Southern Polytechnic State University, in Marietta, GA, announced that they are discontinuing all athletic programs, effective July 1, 2014. The decision was fallout from Southern Polytechnic's merger with Kennesaw State. Press release

This is the loss of a successful baseball program. The Hornets made three trips to the Baseball National Championship. The most recent one was this season, where they got a win over Georgetown College before being taken out by Lewis-Clark State. They were ranked #8 at the end of the season. They got into the Opening Round by winning the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament.

The Hornets has a record of 350 wins and 137 losses since 2007. They won four other conference tournaments.

Also, Virginia Intermont College in Bristol closed its doors in May. The Cobras were 29-18 in 2013, and and 21-30 in 2014.

The Memorial Day prime-time game was a ten-inning barn burner. Cumberland's starter was pulled after giving up three runs and not recording an out. Clint Meadows took over, and made a ten-inning relief appearance, allowed four runs on nine hits. Richie Seaton singled in the winning run with two out in the bottom of the tenth. Story by Brian Adamowsky: Cumberland Continues Magical Run with Walk-Off Win

Top seed Oklahoma Baptist dodged a bullet. They gave up two runs in the first, and left the bases loaded. They held defending champion Faulkner off the scoreboard the rest of the way, but didn't put the game away until they scored five runs in the eighth inning. The Bison play Cumberland in a matchup of unbeaten teams at 6:30 PM PDT.

Lewis-Clark State stayed in the tournament with a 9-1 win over Southern Polytechnic, in a game that was close until the eighth inning. The Warriors play Faulkner in a loser-out game at noon PDT.

Tabor stayed in the tournament with another one-run win, 6-5 over Georgia Gwinnett. The Bluejays came up with two runs in the bottom of the ninth to do it. They tied it with an RBI double by Grant Silva. Silva stole third, then scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly by Kevin Seeger. The Bluejays were out-hit 13-6. They play Oklahoma Wesleyan in a loser-out game at 3 PM.

Dakstats page with results, box scores

NAIA Schedule and Results page with links to recaps

Live video from nmnathletics

Live radio from KOZE

Of the eight games played so far, four of them were decided by one run. Cumberland got two big wins. The fans saw excellent pitching performances by Julian Merryweather of Oklahoma Baptist and Anthony Gomez of Cumberland. Saturday night's game drew 4,175. Unless you're a fan of San Diego Christian or Georgetown College, this tournament is going well.

Dakstats page with results, box scores

NAIA Schedule and Results page with links to recaps

Live video from nmnathletics

Live radio from KOZE

The NAIA Coaches' poll for May 5, with Boyd Nation's ISR ranking. Recap below.

The NAIA Coaches' poll for April 16, with Boyd Nation's ISR ranking. Recap below the fold.

NAIA Coaches' poll for March 26, with Boyd Nation's ISR ranking. Recap below the fold.

The NAIA Coaches' poll for April 10, 2012, with Boyd Nation's Iterative Strength Rating (ISR):

First place votes: LSU-Shreveport 17, Oklahoma City 1, Azusa Pacific 1

Azusa Pacific is #1 in Strength of Schedule

LSU-Shreveport (17-3 RRAC) swept Houston-Victoria 9-0, 3-1, and 8-0. Matt Lackie pitched a three-hit shutout in the first game, and Jared Mortensen pitched a seven-inning three-hit shutout in the third game, struck out eleven. Logan Norris nearly got a third shutout, but the Jaguars scored a run in the last inning. SS Manny Estrada hit a two-RBI triple. A scheduled game at Division II Southern Arkansas was rained out. Mortensen has an ERA of 1.09, third-best in the NAIA. The Pilots host Texas-Brownsville April 13-14. The Pilots have won 14 straight, and lead the Red River Athletic Conference; Texas-Brownsville is second with a with a 15-6 conference record.

Lee (21-3 SSAC) defeated Cumberland 6-3, and swept three games against Southern Polytechnic, 9-7, 6-5, and 7-0. 1B Roberto Reyes hit a grand slam home run with two out in the bottom of the ninth to win the first game against Southern Polytechnic. LF Mike Moore hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh of a seven-inning game for the winning run in the second game. Vince Spilker, Kyle Briner, and Andy Hillis combined for the shutout in the third game; 2B Blake Barber batted in three runs. The Flames host Tennessee Wesleyan April 11, and Auburn-Montgomery April 13-14. The Flames and #4 Faulkner continue to be tied for the Southern States Athletic Conference lead.

