LCU, Point Loma were class of the field, and Chaps took control at right time
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2009 NAIA World Series
May 22 - May 29, 2009 - Harris Field, Lewiston
Chaparrals complete their quest for atonement with 11-8 victory over Point Loma
of the Tribune
Vindication hasn’t merely been on the Chaparrals’ minds this week, it has weighed on them since last spring. Whether or not they’ll admit it, their stunning postseason collapse in 2008 has stuck with them.
And Tuesday’s loss to Point Loma Nazarene had the ripped-off bandage effect.
Ultimately, that attention-getting sting was just what Lubbock Christian needed.
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A tale of two teams
By MATT BANEY
Of the Tribune
Back in 1983, two programs looking for their first NAIA World Series championship, Lewis-Clark State and Lubbock Christian, met in the tournament’s final round. The last game, played in front of a partisan crowd, came down to the final at-bat.
And the Chaparrals prevailed.
Most of you are aware of what transpired over the next quarter-century. LCSC pried hosting duties for the Series away from Lubbock, Texas, and proceeded to notch 16 national titles and become the unquestioned superpower in NAIA baseball.
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Out of the Box
For the Tribune
Numerical nuggets from the Czar of Series Statistics:
- The five runs scored by Lubbock Christian in the first inning were the most runs scored by any team in a title game’s leadoff frame.
- The Chaps become the third team to win two NAIA championships. They join Lipscomb (Tenn.) and Linfield (Ore.) with two titles each. It is the longest gap between championships, 26 years.
- The second-place finish for Point Loma is its best ever. The Sea Lions placed fourth in 1993, and third in 2004.
- The 11 runs scored by LCU were the most scored in a title game since 2002 when Lewis-Clark State defeated Oklahoma City 12-8.
- The eight runs scored by Point Loma was the second-highest run total for a losing team in a title game.
- The 17 hits by the Chaps were the most in a title game since L-C bashed 18 in 1996. The combined 30 hits by both teams is the second highest, behind the 34 rung up in 1958 by San Diego State and Southwestern Oklahoma.
Memorable B-day for Stramp
of the Tribune
It was the perfect birthday present for Will Stramp.
The left fielder’s heroics helped Lubbock Christian grab an 11-8 victory over Point Loma in the title game of the NAIA World Series on Friday night at Harris Field. It just so happened to come on Stamp’s 23rd birthday.
Stramp batted .429 with three home runs and 10 RBI, and was named MVP of the Series.
In the third inning Friday, after Point Loma had stormed back from a 5-0 deficit to tie the game, Stramp cracked the game’s decisive hit. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior from Keller, Texas slammed a 2-2 pitch from the Sea Lions’ Brandon Dixon over the left-field wall, lifting the Chaps to an 8-5 lead. They never relinquished the edge.
Thus completed a season in which Stramp batted .498 with 27 homers.
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Sea Lions’ cool vibe deserts them in end
of the Tribune
For 35 innings sandwiched in six days, Point Loma Nazarene’s presence on the mound and sturdiness in the field was a potent brew. The Sea Lions were skilled and heady, yes, but they also had an unmistakable vibe that played out in less tangible ways.
Somewhere along the way, that mojo vanished. Or maybe to put it more accurately, Lubbock Christian squashed it.
The Chaparrals on Friday night yanked away a national title that appeared so close for Point Loma by registering their second straight victory in the NAIA World Series championship round. They put a capper on the 10-team tournament by hashing out an 11-8 win at Harris Field.
It was a hard-to-swallow finale for the Sea Lions, who marched within one win of the national crown but couldn’t muster a repeat performance of their 2-1 conquest of LCU on Tuesday. After a magnificent outing from Brandon Dixon to hold back the nation’s top-ranked team, the pitching staff for San Diego club lost a bit of its luster.
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The Juice
> PITCHING
Neither staff has been overly taxed during the Series, but the Sea Lions will probably bring back Chris Honer, who flummoxed Oklahoma City on Memorial Day. Can he stifle another Sooner Athletic Conference powerhouse? EDGE: Sea Lions
> HITTING
Point Loma looked lifeless at the plate Thursday night. The Chaps’ hitting lull Tuesday now seems like ancient history. EDGE: Chaps
> INTANGIBLES
These teams split their first two meetings in the Series, so is it Point Loma’s turn tonight? Maybe, but the Sea Lions will have to overcome Lubbock Christian’s momentum and confidence. EDGE: Chaps
Out of the Box
of the Tribune
Numerical nuggets from the Czar of Series Statistics:
- The Series will go the maximum 19 games for the 15th time in 53 years. It’s also only the sixth time the two remaining teams will have played each other three times. In 1983 Lubbock Christian fell to Lewis-Clark State in their first meeting, then defeated the Warriors two straight times to take its only title.
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Lubbock Christian makes grab for momentum with 5-1 victory over Sea Lions, creating second title game
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Let’s move on to the true title game, shall we
By MATT BANEY
of the Tribune
After spending yet another lovely May evening at Harris Field, I arrived at two conclusions.
First, the sight of a few thousand people — men, women, grandmas, infants — walking around with mini bats in their hands is oddly menacing.
Second, inviting 10 teams to a baseball tournament leads to some unusual situations.
When Lubbock Christian took the field Thursday, it was playing for its baseball life. The Chaps knew that if they didn’t win, they’d be peeling off their uniforms for the last time in 2009.
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Garcia chats with Mom, then shuts down Sea Lions
OF THE TRIBUNE
With his club’s national title hopes on the line, and before the most important start of his career, Rene Garcia turned to the calming influence in his life.
“I called my mom before the game,” the Lubbock Christian pitcher said, “and told her I loved her.”
Then, with his nerves settled, he went out and produced a gem.
