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Results of the NAIA Coaches’ Poll for March 17, 2009, and Boyd Nation’s Iterative Strength Rating. Comments below:

RANK	PREVIOUS RANK	ISR	SCHOOL	TOTAL POINTS
1	1	2	Oklahoma City	622
2	2	8	Lee	598
3	3	4	Point Loma Nazarene	569
4	4		Spring Arbor	543
5	9	5	Lubbock Christian	529
6	10	6	LSU-Shreveport	524
7	8	10	Azusa Pacific	495
8	5	26	Union (KY)	486
9	11	1	Southern Polytechnic	479
10	7	15	Lewis-Clark State	397
11	13	30	Embry-Riddle	391
12	RV	3	Campbellsville	387
13	6	33	Bellevue	362
14	24	7	British Columbia	357
15	19	11	The Master’s	309
16	14	48	Texas Wesleyan	293
17	RV	23	Southern Nazarene	276
18	RV	13	Madonna	225
19	RV	14	Northwood (FL)	209
20	23	28	Montreat	201
21	RV	16	Berry	192
22	RV	9	Lindenwood	160
23	12	17	Fresno Pacific	150
T24	25	44	Park	129
T24	NR		Robert Morris	129
		12	Auburn-Montgomery
		18	Wayland Baptist
		19	King
		20	William Penn
		21	Oklahoma Baptist
		22	William Carey
		24	Trevecca Nazarene
		25	Tennessee Wesleyan

Oklahoma City received all 22 first-place votes. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Azusa Pacific, Biola, Cal Baptist, College of Idaho, Lee, Lewis-Clark State, LSU-Shreveport, Oklahoma City, Point Loma Nazarene, Southern Nazarene, Southern Polytechnic, Spring Arbor, Tennessee Wesleyan, Texas Wesleyan, The Master's, Trevecca Nazarene, U. of the Cumberlands, Union, Wayland Baptist

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#1 Oklahoma City swept a three-game series against Rogers State, and defeated Calumet. The Stars are now 22-1, but they get their first serious challenge of the season with a series at #17 Wayland Baptist March 15-16.

#2 Lee swept Emmanuel, but trailed Trevecca Nazarene 8-6 after 6 1/2 innings. The Flames closed to 8-7 in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single by Junior Rodriguez. The winning run came in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single by Julian Alvarez. The Flames then lost their second game of the season while splitting a double-header with Milligan (Johnson City, TN). The loss was 2-1, and the winning run was scored when Spencer Street was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

The Flames are now 23-2. They visit Faulkner March 13-14, and Trevecca Nazarene March 17. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Azusa Pacific, Bellevue, British Columbia, Cal Baptist, Cal State San Marcos, College of Idaho, Cumberland, Embry-Riddle, Fresno Pacific, Lee, Lewis-Clark State, LSU-Shreveport, Lubbock Christian, Oklahoma City, Park, Point Loma Nazarene, The Master's, Trevecca Nazarene, U. of the Cumberlands, Union, Wayland Baptist

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#1 Oklahoma City lost their first game of the Season on March 2, but it took 13 innings to do it. The loss was 4-3 to Iowa Wesleyan, who is 9-6. Starter Jorge Martinez pitched ten innings for Iowa Wesleyan, allowed 13 hits, but only three runs. Hector Acevedo held the Stars to two hits over the remaining three innings. Edwin Jimenez hit a sacrifice fly to bring in the winning run.

The Stars are now 18-1. They play a Rogers State team that is 10-6 away-and-home March 5 and 7.

