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Results from the fifth day of the NAIA national championship tournament in Lewiston, ID:

Spring Arbor 7, Bellevue 5 (Bellevue eliminated): The Cougars got a complete game from Bradley Hinkle. He gave up eleven hits and four earned runs, but he was very steady; he only walked one batter, and struck out five.

Hinkle was also helped by a big double play in the top of the seventh. The score at the time was 6-5 Cougars. The Bruins started the inning with singles by Scott Raterman and Josh Northrup. Dion Parks flied out to shallow center field. Then, Nick Rivera hit into a 6-4-3 double play.

Hinkle didn't allow any more baserunners the rest of the way, and the Cougars got an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single by Jesse Bachman.

The Bruins led 5-3 going into the bottom of the fifth, but the Cougars took the lead for good with three runs on a double by Bachman, an RBI single by Bradley Baker, an RBI double by Jeffrey Tebeau, and an RBI single by Jonathan Herbig.

Bachman was 3-4, and Jeffrey Hollister got two RBI without recording a hit. Carlos Jackson, Northrup, and Nick Rivera were all 2-4 for the Bruins, and Raterman was 2-5.

Five of Spring Arbor's six earned runs were charged to freshman starter Nick Love, who went five innings. Reliever Severin Fries, who came to Bellevue from Bern, Switzerland, pitched a scoreless inning and struck out two.

Box score Play-by-play

Lewis-Clark State 8, Houston Baptist 7 (Houston Baptist eliminated): The Warriors batted around in the first and third innings, but they also committed an uncharacteristic four errors, and didn't take control of this game until the eighth inning.

The score was tied at seven going into the eighth. Ikaika Lester hit a home run (his second of the tournament) over the center field fence for what became the winning run, then Warrior reliever Will Morgan struck out the side in the bottom of the inning. The Huskies got something going in the bottom of the ninth, when leadoff batter Chad Hebert reached on an error. He was replaced by a pinch-runner, J.W. Beauchamp, and Beauchamp was bunted over to second by Greg Gossett. However, the next batter, Michael Crabtree, hit a ground ball between second and third. Beauchamp was chased back to second and tagged out. Morgan struck out the next batter to end the game.

Both starters made early exits. Huskie starter Matthew Headley was replaced after two innings and some change, after giving up a two-run home run to Ryan Wholey, singles to Paul Martin and Jesse Roehl, and making a bad throw on a bunt attempt. He was replaced by another lefty, Keith Brunson. Brunson was greeted with a bunt single by Mark Thompson, but the next batter hit into a double play. Brunson then intentionally walked Beau Mills, and struck out Lester to get out of the inning.

Brunson didn't give up a run until the seventh inning, when the Warriors tied it at 7-7 on a sacrifice fly by Roehl. He ended up allowing only five hits over seven innings.

Chris Kissock started for the Warriors, and was chased in the fifth inning after giving up a triple to Gossett and hitting a batter. Kissock was charged with five earned runs, and his replacement, Matt Duryea, was charged with another one. Morgan, however, got it done; he allowed only one hit in 3 1/3 innings, struck out four, and got the win.

Martin was 3-4 for the Warriors. Kory Johns was 2-3 with a walk and 2 RBI for the Huskies.

This will be Houston Baptist's last NAIA game for a long time, because they are moving to Division I next year. Lewis-Clark State needs to win one of two against Spring Arbor for their 15^th NAIA title. Beau Mills remains one short of the NAIA home run record of 36.

Box score Play-by-play

Schedule for Thursday (all times PDT):
Spring Arbor vs. Lewis-Clark State, 7 PM

All games webcast by KOZE Sports
All games video webcast (for a fee) by watchnaia.com

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Results from the fourth day of the NAIA national championship tournament in Lewiston, ID:

Houston Baptist 5, Azusa Pacific 1 (Azusa Pacific eliminated): The Huskies got a complete game from Jay Prigmore, and a 3-4 performance at the plate. He scattered ten hits, struck out seven, didn't walk any batters (he hit two), and held the Cougars scoreless until the eighth inning, when Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit a solo home run.

