May 27, 2011

Contact: Amanda Dahl, NAIA Manager of Sports Information & Media Services, adahl@naia.org

LEWISTON, Idaho - Junior relief pitcher Austin Pentecost pitched out of a couple of jams to help seventh-seeded Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) team hold off Tennessee Wesleyan 5-4 in the final first-round game of the Avista-NAIA World Series at Harris Field on Friday.

Pentecost, a right-hander, helped the Warriors end a Bulldog rally in the sixth inning and pitched the final 3 1/3 innings to preserve the win. He allowed three hits and one earned run and struck out four to pick up the save.

The win advances LCSC (38-15) into Saturday's 7 p.m. PDT contest against second-seeded Oklahoma City (46-10). OCU received a first-round bye on Friday.

Tennessee Wesleyan (40-20) will play Oklahoma Baptist (45-12) in a loser-out game at 12 p.m. Saturday.

The Warriors, seeking their 17th Series title, jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but needed Pentecost to hang on against the Bulldogs.

In the third inning, the Warriors broke open a 3-0 lead. Connor Moore started the rally with a one-out single and went to second on a single by Kevin Lovelace. Trent Bridges singled to load the bases and Brian Gaylord followed with a sacrifice fly to right to score Moore. Alfonso Casillas then doubled to left to score the final two runs of the frame.

In the fifth the Warriors made it 5-0. Lovelace singled and went to third when Bridges reached on the first of two Tennessee Wesleyan errors in the inning. Gaylord followed with a single to right and when Bulldogs' right-fielder Sam Munson threw wild, Lovelace was able to race home. Gino Casini later added a sacrifice fly.

The Bulldogs finally got to LCSC starter Tyrell Poggemeyer in the sixth inning for three runs. An error allowed Cody Gaskill to reach first. David Bergin followed with a single. Rafael Carlot's ground out moved the runners up a base. Munson followed with a grounder and reached first on an error, which allowed Tennessee Wesleyan to load the bases. Anthony Boix followed with a bases-loaded walk to drive in the first run and Boix advanced to third, on the batted ball and Ryan Santos, hitting ninth in the lineup, followed with a two-run single. Reliever Austin Pentecost then got out of the jam with a ground out.

The Bulldogs made it interesting in the eighth and cut the lead to 5-4. Carlot started the rally with a single to right-center field and was replaced by pinch runner CJ McElroy. After a balk and a wild pitch moved McElroy to third, Boix followed with a single up the middle to score McElroy. The Bulldogs, however, stranded the tying run at first.

After the Warriors threatened, but left runners at first and second in the top of the ninth, Tennessee Wesleyan immediately threatened in the ninth when lead off hitter Stephen Branca singled. After a strikeout, Gaskill launched a fly ball that fell about six feet short of a game-ending home run, but instead was a fly out to left on the warning track. Bergin then flew out to center to end the game.

Loveless led LCSC at the plate by going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and Casillas drove in two runs. Santos went 3-for-4 with two RBI for the Bulldogs and Boix also drove in a pair of runs. Branca added three hits as the Bulldogs out-hit the Warriors 11-8.