#2 Lee is 18-1, but they trailed going into the bottom of the ninth at Tennessee Temple on March 3. The Flames ended up winning 10-6 in ten innings. Elvis Sosa is hitting .508 with eight home runs for the Flames. Matthew Gilson is 3-0, 0.46 ERA. Next up for the Flames is Emmanuel March 6-7. They get a stiffer test against Trevecca Nazarene on March 10. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Azusa Pacific, Bellevue, British Columbia, Cal Baptist, Cumberland, Embry-Riddle, Fresno Pacific, Houston Baptist, Lee, Lewis-Clark State, LSU-Shreveport, Lubbock Christian, Oklahoma City, Park, Point Loma Nazarene, Spring Arbor, The Master's, Trevecca Nazarene, U. of the Cumberlands, Union

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Results of the NAIA Coaches’ Poll for February 24, 2009. Comments below:

RANK	SCHOOL (1st PLACE VOTES)	2009 RECORD	TOTAL POINTS
1	Oklahoma City University (16)	13-0	527
2	Lee University (Tenn.) (2)	12-1	513
3	Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.)	11-2	455
4	Spring Arbor University (Mich.)	0-0	452
5	Union College (Ky.)	9-0-1	437
6	Bellevue University (Neb.)	0-0	427
7	Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (1)	5-3	424
8	Azusa Pacific University (Calif.)	13-1	407
9	Lubbock Christian (Texas)	9-1	406
10	LSU-Shreveport	15-2	402
11	Southern Polytechnic (Ga.)	11-1	391
12	Fresno Pacific University (Calif.)	11-1	324
13	Embry-Riddle (Fla.)	7-5	312
14	Texas Wesleyan University	9-1	295
15	Cumberland University (Tenn.)	6-3	276
16	University of St. Francis (Ill.)	0-0	275
17	Wayland Baptist (Texas)	15-3	259
18	Auburn-Montgomery (Ala.)	9-6	192
19	The Master’s College (Calif.)	14-4	162
20	U. of the Cumberlands (Ky.)	2-2-1	157
21	Warner University (Fla.)	7-3	152
22	Ohio Dominican University	0-0	124
23	Montreat College (N.C.)	6-2	101
24	University of British Columbia	8-1	92
25	Park University (Mo.)	6-0	81

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Azusa Pacific, Bellevue, Cal State San Marcos, Cumberland, Embry-Riddle, Fresno Pacific, Lee, Lewis-Clark State, LSU-Shreveport, Lubbock Christian, Oklahoma City, Point Loma Nazarene, Spring Arbor, Texas Wesleyan, The Master's, Union

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#1 Lewis-Clark State lost their opener to Concordia-Portland 5-4, and this was the first time the Cavaliers have beaten the Warriors in 42 attempts. Steven Taft got the win in relief for the Cavaliers, and C Tommy Whalen doubled in the winning run in the top of the ninth, but the key player in the win was starter Ben Rue, who went six innings, and held the Warriors to two runs on six hits.

The defending champions won their next three games. They host another tournament this weekend, with Northwest Nazarene, Saint Martin’s, and Dickinson State. They host Gonzaga on Feb. 25.

#2 Lee is now 9-0. LHP Mitch Davidson has two mercy-rule-shortened no-hitters for the Flames, and only one of their wins was close. They visit Georgetown College Feb. 20-21, and Montreat Feb. 24. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Azusa Pacific, Biola, Concordia-Portland, Embry-Riddle, Fresno Pacific, Lee, Lewis-Clark State, LSU-Shreveport, Lubbock Christian, Oklahoma City, Park, Point Loma Nazarene, Savannah College of Art and Design, The Master's, U. of the Cumberlands, Union

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Defending champion and #1-ranked Lewis-Clark State opens their season hosting a tournament with College of Idaho, Concordia-Portland, Corban, and Patten Feb. 13-16.

#2 Lee started their season 5-0, including a 10-3 win over Tennessee Wesleyan. They host Virginia Intermont Feb. 13-14.

#3 Oklahoma City started the season 3-0. They host Missouri Baptist (ranked #21 by Collegiate Baseball) Feb. 13-14. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Auburn-Montgomery, Biola, Cal Baptist, College of Idaho, Embry-Riddle, Lee, Lewis-Clark State, LSU-Shreveport, Lubbock Christian, Missouri Baptist, Oklahoma City, Savannah College of Art and Design, The Master's, U. of the Cumberlands, Union

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Top NAIA teams starting their season this week:

#2 Lee hosts Illinois Tech Feb. 6-7, and goes to Tennessee Wesleyan Feb. 10.

#4 Oklahoma City visits Northwood (TX) Feb. 6-7.

#7 U. of the Cumberlands hosts #9 Union (KY) on Feb. 10.

