Game Accounts

Results from the fourth day of the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID.

Hope International 8, Arizona Christian 1 (Arizona Christian eliminated). The Royals, behind the pitching of Justin Drury, dominated this all-Golden State Athletic Conference matchup. Drury pitched eight innings, allowed four hits, struck out three, threw 113 pitches, and didn’t allow a run until the seventh inning.

The Royals got all the runs they needed in the top of the first inning, with a two-RBI double by J.J. Cruz. In the top of the fourth, Amari Bartee hit a single, and Alex Moreno hit a double. The next batter was Cruz, and with two out, runners on second and third, and Cruz being dangerous throughout the tournament, the Firestorm intentionally walked him. Not a bad idea. Problem was, Firestorm pitcher Eli Elliott walked the next batter, giving the Royals their third run. Elliott then made a pickoff attempt to third base, but the throw ended up in left field foul territory, almost to the fence. All three baserunners scored, and the Royals led 6-0 after 3 1/2 innings.

The Firestorm missed a good chance to get on the board in the bottom of the fourth. With two out and a runner on second, Matthew Beckworth hit a hard line drive that appeared to be going into center field. However, Cruz, at second base, made a great catch to end the inning. The Firestorm finally ended the shutout in the bottom of the seventh, when Deshon Thomas came home from third base on a ground out. The Royals completed the scoring with Ryan Maciel scoring on a wild pitch in the eighth inning, and David Rivera hitting an RBI double in the ninth.

Elliott got the loss, pitched four innings, allowed three earned runs on six hits, struck out five. Drury is now 10-0. Rivera and Moreno both finished 2-for-4. Beckworth had three of the Firestorm’s five hits, one of them a double. Box score

Results from the third day of the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID.

Southeastern 12, U. of the Cumberlands 5 (U. of the Cumberlands eliminated). The Fire led all the way, but it was close – 7-5 after six innings – until the Fire put it away with five runs in the bottom of the eighth, including two-RBI singles by Alfonso Villalobos and Chayce Bryant. Tommy Davis went 3-for-4 with two doubles for the Fire. Charlie Muñiz and Ben Snapp hit home runs for the Patriots. Starter Robb Adams got the win, pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowed four runs on five hits, struck out three. Jake Cohen, who allowed one hit over the final three innings, got a save. Starter Kailen Hamson got the loss. Box score

Hope International 12, Indiana Southeast 1 (Indiana Southeast eliminated). J.J. Cruz reached base every time he came to bat; 4-for-4 with two home runs, and a walk. David Rivera also hit two home runs, and Alex Moreno hit a home run. Trey Seeley pitched eight innings, allowed zero runs on three hits, struck out 11, threw 119 pitches. Box score

At Vancouver, BC. This game had an obvious turning point. The Warriors took a 5-2 lead with four runs in the top of the fifth inning on a run walked in, an RBI on a ground out by Charlie Updegrave, and a two-RBI single by Brandon Cabrera. In the bottom of the fifth, the Warriors brought in Jantzen Lucas to relieve starter Hiroyuki Yamada. He was greeted with three straight singles by Aaron Marsh, Trent Lenihan, and Jonny McGill, and the Thunderbirds had the bases loaded with nobody out. The bases were still loaded at the end of the inning, because Lucas struck out the next three batters. He pitched two more innings, recorded three more strikeouts, and allowed only one more hit. The only time the Thunderbirds threatened to score during the rest of the game was when they got a runner to third in the eighth inning; the Thunderbirds hit the ball hard a couple of times in that inning, but they went directly to Warrior fielders.

At Vancouver, BC. First game: Lewis-Clark State 3, British Columbia 1. All three Warriors runs were from solo home runs; Dominic Signorelli and Charlie Updegrave in the top of the fourth, and Jake Gish in the top of the sixth. The Thunderbirds missed two good chances to score during the first eight innings. The bottom of the sixth ended when Ardan Berg hit a single to left field, and Aaron Marsh tried to score from second. He was out at the plate, the result of a perfect throw from left fielder Nick Seamons. In the bottom of the eighth, the Thunderbirds had runners at first and second with two out. Berg hit a sharp ground ball in the direction of second baseman Magnum Hofstetter, and Hofstetter made a great play to keep the ball from getting into the outfield, and threw to first to get the out and end the threat.

