May 30, 2007

LEWISTON, Idaho - The 2007 Avista-NAIA World Series sent a pair of teams home Wednesday, as Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) knocked out Houston Baptist (Texas) 8-7 in the 7 p.m. game and Spring Arbor (Mich.) held on to beat Bellevue (Neb.), 7-5.

In the day's first game, Bellevue jumped out to an early lead on Spring Arbor, but the Cougars bounced back to take the lead with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Jesse Bachman started the rally with a double and scored on a single by Brad Baker. After moving to second on a sacrifice bunt, Baker scored on a double by Jeff Tebeau. A single by Jon Herbig scored Tebeau.

Bachman finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Baker went 2-for-4 and also scored two runs. The first three hitters in the Spring Arbor lineup, Jon Schaible, Bachman, and Baker were a combined 6-for-12 with six runs and two RBIs.

The Cougars tacked on one more for insurance late in the game, as 6'10 right-hander Brad Hinkle tossed all nine innings in his second-straight complete game of the Series. The win pushes Spring Arbor into tomorrow's 7 p.m. contest at Harris Field against Lewis-Clark State.

In the nightcap, Lewis-Clark State took a 3-0 lead with three in the first inning, and Houston Baptist answered to tie with three in the second. Lewis-Clark put up another hat-trick in the third to regain a 6-3 lead, but the Huskies would score the next four runs, including two in the sixth that put HBU up 7-6.

The Warriors came back with a run in the seventh to tie, and Ikaika Lester put LCSC back on top in the eighth by swatting a home run just to the right of the batters' eye in deep center field. Houston Baptist put a runner on in the ninth, but Will Morgan got Andrew Taccolini to fan, ending the game and eliminating the Huskies from the 2007 World Series.

Lewis-Clark State survived four fielding errors in the win.

Tomorrow night's game between the Cougars and Warriors is the first of a possible two for the title, as Spring Arbor needs two wins for a national title and Lewis-Clark State must win once as the only undefeated team remaining in the field.