NAIA Top 25 and Recap for April 27th

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Results of the NAIA Coaches’ Poll for April 27, 2010, and Boyd Nation’s Iterative Strength Rating. (poll below)

#1 Lewis-Clark State swept four games games against Concordia-Portland, and only one of the games was close. Tyler Lichty, Stephen Foster, Cody Fassold, and Tyler Knigge got the wins. Although Concordia went home without a win, they got a triple play in the fourth game. With the bases loaded, Brian Burke hit a one-hop ground ball to 3B John Houts. Houts stepped on the bag for one out, then threw to 1B Brady Miletich for the second out. Miletic then threw to C Tommy Whalen for the third out; the baserunner at third, Jason Hague, had headed for the dugout, apparently thinking that Burke’s ball was caught on the fly, and was ruled out for being outside the base path. Upcoming: Oregon Tech May 1-2, Division III George Fox May 4-5, webcast by KOZE.

#2 Cumberland swept a double-header against Martin Methodist, 6-4 and 11-1, and a scheduled third game was cancelled due to inclement weather. C Max Kautz hit a three-run home run in the first game, and another one in the second. Shawn Schaefer struck out ten in the first game. This was his seventh complete game of the season. His record is 10-0, 1.66 ERA, with 73 strikeouts, and he is tied with eight other players, including Scott Swinson of #4 Lee, Chad Blauer of #10 Point Loma Nazarene, Brandt Hinton of #11 Belhaven, David Harden of #13 Southern Polytechnic, Bruce Ammende of #21 York, and Ian Pick of #23 Campbellsville for most wins in the NAIA. In the second game, Aaron Wilkerson struck out nine of the 18 batters he faced (the game was shortened to five innings by the mercy rule), and his record is 8-1, 2.08 ERA. The Bulldogs have a two-game lead over #20 Union U. (TN) in the TranSouth Athletic Conference. Upcoming: Milligan April 28, Lyon March 1-2. Audio and video webcasts are available; click here for the schedule.

Lewis-Clark State received all 23 first-place votes.

#3 British Columbia swept four games against Oregon Tech, but three of the games were decided by one run, and in the fourth game, they scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh, capped by a walk-off two-RBI double by SS Sammie Starr, to win 7-6. Brandon Kaye, Sheldon McDonald, Danny Britton-Foster, and Taylor King got the wins, and Mark Hardy got two saves, one of them by getting the last two outs with two pitches. Britton-Foster is 5-0, and leads the team with a 1.82 ERA. The Thunderbirds continue to lead the NAIA with a .979 fielding percentage. They visit #17 College of Idaho May 1-2, and need one win to clinch first place in the North Division of NAIA West, and host the NAIA West tournament. The series will be webcast by Penn Atlantic.

#4 Lee swept three games against Auburn-Montgomery, including a 3-0 shutout pitched by Scott Swinson, and a 12-11 (8 innings, scheduled 7) win that took six pitchers to finish; the Flames got a double play in the top of the extra inning, and the winning run was walked in. Lee won the SSAC pennant. Upcoming: Emmanuel in first round of SSAC tournament April 29, webcast by Stretch Internet.

#5 Cal Baptist won three of four against #16 Vanguard. Taylor Siemens, Jesse Arreola, and Kolby Moore got the wins, but Drew Madrigal gave up six run runs on ten hits in five innings in a 16-3 loss. 3B William Hamilton hit a home run and batted in five runs for Vanguard in that one, and Robert Purpura got the win. Arreola was named Golden State Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week. It was his first start since Feb. 5, and he went eight innings, allowed one run on six hits, struck out six, and didn’t walk a batter. The Lancers hold a four-game lead over #10 Point Loma Nazarene in the GSAC standings; the Lancers and Sea Lions meet for single games in San Diego April 28 and 29, and finish the regular season with a double-header in Riverside on April 30. Live video is available for the April 30 games from nmnathletics.com for a $9.95 fee. The April 28-29 games will be webcast by KPLR.

Players, coaches, and fans of #6 Lubbock Christian can now start thinking “Repeat National Champions”. The Chaparrals swept three games against #8 Oklahoma City; two of them were mercy-ruled, and the third one was 11-5. 1B Marc Gomez hit two grand slams during the series (three home runs total), two doubles, had 13 RBI, and scored seven runs. 3B Ross Blondin also hit three home runs during the series, one of them a grand slam, and batted in 11 runs. The sweep moved the Chaparrals into first place by ½ game in the Sooner Athletic Conference. Upcoming: at Southern Nazarene April 30-May 1; Audio and video webcasts available from Stretch Internet.

#7 Bellevue won three of four against #21 York, winning the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference pennant. One of the wins was a one-hit complete game shutout pitched by Maxx Catapano. Catapano was recognized as the NAIA National Pitcher of the Week. He is 5-1, 2.98 ERA. Jon Reed leads the Bruins in hitting with a .492 average. Upcoming: at William Penn April 30-May 1, Culver-Stockton May 1.

#8 Oklahoma City was swept by #6 Lubbock Christian. Upcoming: Wayland Baptist April 30-May 1.

#9 Embry-Riddle got a big 4-3 win over Florida Southern, ranked #9 in Division II. Ryan Vigue and Corey Bevis combined to hold the Moccasins to six hits, didn’t allow a runner past second base after the second inning, and C Austin Goolsby hit a two-RBI double for the winning run. The Eagles then swept three not-close games against Northwood (FL), and won their third straight Sun Conference pennant. Upcoming: Division II Flagler April 28.

#10 Point Loma Nazarene won three of four against Westmont. One of the wins was a 4-0 shutout by Steve Winnick, with Kenny Houser and Maurice Wilhelm pitching the bottom of the ninth. The Sea Lions need to sweep four games against #5 Cal Baptist to repeat as GSAC pennant-winners.