Oklahoma City (18-3 SAC) won two of three games against Rogers State, 5-3, 1-3, and 6-5 (eight innings, scheduled for seven). SS Chris Muñoz scored the winning run in the first game on a sacrifice fly by RF Dane Phillips; Muñoz went 3-for-4 with a home run. Brandon Bargas went the distance for the Hillcats in the second game, held the Stars to five hits, struck out ten. All three of the Hillcats' runs came on a home run by 2B Hector Rivera in the third inning, and Bargas had a shutout going into the seventh. 1B Miguel Beltran batted in the winning run with a fielder's choice in the third game; Patrick Goelz, who held the Hillcats scoreless over the last 2 2/3 innings, got the win in relief. The Stars host Oklahoma Christian April 12 and 14, and visit Oklahoma Christian April 13. The Stars lead the Sooner Athletic Conference; #x Oklahoma Baptist is in second place with a 13-5 record.

Oklahoma City (5-1) split a double-header with Missouri Baptist. The Spartans won their season opener 2-1; Bunk Coronado, a transfer from LSU-Shreveport, and Aaron Matula combined to hold the Stars to three hits, and Coronado recorded nine strikeouts. LF Joe Riley doubled in the winning run. The Stars won the nightcap 9-1; Blake Schwartz and Patrick Goelz combined to hold the Spartans to one hit, and Schwartz struck out ten of the 17 batters he faced. RF Chad Carman batted in three of the Stars' runs. A mid-week game at Central Oklahoma was canceled, and a pair of weekend games against Ottawa were also canceled. The Stars have a busy week ahead. They host Southern Nazarene Feb. 16, MidAmerica Nazarene Feb. 17-18, and Bellevue Feb. 18-19.

Concordia-Irvine (3-4) lost four games on the week to Division II teams; 11-1 to Cal State-Los Angeles, and 7-6 (11 innings), 14-8, and 6-4 to Cal Poly Pomona. The Eagles missed two chances to win the extra-innings game. They outhit Cal Poly Pomona in the second game, but Eagle pitched walked ten batters, and hit three more. The Eagles host Patten Feb. 17-18.

Lee (8-0) defeated Tennessee Temple 15-0, and recorded three shutouts against Shawnee State, 5-0, 2-0, and 4-0. Kris Hall and Joe Fabre combined for a two-hit shutout in the first Shawnee State game (Hall struck out twelve), Patrick Merkling pitched five hitless innings in the second game, and Jose Samayoa allowed one hit in the first five innings of the third game. 1B Roberto Reyes hit a three-run home run in the third game. The Flames host Union C. (KY) Feb. 13, visit Tennessee Wesleyan Feb. 15, and visit Emmanuel Feb. 17-18.

Concordia-Irvine has started the season 3-0, with an easy win over Simpson, and a double-header sweep of Arizona Christian, 6-3 and 10-7. C/DH Chris Kuber is batting .600 for the Eagles, Blake Harrison, Brent Clapper, and Thomas Hoenshell got the wins. The defending champions don't play again until Feb. 8, at Division II Cal State-Los Angeles.

Auburn-Montgomery hosted a round-robin event with four ranked teams, and the result was a draw. The Warhawks (they are no longer the Senators), Embry-Riddle, and Tennessee Wesleyan went 2-2, and Southern Polytechnic went 1-1. The best game of the event was probably the first one, a 2-1 win for the Warhawks over Embry-Riddle. Story at Auburn-Montgomery site: Dugan's Walk-Off Gives Warhawks Split with No. 5 Embry-Riddle. Enbry-Riddle got a complete seven-inning game from Chad Modomo in a 5-2 win over Tennessee Wesleyan; it was Modomo's first start for the Eagles. The Warhawks host Webber International Feb. 3, and Southeaster Feb. 4. The Eagles host Florida Memorial Feb. 3-4.

Belhaven swept three games against Blue Mountain, 4-0, 6-3, and 15-4. Geoffrey Thomas, Matthew Shaw, and Robert Marzoni combined for a four-hit shutout in the first game. Thomas, a transfer from Southern Mississippi, pitched six shutout innings, allowed one hit, struck out five. The Blazers host Tougaloo Jan. 31, and visit LSU-Alexandria Feb. 3-4.

Wayland Baptist swept four games against U. Of the Southwest, 6-2, 5-4, 3-1, and 6-3. The Pioneers score three runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the second game; freshman LF Colton Palmer hit a two-RBI single, and freshman SS Bernie Rosario hit a walk-off RBI double. The Pioneers will be playing at the Arizona Desert Classic in Anthem, AZ Feb. 2-4, with College of Idaho, Fresno Pacific, Lewis-Clark State, and Point Loma Nazarene.

More teams with good starts: Loyola-New Orleans is 4-0, Emmanuel is 3-0.

The NAIA Coaches' Top 25 for May 3, with Boyd Nation's ISR rankings. Recap below the fold:

First place votes: Embry-Riddle 15, Oklahoma City 4, Cal Baptist 1, Cumberland 1