|
June 3, 2011
Contact: Amanda Dahl, NAIA
Manager of Sports Information & Media
Services,
adahl@naia.org
LEWISTON, Idaho -
Lubbock Christian (Texas) advanced to
the title game of the Avista-NAIA World
Series with a 10-2 win over fifth-seeded
Lee (Tenn.) at Harris Field on Friday.
The sixth-seeded Chaps (50-13) will meet
ninth-seeded Concordia (Calif.) Friday
at 7 p.m. PDT. Lee's season comes to an
end, closing out with a record of 51-14
while playing in its sixth World Series.
Lubbock Christian will play in its
third National Championship game and
second in three years. The Chaps won
both previous title game appearances,
taking home the banner in 1983 and 2009,
defeating Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) and
Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.),
respectively.
Lee jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the
top of the second inning. With one out
and a full count, Justin Marrero tripled
to deep left-center field. Seth Walker
followed with a full-count walk to put
runners at first and third. Preston
Scoggins popped out to shallow right
field to record the second out. The
bases became loaded as Travis Anderson
was hit by a Tyler Rogers pitch.
Jonathan Clark stepped to the plate and
took his first offering from Rogers
through the hole at shortstop to score
Marrero. Walker crossed home plate in
the next at bat on Joe Ramirez's single
to left. Michael Brown ended the frame
with a pop out to third, leaving the
bases loaded.
With one out in the top of the third
inning, Lubbock Christian's Matt Cordova
knocked a hit up the middle. Ryan
Burnaman moved Cordova over to third
with a double down the left-field line.
Both Cordova and Burnaman came in to
score for Chaps on Nate Peterson's
single to center field to tie the game
2-2.
Lubbock Christian unleashed in its
next at bat, sending eight batters to
the plate, getting four runs with four
hits and took advantage of two Flame
errors. Dominic Piazza took first on a
bobble by Lee first baseman Roberto
Reyes to open the frame and David Cruz
reached on a wild throw from Ramirez at
short. A wild pitch from the Flames'
starting pitcher Maxx Catapano sent
Piazza to third and two pitches later,
Piazza scored on another wild pitch and
Cruz moved to second. Austin Stewart's
RBI double to left-center brought Cruz
in to score.
Catapano was replaced by Curtis
Camilli, who inherited a runner at
second with no outs. Camilli's first
batter, Brent Leslie, took a 2-2 pitch
to center field to move Stewart up to
third. Camilli then struck out Matt
Cordova for the first out. Burnaman hit
his second double in as many at bats to
drive in Stewart. Peterson's infield
single on the right side scored Leslie
and Burnaman attempted to score, but was
called out as he tried to avoid the tag
from Anderson, Lee's catcher. At the end
of four innings, Lubbock Christian held
a 6-2 lead.
The Chaps added two more runs in the
bottom of the fifth on Stewart's two-run
home run to right field for his first
round tripper of his senior campaign to
give Lubbock Christian an 8-2 advantage.
Stewart drove in his fourth run of the
game with a single to left-center that
scored Cruz for a 9-2 Chaps lead at the
end of seven innings. In the eighth,
they took a 10-2 lead on Richard
Bohlken's RBI single to left that scored
Burnaman.
Tyler Curtis (10-3) earned the win
for Lubbock Christian, throwing 4 1/3
innings. The junior scattered four hits,
struck out three and walked a pair.
Rogers, the Chaps' starter, threw 3 2/3
innings, surrendering the two earned
runs on four Lee hits. Junior Shane
Ingram also appeared for an inning of
work on the mound.
The loss was charged to senior
starter Catapano (9-5), who tossed three
frames and surrendered five runs, two of
which were earned, on five hits. He
recorded four strike outs in the losing
effort. Camilli pitched four innings,
giving up four earned runs, and Matt
Passauer allowed one run off of two hits
in a frame of action.
Lubbock Christian was led by
Stewart's 3-for-4 effort at the plate
with four RBIs and a 3-for-4, one RBI
outing from Burnaman. Peterson drove in
three, with a 2-for-5 showing. Cruz also
had a multi-hit game and scored three
times for the Chaps.
Walker was Lee's only batter to
collect two hits in the loss, going
2-for-3. Six other Flames' batters had a
hit, with Clark and Ramirez credited
with the RBIs.
|
