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.
