2007 NAIA World Series

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.

The Eagles opened the tournament with a ghastly 19-0 loss to Lewis-Clark State on Friday. Pitcher Jordan Roberts started that game, but was lifted after just two-thirds of an inning and 41 pitches.

Roberts returned to the mound Monday and earned a heaping slice of redemption. The left-handed senior went the distance, limiting Bellevue to five hits and two walks while striking out seven.

Josh Northrup, the Bruins’ No. 3 hitter, cracked a solo homer off Roberts in the first inning. But over the last eight frames, the ERAU ace blanked the Nebraska club.

“We don’t have any tomorrows, so we’ve got to come in with the mind set that we’re going to win,” said Roberts, who improved to a team-best 11-3. “I’ve got to pump strikes and just compete.”

The Eagles (44-17) made their move offensively with a two-out rally in the third. And the big blow came from little Matt Steele.

The second baseman/leadoff hitter — who is listed at 5-foot-4 but appears to be a few inches shorter — went hitless in the Eagles’ first two games. But he slapped a single to left in the third, and Joel Blomberg hustled from second to score.

“Any one of the guys up and down the lineup could have come up with that hit,” said Steele, a junior from Warrenton, Va. “I was just fortunate enough to be up at that time.”

“I never would have thought in the fall that he would do anything offensively,” ERAU coach Randy Stegall said of Steele. “I thought he’d be sort of a rah-rah cheer guy. But he’s worked his way in, worked hard and took the mentality that he takes advantage of every opportunity.”

The next batter, A.J. Tea, gave the Florida aeronautics school the lead for good. His high drive toward center caught a favorable breeze and surprisingly cleared the fence for a two-run homer.

Tea, who scampered to third thinking he might get a triple, was able to leisurely trot home from there.
“I just threw my hands at it, trying to get it,” said the junior from Spanaway, Wash. “But I ended up getting under it a little bit more and it just went.”

The Eagles led 4-1 after the third, then added two breathing-room scores in the eighth on RBI singles by Eric Ogden and Branden Roper-Hubber.

As for the Bruins, their best scoring chance after Northrup’s first-inning homer came in the second. Brandon Sears singled, and Andy Brown tried to score from second.

But the relay throw from Tea, ERAU’s left fielder, got home well before Brown. Ogden, the catcher, did have to lean to his right to reel in the toss, but dove in front of the plate and stopped Brown’s dash.
Bellevue ends the season with a 52-17 mark. After pounding Ohio Dominican 15-3 on Friday, the Bruins suffered two losses. They managed just a solo homer in both setbacks.

As for the Eagles, they hope to keep their unexpected turnaround going with another do-or-die victory today.

“After Friday night, I know everybody thought we weren’t very good,” Stegall said. “But we’re a lot better team than what we showed. Like I said at the banquet, we’re not the greatest team here — there’s no question about it. But we’ve got a lot of heart.”