May 28, 2007

LEWISTON, Idaho - Six teams survived to see another day in the Pacific Northwest at the 2007 Avista-NAIA World Series, as Houston Baptist (Texas) and Azusa Pacific (Calif.) survived loser-out contest early in the day at Harris Field.

APU and HBU will attempt to keep momentum Tuesday, with first pitch scheduled in Tuesday's opener scheduled for 11 a.m.

Houston Baptist scored early and often in its elimination-game win over Walsh (Ohio), as the Huskies' lead-off batter Ryan Majewski doubled his home run total for the season with a pair of big flies that helped HBU to a 10-5 win. Andrew Taccolini also belted a homer in the win, which was delayed for an hour by early morning showers that passed through the Lewiston area.

Azusa Pacific won its game by scoring the first seven runs over the course of eight innings, while Lee (Tenn.) made things interesting with four in the ninth to cut APU's lead to three. Scott Hodsdon, who had a solo homer to lead off the fourth, fanned two in the ninth to close the game and the Cougar victory. Brice Cutspec also homered for APU, while Elvis Sosa went deep for Lee.

In the day's third game, Lindenwood (Mo.) took an early lead that was quickly erased by Bellevue (Neb.), who notched a five-run fourth to take a 6-4 lead in the game. Lindenwood threatened, taking one run back in the sixth, but Nick Rivera's two-run homer in the seventh moved the lead back to 7-5.

Lindenwood struck with two in the eighth, but Bellevue again answered, getting two in the bottom of the inning and holding the Lions in the ninth to win, 9-7.

In the nightcap, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) third baseman Beau Mills took another step toward NAIA history with his 35th home run of the year, leaving him one shy of Mike Meggers' 36, hit in 1992 at Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas). The homer was one of for the Warriors, who took a 2-0 lead in the first and stuck three more on the board in the fourth.

Mills' solo homer in the fifth pushed it to 6-0, and the Warriors tacked on one run in the ninth to complete the first shut-out in the 2007 World Series.

LCSC starter Matt Fitts carried a no-hitter into the eighth before giving up a one-out single to center field. Fitts' dozen strike outs in the game marked one of two double digit outings, as APU's Johnny Bravo fanned 10 Lee Flames in the day's first game.

Of note in the championship bracket, Azusa Pacific and Houston Baptist were paired against one another to avoid a first-round rematch between Houston Baptist and Lindenwood, who would have played under the original bracketed format.

Lindenwood will now take on Spring Arbor Tuesday at 3 p.m., while Bellevue and Lewis-Clark State meet as the tournament's only remaining unbeatens at 7 p.m.