Kaden Zarowny
British Columbia 7 Indiana U. Southeast 4 (11 innings) at Hattiesburg, MS. The Thunderbirds won this game to earn their second trip to the NAIA Baseball National Championsip in Lewiston, ID; the first one was in 2006.
This game was close until the Thunderbirds finally broke through in the top of the eleventh inning. The Grenadiers opened the scoring in the bottom of the second with Grant Shepherd getting an RBI on a ground out. The Thunderbirds took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth on a two-RBI double by Aidan Rose. They increased it to 3-1 in the top of the sixth when Kyle Yip got an RBI for reaching on a fielder’s choice. The Grenadiers closed to 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth when Trevor Goodwin hit an RBI single, and took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the seventh. The Thunderbirds tied it 4-4 in the top of the eighth when Mitchell Middlemiss reached on an error and Jackson Boomer scored.
Kaden Zarowny hit a double in the top of the ninth, but was stranded. The Grenadiers came very close to winning it in regulation. Adam Khan relieved James Brock at the beginning of the bottom of the ninth. He walked Shepherd, and he was bunted to second. He went to third on a fly out, but was stranded there when Preston Shelton hit an infield popup.
Both teams left the bases loaded in the tenth. In the top of the inning, Hilo Yamamoto, who entered the game to replace Aaron Marsh (he suffered a separated shoulder in a collision at first base), hit a single with one out, and Middlemiss drew a walk. Kyle Yip hit a single, but a good throw from Ethan Burdette in left field resulted in Jaden Lamothe, pinch-running for Yamamoto, being out at the plate. David Draayers was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two out, but pinch hitter Kellen Bourne flied out to end the inning. The bottom of the tenth opened with two quick outs, but Khan walked the next two batters, then hit a batter to load the bases. Khan was relieved by Evan Hoegler, and he got a ground out to the mound to end the inning.
Zarowny and Russell Young drew walks to open the top of the eleventh. They moved to second and third on a wild pitch. Jonny McGill drew a walk to load the bases, and Zarowny scored what turned out to be the winning run on a wild pitch. The Grenadiers replaced Daly Skees with Eli Laurent. He was greeted with RBI singles by Trent Lenihan and Lamothe (who replaced Yamamoto) and the Thunderbirds led 7-4. Laurent finally got out of the inning with two strikeouts and a ground out. In the bottom of the eleventh, Ryan Beitel, normally a starter but had not appeared in this tournament, relieved Hoegler. He got fly out and two strikeouts to end the game.
Hoegler, who threw three pitches, got the win, and Beitel got a save. Daniel Orfaly pitched the first six innings for the Thunderbirds, allowed two runs on seven hits, struck out four. Skees got the loss. Lenihan finished 3-for-6 with an RBI and a run scored. Yip and Rose each had two hits. Coulter Hamilton finished 2-for-4 for the Grenadiers. box score recap
Middlemiss was named the MVP of the tournament.
Brayden Peyton
Wayland Baptist 7, Lewis-Clark State 6 (Lewis-Clark State eliminated) at Lewiston, ID. The Warriors took an early lead in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Izzy Madariaga and a two-RBI double by Bulla Ephan. The Pioneers cut the lead to 6-5 in the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run by Delvis Claudio (Vega Alta, Puerto Rico), but the Warrriors still led 6-5 going into the bottom of the ninth. Kolby Solomon struck out the first batter, but the next one, Felix Polanco (Puerto Plata, Puerto Rico), hit a single. He was replaced by a pinch-runner, Christian Toledo. Toledo stole second, then scored the tying run on a single by Samuel Fabian (Santiago, Dominican Republic). Solomon was relieved by Jake Green. The first batter he faced, Sinclair Pimentel (Castanuelis Montecristis, Dominican Republic), hit a double, and Fabian went to third. The next batter was intentionally walked, then Brayden Peyton hit a single to win it.
Pioneer starter Juan Gil-Franco went 8 1/3 innings, allowed six runs (only three of them earned) on nine hits, struck out eight, walked five, threw 160 pitches. He got a no-decision; the win went to Jose Escamilla, who faced three batters in the top of the ninth, retired two of them. Solomon got the loss. Fabian finished 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI, and three runs scored. Madariaga finished 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI. box score recap
Wayland Baptist lost the championship game to Hope International 12-4. Hope International will be going to the NAIA Baseball National Championship.