Jay Prigmore

The Huskies built up their lead gradually, getting a run in the second on an RBI double by Prigmore, another in the third on a sacrifice fly by Andrew Taccolini, and another in the fourth on an RBI single by Ryan Majewski. They completed their scoring in the sixth with a home run by Eric Schiro and a sacrifice fly by Chad Hebert.

The Cougars got a rally going in the bottom of the ninth. They loaded the bases with hits by Stephen Kohatsu, Matt Venegas, and Grant Beyer. They had the tying run at the plate with Stephen Vogt, but Vogt lined out to end the game.

Starter Ryan Zaft got his first loss of the season. He went 5 1/3 innings, allowed nine hits, struck out four.

Box score Play-by-play

Spring Arbor 14, Lindenwood 6 (Lindenwood eliminated): The Cougars started with two runs in the first inning on RBI doubles by Bradley Baker and Eric Vojtkofsky, and they led the rest of the way. Their biggest inning was the sixth, when they got five runs off a run walked in, a two-RBI single by Jon Herbig, and a two-RBI double by Lucas Rider.

Herbig was 3-4 for the game, with five RBI. Rider and Baker were 2-4. Andy Paulun started for the Cougars, and got the win, but Bobby Goike, who came on in the sixth inning, held the Lions scoreless for the final 3 2/3 innings. He allowed only two hits, and walked one. The Lions used five pitchers; starter Nate Eisenbeis got the loss.

Box score Play-by-play

Lewis-Clark State 8, Bellevue 1: Bellevue Coach Mike Evans had a strategy. He gave Shawn Lee, who had pitched only 13 1/3 innings this year, his first start of the season.

To some extent, the strategy worked. The Bruins trailed by only 3-1 when Lee left the game in the fifth inning. They missed some opportunities to score runs on a shaky Warrior starter Brad Schwarzenbach. Schwarzenbach allowed only five hits in seven innings of work, but he hit four batters. The Warriors helped him out with double plays in the second, fourth, and seventh innings. Schwarzenbach also got some big defensive help in the sixth inning. The Bruins had the bases loaded with no outs, but Josh Northrup was out on a popup behind home plate, and Dion Parks struck out. Nick Rivera was then deprived of some RBI by an excellent catch in deep right field by Jesse Roehl.

The only Bruin run came in the third inning, when Carlos Jackson was hit by a pitch, stole second, and came home when Zach Weidenaar grounded out to the shortstop. Ikaika Lester was responsible for the first five Warrior runs; he hit an RBI single in the second, a home run in the fifth, and a grand slam double in the sixth. Lester was then batted in by Roehl. The Warriors added two more runs in the seventh, when the wheels came off defensively for the Bruins. Beau Mills reached base on a dropped fly ball. Brent Wyatt went to third on a bad throw, then stole home when the Bruins were suckered into trying to catch Mills stealing second. Mills then scored when a fly ball hit by Ryan Wholey was dropped.

Lester was 3-4 for the game. Mills was 1-4, and didn't hit a home run. The Bruins used six pitchers, and most of the damage was done to Frank Smagacz. Schwarzenbach got the win, and his record is now 7-0. Brian Parker got his ninth save of the season.

Box score Play-by-play

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If applicable, see "Notes for UBC fans" at the end of this article.

Results from the third day of the NAIA national championship tournament in Lewiston, ID:

Houston Baptist 10, Walsh 5 (Walsh eliminated): The Huskies started the game with a home run by Ryan Majewski, and got two more runs in the first inning on a home run by Andrew Taccolini. Starter Matt Weible shut the Cavaliers out for the first six innings, and the Huskies led 9-0 going into the bottom of the seventh. The Cavaliers got a run in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single by Mark Kelly, and got three more in the eighth on a two-RBI double by Greg Miller, and an RBI single by Mike Suliks. It was Miller's tenth turn at bat this season; he missed most of it because of a herniated disc.

Weible ended up going eight innings, allowing 12 hits. Majewski added another home run in the fifth, and was 3-3 for the game. Greg Gossett went 4-5 for the Huskies.

