Chris Daniels
Results from first day of the first-ever NAIA sectional tournaments, officially the Baseball National Championship Opening Round, for May 12:
At Lubbock, TX:
#1 Lubbock Christian picked up where they left off in the regular season, defeating William Jewell 28-2. The Chaparrals scored seven runs in the second inning, and 18 runs in the eighth inning. William Jewell used six pitchers.
#18 Wayland Baptist defeated Northwood (TX) 8-6.
At Oklahoma City, OK:
#2 Oklahoma City defeated Texas Wesleyan 6-2. Garrett Parker pitched a complete game for the Stars, allowed one earned run on six hits, struck out 10. Steve Vitale was 2-3 with a triple and three RBI.
#19 LSU-Shreveport defeated #22 Southern Nazarene 8-5; Quinton Shamsabady hit a three-run home run for the Pilots.
At Azusa, CA:
#3 Point Loma Nazarene defeated Azusa Pacific 8-1. Kurt Steinhauer had a big night for the Sea Lions; 3-5 with two home runs, three RBI.
#12 British Columbia defeated #20 Biola 8-6. The difference was a two-run home run by pinch-hitter Mitch Grossell in the eighth inning.
At Cleveland, TN:
Belhaven scored three runs in the top of the ninth to defeat #9 Tennessee Wesleyan 9-7 and continue their string of upsets.
#10 Lee defeated Spring Arbor 8-3.
Belhaven survived a scare from Indiana Tech to win 5-4. The Blazers led 4-1 going into the ninth. Indiana Tech scored three runs in the top of the ninth to tie it, and Brian McCormick hit an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to win it.
At Mount Berry, GA:
#4 Berry defeated Taylor 12-0. Chris Rearick pitch a complete game four-hit shoutout for the Vikings, Andrew Starr had three RBI.
#24 Saint Xavier defeated #17 Malone 9-3. Kyle Zilis went eight innings for Saint Xavier, allowed five hits, struck out 11.
Taylor, of Upland, IN, defeated The Master’s 4-3; Muchael Kraynak hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth for the winning run. He then moved from SS to the mound to collect a save. Taylor Kinzer went the first eight innings for Taylor, allowed five hits, got the win.
At Daytona Beach, FL:
#6 Embry-Riddle defeated Auburn-Montgomery 8-4. Matt Steele was 3-4 with two RBI for the Eagles.
#14 Union (KY) scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth on a two-RBI single by Chris Daniels to win it 2-1. Daniels won his own ball game; he took over on the mound in the sixth inning, and and allowed only one hit.
Auburn-Montgomery defeated Union (TN) 2-1. Jacob Salter hit an RBI double in the third inning to win it for the Senators. Daniel Holder pitched a complete game for the win.
At Sioux City, IA:
#11 Bellevue defeated Jamestown 5-3; the winning run came on a solo home run in the eighth by Jerrod White.
#16 Madonna upset #13 Fresno Pacific 12-11 (12 innings), and the Crusaders out-hit the Sunbirds 25-16. Kevin Zerbo hit a home run in the top of the 12th to win it; Zerbo was 3-7 with two RBI for the game.
Jamestown defeated Nebraska Wesleyan 7-6 (11 innings). The Jimmies out-hit Nebraska Wesleyan 11-4, but they needed RBI’s from Ben Cairns and Jordan Dusanji in the bottom of the 11th to win it after Nebraska Wesleyan scored a run in the top of the 11th.
At Hattiesburg, MS:
#5 Southern Polytechnic vs. Cumberland was rained out. The game has been rescheduled for Wednesday morning.
#22 Savannah College of Art and Design defeated #21 William Carey 10-6. Mike Hines went 3-5 with five RBI, a double, and a home run for the Bees.
At Saint Charles, MO:
#8 Campbellsville defeated William Penn 5-2. Marc Wilson got the win for the Tigers, going 7 1/3 innings, allowed four hits, and one earned run.
