NAIA Baseball National Championship, fourth day

Results from the fourth day of the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID.

Hope International 8, Arizona Christian 1 (Arizona Christian eliminated). The Royals, behind the pitching of Justin Drury, dominated this all-Golden State Athletic Conference matchup. Drury pitched eight innings, allowed four hits, struck out three, threw 113 pitches, and didn’t allow a run until the seventh inning.

The Royals got all the runs they needed in the top of the first inning, with a two-RBI double by J.J. Cruz. In the top of the fourth, Amari Bartee hit a single, and Alex Moreno hit a double. The next batter was Cruz, and with two out, runners on second and third, and Cruz being dangerous throughout the tournament, the Firestorm intentionally walked him. Not a bad idea. Problem was, Firestorm pitcher Eli Elliott walked the next batter, giving the Royals their third run. Elliott then made a pickoff attempt to third base, but the throw ended up in left field foul territory, almost to the fence. All three baserunners scored, and the Royals led 6-0 after 3 1/2 innings.

The Firestorm missed a good chance to get on the board in the bottom of the fourth. With two out and a runner on second, Matthew Beckworth hit a hard line drive that appeared to be going into center field. However, Cruz, at second base, made a great catch to end the inning. The Firestorm finally ended the shutout in the bottom of the seventh, when Deshon Thomas came home from third base on a ground out. The Royals completed the scoring with Ryan Maciel scoring on a wild pitch in the eighth inning, and David Rivera hitting an RBI double in the ninth.

Elliott got the loss, pitched four innings, allowed three earned runs on six hits, struck out five. Drury is now 10-0. Rivera and Moreno both finished 2-for-4. Beckworth had three of the Firestorm’s five hits, one of them a double. Box score

Tennessee Wesleyan 8, Southeastern 6 (Southeastern eliminated). The Bulldogs gave up three unearned runs on four errors, but prevailed in a close game. A stiff wind made fielding fly balls an adventure for both teams, and the game was delayed 45 minutes in the fourth inning due to lightning. The Fire got the board in the top of the first inning with an RBI on a ground out by Alfonso Villalobos. Kruise Newman hit a triple for the Bulldogs in the bottom of the second, and he came home on a ground out by Daniel Stewart. Villalobos got another RBI with a single in the top of the third inning, but the Bulldogs got out of the inning with a big double play. They tied the game 2-2 with an RBI double by Evan Magill. After the lightning delay, the Bulldogs took the lead for the first time in the fifth inning when Magill drew a bases-loaded walk. They got another run in the fifth when Fire pitcher Danny Batcher failed to pick up a bunt by Cayle Webster. They increased the lead to 6-2 with a two-RBI single by Magill in the sixth. However, the Fire tied it in the top of the seventh. It started with an RBI double by Christopher Munoz off the left field wall. He then scored on a throwing error. Gary Lora hit a two-RBI single, and it was 6-6. The Bulldogs completed the scoring with a two-RBI single by Jack Stevens in the bottom of the seventh, and got another big double play to end the top of the eighth. The Fire had the tying run on first in the top of the ninth, but a ground out ended it.

Julian Berinti got the win in relief. He took the ball from starter Gage Vailes in the seventh inning, allowed three hits in 1 2/3 innings, but no runs. Jake Sergent pitched the ninth inning, got a save. Ramsey David, who pitched the sixth inning, got the loss. Magill finished 2-for-4 with three RBI. Munoz finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Box score

Reinhardt 6, Georgia Gwinnett 4. An excellent ball game between the two remaining undefeated teams. Submariner Brett Allen went the distance for the Eagles, allowed three earned runs on eight hits, struck out 11, walked two, threw 151 pitches.

The Grizzlies opened the scoring with Jackson Cobb scoring on a throwing error in the top of the second inning. The third inning ended with a good diving play by Grizzly second baseman Braxton Meguiar on a ball hit by Jarrett Burney. The Eagles took the lead for the first time with a two-run home run by Dylan Lewis in the fourth inning. The Grizzlies tied it 2-2 in the top of the fifth with a home run by Meguiar. The Eagles opened the bottom of the fifth with a double by Luis Mendoza. The next batter flied out. The following batter, Marcerio Allen, hit a line drive to right field that was caught by Blaze O’Saben. He got off a good throw to Meguiar, who tossed it to shortstop Cobb to catch Mendoza off base for an inning-ending double play.

The top of the sixth ended with Brett Allen picking off courtesy runner Peyton Peoples at first base. The Eagles took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh with a two-run home run by Mendoza. They started the bottom of the eighth inning with a single by Jarrett Burney, and the Grizzlies brought in Tyler Martin to relieve starter Tyler Clayton. The Eagles proceeded to load the bases with singles by Lance Dockery and Nash Crowell, and scored a run on a sacrifice fly by Tucker Zdunich. Crowell and Dockery moved to second and third on a wild pitch, and Dockery scored on a single by Lewis. The Eagles led 6-2, only one out, and runners on first and third. However, Adrian Vargas attempted a bunt that became a popup to the pitcher, who threw to first for an inning-ending double play.

The Grizzlies weren’t done, however. Two singles and a hit batter loaded the bases with one out in the top of the ninth. Henry Daniels hit a two-RBI single, the score was 6-4, and the Grizzles suddenly had the tying run on second base. However, Brett Allen got a strikeout, and a long fly ball hit by Paul Winland Jr. to right field was caught to end the game.

Clayton pitched seven-plus innings, allowed five runs on seven hits, struck out eight, threw 96 pitches, got the loss. Lewis and Mendoza both finished 2-for-3. Ajay Sczepkowski, a dangerous hitter, finished 2-for-4, but got no RBI or runs scored. Attendance: 1,095. Box score

NAIA release: Four Teams Remain at 67th Annual Avista NAIA World Series

Story from Reinhardt Athletics: Brett Allen was Magnificent Throwing Nine – Eagles Advance!

Wednesday’s semifinal between Reinhardt and Tennessee Wesleyan is an all-Appalachian Athletic Conference matchup. The Eagles are 3-1 against the Bulldogs this season.

Schedule for Wednesday:

3:05 PM: Hope International vs. Georgia Gwinnett
6:35 PM: Reinhardt vs. Tennessee Wesleyan

Video on ESPN3 Audio (free)