2007 NAIA World Series

Posted Wednesday, May 28
Wherein the Trib Sports staff squeezes the NAIA World Series to see what comes out.

> LEE — 4 stars (out of 5)

The Flames are feeling it, and they’re in an enviable position. Only an odd sequence of events would keep them out of the championship round.

> LEWIS-CLARK STATE 4 stars

The Warriors suddenly look … well, mortal. But they’ve won plenty of titles with one loss.

> OKLAHOMA CITY — 4 stars

The Stars rebounded nicely Tuesday. If they continue to hit consistently, they’ll be a tough out for any opponent.

> SPRING ARBOR — 4 stars

No one expected the Cougars to get this far, so the pressure is off today. Still, payback against L-C would be sweet.

Tribune/Kyle Mills
Lee’s Chris Warters lifts his helmet in celebration after hitting a two-run homer in the seventh inning off Lewis-Clark State reliever Matt Stabelfeld. That made it 5-2 Flames, a score that would stand up in Game 15 of the Series Tuesday night.

Lee sidetracks Warriors’ push for third straight NAIA
crown, prevailing 5-2 on strength of combined five-hitter

By JIM BROWITT
of the Tribune

The pace was monotonous, almost drowsy, but it had to be a temporary thing. Teams like Lee and Lewis-Clark State don’t offensively dawdle, and certainly not for nine innings.

Yet the rhythm of Game 15, an NAIA World Series contest frequently though somewhat inaccurately referred to as the winners-bracket semifinal, never picked up speed. The scoring bursts that did interrupt an unusually tranquil evening at Harris Field were few in number and small in volume.

And they mostly came from Lee.

The top-seeded Flames enjoyed the advantage in an unanticipated pitchers’ duel, beating third-seeded L-C 5-2 in Tuesday’s pairing of the tournament’s last unbeaten teams.

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Tribune/Steve Hanks
Embry-Riddle third baseman Colin Gray is unable to get the tag down as OCU’s Kirk Walker advances to third on Brent Weaver’s flyout in the seventh.

By MATT BANEY
OF THE TRIBUNE

If Oklahoma City is going to make its way from the losers’ bracket to a national championship, it will probably be a long, grinding slog.

And the Stars started the process appropriately enough, notching a workmanlike victory over scrappy Embry-Riddle on Tuesday afternoon.

OCU pounded 16 hits — all but three of which were singles — and gradually eased to an 11-6 win. Game 14 of the NAIA World Series drew 610 fans to Harris Field.

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Tribune/Kyle Mills
Lewis-Clark State’s Mike Rivera is greeted at home by Paul Martin after belting a solo home run in the 12th inning against Oklahoma CIty.

In back-and-forth contest, Mike Rivera’s homer in the 12th
inning leads to Warrior outburst and a 9-5 victory over OCU

By JIM BROWITT
of the Tribune

It was inevitable - someone was going to change the game’s complexion, if not end it outright, by driving a ball out of Harris Field. Oklahoma City lofted several dangerous-looking shots, none of which quite got there.

Then a late-inning defensive replacement made it happen for Lewis-Clark State.

Mike Rivera tagged the fourth pitch of the 12th inning for his second home run of the year, initiating a game-breaking surge that presented the Warriors with a 9-5 victory over Oklahoma City on Monday evening, in a game watched by 5,160 fans, the sixth-largest NAIA World Series crowd in Lewiston history.

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Tribune/Steve Hanks
Union’s David Fairbanks slams into the outfield fence as he leaps for a fly ball off the bat of Lee’s Chris Warters. The ball cleared the left-center field fence for the two-run home run in the eighth inning of Game 11 Monday, and the Flames went on to beat the Bulldogs 14-8.

Lee falls behind 5-0 before getting homer-happy
and putting 14-8 hurting on Series upstart Union

By JOSH WRIGHT
of the Tribune

As his home run blazed a ferocious path over the left-center fence, Brian Bistagne began what’s become a personal ritual. He took off for first base in an all-out sprint, and by the time he crossed second you might have thought he was fleeing from a grizzly in the wilderness.

“It’s not really my style to be lackadaisical,” the Lee shortstop explained. “I was trying to set a tone out there, you know.”

Apparently, his teammates had the same objective.

Bistagne sandwiched his solo blast in between two other homers in what swelled into an epic third-inning barrage, helping the Flames take down Union 14-8 on Monday. The Tennessee club charged back from a five-run deficit to claim the winners-bracket showdown in the NAIA World Series.

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Tribune/Kyle Mills
Embry-Riddle catcher Eric Ogden has both the ball and a bead on Bellevue’s Andy Brown as Brown prepares to slide head first into the plate. Bellevue’s Jerry Zachery is giving his teammate signals. Brown was thrown out trying to score from second on a single by Brandon Sears in the second inning.

ROBERT, STEELE MAKE AMENDS FOR THEIR EARLY
SERIES SCUFFLES AS ERAU STIFLES BELLEVUE

By MATT BANEY
OF THE TRIBUNE

Apparently, the Embry-Riddle Eagles need to be in some sort of peril before they can compose their best baseball.

They’ve often slumbered through first innings this season, and they started the NAIA World Series with a pratfall of monumental proportions. Yet they are now one of the last six teams in the country.

ERAU registered its second consecutive elimination victory, charging to a 6-1 triumph over Bellevue on Monday afternoon. A crowd of 1,445 gathered at Harris Field for Game 10.

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Tribune/Steve Hanks

Spring Arbor’s bench greets Jim Baker after his two-run homer in the seventh broke a 6-6 tie.

LATE-INNING HOMER GIVES CLUB FROM MICHIGAN ENOUGH
MO TO NOTCH RAUCOUS 11-10 WIN OVER AZUSA PACIFIC

By MATT BREACH
OF THE TRIBUNE

Jim Baker has endured his share of struggles. But never this extreme, and certainly not with so much at stake.

That’s why Monday’s late-inning home run was such a relief. But the slump-busting bomb was also well timed, giving a much-needed jolt to a club that was beginning to unravel.

Spring Arbor converted the boost of momentum into an 11-10 win over Azusa Pacific in Game 9 of the NAIA World Series. The elimination contest was played at Harris Field in front of 960 fans.

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Tribune photo/Steve Hanks

By JIM BROWITT
of the Tribune

Paul Svagdis has developed an unshakable confidence in his bullpen. Rare is the game when the Azusa Pacific coach doesn’t go to it at least once.

Saturday morning just happened to be one of those occasions.

With his ballclub in a win-or-else situation, Svagdis turned things over to Jonny Bravo, and the junior left-hander didn’t relinquish control. He responded with his first complete game of the spring, and the Cougars kept their season alive by beating Ohio Dominican 9-2 in an NAIA World Series elimination contest.

Bravo logged what he figured was easily the most protracted outing his career, a 145-pitch effort that encompassed eight hits, two walks and 11 strikeouts.