May 31, 2008

(Box Score)

LEWISTON, Idaho - (Final Bracket) Tournament MVP Brian Ward collected three hits and drove in two runs, while Kyle Greene and Sean Halton added two hits and two RBI to help the No. 3 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) College baseball team capture its third straight national championship with an 8-3 win over No. 1 Lee (Tenn.) University in the championship game of the 52nd annual AVISTA-NAIA World Series before 5,530 fans at Harris Field on Friday night (May 30).

LCSC turned the tables on Lee by answering each Flame rally and then put the game away with a three-run eighth inning.  The Warriors won three straight loser-out games in the Series in posting a 5-1 record.

"It's unbelievable," said Ward, who owned Lee in the three Series meetings by going 9-of-14 with five RBI and two runs scored. "We practice hard this season and knew we had to play every game like we could. That's what won it for us. We came out and played like we knew we could."

It's the third straight title, and 16th overall, for LCSC. The 16 titles are far and away the most in the NAIA. LCSC is now 16-5 all-time in the championship game and has won the last five it has played in. All 21 title game appearances have come since 1982, and the 16 titles have come during the last 25 years, and all under veteran coach Ed Cheff.

LCSC's three-peat marks the fourth time that a school has won three consecutive Series titles. Lewis of Illinois accomplished the feat in 1974-76, while Grand Canyon College won titles in 1980-82. LCSC won five straight titles in 1987-92, and the Warriors have now won the last three.

The loss was a disappointing one for Lee, which was seeking its first NAIA national title in any sport. The Flames were the last undefeated club in the 10-team double-elimination tournament, but after defeating LCSC 5-2 on Tuesday, the Flames lost to the Warriors on consecutive nights, including a 7-6 setback on Thursday. In that game, the Flames were two strikes away from winning the contest and claiming the national title, but LCSC rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth for the win.

LCSC, which finishes the season at 58-7, became only the fourth team in Series history to beat the previously undefeated team in consecutive games to win the title. The other times came in 2003 when LCSC defeated Oklahoma City twice by scores of 6-5 and 7-5, in 1983 when Lubbock Christian defeated LCSC twice, and in 1964 when West Liberty State defeated Grambling.

Lee, which was making its third Series appearance, finishes the season at 63-10.  The Flames were trying to become the first No. 1 seed in the tournament to win the title since 2003.

LCSC jumped on top 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning when Paul Martin tripled off the right-field wall, just missing a home run. It was Martin's team-high fourth triple of the season and first of the tournament. He scored the game's first run when Nic Benton grounded out on a high chopper to third base.

Lee's Josh Guy tied the game in the top of the third with a solo home run to right field, his first of two in the game. The Flames threatened for more in the inning when Edgar Mercado drew a walk, Jeremy Hutslar singled, and Brian Bistagne was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs and bring an early end to LCSC starting pitcher Mike Guerrero's night. Reliever Matt Stabelfeld came in and got Chris Warters to ground weakly back to him on the first pitch and Stabelfeld threw him out at first to end the inning.

The Warriors regained the lead in the bottom of the third when Kyle Greene and Sean Halton both blasted solo home runs, the second time the pair had gone deep in the tournament. Greene, who earlier in the day was named the NAIA's Player of the Year, hit his team-leading 19th home run of the season to right field, while Halton hit his seventh home run, a blast to left field, that made it 3-1.

"When we made the switch with Kyle moving to third and Ikaika (Lester) to first, it was one of the best things we did all year with our team," Cheff said. "It made us a better team and really helped Kyle."

LCSC made it 4-1 in the fourth by taking advantage of some uncharacteristic Lee mistakes. Flames' starting pitcher Josh Rose hit Benton on the batting helmet with a pitch and then gave up a single to Brent Wyatt, which moved Benton to third. Reliever Jeff Ibarra took over for Rose, but threw a wild pitch to the backstop that allowed Benton to score.

Lee threatened in the top of the sixth when its first two batters reached without the benefit of a hit, but Stabelfeld struck out the next three hitters, the Nos. 4-6 in the Flames' lineup, to end the rally.

Guy went deep again for his second solo home run of the game. It was Guy's ninth home run of the season and third of the tournament. The home run was the only hit allowed by Stabelfeld in 3.1 innings. Stabelfeld also struck out three and walked two.

After Guy's home run, LCSC turned to its closer Justin Mace with no outs in the top of the seventh. The senior right-hander, who was named NAIA All-American honorable mention earlier in the day, struck out the first two hitters he faced and eventually earned his seventh save of the season.

The Warriors added a run to make it 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh when Brent Wyatt led off the inning with a single. After two outs, Ward and Halton hit consecutive singles, the latter driving in a run. A walk loaded the bases, but Lee reliever Dallas Sims got out of the jam with an inning-ending ground out back to the mound.

Mace's scoreless streak ended at 25 innings when Lee picked up an unearned run in the top of the eighth. An error led to an RBI single by pinch-hitter Brian Landru.

The Warriors, however, responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning to put the game away, again with some help from Lee. Benton drew a one-out walk, Wyatt was hit by a pitch, and Josh Ashenbrenner singled to load the bases. Pablo Lopez, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, then came into pitch and got Greene to bounce back to him. Lopez, however, seemed to be unaware there was only one out and flipped the ball over to first, instead of either trying for a double play or the force out at home. That mental mistake allowed a run to score. Ward then made Lee pay with a two-run double for the final score.

Lee did tie a Series record by using seven pitchers in the contest, including five who didn't pitch more than one-third of an inning.

Jeremy Hutslar had three hits for Lee, while Guy added two. The rest of the Lee lineup combined for just two hits.