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LEWISTON, Idaho - (Box
Score)
Jared Mortensen (pictured above) threw
eight shutout innings and top-seeded LSU
Shreveport (La.) used a big five-run
second inning to hand No. 4 Tennessee
Wesleyan its first loss in the Avista-NAIA
World Series with a 7-3 triumph at
Harris Field on Wednesday night.
Mortensen, a senior right-hander from
Abbottsford, British Columbia, allowed
only three hits and no runs through the
first eight innings as the Pilots, 54-5
overall, stayed alive in the 10-team
double-elimination tournament. Although
he gave up four hits and three runs in
the bottom of the ninth, Mortensen
finished the game with nine strikeouts
and three walks.
The setback ends a 17-game win streak
for Tennessee Wesleyan and drops it to
51-12 on the season and means the same
two teams will meet on Thursday night
with the winner advancing to play No. 9
seed Rogers State (Okla.) in the
championship game on Friday.
With three teams left in the tournament,
all with one loss, Series rules state
the highest remaining seed that has not
received a bye yet in the tournament
will be the team that gets the bye into
the championship game. Rogers State is
the lone team left that has not received
a bye, thus it advances to the title
game. Tennessee Wesleyan and LSU
Shreveport will play at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday.
Before running into Mortensen, the
Bulldogs had been on an offensive tear
at the Series. Tennessee-Wesleyan
averaged nearly 13 runs and 14 hits in
its first three games and had outscored
the opposition 38-12. But against
Mortensen, Tennessee Wesleyan could do
little until the ninth inning.
LSU Shreveport gave Mortensen plenty of
breathing room early with five runs in
the top of the second inning with the
help of three hits batters and a rare
two errors by one player on the same
play. Devin Greco started the Pilots'
rally with a single. Manny Estrada and
Stephen Hobbins were then hit by pitches
to load the bases.
One of the more unusual plays followed
when Brandon Cooksey singled up the
middle. Bulldog center-fielder Travis
Burnside misplayed the ball and it
bounced off his leg, which allowed two
more runs to score. Burnside then picked
up the ball and threw it in to second,
but overthrew the base. Cooksey, seeing
the ball get away, started to third base
as the ball rolled into the dugout and
he went home on the dead ball to clean
the bases for a 4-0 lead. David Dorton
singled, stole second, and scored on a
single by Ridge Gonsoulin.
The Pilots added single runs in the
fourth and fifth innings for a 7-0 lead.
In the fourth, Gonsoulin doubled and
scored on a double by Greg Friesen. In
the fifth, Kade Billeaudeaux singled
with two outs and later scored on a
single by Dorton.
LSU Shreveport kept the 7-0 lead until
the ninth when the Bulldogs put up four
hits, including a two-run home run from
Jordan Guido. Thomas Sicking added an
RBI triple.
Dorton led LSU Shreveport with three
hits, while Gonsoulin, Pearson and
Billeaudeaux had two each. Guida had two
hits for the Bulldogs.
None of the three teams remaining have
won the Series title or played in the
championship game.
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