General

NAIA coaches' poll for May 3, 2016, with Boyd Nation's ISR. Recaps below.

First place votes: Georgia Gwinnett 18

Corban (ISR #34) was #1 in strength of schedule

#1 Georgia Gwinnett swept Talladega, 6-3, 8-1, and 11-3. 3B William Paschal went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI in the first game. RHP Nikolay Uherek got the win. Story RHP Davis Adkins went the seven-inning distance in the second game, allowed four hits. LF Michael Hodorowski went 2-for-3 in the third game, hit a two-RBI single in the first inning that provided the winning run. Starter RHP Trevor Bradley got the win, went five innings, allowed three hits, and also got a double and two RBI at the plate, as well as drawing two walks. Story

Zac Rinehart is fourth in the NAIA in hitting with a .461 average. The Grizzlies are hosting the A.I.I. Tournament May 7-11, and an Opening Round bracket May 17-20. video

#2 Bellevue won three of four at Presentation, 7-1, 8-2 (eight innings, scheduled for seven), 6-2, and 5-6. RHP Ben McKendall went the nine-inning distance in the first game, allowed four hits, struck out ten. The second game was 2-2 after the scheduled seven innings, but the Bruins got six unearned runs in the top of the eighth. RHP Leland Tilley got the win in relief, pitched two innings, allowed one hit, struck out four. Story The Bruins got another nine-inning complete game in the third game, this time from LHP Braulio Torres-Perez; he allowed seven hits, struck out ten. 1B Joe Mancuso hit a three-run home run. The Bruins out-hit the Saints 13-7 in the fourth game. The Saints got two unearned runs, and the winning run came on an RBI single by C Drew Sanders. A rally by the Bruins in the top of the seventh was killed by a strikeout-pickoff double play. Story

McKendall is 10-1, 1.57 ERA, with 106 strikeouts, seventh-best in the NAIA. Tilley has a record of 8-1, 2.03 ERA, despite having only one start; he has seven saves. The Bruins won the North Star Athletic Association pennant. The NSAA tournament is May 6-10, at Jamestown and Valley City State.

#3 Lewis-Clark State swept Corban, 7-0, 4-1, 3-1, and 9-0. RHP Kevin Hamann and RHP Noel Gonzalez combined for the shutout in the first game. It was close until the Warriors got four runs in the bottom of the eighth. The winning run in the second game came in the first inning, on a two-run home run by DH J.J. Robinson. Starter RHP Quin Grogan got the win, went eight innings, allowed four hits, struck out seven. Story The third game was tied 1-1 going into the eighth inning. RF Jacob Zanon hit a two-RBI double in the bottom of the eight to win it. RHP Anthony Balderas got the win in relief, retired all six batters he faced with 15 pitches, struck out two. Four pitchers combined for the shutout in the fourth game. Starter LHP Peter Irvin got the win, went five innings, allowed two hits, struck out six. Zanon (the NAIA Player of the Week) went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. Story

The NAIA West tournament is May 6-9 in Vancouver. The Warriors' first game will be against the winner of the Corban-Marymount California game earlier in the day. audio

#3 Faulkner clinched the Southern States Athletic Conference pennant by defeating #7 Auburn-Montgomery 7-4. There was an extended rain delay after the fifth inning, with the Warhawks leading 4-2, nd both teams had to replace their starters. Eagle relievers LHP Marco Blanchard and RHP Miguel Castellanos (of Cabimas, Venezuela) were able to hold the Warhawks scoreless the rest of the way, and 2B Dario Polanco hit an RBI triple in the top of the seventh for the winning run. Story The Warhawks won the first game of a double-header the next day 6-4. A two-RBI triple by CF Dalton Kelley in the fourth inning provided the winning run. The third game of the series was stopped by lightning in the bottom of the fourth inning, and not completed. Story

Vasquez is 9-0, 1.77 ERA, with 104 strikeouts (eighth-best in the NAIA). The SSAC tournament is May 4-7 in Montgomery, AL. The Eagles play Loyola-New Orleans in the first round, audio and the Warhawks play Martin Methodist.

#5 Tennessee Wesleyan won two of three at Milligan, 3-2 (eight innings, scheduled for seven), 6-5, and 3-5. The Bulldogs were out-hit 9-6 in the first game. (They were out-hit in all three games.) C Paolo Montezuma hit an RBI single in the top of the eighth to win it. He was 2-for-4 with two RBI for the game. LHP Ryan Hartman got the win, allowed eight hits, struck out eight. The hit count in the second game was 8-6. The Bulldogs got three unearned runs, and a three-run rally in the bottom of the seventh and final inning came up a run short. RHP Diego Ibarra went the distance for the win, allowed only two earned runs, struck out 11. CF Nate Clifton hit an RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth for the winning run, then scored the insurance run. RHP Austin Perry went the nine-inning distance for the Buffaloes, allowed nine hits, struck out six. Story

Hartman has the lowest ERA in the NAIA, 0.61. He is 8-0, and has 102 strikeouts (ninth-best in the NAIA). The Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament is in Kingsport, TN May 9-12. The Bulldogs will play Bluefield in the first round. The Buffaloes play #21 Bryan. video

#6 Westmont won two of three at Menlo, 12-3, 10-5, and 4-9. RF Derek Rodigo went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, and five RBI in the first game. RHP Daniel Butler got the win. Story 3B Luke Coffey went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI in the second game. The Oaks got seven runs in the second inning of the third game. 1B Jon Nelson got it started with a two-run home run. C Dane Fujinaka hit a two-RBI double, and DH Garrett Gemgnani hit a two-RBI single. RHP Ashkon Kuhalua got the win, went five innings, allowed one earned run on six hits, struck out 10. Story

Butler is 11-1, 2.03 ERA, with 76 strikeouts. The Warriors host the Golden State Athletic Conference tournament May 9-12. They will play the winner of Menlo-Biola in the first round. #13 Vanguard plays The Master's.