Garcia went the distance on the mound, stifling Point Loma Nazarene and propelling Lubbock Christian to a 5-1 triumph in Game 18 of the NAIA World Series on Thursday night.
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Sea Lions aim to get groove back tonight
OF THE TRIBUNE
The Point Loma Nazarene Sea Lions didn’t play their game Thursday night.
And coach Joe Schaefer let them know it, huddling up the team before they could return to the dugout following the Sea Lions’ 5-1 loss to Lubbock Christian at Harris Field.
‘“I told them that obviously that wasn’t our game and it was a little frustrating and embarrassing that in a championship game, that that’s how we show up and play,” he said. “But the bottom line is we are still just one win away from a national championship and every single one of these guys needs to believe it.
“We can’t let any doubt creep in. We have to stick together and show up tomorrow ready to play.”
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The Juice
POINT LOMA
> Pitching: 4½
With their ace Bovich in what seems like tip-top shape, the Sea Lions are sitting pretty.
> Hitting: 4
PLNU’s lineup is sizzling, and the big hits are coming from some unlikely sources.
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Trying to pick a winner? Let the nicknames guide you
COMMENTARY
Of the Tribune
So the NAIA World Series is down to its final two teams — neither of which sits atop a pile of championship rings on Normal Hill — and you don’t know which one to pull for.
Here is my advice: You simply need to study these teams’ nicknames, and you’ll have an answer.
I know that sounds a little silly. But in this championship showdown, the nicknames are remarkably informative.
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Point Loma Nazarene withstands a variety of tight situations, ousting Lee 8-6 en route to the title round
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Point Loma power surge continues
Sea Lions flex their muscles, bashing five homers in victory over Flames
OF THE TRIBUNE
Nestled atop the rocky cliffs of the San Diego shoreline, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Point Loma Nazarene has perhaps the most picturesque ballpark in the country.
With the wind blowing in off the water, though, the facility is not very conducive to home runs.
But that doesn’t mean the Sea Lions can’t hit balls out of the park. They certainly made that apparent Wednesday night.
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Out of the Box
For the Tribune
Numerical nuggets from the Czar of Series Statistics:
- An ignoble exit for the Stars: In Game 16, Oklahoma City was beaten 14-4 by Lubbock Christian, the most runs allowed by the Stars in 51 Series games.
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Top seed takes all the suspense out of matchup with OCU in 14-4 romp
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Weaver comes up short in quest for HR record
of the Tribune
It just wasn’t Brent Weaver’s week.
The Oklahoma City slugger brought 37 home runs to the NAIA World Series, one shy of the NAIA single-season record set by Lewis-Clark State’s Beau Mills in 2007.
And that’s where he remained. With Weaver struggling, the powerful Stars collapsed offensively and were eliminated with a 14-4 loss to Lubbock Christian on Wednesday afternoon.
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The Juice
> Lee: 3½
The Flames’ pitching staff is deep and should be fresh for a title run. They just need to find a bit more verve on offense.
> Lubbock: 4
The Chaps were very good in their own right Tuesday, so they’ve got to be hurting. But the pain will likely have turned into a rallying cry by 3 p.m.
> PLNU: 5
You’d be hard-pressed to find a team in Lewiston Series history that played better than the Sea Lions have so far. The only question is, can they maintain this impeccable pace?
> OCU: 3½
The Stars are a bit battered, but they showed grittiness Tuesday. If their hitting comes around, look out.
Out of the Box
For the Tribune
Numerical nuggets from the Czar of Series Statistics:
- Even though Lubbock Christian and Oklahoma City have a combined 19 appearances and 42 victories in Series play, they meet for the first time in this tourney today. They each have one title.
- Point Loma’s Brandon Dixon and LCU’s R.L. Eisenbach each threw complete games in Game 15. The last time both teams had pitchers go the distance was in 2004. L-C’s Carlos Fisher and Mount Vernon’s Adam Rowe each pitched nine innings in a 2-0 Warrior victory.
- Point Loma’s pitchers have allowed only four runs (two earned) in three games and have an ERA of 0.69. The record for fewest runs allowed in a Series is five by two teams, the last being Georgia Southern in 1964. The lowest ERA by one a team in the Series is 0.80, set by Lewis-Clark State in 1996.
Point Loma rides Dixon’s complete-game gem to 2-1 win over Chaps, becomes Series only remaining unbeaten
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Putout from outfield puts stellar defense in spotlight
of the Tribune
They first picked up on the tendency on Saturday, as Lubbock Christian skillfully dissected Lee. Point Loma Nazarene players and coaches were in the bleachers, relishing a day off, when a theme kept reappearing on the base paths.
The Chaparrals that night piled up a mountain of hits — 12 in all — and nearly every time “they were aggressive on the bases,” said Kaohi Downing, a Point Loma senior.
“They were rounding the bases hard.”
Four days later, with an unblemished NAIA World Series’ record on the line, Downing had LCU’s penchant for risk-taking in mind. And, boy, did that bit of scouting pay off in spades.
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Oklahoma City misses scoring chances and loses its center fielder to broken leg, but beats Southern Poly with late four-run outburst
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HR from Stars’ No. 9 hitter sparks game-winning rally
OF THE TRIBUNE
Kirk Walker normally isn’t known as a long-ball threat on the power-heavy Oklahoma City Stars.
The Stars have hit an NAIA-record 161 home runs this season, eclipsing their own record of 147 set in 2008.
Prior to Tuesday, Walker hit a mere seven of those home runs, making his game-winning three-run blast in the 10th inning versus Southern Polytechnic all the more surprising.
“I’m not a power guy so I know if I just get on base, someone else will probably get the job done,” he said after the Stars’ 8-4 win. “That’s usually what I do. I’m normally like the second leadoff guy.”
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