Game Accounts

The NAIA Coaches' poll for April 9, with Boyd Nation's ISR ranking. Recap below the fold.

First-place votes: Lee 15, Oklahoma City 4, Northwood (TX) 1
Westmont (#15 ISR) is #1 in Strength of Schedule

#1 Lee is #15 in strength of schedule. The Flames lost a non-conference game to #12 Cumberland, 8-7. The Bulldogs scored six runs in the sixth inning, led by a three-run home run by CF Chris Hall. Hall was 3-for-4 for the game. Nick Conley got the win in relief, pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowed two runs on four hits (story). The Flames swept a non-conference series against Talladega, 15-1, 7-1, and 4-1. DH Corey Davis hit a bases-loaded triple and a double in the first game, was 3-for-5. RF Derrick Pitts was 3-for-4 with a three-run home run, a triple, a double, and five RBI. Myles Smith got the win, went six innings, allowed no earned runs on two hits, struck out nine (story). 1B Karsten Strieby went 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI in the second game. Jose Samayoa got the win, struck out six batters in six innings. Clint Terry went the seven-inning distance in the third game, allowed a run on five hits, struck out seven. The Flames got only five hits off Jeff Pool, who went the distance for the Tornadoes; SS Josh Silver got two of them (story).

#3 Faulkner lost a Southern States Athletic Conference game last weekend, so the Flames now have a slight lead in the conference standings. Faulkner has two more wins, but one more loss. The Flames host #9 Tennessee Wesleyan April 9, and Southern Wesleyan April 12-13 (streaming audio).

#2 Oklahoma City won three of four against Mid-America Christian, 19-1, 4-2, 7-1, and 0-1. The Stars hit five home runs in the first game, one of them an inside-the-park home run by RF Jonathan Rodriguez. Rodriguez went 2-3 in the second game and scored two of the Stars' runs, batted in the other two. Cody Crabaugh got the win, went six innings, allowed two runs on seven hits, struck out six. His record is now 9-1 (story). DH Jonathan Sigado hit a three-run home run in the third game, also hit a sacrifice fly. Shane Henderson pitched five shutout innings, got his first win of the season. CF J.P. Seifried hit a home run in the bottom of the first inning for the only run of the fourth game. The Stars out-hit the Evangels 6-3 (Seifried got two of the three hits), and stranded runners at third base four times. Christian Hill got the complete-game shutout for the Evangels, struck out five (story).

The Stars host #5 Lubbock Christian is April 12-13 (streaming video for a price). The Stars lead the Chaparrals by one game in the Sooner Athletic Conference.

#3 Faulkner won a mid-week game at Talladega, 15-6. The Eagles got only eight hits against the Tornadoes, but they drew a whopping 15 walks (story). They won two of three against Brewton-Parker, 10-2, 0-4, and 11-2. Johnny Shuttlesworth got the win in the first game, struck out 12 (story). Kory Brooker pitched the seven-inning shutout for the Barons in the second game, allowed four hits, struck out ten. RF Chap Lindstrom hit a three-run home run, handing Will Dismukes his first loss of the season. DH Michael Cruz hit an RBI single for the winning run in the third game. Julian Esquibel got the win, running his record to 9-1 (story).

The Eagles finished the week with a double-header sweep of Blue Mountain, 17-4 and 16-7. RF David Bishop batted in seven runs and scored six, hit two home runs and two triples in the two games (story).

Cruz, Bishop, and Steven Karkenny of The Master's have 47 RBI, sixth-best in the NAIA. Shuttlesworth has an ERA of 0.99, fifth-lowest in the NAIA. Esquibel is tied with five other pitchers with nine wins, second-most in the NAIA. (The other players with nine wins include Jarrod Jameson of Tennessee Wesleyan and Cody Crabaugh of Oklahoma City.) The Eagles host Southern Polytechnic April 12-13.

#4 Northwood (TX) won two of three at #24 Bacone, 4-2, 8-1, and 2-4. Four Knights pitchers combined to hold the Warriors to three hits in the first game. Pinch-hitter Estevan Hernandez hit a two-RBI single for the winning run (story). The Knights used five pitchers in the second game; 2B Isaac Maturino hit a home run. SS Tony Mendez hit a three-run home run in the second inning to win the third game for the Warriors (story).

The Knights lead Bacone by ½ game in the Red River Athletic Conference standings. They host Huston-Tillotson April 12-13.

#5 Lubbock Christian won three of four against #20 Oklahoma Baptist, 5-6, 15-6, 8-5, and 5-4. CF Brandon Laubhan hit an RBI double for the winning run for the Bison in the first game. Chaparrals CF Tanner Rainey ran down the line drive, leaped to snag the ball, and had it in his glove, but it slipped out. Julian Merryweather went the seven-inning distance for the Bison, allowed seven hits, struck out eight, and his record is 7-0. 3B Joel Lutz went 3-for-4 in the second game, hit two home runs, a double, and batted in seven runs. Jarret Porter and Logan Burch combined to hold the Bison to six hits (story). RF Brent Leslie went 3-for-3 with a double and three RBI in the third game. The Chaparrals got four runs in the bottom of the fifth to win the fourth game. CF Tanner Rainey hit a two-RBI single, and 2B Brennyn Smith hit a two-RBI double (story).

Brett Kauten is tied for the lead in the NAIA with 13 home runs. Lutz is in a four-way tie, with Wigberto Nevarez of Lubbock and Jake Stone of Tennessee Wesleyan, with ten home runs. The Chaparrals have a big week ahead of them. The visit #2 Oklahoma City April 12-13, then cross town to play Division I Texas Tech April 14 (live audio; live video is available from Texas Tech for a price).