Box score Play-by-play

Azusa Pacific 7, Lee 4 (Lee eliminated): Starter Jonny Bravo had a shutout going into the ninth inning, but Elvis Sosa broke it up with a home run. Bravo gave way to Scott Hodsdon after the Flames got two more hits. Hodsdon was greeted with a home run by Nick Utley. Hodsdon struck out the next two batters to end the game.

Hodsdon played third base for most of the game, and he started the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the first, and a home run in the fourth. The Cougars got two more runs in the fourth on a bad error by the Flames. With the bases loaded, Eddie Crespo flied out to left field. The runner on third didn't attempt to come home, but there was a throw to the plate. The catcher then threw to second base in attempt to catch a baserunner off the bag. The throw ended up going all the way to the center field fence, and two runs came in.

Brice Cutspec added a home run in the sixth.

Bravo's numbers were eight hits, three runs, two walks, and 10 strikeouts. His record is now 12-0.

Box score Play-by-play

Bellevue 9, Lindenwood 7: The Bruins got the winning run in the bottom of the eighth on a pinch-hit home run by Casey Smith, and got an insurance run with a pinch-hit squeeze bunt by Jerry Zachery.

The Lions had the early lead, scoring runs in the first and second inning, and two runs in the third. The Bruins took the lead with five runs in the fourth. The scoring started with an RBI single by Blake Busson. Lion starter Eric Hullinger left the game with an injury, and was replaced by Bobby Ferguson. Ferguson was greeted with an RBI single by Zach Weidenaar, a two-RBI double by Scott Raterman, and an RBI single by Josh Northrup. The inning ended with the score 6-4 Bruins. The Bruins took a 7-5 lead in the seventh on a home run by Nick Rivera.

The Lions tied it 7-7 in the top of the eighth with a two-run home run by Ryan Shockley, but the Bruins answered with the Smith home run.

The Bruins used five pitchers, the Lions four. Nick Love, who pitched the last two innings for Bellevue, got the win.

Box score Play-by-play

Lewis-Clark State 7, Spring Arbor 0: Matt Fitts pitched a complete game shutout, and had a no-hitter going into the eighth inning.

Cougar starter Jesse Bachman held the Warriors to five hits over eight innings, but those five hits included home runs in the second inning by Kyle Greene and Kyle Melton, and Beau Mill's 35^th home run in the fifth inning. Another Warrior run was the result of Bachman hitting Paul Martin with a pitch with the bases loaded in the fourth. Bachman threw 130 pitches in his first loss of the season. (Fitts threw 111.)

Fitts' no-hitter was broken up by Bradley Baker, who hit a line drive to center field. The Cougars missed a chance to get on the scoreboard a couple of batters later. Luca Rider hit a long ball into the gap between center and left field, but he was robbed of an extra-bases hit with a great catch by center fielder Brent Wyatt. The Cougars never got a runner past first base.

Attendance: 5,220, and they saw a good one. It took two hours and three minutes to play it.

Box score Play-by-play

Notes for UBC fans: RHP Karl Mejholm of Nanaimo, who plays for Cumberland, played a key role in eliminating the Thunderbirds from last year's tournament. He made the trip to this year's tournament, but because Cumberland went two-and-out, he didn't get to throw a single pitch.

Somebody asked me what I was doing at this tournament, and I responded with this wisecrack: "I came to watch the team that UBC beat twice this year win this thing."

A couple of people told me they were impressed that UBC was selling ball caps here last year. Nobody other than L-C State is selling any team paraphenalia this time around. A marketing opportunity is being missed here, because Azusa Pacific and Spring Arbor have slick-looking logos.

Canadians in the tournament, in addition to Mejholm and Chris Kissock of L-C State:

• Spring Arbor: Matthieu Coutler of London, ON, Ryan Hooey of Windsor, ON.
• Walsh: Rollin Matsui of Thornhill, ON, Derek Gordon of Brampton. The Cavaliers also have Robbie Matsui, but he didn't make the 24-man roster.

There's quite a few other non-US players around; Houston Baptist has a guy from Guatemala, Saint Thomas has players from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, and Lee has several from Puerto Rico. The prize for longest plane flight, however, goes to Bellevue RHP Severin Fries, of Bern, Switzerland.

