NEWS RELEASE


2004 Avista NAIA Baseball World Series

Press release

 Sunday, May 30 – Game 5

#9 Concordia (Ore.) (37-21) def. #4 Bellevue (Neb.) (54-20) 9-3

 LEWISTON, Idaho – Josh Brandt and Adam Hackstedt drove in two runs apiece and Stephen Short scattered 10 hits to help Concordia University of Portland, Ore., remain alive with a 9-3 win over Bellevue of Nebraska in loser-out play at the 48th annual Avista NAIA World Series at Lewiston’s Harris Field on Sunday.

 Normally, Sunday is a day off at the Series but rain delays on Friday altered the schedule, forcing this game to be moved from Saturday.

 The loss was the second straight for the No. 4 seed Bruins, who finish the year at 54-20. No. 9 seed Concordia (37-21) now advances to a play No. 2 seed Embry-Riddle (51-9) of Daytona Beach, Fla., in a loser-out game at 8:30 a.m. on Monday.

 Bellevue coach Mike Evans went with a pre-determined pitching split, using five hurlers in the contest. The move, however, backfired when started John Lagan was lifted after two innings and was replaced by Ian Hagan to start the third.

 Concordia, which failed to get a hit off Lagan, more than made up for it against Hagan, by bashing six hits and scoring five run in the third inning to take a 5-0 lead. After two singles and a walk loaded the bases with two outs, Hackstedt delivered a two-run single. John Grote, Brandt and Andy Carlile followed with consecutive run-scoring singles to give the Cavaliers the early cushion.

 After Bellevue answered with a run in both the third and fourth innings to make it 5-2, Concordia countered with single runs in the fifth and sixth, and then added two more in the seventh, including one on an RBI double by Jake Robertson.

 Bellevue managed a run in the eighth but Short got out of the jam. Short improved to 8-2 on the season by allowing three earned runs and two walks, with one strikeout.

 Tijl VanDerWege, Brian Urban and Ron Madej had two hits apiece for Bellevue, which was making its seventh straight appearance in the Series.