Results from the first day of the NAIA Opening Round.
In Santa Barbara, CA:
British Columbia 11, U. of Antelope Valley 10 (12 innings)
Jonny McGill hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 12th inning to win it for the Thunderbirds.
McGill was 4-for-7 with two RBI for the game. Trent Lenihan was 3-for-6 with a home run, a double, and five RBI. Noah Or was 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, and Kyle Anderson hit a solo home run. However, it was two relief pitchers, Daniel Sereda and Vicarte Domingo, who saved the Thunderbirds’ bacon. Sereda came on with two out in top of the sixth inning, after the Pioneers had scored six runs off Brett Corbeth. He got a fly out to end the inning, then struck out the side in the seventh inning. He allowed one hit over the next two innings. He was helped by a big defensive play by Cameron Sanderson on a bunt to third base; the bunt still advanced a baserunner from second to third, but Sanderson picked up a well-placed bunt and made the throw to first to get the out. Sereda then recorded a strikout to end the inning and strand that runner on third. The Thunderbirds also stranded the winning run on third in the bottom of the ninth. Sereda turned the ball over to Domingo, and he didn’t allow a hit the rest of the way, although he walked three batters (one intentionally); he struck out seven of the twelve batters he faced. He got his first win of the season, and this was his longest appearance.
It took 4:35 to play this game, and it had a bit of everything. There was a delay of 25 minutes due to fog. Thunderbird starter Ryan Beitel went four innings, allowed four runs on six hits, struck out five, walked four, and threw 103 pitches. The Thunderbirds led 6-4 when he left the game, mostly because of the home runs by Lenihan and Or. They led 7-4 going into the disastrous sixth inning; the big blow was a pinch-hit three-RBI double by Charles Morgan. The Pioneers got a bad break in the top of the tenth when Kaiden Cardoso (Abbotsford, BC), one of their best hitters, was injured in the middle of a turn at bat; Domingo struck out his replacement twice. The Pioneers got a double play in the bottom of the tenth on a line drive to the shortstop, even though he was out of position.
Danny Sullivan, normally a starter, pitched the final six innings for the Pioneers, allowed only two runs (the McGill home run was one of them) off six hits, struck out four, walked one. Jose Parreno (San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic) finished 3-for-6 with one RBI. The Thunderbirds out-hit the Pioneers 20-10. Recap Box score
The Thunderbirds were scheduled to play host and top seed Westmont this afternoon. However, the field doesn’t have lights, so the game has been postponed until 9 AM Tuesday. If the Thunderbirds win that one, they will play Benedictine-Mesa at 4 PM Tuesday. If they lose to Westmont, their next game will be Wednesday morning. Video
Benedictine-Mesa def. Vanguard 5-4 in the other game in Santa Barbara. The game was decided by a run scoring on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth.
In Lewiston, ID:
Lewis-Clark State 15, Hope International 14
This game was tied 9-9 after seven innings. The Royals scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth on a two-RBI double by Matthew Pinal, who then scored on a ground ball by Omar Veloz. However, the Warriors answered with six runs in the top of the ninth; an RBI single by Sam Olsson, a three-run home run by Charlie Updegrave, an RBI triple by Dominic Signorelli, and an RBI single by Pu’ukani De Sa. They needed every one of those runs. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Robert Mattei and J.J. Cruz hit RBI singles, and the Royals had the tying run on second with one out. However, Pinal struck out swinging, then Branden Clun-Ming flied out to end it.
The Warriors used seven pitchers. The only ones who pitched well were Bryson Spagnuolo (one inning pitched, one hit) and Jake Green (got the Warriors out of the eighth inning, recorded two outs, got the win). Cameron Smith pitched the ninth inning, allowed two runs on three hits, struck out one, got a save. Updegrave finished 3-for-5, and all three hits were home runs; he had eight RBI. Olsson went 4-for-5 with a solo home run and three RBI. De Sa went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI.
For the Royals, Steven Ordorica got his first loss of the season. He pitched the sixth through eighth innings, faced four batters in the ninth, allowed four earned runs on five hits. Max Jung-Goldberg went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored. The game was delayed for 20 minutes by lightning. Recap Box score
In the other game of the day, Concordia-Ann Arbor defeated Science and Arts of Oklahoma 11-7.
The Warriors will play Concordia-Ann Arbor at 4 PM Tuesday. Video (paywalled) Audio (free) Hope International and Science and Arts of Oklahoma will play a loser-out game at 12:30 PM.
