LEWISTON, Idaho
–Southern Hospitality took on a whole new
meaning during the opening day of the 51st
annual Avista NAIA World Series at
Lewis-Clark State College’s Harris Field on
Friday.
The four Southern teams in the tournament –
St. Thomas, Houston Baptist, Cumberland, and
Lee – all took it on the chin on the opening
day and now must square off for survival in
the 10-team double-elimination collegiate
baseball tournament.
No. 10 seed Walsh used a three-run eighth
inning to knock off No. 7 seed St. Thomas
3-2. Walsh, 29-28 overall, trailed the
Miami, Fla., school 2-0, but Jeff Nicholas
hit a two-run single to highlight the Walsh
rally. St. Thomas, 46-15-1, picked up a solo
home run from Angel Hernandez, who finished
3-for-5 at the plate.
In the second game, No. 8 seed Lindenwood
continued to have No. 9 Houston Baptist’s
number with an 18-4 win in a game that was
stopped after seven innings because of the
10-run rule. Lindenwood, which won two of
three games against Houston Baptist last
week to capture the Mid South Super Regional
title, improves to 46-18, while Houston
Baptist falls to 40-20.
Chris
Bielski led Lindenwood, located in St.
Charles, Mo., by hitting two home runs and
driving in seven runs. Lindenwood broke the
game open early with four runs in the first
and six more in the second. Michael Crabtree
hit a two-run home in the sixth run to pace
HBU and also added an RBI single in the
fourth.
In the
third game, Bellevue, the No. 5 seed from
Nebraska, held off No. 4 seed Cumberland of
Lebanon, Tenn., 12-10. Blake Busson went
4-for-5 with three runs scored while Carlos
Jackson drove in four runs while drawing
four walks in a 2-for-3 day at the plate for
Bellevue, which led 8-2 in the fourth inning
before Cumberland rallied. Dion Parks went
3-for-6 with three RBI for Bellevue, 46-13,
while Clint Alexander went 4-for-5 with two
RBI for Cumberland, now 48-19.
In the
final game of Friday, Lewis-Clark State, the
No. 3 seed, jumped out to a 5-0 lead and
held on to defeat No. 6 seed Lee of
Cleveland, Tenn., 11-7. The Warriors, the
No. 1 ranked team in the NAIA at 54-5, used
a six-RBI performance from No. 9 hitter
Jesse Roehl, who hit a three-run double and
a three-run home run. Beau Mills added a
solo home run for LCSC, his 34th
of the season. The Warriors also took
advantage of 13 walks in the game. Lee, the
No. 6 seed at 50-14, was led by Nick Utley’s
two-run double.
Four
more games are on tap on Saturday, including
a pair of loser-out contests among the
Southern schools. Houston Baptist and
Cumberland kick off action at 8:30 a.m.,
Pacific time, followed by Lee and St. Thomas
at noon. In the winner’s bracket, No. 2 seed
Spring Arbor of Michigan, 45-3, takes on
Walsh at 3 p.m., while top seed Azusa
Pacific of California, 50-8, makes its debut
against Lindenwood at 7 p.m.
LCSC and
Bellevue receive byes and will play again on
Monday.