Both starters were still in the game in the ninth inning. Warrior starter Shane Spencer came as close as a pitcher could get to a complete game shutout without actually getting one. He struck out Kaden Zarowny for what should have been the final out of the game, but the ball got away from the catcher, and Zarowny got to first base to keep the Thunderbirds alive. Zarowny then stole second, then scored to end the shutout on a single by Jonny McGill. The Thunderbirds then had Trent Lenihan at the plate representing the tying run. The Warriors brought in their closer, Cameron Smith, who has not had a blown save this season. Lenihan worked the count to 3-and-2, and fouled off two pitches, but struck out swinging at a changeup.

Spencer’s numbers were 8 2/3 innings pitched, one run on seven hits, eight strikeouts. Thunderbird starter Daniel Orfaly pitched 8 1/3 innings, allowed three runs on seven hits, struck out three. Gish and Brandon Cabrera each had two hits for the Warriors. McGill finished 3-for-5 with two doubles. Box score and play-by-play

Drake George, who pitched seven shutout innings a week ago, went the distance in this one, threw 110 pitches, allowed eight hits, only two earned runs, and struck out nine.

Thunderbird starter Ryan Beitel was able to keep it close for four innings. The Thunderbirds got a break in the bottom of the first inning when a high ground ball hit by Jonny McGill bounced off the glove of Warrior shortstop Dominic Signorelli. The next batter, Mitchell Middlemiss, hit an RBI single. However, the Thunderbirds did no further damage in that inning, because Warriors center fielder Carter Booth made a good catch of a line drive hit by Daniel Draayers. The Warriors got a run in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Magnum Hofstetter, then got all the runs they needed in the fifth inning. It started when Hofstetter hit a popup that was lost in the sun. Two batters later, Nick Seamons got an RBI by reaching on a fielder’s choice. He was followed by Signorelli, who hit a three-run home run to give the Warriors a 5-2 lead. Brandon Cabrera hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning, and another two-run home run in the eighth inning. The Thunderbirds didn’t score again until the bottom of the ninth.

Beitel got the loss. Cabrera finished 3-for-5 with four RBI. Middlemiss, Draayers, and Kyle Anderson each had two hits for the Thunderbirds. Box score and play-by-play recap

Result of the final day of the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID, June 2.

Westmont 7, Lewis-Clark State 6

Parker O’Neil drew a bases-loaded walk with two out in the bottom of the eighth inning to win the game and Westmont’s first-ever national championship.

The decisive inning started with a ground out. Robbie Haw reached first on a throwing error, then went to second on a ground out. L-C State’s pitcher, Drake George, who entered the game in the third inning, was relieved by Greg Blackman. Ryan DeSaegher was intentionally walked, and replaced by a pinch runner, Paul Mezurashi. With Bryce McFeely at the plate, Haw and Mezcurashi executed a perfect double steal. McFeely drew a walk to load the bases, then O’Neil drew the walk for the winning run.

L-C State opened the scoring with a solo home run by Isaiah Thomas in the top of the second inning. Westmont answered with a two-RBI single by Liam Critchett. (Both teams have the Warriors nickname.) DeSaegher hit an RBI single in the bottom of the third, reached on a fielding error to bring in a run in the bottom of the fourth, and Westmont led 5-1.

L-C State got back in it with a three-run home run by Charlie Updegrave in the top of the fifth. Westmont added a run in the bottom of the sixth on a very unusual play. McFeely hit what should have been an inning-ending ground out to George on the mound. George probably could have just run the ball to first for

Results of the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID for May 31.

Lewis-Clark State 15, William Carey 6 (William Carey eliminated)

The Warrriors lit up a depleted Crusader pitching staff with six home runs. The barrage started with a three-run home run by Nick Seamons in the bottom of the second inning, chasing Crusader starter Andrew Shirah. The Warriors led 6-0 after two innings. The Crusaders got back into it with six runs in the top of the fourth inning, starting with a two-RBI triple by Rigoberto Hernandez. Hernandez scored on a ground out by Caleb Laird. Bobby Lada hit a three-run home run to tie the game 6-6, but the Crusaders didn’t score again the rest of the way. Isaiah Thomas hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth. Seamons hit his second home run of the game, for two runs, in the bottom of the fifth.