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Houston Baptist 5, Cumberland 2 (Cumberland eliminated): Houston Baptist recovered from yesterday's beating, and sent the Bulldogs packing. Matthew Headley pitched a complete game for the Huskies, allowed eight hits, struck out six.

The Huskies' offensive star was Michael Crabtree, who was 3-4 with a double and three RBI. He batted in the winning run with an RBI single in the third inning. Eric Mull hit a solo home run for the Bulldogs.

Box score Play-by-play

Lee 5, Saint Thomas 4 (12 innings) (Saint Thomas eliminated): Aaron Simmons hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 12th to send sixth-ranked Saint Thomas home. Simmons also had a base hit and a double in the game.

Four Flame pitchers combined to hold the Bobcats to four hits over 12 innings. Three of those hits were off starter Nick Utley, who went 7 2/3 innings. Cody Campbell, who allowed no hits in the final 1 2/3 innings, got the win.

Box score Play-by-play

Spring Arbor 8, Walsh 5: Walsh led this one 5-3 going into the eighth inning, but the Cavaliers were unable to pull off a second consecutive upset. The Cougars took the lead in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Eric Vojtkofsky, and a bases-loaded single by Jeff Tebau. Tebau was 3-3 for the game, and Jon Schaible was 5-6.

Brad Hinkle pitched a complete game for the Cougars, and ran his record to 14-0. Spring Arbor won 36 straight games during the season, and the streak included a win over Mid-American Conference regular season champion Eastern Michigan.

Box score Play-by-play

Lindenwood 14, Azusa Pacific 9: Lindenwood upsets 2nd-ranked Azusa Pacific, and the Lions have scored 32 runs in 15 innings so far in the tournament.

The Lions chased Cougar ace Scott Hodsdon after scoring six runs on him in five innings. (Hodsdon was 2-4 at the plate.) The Cougars led 9-8 going into the bottom of the eighth, but the Lions finished the inning with six runs, three of them on a home run by Ryan Kopp. Marty Clements was 3-5 with a double and four RBI for the Lions.

Box score Play-by-play

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Walsh 3, Saint Thomas 2: The tournament kicks off with a major upset. Walsh came into the tournament with a 28-28 record against suspect opposition.

Walsh starter Andy Schon pitched a complete game. He scattered nine hits to keep the Cavaliers close. They entered the eighth inning trailing 2-0, and scored three runs by loading the bases on Bobcat starter Eddie Machin. Machin was replaced by Osmar Chaviano, who proceed to walk in a run. He then struck out a batter, but Jeff Nicholas hit a two-RBI single to win it.

Box score Play-by-play

Lindenwood 18, Houston Baptist 4: Like Walsh, Houston Baptist is making their first appearance at this tournament. It will also be HBU's last appearance for a long time, because they are moving to Division I next year.

The record will show that the Huskies got mercy-ruled after seven innings. Lindenwood started this game with four runs in the first inning, and six runs in the second. They finished it off with five more in the seventh. The offensive star for the Lions was Chris Bielski, who hit two home runs and a double, and had seven RBI.

Nate Eisenbeis got the win for the Lions. He went six innings, allowed eight hits, struck out three.

Box score Play-by-play

Bellevue 12, Cumberland 10: Last year's runner-up out-hit Bellevue 18-14, in a game that took four hours to play. Bellevue stranded 16 baserunners, Cumberland 13.

The Bruins led this all the way. The Bulldogs got a run in the bottom of the ninth, and they had the winning run at the plate, but Jeremy Wilson popped up to second base to end it.

Chris Kissock

Box score Play-by-play

Lewis-Clark State 11, Lee 7: The defending champions took a 5-0 lead in the second inning, and led the rest of the way, although the Flames got as close as 5-4 after four innings. Beau Mills got his 34th home run (the NAIA record is 36), but the big offensive damage was done by Jesse Roehl, who had six RBI on a home run and a double. He also drew two walks.

Chris Kissock started for the Warriors, but gave way to Brian Parker after giving up four runs in four innings. Parker got the win.

Jeremy Hutslar went 3-4 with a double for the Flames.

Box score Play-by-play

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