Results from day two of the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID:
Belhaven 3, Lubbock Christian 2
Cal Baptist 10, Tennessee Wesleyan 3
Cumberland 9, Embry-Riddle 1
Lewis-Clark State 10, Point Loma Nazarene 5
Belhaven 3, Lubbock Christian 2 (Lubbock Christian eliminated)
The Blazers pulled off a major upset in their first trip to the Baseball National Championship, and the defending champions went two-and-out in two one-run games. The Chaparrals held the Blazers to five hits, but three of them were home runs.
Three Belhaven pitchers, Chris Bennett, Paul Faulkenberry, and Wade Broyles, combined to hold the Chaparrals to six hits. Bennett started and went 5 2/3 innings, was charged with both of the Chaparrals’ runs, and struck out six. Faulkenberry got a popup after entering the game to end the sixth inning, and got a big strikeout of the Chaps’ best hitter, C Joe Staley, to end the seventh inning. Read the rest of this entry »
The fans who showed up on Friday morning for the first game of the tournament were treated to three extra innings and an excellent ball game.
Embry-Riddle (Daytona Beach, FL) is making their ninth appearance in Lewiston, and their seventh in the past eight years. They were 0-2 at last year’s tournament. They are the champions of the Sun Conference.
#1 Lewis-Clark State defeated Division III George Fox 7-3, and defeated Division I Seattle U. Twice, 8-7 and 5-3. The game against George Fox was tied in the seventh inning, and the Warriors needed an RBI single by Jack Eccles and a sacrifice fly by Kawika Emsley-Pai to get the first win against Seattle U. Hentry Buenrostro got a win in this game, and a save in the second game. Arlo Evasick went 7 2/3 innings for the Redhawks in the second game. He held the Warriors to one run during the first seven innings, but gave up a three-run home run by DH Pat Murray with two out in the eighth to get the loss. The three runs were unearned, and the home run was only the fourth hit given up by Evasick.
#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 1,700th win. Upcoming: Division III George Fox May 5, at Division I Seattle U., webcast by 
#2 Cumberland swept a double-header against Martin Methodist, 6-4 and 11-1, and a scheduled third game was cancelled due to inclement weather. C Max Kautz hit a three-run home run in the first game, and another one in the second. Shawn Schaefer struck out ten in the first game. This was his seventh complete game of the season. His record is 10-0, 1.66 ERA, with 73 strikeouts, and he is tied with eight other players, including Scott Swinson of #4 Lee, Chad Blauer of #10 Point Loma Nazarene, Brandt Hinton of #11 Belhaven, David Harden of #13 Southern Polytechnic, Bruce Ammende of #21 York, and Ian Pick of #23 Campbellsville for most wins in the NAIA. In the second game, Aaron Wilkerson struck out nine of the 18 batters he faced (the game was shortened to five innings by the mercy rule), and his record is 8-1, 2.08 ERA. The Bulldogs have a two-game lead over #20 Union U. (TN) in the TranSouth Athletic Conference. Upcoming: Milligan April 28, Lyon March 1-2. Audio and video webcasts are available; click 
#1 Lewis-Clark State swept three games against Division III Willamette. The Warriors’ last loss was April 15. They have won 13 straight, and are having their best start in school history. Upcoming: at #4 British Columbia April 16-18, at Corban April 19-20. The British Columbia series will be webcast by both 
#1 Lewis-Clark State swept four games against Azusa Pacific. The third game of the series was an 8-7 win in 12 innings. Brian Burke hit a grand slam home run (his 13th home run of the season) in the fifth inning, and Travis Georgius hit an RBI single in the 12th to win it. The Warriors won the fourth game 6-5, on an two-RBI single by Bryan Abrey in the bottom of the ninth. The Warriors have seven pitchers with ERA’s less than 2.0; Stephen Foster is 2-1, 0.50 ERA, Tyrell Poggemeyer is 2-0, 0.92 ERA, with 31 strikeouts. Upcoming: at Division III Willamette April 10-11.
