British Columbia got a win, Lewis-Clark State got a loss, and Bushnell was eliminated.
At Lawrenceville, GA. Ottawa-Arizona 12, Bushnell 6. The Beacons’ first trip to the Opening Round ended with the Spirit (from Surprise, AZ) scoring eight unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Beacons led 5-2 going into that inning. The Spirit got the early lead with three runs in the bottom of the first on an RBI double by Daniel Durazo, an RBI single by Logan Meyer, and a RBI single by Christian Powell. The Beacons tied it 3-3 in the top of the second with a two-RBI single by Reece Carganilla and an RBI single by Kyle Casperson. The bottom of the second started with Beacon starter Daniel Furman striking out a batter, but after the next batter, Matthew Carter, hit a triple, Furman was relieved by Alec Gums. Carter then scored on a ground out, and the Spirit led 4-3. The Beacons took the lead for the first time with a two-run home run by Isaiah Hart in the top of the fourth. Gums and Colby Knutzen held onto that lead until the eighth inning. Hart hit another home run in the top of the ninth.
Trey Trimble, who pitched the seventh and eighth innings, allowed only one hit, and got the win. Knutzen, who was charged with three of those eighth-inning runs (all unearned), got the loss. The Spirit out-hit the Beacons 15-7. Meyer finished 3-for-4 for the Spirit. Casperson finished 2-for-5. The Beacons finished the season 29-26. recap
At Lewiston, ID. Embry-Riddle-Arizona 10, Oklahoma City 0. Jesse Kaphing pitched a complete-game shutout to take the Stars out of the tournament. He allowed eight hits, struck out seven, walked two, and threw 121 pitches. The Eagles got seven runs in the third inning, led by a two-RBI single by Blake Moore. Drew Barragan went 3-for-4 with a double, and that double batted in the winning run.
Adrian Santa Cruz – photo by Tucker House
Arizona Christian 11, Lewis-Clark State 0. A complete-game shutout for Adrian Santa Cruz, 3 hits, 12 strikeouts, 134 pitches thrown.
The Firestorm (from Glendale, AZ) got all the runs they needed in the bottom of the third inning, at the expense of Drake George. Andrew Ivy singled in the winning run. Marques Titialii hit an RBI single, Trey Tarver hit an RBI double, Kane Kiaunis got an RBI on a ground out, Jared Anderson hit a sacrifice fly, and the Firestorm led 5-0. They added two runs in the fourth inning. In the fifth inning, Troy Collins and Titialii each hit a two-run home run to complete the scoring. Titialii finished 4-for-4 with the home run, a double, and four RBI. George got the loss. recap
Ryan Beitel – photo by Rich Lam
British Columbia 4, Embry-Riddle-Arizona 3. The Thunderbirds lost two close games to the Eagles in February, but defeated them twice in this tournament to take them out. Ryan Beitel started for the Thunderbirds, pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowed three runs on six hits, struck out four. Evan Hoegler went the rest of the way, didn’t allow a hit, struck out two. The Thunderbirds took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with an RBI triple by Trent Lenihan, who scored on a ground out by Jonny McGill. The Eagles tied it in the top of the fourth with a sacrifice fly by Luke Jepsen and an RBI single by Kevin Fedoruk. The Thunderbirds took the lead again with a sacrifice fly by Kaden Zarowny in the fourth, and got the winning run with a sacrifice fly by Mitchell Middlemiss in the fifth. The Eagles made it a one-run game with an RBI single by Javier Izaguirre Jr. in the top of the seventh. Hoegler took the mound immediately after that, and the Eagles got only one baserunner after that, and he was taken out by a game-ending double play.
The Eagles also got a good pitching effort from Jonah Montes, who held the Thunderbirds to two hits over the final 3 2/3 innings. Eagle starter Spencer Lanz got the loss. Beitel got the win, and Hoegler got a save. Aaron Marsh hit two doubles for the Thunderbirds. Drew Barragan, who is second in the NAIA with 94 RBI, didn’t get one in this game, and his double was the only extra-base hit for the Eagles. recap
Now, does either Lewis-Clark State or British Columbia have enough pitching left to beat Arizona Christian twice?
Schedule for Wednesday: 2:30 PM: Lewis-Clark State vs. British Columbia
6 PM: Arizona Christian vs. Lewis-Clark State-British Columbia winner
Video (paywalled)
