NEWS RELEASE


 

2004 Avista NAIA Baseball World Series
Press release

Game 17 – No. 5 Cumberland (Tenn.) (58-21) def. No. 2 Embry-Riddle (53-10) 14-10

Wednesday, June 1

LEWISTON, Idaho – Charlie MacFarlane and Chris Torres hit two-run doubles as Cumberland University scored nine runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, all with two outs, to defeat No. 2 seed Embry-Riddle 14-10 in the 48th annual Avista NAIA World Series at Lewis-Clark State College’s Harris Field on Wednesday night.

The Bulldogs (58-21) are now just one win away from the school’s first NAIA baseball title. They can capture the crown tonight when they take on No. 1 seed Oklahoma City (73-6) at 7 p.m. If OCU should win, an if necessary game will be played on Friday at 7 p.m. Cumberland, the No. 5 seed out of Lebanon, Tenn., beat OCU 12-8 on Monday.

Against Embry-Riddle, the Bulldogs cruised early as they scored two runs in the first and three runs in the second for a 5-0 lead. But Embry-Riddle struck for a run in the top of the fourth and then took a 6-5 lead with five runs in the top of the fifth.

But just as quickly as it lost the lead, the Bulldogs gained it back. After the first two batters were retired to start the bottom of the sixth, the next 10 batters reached base with the help of six hits, three walks and two errors. MacFarland and Torres provided the key hits, but Torres also made the last out trying to stretch his double into a triple.

Because an Embry-Riddle error started the rally, all nine runs were unearned.

Holding a 14-6 lead, the Bulldogs cruised the rest of the way and remained the only undefeated team from the original 10-team double-elimination tournament.

Embry-Riddle did put up four runs in the top of the eighth on four hits, but left runners stranded on first and second. The Eagles (53-10) went quietly in the ninth to finish third in the tournament.

Seven Bulldog batters collected two hits in the game as Cumberland finished with 16. MacFarlane led the way in RBI with three, while Torres, Phillip Cuadrado, Craig Moreland and Derek Depew each had two RBI. Leadoff batter Mike Minkel went 2-for-4 with three runs scored.

Cheyne Hurst had three RBI to pace Embry-Riddle, while Bart Hunton added two hits and two RBI. Kevin Haney also had two RBI. The Eagles finished with nine hits in the game.

Ricky Steakin (3-2), the second of three Cumberland pitchers, earned the win. He pitched 2 2/3 innings of hitless ball. Embry-Riddle starter Chris Langois (8-3) took the loss, allowing 10 hits and 10 runs, only four of which were earned.

A total of 2,260 fans attended the game with the temperature near 80 degrees for the first pitch.