#8 Lubbock Christian Travels to Texas-Brownsville Feb. 6-8.

#4 Biola has started the season 1-5, with an opening loss to Simpson, four losses at Hawaii-Pacific, and a win over Hawaii-Hilo. They play at San Diego Christian on Feb. 7, host Cal Poly-Pomona on Feb. 7, and host Vanguard on Feb. 11. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Auburn-Montgomery, Azusa Pacific, Biola, Embry-Riddle, Lee, LSU-Shreveport, Lubbock Christian, NAIA, Oklahoma City, Point Loma Nazarene, The Master's, Trevecca Nazarene, U. of the Cumberlands, Union

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The 53^rd NAIA baseball season starts on Friday, with Belhaven at Spring Hill (Mobile, AL), La Sierra at Concordia-Irvine, LSU-Shreveport at U. of Mobile, Bethany (CA) at San Diego Christian, Wayland Baptist at Texas-Brownsville, and Patten at The Master’s (Santa Clarita, CA). The LSU-Shreveport-U. Of Mobile matchup should be a good one; they were #9 and #8 in the ISR ranking at the end of last season. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Biola, Embry-Riddle, Lee, Lewis-Clark State, LSU-Shreveport, Lubbock Christian, NAIA, Oklahoma City, Preseason Rankings, Spring Arbor, U. of the Cumberlands, Union

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Updated at 11:55 PM PDT.

Results from Day 4 of the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID:

Spring Arbor 8, Union 7 (Union eliminated)

Both teams were playing their fourth game in five days, and the coaches had to make some difficult decisions about pitching. Spring Arbor went with Andy Paulun, who had only two starts on the season and an ERA of 6.75. Union went with one of their regular starters, Lance Doughtery, who had a record of 7-1, 2.73 ERA.

Doughtery came to Union from Canyon, TX. He played for Seward County CC in Liberal, KS and Hutchinson CC in Hutchinson, KS. His career was interrupted by Tommy John surgery. He was recruited for Union while playing for the Newton Rebels of the Walter Johnson League in Wichita.

For eight innings, it appeared that Union made the better choice. Paulun was pulled after giving up five runs in three innings, and was replaced by Colin O’Connell, a starter who hadn’t made a relief appearance prior to today. O’Connell started on Saturday against Oklahoma City, and got a loss. He did better this time, allowing two runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings of work.

The Cougars got back in the game with four runs in the bottom of the fourth, on a two-RBI double by DH Eric Vojtkofsky, a passed ball, and a sacrifice fly by C Lucas Rider.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Embry-Riddle, Lee, Lewis-Clark State, Oklahoma City, Spring Arbor, Union

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Updated at 1:05 AM PDT.

Results from Day 3 of the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID:

Spring Arbor 11, Azusa Pacific 10 (Azusa Pacific eliminated)

Spring Arbor started off the Cougars vs. Cougars battle with five runs in the top of the first, chasing Azusa Pacific starter Matt Stone. APU came back with two runs in the second (home run by DH Chris Feicht), one in the third, two in the fourth (home run by RF Drew Evans), and one in the fifth. SAU got a run in the fourth on an RBI single by CF Jon Schaible, so the game was tied 6-6 going into the seventh inning.

SAU got the lead back on a two-run home run by 1B Jim Baker in the top of the seventh. APU got one back in the bottom of the seventh on a home run by 1B Kirk Nieuwenhuis, and the game went into the ninth with SAU hanging on to an 8-7 lead.

SAU scored three runs in the top of the ninth on a two-RBI double by Eric Vojtkofski, and an RBI single by RF Jonathan Herbig. They needed all three of them. APU responded with an RBI double by Feicht, and a two-RBI single by Evans. However, SAU reliever Joseph Myers struck out Carlos Maddox to end the game and APU’s season.

This was a well-played game despite the batting-practice run totals. APU out-hit SAU 18-12. There were several good defensive plays, including a diving catch of a bunt attempt by Nieuwenhuis in the top of the seventh, and a catch of a fly ball in right-field foul territory by Herbig in the bottom of the seventh. SAU got a couple of double plays in the early going to make the APU comeback more difficult.