At that point, the Warriors led 9-6, and the game was still within reach for the Crusaders. However, the Warriors started the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run by Jakob Marquez. After an out on a popup, Carter Booth hit a home run. That chased John Snyder, who entered the game in the second inning. His replacement, Caeleb Williams, faced three batters, walked two of them. Williams was replaced by Connor Adams, and he was greeted with a three-run home run by Thomas, his second of the game. Dominic Signorelli hit a single, and scored on a double by Pu’ukani De Sa to complete the scoring. Every one of the Warriors’ starting position players got a hit.

Results of the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID for May 30.

Lewis-Clark State 8, Taylor 3 (Taylor eliminated)

The Warriors took at 5-2 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a grand slam home run by Dominic Signorelli. After that, Greg Blackman and Alec Holmes held the Trojans to two hits over the next seven innings. Blackman entered the game in the top of the first inning after Warrior starter Dallas McGill gave up a two-run home run by T.J. Bass. He pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowed one run (unearned) on two hits, walked five, and struck out five. Holmes came in in the sixth inning and went the rest of the way. He didn’t allow a hit until two out in the top of the ninth. He struck out two, and walked one.

The rest of the Warriors’ runs all came on sacrifice flies, by Isaiah Thomas in the fifth inning, and Nick Seamons in the sixth and eighth innings. Thomas finished 2-for-3 with a double. Bass finished 2-for-5. Kaleb Kolpien finished 2-for-3, and drew a walk to force in only other Trojan run. Trojan starter Gabel Pentecost got the loss.

Results of the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID for May 29.

Indiana Wesleyan 11, Georgia Gwinnett 10 (Georgia Gwinnett eliminated)

The Wildcats got ten runs in the first two innings, and they needed every one of them, plus one more that they added in the bottom of the eighth.

The Wildcats’ barrage was led by three-run home runs by Ty Mathews and Jeff Morton in the second inning. However, the Grizzlies got back into the game with five runs in the top of the fourth, led by a three-run home run by Braxton Meguilar, and a solo home run by Caden Smith. Ajay Szcepkowski added another solo home run in the fifth, and the Wildcats’ lead was cut to 10-6. The Grizzlies made it a one-run game by scoring three runs in the top of the eighth on an RBI double by Cohen Wilbanks, an RBI single by Devin Warner, and a sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Brody Parkerson. However, in the bottom of the eighth, the Bobcats got what turned out to be a crucial insurance run. The Grizzlies got within one run again with Szcepkowski’s second home run of the game in the top of the ninth, but the game ended with a double play.

LF Jared Sucro (Cairn), a Kamloops native, hit an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to give the Kamloops NorthPaws an 8-7 win over the Edmonton Riverhawks in the first-ever game for both West Coast League teams.

SS Mike Fitzsimmons (British Columbia) led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, then stole second base. CF Ty Siffermann (Grand Canyon) struck out. Fitzsimmons moved to third on a passed ball, then scored on the hit by Sucro.

Nolan Austin (Northeastern Oklahoma A&M) had a big night for the NorthPaws. He moved from third base to the mound at the start of the eighth inning, replacing another pitcher who was ruled ineligible because he wasn’t listed on the official roster. He got the win, retired six of the seven batters he faced, struck out one, and walked one. He also went 3-for-4 with a double and a walk at the plate.

Another NorthPaw with a big night was Tyrelle Chadwick (Illinois State). He was the starting pitcher. He was relieved after only 2 1/3 innings. He allowed only one hit, but walked six batters, and threw a wild pitch. However, he remained in the game as the designated hitter, then replaced Austin at third base. He finished 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI.

The NorthPaws outhit the Riverhawks 11 to five, but the Riverhawks led most of the game, due not only to the large number of walks (relievers RHP Sean Heppner [British Columbia] and RHP Carter Harbut [Fraser Valley] walked three and four, respectively), but also an expensive error and a passed ball. The Riverhawks took the early lead on a home run by 3B Brad Jolley (Park-Gilbert) in the top of the second, the first-ever home run for the Riverhawks. The NorthPaws answered with two runs in the bottom of the second, with Chadwick scoring when 2B Angus Stayte (Morehead State) reached on an error, and Austin scoring on a passed ball.