Eagles starter Will Dismukes matched Irwin's performance for the first five innings, and the Eagles had a 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the sixth. However, the Bulldogs loaded the bases, and 1B Kody Pinson drew a walk to bring in the tying run, scored by Wacey Russell, the courtesy runner for Irwin. C Doug Joyce hit a two-RBI double in the seventh to bring in the winning run. Joyce went 3-for-5 for the game.

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