May 26, 2007

LEWISTON, Idaho - Southern Hospitality took on a whole new meaning during the opening day of the 51st annual Avista NAIA World Series at Lewis-Clark State College's Harris Field on Friday.

The four Southern teams in the tournament - St. Thomas, Houston Baptist, Cumberland, and Lee - all took it on the chin on the opening day and now must square off for survival in the 10-team double-elimination collegiate baseball tournament.

No. 10 seed Walsh used a three-run eighth inning to knock off No. 7 seed St. Thomas 3-2. Walsh, 29-28 overall, trailed the Miami, Fla., school 2-0, but Jeff Nicholas hit a two-run single to highlight the Walsh rally. St. Thomas, 46-15-1, picked up a solo home run from Angel Hernandez, who finished 3-for-5 at the plate.

In the second game, No. 8 seed Lindenwood continued to have No. 9 Houston Baptist's number with an 18-4 win in a game that was stopped after seven innings because of the 10-run rule. Lindenwood, which won two of three games against Houston Baptist last week to capture the Mid South Super Regional title, improves to 46-18, while Houston Baptist falls to 40-20.

Chris Bielski led Lindenwood, located in St. Charles, Mo., by hitting two home runs and driving in seven runs. Lindenwood broke the game open early with four runs in the first and six more in the second. Michael Crabtree hit a two-run home in the sixth run to pace HBU and also added an RBI single in the fourth.

In the third game, Bellevue, the No. 5 seed from Nebraska, held off No. 4 seed Cumberland of Lebanon, Tenn., 12-10. Blake Busson went 4-for-5 with three runs scored while Carlos Jackson drove in four runs while drawing four walks in a 2-for-3 day at the plate for Bellevue, which led 8-2 in the fourth inning before Cumberland rallied. Dion Parks went 3-for-6 with three RBI for Bellevue, 46-13, while Clint Alexander went 4-for-5 with two RBI for Cumberland, now 48-19.

In the final game of Friday, Lewis-Clark State, the No. 3 seed, jumped out to a 5-0 lead and held on to defeat No. 6 seed Lee of Cleveland, Tenn., 11-7. The Warriors, the No. 1 ranked team in the NAIA at 54-5, used a six-RBI performance from No. 9 hitter Jesse Roehl, who hit a three-run double and a three-run home run. Beau Mills added a solo home run for LCSC, his 34th of the season. The Warriors also took advantage of 13 walks in the game. Lee, the No. 6 seed at 50-14, was led by Nick Utley's two-run double.

Four more games are on tap on Saturday, including a pair of loser-out contests among the Southern schools. Houston Baptist and Cumberland kick off action at 8:30 a.m., Pacific time, followed by Lee and St. Thomas at noon. In the winner's bracket, No. 2 seed Spring Arbor of Michigan, 45-3, takes on Walsh at 3 p.m., while top seed Azusa Pacific of California, 50-8, makes its debut against Lindenwood at 7 p.m.

LCSC and Bellevue receive byes and will play again on Monday.