LEWISTON, Idaho -
The 2007 Avista-NAIA World
Series sent a pair of teams home Wednesday,
as Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) knocked out
Houston Baptist (Texas) 8-7 in the 7 p.m.
game and Spring Arbor (Mich.) held on to
beat Bellevue (Neb.), 7-5.
In the day's first game,
Bellevue jumped out to an early lead on
Spring Arbor, but the Cougars bounced back
to take the lead with three runs in the
bottom of the fifth. Jesse Bachman started
the rally with a double and scored on a
single by Brad Baker. After moving to second
on a sacrifice bunt, Baker scored on a
double by Jeff Tebeau. A single by Jon
Herbig scored Tebeau.
Bachman finished the game
3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Baker
went 2-for-4 and also scored two runs. The
first three hitters in the Spring Arbor
lineup, Jon Schaible, Bachman, and Baker
were a combined 6-for-12 with six runs and
two RBIs.
The Cougars tacked on one
more for insurance late in the game, as 6'10
right-hander Brad Hinkle tossed all nine
innings in his second-straight complete game
of the Series. The win pushes Spring Arbor
into tomorrow's 7 p.m. contest at Harris
Field against Lewis-Clark State.
In the nightcap, Lewis-Clark
State took a 3-0 lead with three in the
first inning, and Houston Baptist answered
to tie with three in the second. Lewis-Clark
put up another hat-trick in the third to
regain a 6-3 lead, but the Huskies would
score the next four runs, including two in
the sixth that put HBU up 7-6.
The Warriors came back with a
run in the seventh to tie, and Ikaika Lester
put LCSC back on top in the eighth by
swatting a home run just to the right of the
batters' eye in deep center field. Houston
Baptist put a runner on in the ninth, but
Will Morgan got Andrew Taccolini to fan,
ending the game and eliminating the Huskies
from the 2007 World Series.
Lewis-Clark State survived
four fielding errors in the win.
Tomorrow night's game between
the Cougars and Warriors is the first of a
possible two for the title, as Spring Arbor
needs two wins for a national title and
Lewis-Clark State must win once as the only
undefeated team remaining in the field.