#6 The Master's swept three games against Vanguard, 4-1, 9-4, and 5-2. A.J. Work got the win in the first game, went eight innings, allowed six hits, struck out seven. 2B Sam Robison singled in the winning run, was 2-for-4 for the game (story). LF Steve Karkenny went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored in the second game. James Scott got the win, but Andrew Klausmeier pitched three perfect innings of relief, struck out four. CF Caleb Halverson singled in the winning run in the third game. Tyler Elrod went the seven-inning distance for the Mustangs, allowed five hits, struck out five (story).

The Mustangs lead #13 Concordia-Irvine by 3 ½ games in the Golden State Athletic Conference. The Mustangs visit Arizona Christian (ISR #17) April 12-13.

#7 and ISR #1 Lewis-Clark State is #9 in strength of schedule. They won three of four at Concordia-Portland, 13-7, 3-7, 13-2, and 8-2. 3B Ryan Sells went 2-for-3 with two doubles and four RBI in the first game. David Murillo got the win in relief (story). LHP Alex Bos got the win for the Cavaliers in the second game. He went 8 1/3 innings, scattered nine hits, walked five, struck out three, threw 161 pitches. SS Cole Buruse did the bulk of the offensive damage with a three-run double. 1B Brady Steiger went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI in the third game (story). Seth Haehl got the win in the fourth game, allowed a run on three hits in seven innings of work. SS Bobby Joe Tannehill went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI (story).

Steiger is batting .460, the fourth-highest average in the NAIA. Garrett Wilson has an ERA of 0.87, third-lowest in the NAIA. The Warriors continue to lead NAIA West. They host Simpson April 13-14 (live audio).

#8 Embry-Riddle's exhibition game against the single-A Daytona Cubs was stopped by rain after three innings. The Eagles swept three games at Florida Memorial, 7-3, 10-1, and 7-5 (11 innings). The Eagles got a 5-0 lead in the second inning on RBI singles by DH Mike Gragilla and SS Jordan Romero, a two-RBI single by 1B Jordan Johnson (the second run was the winner), and an RBI single by 3B Jeff Lemon. Kevin Maloney got the win, went eight innings, allowed seven hits, struck out eight. However, the Lions loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, and the Eagles had to bring in Eric Green to get the last out. In the second game, 3B/1B Jeff Lemon got 4 RBI, two on singles, and two on walks. Stetson Nelson got the win (story). There was a four-hour rain delay in the third game. The Eagles needed an RBI by RF Kevin Lindheim on a fielding error in the top of the ninth to send it into extra innings. Lindheim hit an RBI single in the top of the 11th for the winner, and C Adam Cellini hit an RBI single for the insurance run. Green got the win, pitched the final 3 2/3 innings, allowed one hit, struck out five, but walked four. He stranded two baserunners in the bottom of the ninth (story).

Green is 6-0, 0.96 ERA, with 48 strikeouts in 37 1/3 innings pitched, all in relief. The Eagles visit Division II Tampa April 9, and host #19 Saint Thomas April 13-14 (live video for a price).

#9 Tennessee Wesleyan split a mid-week double-header at Georgetown C. (KY) (ISR #13), losing 5-4, and winning 3-2. DH Cory Bays went 2-for-2 for the Tigers in the first game, and batted in the winning run. Jordan Nekola got the win, allowed three hits over 5 2/3 innings. The Bulldogs trailed 2-0 going into the seventh and final inning of the second game, but with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, 1B Jake Stone reached on an error, ending the shutout. RF Trey Griffin was hit by a pitch to send in the tying run, and 2B Branden Walker scored the winning run on a double play. Noah Piard got the win in relief (story).

The Bulldogs swept three games against Point, 12-6, 3-1, and 5-3. Griffin had three hits, one of them a home run, and three RBI in the first game; Corey Rhoney got the win. Stone singled in the winning run in the second game; Jarrod Jameson got the win. SS Wes Minton and C Brackton Smith hit solo home runs in the third game; Smith's was the winning run. Zach Fleshman got the win (story).

The Bulldogs visit #1 Lee April 9, and Reinhardt April 12-13.

#10 Bellevue and #14 York played for the lead in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference, and ended up deciding nothing. York won the first two games 2-1 and 4-1, ending the Bruin's 20-game winning streak. In the first game, Robert Greco went the distance for the Bruins, allowed one earned run on six hits, struck out 12. However, it was Tyler Molder who got the win. He also went the distance, allowed one run on seven hits, struck out seven. 2B Josh Nuyten batted in both of the Panthers' runs with a single in the fifth inning. The Panthers got a seven-inning complete game from Aaron Conyers in the second game; he allowed seven hits, struck out six. The Panthers were again out-hit by the Bruins, but CF Matt Owen came through with an RBI single in the sixth inning for the winning run (story).

The Bruins won the other two games 13-6 and 3-1, ending the Panthers' 21-game winning streak. The Panthers led the first game 3-0 in the early going, but 1B Brian Embery went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run and a two-RBI double for the Bruins. Kody McFarland pitched a four-hitter in the second game, struck out three. Embery, C Ryan Knutz, and 2B Andy Smolinski batted in the Bruins' runs (story).

The Bruins got another win at Doane, 5-4. The Bruins needed three runs in the top of the ninth to win it; Embery hit a two-RBI single, and B Dahmen hit an RBI single for the winner. Taylor Stark got the win in relief, struck out one of the three batters he faced (story).

The Bruins visit Central Christian April 12-13. The Panthers visit Oklahoma Wesleyan April 12-13.

Left-hander Drew Greiwe pitched a seven-inning perfect game for Central Methodist in a 7-0 win over Graceland. He threw 82 pitches, struck out nine (story). He was named NAIA Pitcher of the Week. The Eagles are 15-7, ISR #42. They visit #23 Missouri Baptist April 10.