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2003: Lewis-Clark State College Baseball NAIA World Series Championship No. 13 2003 NAIA Avista World Series Game 18: #3 Lewis-Clark State, Idaho (48-13) def. #1 Oklahoma City (63-8-1), 7-5 Lewiston, Idaho - Sophomore third-baseman Emerson Frostad stepped up big in clutch situations both with his bat and his speed to help Lewis-Clark State College capture its second straight NAIA World Series title. Frostad scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and added an RBI single an inning later to help the No. 3 seed Warriors defeat No. 1 seed Oklahoma City University 7-5 in the championship game Friday night at LCSC’s Harris Field. The Warriors, who claimed their NAIA-best 13th Series title, became only the third team in Series history to defeat the same team on back-to-back days to win the crown. LCSC forced the extra game with a 6-5 win over OCU on Thursday. Earlier in the 10-team double-elimination tournament, the Stars beat LCSC 4-3. Frostad’s play backed a strong outing by Series MVP Marc Kaiser. The junior right-hander picked up his second tournament win by going the distance, allowing seven hits, one walk and five runs. He also struck out 11. The see-saw contest was tied 5-5 when Frostad opened the seventh by being hit by a pitch. After a fly out, Tyler Best drew a walk. Wayne Stone followed with a grounder to short that look like an easy doubleplay ball, but OCU second baseman Erik Tuberville bounced his throw to first. OCU first baseman Brandon Kaye managed to block the ball, which rolled about 5 feet away from him. Frostad never stopped running on the play as Kaye retrieved the ball and threw home to catcher Matt Houston. Frostad, however, barely beat the throw and slide into home ahead of the tag to put LCSC up 6-5. An inning later, Jose Rodriguez hit a two-out double and Allen Balmer followed with an intentional walk. Frostad, hitting fifth in the lineup, followed with an RBI single to center. Frostad finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. LCSC took a brief 1-0 lead in the first, but a two-run home run by OCU’s Ben Himes in the second put the Stars ahead 2-1. Paul Gallegos’ RBI single in the fourth tied the game at 2-2. Both teams scored twice in the fifth. OCU’s Ted Ledbetter, who had an unbelievable tournament at the plate, hit a two-run home run to put the Stars ahead 4-2, but an RBI double by Frostad and an RBI groundout by Best tied the game. The two teams matched runs again in the sixth. Himes picked up his third RBI with a double, while LCSC answered with an RBI single by Gallegos, who went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Rodriguez and Balmer added two hits apiece as LCSC held an 11-7 advantage in hits. Himes finished 2-for-4 with three RBI for OCU, while Ledbetter was 1-for-5, which left him 17-of-28 (.607) in the tournament. Jeff McLaughlin, who allowed only three earned runs during the regular season, wound up taking the loss. He gave up three hits, three earned runs and two walks, while striking out two in 3 1/3 innings. It’s the second straight year the two teams have met in the title game. LCSC won last year’s contest 12-8, also on its home field. Those are the only two title game appearances in OCU’s history. Lewis-Clark State 7, Oklahoma City 5 (May 30,
2003 at Lewiston ID)
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