NAIA West Baseball Grouping Team LCSC To Play For National Championship
LEWISTON, Idaho – (Box Score) No. 4 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) advances to its third-straight championship final and 24th in program history, as the Warriors defeat No. 2 Faulkner (Ala.), 10-8, in a slugfest Thursday night at the 2015 Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series.
LCSC competes in the NAIA West baseball grouping that included British Columbia, College of Idaho, Concordia, Corban, Oregon Tech, Simpson and Menlo. The grouping is adminstered by the Cascade Conference.
Trailing 8-7 in a back-and-forth ballgame entering the bottom of the seventh, the Warriors’ Max Whitt drilled his second home run of the World Series knot the game at 8-8.
Two hit batters and a walk loaded the bases and set the table for pinch hitter Cameron Pongs. The senior infielder, who was only 1-for-8 at the event entering the at-bat, took full advantage of the situation, rocketing a single to right field under the outstretched glove of the diving Faulkner second baseman. Robert Smith and Andris Rizquez scored on the play to set the final total.
“He (Pongs) came up with a gutty effort,” said Lewis-Clark State head coach Jeremiah Robbins. “He didn’t play yesterday and I was working with him and talking with him throughout the game, and he came up big. Cam is a senior and he wants it just as much as anybody else on this club.”
Lewis-Clark State advances to play No. 9 St. Thomas (Fla.) Friday at 6:35 p.m. PDT. The Warriors are seeking a 17th national title, while the Bobcats are looking for their first. Tomorrow night will mark the first meeting between the two clubs at the 59th annual event and second all-time at the World Series.
“That’s Warrior baseball,” Robbins said. “Ty was a catalyst for us again and he believes in himself and believes in his teammates. That’s the thing about this club: They put in the work and they just grind.”
For the second night in a row, Beau Kerns and Ty Jackson played a key role in the victory for Lewis-Clark State. Jackson led the offense with a 3-for-5 effort that included two runs scored and three RBI.
Kerns (12-1) threw seven innings of relief for the Warriors. The Lewiston, Idaho, native allowed three runs (two earned) and scattered eight hits, while striking out six en route to his 12th win on the year.
“That’s just standard Beau Kerns,” Robbins said. “That kid is a competitor and he showed why he’s going to be successful in whatever he chooses to do in life.”
Robert Llera, who had struggled offensively throughout most of the championship, lit the scoreboard for Faulkner in the first inning with an RBI single to right field. Chris Madera scored on the play. Greg Howard put the Eagles up 2-0 on a wild pitch that scooted away from the Warriors’ catcher.
Madera’s hot hitting continued in the second inning when he lifted another single to left field, scoring Junior Santos from third to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead. Santos, who registered on a single of his own, reached third base on back-to-back wild pitches by Lewis-Clark State starting pitcher Dakota Cortese.
Cortese was roughed up in his first start at the World Series – only his second start of the season. The junior left-hander allowed three runs and six hits in 1.2 innings. Cortese had never previously allowed more than four hits in an appearance.
The pitching change had no ill effect on the Faulkner offense, as Llera doubled past the diving Warriors’ centerfielder to score two and extend the Eagles’ lead to 5-0 after only two innings.
Lewis-Clark State’s bats came alive in the third, as the Warriors tallied four runs to cut the Faulkner lead to 5-4. Seth Brown opened the scoring in the inning with an RBI single – his 80th RBI of the season – through the hole at second base. One pitch later, Jackson – yesterday’s winning pitcher for the Warriors – doubled to deep left to score another.
A walk of Whitt loaded the bases for the Warriors. The base on balls was Faulkner start Jack Charleston’s first in 11 innings at the World Series. Julian Ramon joined the hit parade with a double to deep left to plate the last two Lewis-Clark State runners of the rally.
The offensive momentum quickly swung back to Faulkner when Cody Sos lifted his 10th home run of the year and second at the World Series to the deepest part of the ball park – 6-4 Faulkner.
An infield single and stolen base by Madera again led to another Faulkner run in the fourth. He reached the dish when the Warriors’ third baseman threw the ball away on a ground ball by Llera.
The back-and-forth continued, as Lewis-Clark State tied the game 7-7 in the bottom of the fourth. Jackson’s 2-run home run highlighted the offense in the inning for the Warriors.
Randy Joung put Faulkner back on top, 8-7, with one swing of the bat, opening the seventh frame with a solo home run.
Faulkner’s pitching staff, which entered the night ranked among the top 10 nationally in earned run average, strikeouts and opponent batting average, struggled with control throughout the game. The Eagles walked seven batters, while hitting six en route to 13 free bases for Lewis-Clark State hitters.
Eagles’ relief pitcher Patrick McGrady took the loss to end the season at 0-1.
Madera was once again the sparkplug for the Faulkner offense. The Southern States Athletic Conference Player of the Year finished the game 3-fo-5 with three runs scored and one RBI. For the World Series, Madera was 12-for-23 (.522) and stole a championship-best five bases.
Faulkner ends the year with a 51-15 record and 9-6 all-time at the World Series.
The Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series is a 10-team, double-elimination event hosted by Lewis-Clark State (Idaho). For more information on the 59th annual event, click HERE.