NAIA Top 25 and Recap for May 4th

Results of the NAIA Coaches’ Poll for May 4, 2010, and Boyd Nation’s Iterative Strength Rating. (poll below)

#1 Lewis-Clark State swept three games against Oregon Tech. They won the first game 18-0, but needed eight innings to win the scheduled-for-seven-innings third game 7-6. Shea Bedortha and Darryl Swearingen of the Hustlin’ Owls held the Warriors to seven hits, and the Owls out-hit the Warriors 11-7. The Owls took a 6-5 lead in the top of the eighth on a home run by 3B Cory Staniforth, but the Warriors tied it in the bottom of the eighth with a sacrifice fly by SS Josh Ashenbrenner, then won it when 2B Danny Anguiano scored on a ground out. This was Warriors Head Coach Ed Cheff’s 1,700^th win. Upcoming: Division III George Fox May 5, at Division I Seattle U., webcast by KOZE.

#2 Cumberland swept double-headers Against Milligan and Lyon. Lyon, however, was able to do something that no other team has done this year; hit Shawn Schaefer. Schaefer left the game after 5+ innings, with the Bulldogs trailing 10-8; he allowed ten hits. The Bulldogs got six runs in the bottom of the sixth to win 14-10. Schaefer got a no-decision, and Daniel Kern got the win. Sam Kikla hit .692 for the four games, walked twice, and was hit by a pitch three times; he was named TranSouth Player of the Week. The Bulldogs won the TranSouth Athletic Conference pennant. Upcoming: Mid-Continent May 6-7. Audio webcasts are available; click here for the schedule.

Lewis-Clark State received all 24 first-place votes.

#3 Cal Baptist won the Golden State Athletic Conference going away, sweeping four games against #18 Point Loma Nazarene. Only one of the games was close, 7-5 (11 innings). The Lancers trailed that one 5-2 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, eventually won on a two-run home run by Garrett Rau. Taylor Siemens got a 10-1 win in the first game, went 7 1/3 innings, allowed one run on four hits. Drew Madrigal got the win in the fourth game, and his record is 10-2, 3.39 ERA with 77 strikeouts. Madrigal is also .376 at the plate.

The Lancers will host the GSAC tournament, which starts on May 10, with Cal Baptist vs. Concordia-Irvine, #14 Fresno Pacific vs. The Master’s, and #18 Point Loma Nazarene vs. Vanguard (ISR #17).

#4 Lee got a 5-4 (15-innings) loss against #23 Brewton-Parker in the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament, but avenged it with an 8-0 win. In the loss, Aaron Everett went 7 1/3 innings in relief, allowed only three hits, and zero earned runs. Drew Parker got the win for the Barons. In the 8-0 win, Jaime Parker, James Rechenbach, and Nolan Rudman combined for the shutout. The Flames also got a 19-4 win against #15 Southern Polytechnic. However, the tournament final had to be cancelled because of heavy rain, and Lee and Brewton-Parker were named co-champions.

The Flames will host one of the NAIA Opening Round Tournaments, which will start on May 18.

Lee got another piece of good news: SS Lance Zawadski was called up by the Padres, and he becomes the first Flames alumnus to play in the Major Leagues. Story: Zawadzki First Flame to Reach the Majors

#5 Lubbock Christian got three lop-sided wins against Southern Nazarene, but lost the first game of a series against Wayland Baptist 18-5, ending a 13-game winning streak. They can clinch the Sooner Athletic Conference pennant by winning their remaining two games against Wayland Baptist. The second and third games of this series are at Wayland Baptist May 6, and at home May 7. Audio and video webcasts are available from Stretch Internet.

#6 Bellevue defeated Briar Cliff 12-2. The two remaining games on their schedule were cancelled. Upcoming: Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament at Omaha May 10-12. The Bruins play either Peru State or College of the Ozarks in the first round.

#7 Oklahoma City won two of three against Wayland Baptist, winning 7-6 and 15-5, and losing 7-5. Upcoming: at Southern Nazarene May 5, Southern Nazarene May 6-7.

The Stars will host the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament May 10-13, and an NAIA Opening Round Tournament May 18-21.

#8 British Columbia dodged a mortar shell against #13 College of Idaho. The Thunderbirds went into the last weekend of the regular season needing just one win against the Coyotes to clinch home-field advantage for the NAIA West tournament. The Coyotes hammered Thunderbirds pitching; they won the first three games, and led the final seven-inning game 4-3 after five innings. However, Thunderbird starter Mark Hardy went the distance, and was able to hold the Coyotes to four runs. C Bob Foerster hit a two-run home run in the sixth to win it.

3B Diego Robles did major damage for the Coyotes; he went 9-17 with three home runs on the weekend.

The NAIA West tournament is May 6-8. The first round matchups are College of Idaho vs. Oregon Tech, and British Columbia vs. Simpson. All tournament games will be webcast by CITR.

#9 Embry-Riddle lost 8-4 to Division II Flagler. The Eagles will play Florida Memorial in the first round of the Sun Conference tournament in Fort Myers, FL May 9-12. The tournament will be webcast by Stretch Internet.

#10 Belhaven finished their regular season by sweeping three games against Loyola-New Orleans. The Blazers host the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference tournament May 5-10; their first game will be against the winner of the Loyola-New Orleans vs. Tougaloo game; live audio is available from Stretch Internet.