Myers got the win, and Garrett Hodges got the loss. Herbig finished the game 3-5 with 3 RBI. 2B Grant Beyer went 3-3 with a double for APU.

Box score Play-by-play

Story from NAIA site: No. 7 Spring Arbor Wins Offensive Display 11-10 Against No. 4 Azusa Pacific

Embry-Riddle 6, Bellevue 1 (Bellevue eliminated)

Jordan Roberts recovered from a didn’t-finish-
the-first-inning performance on Friday to pitch a complete game for the Eagles, holding the Bruins to five hits. He struck out seven, walked two, and threw 120 pitches.
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Tags: Azusa Pacific, Bellevue, Embry-Riddle, Lee, Lewis-Clark State, Oklahoma City, Spring Arbor, Union

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Updated at 11:55 PM PDT.
Results from Day 2 of the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID:

Azusa Pacific 9, Ohio Dominican 2 (Ohio Dominican eliminated)

Jonny Bravo pitched a complete game for the Cougars, and held the Panthers to eight hits, struck out 11, and walked two. He threw 145 pitches.

The Cougars got a run in the first inning on an error. They got two runs in the second on an RBI double by RF Drew Evans, and an RBI single by 3B Ryan Dowell; the Dowell RBI was the winning run.

Evans was 2-4 with a home run, and 1B Brice Cutspec was 2-3 with a double and two RBI.

Box score Play-by-play

Story from NAIA site: Bravo Pitches Azusa Pacific Past Ohio Dominican, 9-2

Embry-Riddle 10, Jamestown 5 (Jamestown eliminated)

The Eagles recovered from the thrashing they received from Lewis-Clark State by out-hitting the Jimmies 12-6. The game was tied 3-3 going into the sixth inning, but the Eagles got four runs in the sixth on a two-RBI single by 3B Colin Gray, a run scored when C Eric Ogden was hit by a pitch, and a run walked in, with RF Alex Guzman drawing the walk.

Chris Maloney went eight innings for the Eagles, allowed five earned runs on six hits, struck out six, and walked two.

Ben Cairns and Jeremy Burgard hit home runs for the Jimmies.

Box score Play-by-play

Story from NAIA site: Embry-Riddle Stays Alive, Wipes out Jamestown 10-5
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Tags: Azusa Pacific, Bellevue, Embry-Riddle, Jamestown, Lewis-Clark State, Ohio Dominican, Spring Arbor, Union

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Results from Day 1 of the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID:

Spring Arbor 7, Jamestown 5

A methodical win for the Cougars, who scored runs in the first and second innings on RBI singles by 1B Eric Vojtkofsky and C Lucas Rider. The Jimmies tied it at 2-2 in the third on a two-RBI double by 1B JordanDusanj, and took a brief lead on a run scored on an error in the fourth.

The Cougars went ahead for good on RBI by SS Bradley Baker and Vojtkofsky in the fifth, and got the winning run in the eighth on an RBI single by Rider.

Starting pitcher Jesse Bachman had a big day for the Cougars. He went seven innings, threw 129 pitches, allowed three earned runs on nine hits, and struck out six. He was also 3-4 at the plate, and drew a walk.

Vojtkofsky was 3-5 for the game. RF Cam McLachlan was 4-5 with a double for the Jimmies. Graham Campbell got the loss.

Box score Play-by-play

Story from NAIA site: No. 7 Spring Arbor Wins Opening Game of 2008 AVISTA-NAIA World Series

Bellevue 15, Ohio Dominican 3 (mercy-ruled after 8 innings)

It took three hours and 40 minutes to play this one. It was close for the first five innings, but the Bruins broke it open with five runs in the sixth on an RBI doubles by CF Dave Powell and RF Nick Damas, and a grand-slam double by 2B Andy Brown. The game was taken into mercy-rule territory in the eighth with an RBI single by Damas and a three-run pinch-hit home run by William Slade; it was Slade’s second home-run of the season.
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Tags: Azusa Pacific, Bellevue, Embry-Riddle, Jamestown, Lewis-Clark State, Ohio Dominican, Spring Arbor, Union