Four Teams Remain at 67th Annual Avista NAIA World Series
May 28, 2024
LEWISTON, Idaho –Day Four of the 67th Annual Avista NAIA World Series at Harris Field started with six teams in the hunt for the Red Banner and featured a pair of elimination games and the final two undefeated teams. Reinhardt (Ga.) won the battle in the winner’s bracket while Hope International (Calif.) won the conference rematch and Tennessee Wesleyan eliminated the top team of the tournament.
GAME NOTES/HIGHLIGHTS
No. 4 Hope International (Calif.) (43-16) defeats No. 9 Arizona Christian (38-21), 8-1
Today’s elimination game is the fourth time HIU and ACU have played each other, as the two schools are mainstays of the Golden State Athletic Conference
Hope International won the season series, where they were the home team in March, 2-1 winning 8-4 and 4-0 and losing 2-5
The Royals kicked off the day in the top of the first inning as JJ Cruz doubled down the right field line scoring Alex Moreno and David Rivera
In the bottom of the second, ACU had a chance to tie the game but they stranded both runners on the bases
In the top of the fourth, Hope International scored again on a RBI walk by Alec Arnone followed by a failed pickoff attempt unloading the bases for a 6-0 advantage
ACU scored in the bottom of the seventh, on an RBI groundout from Jaylen Edmonds
In the top of the eighth, Ryan Maciel scored on a wild pitch before Rivera doubled down the left line to score Ryan Lamastra
Rivera and Moreno were each 2-4 with a total of one RBI and three runs scored for the Royals; ACU was led by Matthew Beckworth going 3-4
On the hill, Justin Drury (W, 10-0) tossed eight innings, striking out three and allowing one run before Steven Ordorica pitched the final three outs
Eli Elliott (L, 8-5) allowed three earned in four innings pitched for the Firestorm
This marks the second straight year that the GSAC has put a team into the Semifinal Round since 2010-2011 when former members Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) and Concordia (Calif.)
No. 6 Tennessee Wesleyan (42-18) defeats No. 1 Southeastern (Fla.) (52-8), 8-6
Tennessee Wesleyan and Southeastern are two of the three teams left in the field who have won Red Banners – each having two
Alfonso Villalobos hit an RBI groundout which scored Cristopher Munoz in the bottom of the first
Tennessee Wesleyan tied it up in the bottom of the second, when Daniel Stewart hit an RBI groundout to second base
Southeastern regained the lead on Villalobos’ single to left field
Evan Magill doubled to left center field in the bottom of the inning, which tied the ballgame at 2-2
In the bottom of the fifth, TWU scored off an RBI drawn walk and a sacrifice bunt plating another run
During the next inning, the Bulldogs scored two more off Magill’s single through the left side, bringing it to a 6-2 lead
In the top of the seventh inning, Munoz doubled off the left field wall, scoring Brandon Mondragon from first base and making it a 6-3 score
Then, SEU closed it to a two run game, as Munoz scored on a throwing error by the Bulldogs
Later in the same inning, Southeastern tied the game at 6-6, on Gary Lora’s single through the left side, scoring Isaac Nunez and Villalobos
TWU broke the tie in the bottom of the seventh on a two RBI single from Jack Stevens
Dante Leach, Magill, Stewart, and Stevens each went 2-4 in the contest for Tennessee Wesleyan
Munoz led SEU with 3-5 hitting followed by Luis Gonzalez who went 2-3
Julian Berinti (W, 2-1) threw 1.2 innings allowing no runs for TWU and Jake Sergent picked up his first save of the year by getting the final three outs
Ramsey David (L, 6-2) was awarded the decision out of the bullpen, allowing the game winning runs in only one inning of work
No. 5 Reinhardt (Ga.) (44-16) defeats No. 2 Georgia Gwinnett (53-8) , 6-4
The two teams played in the winners bracket, as the only two teams entering Tuesday without a loss
Georgia Gwinnett scored in the top of the second, the first run of the game, on a throwing error by the defense
The score remained unchanged until Dylan Lewis belted a two run blast to the left field bleachers, giving the Eagles a 2-1 edge
The Grizzlies countered right back on a solo shot by Braxton Meguiar to right field
In the bottom of the seventh, Luis Mendoza homered to left field to make it a 4-2 edge for the Eagles
The next inning, Tucker Zdunich hit a sacrifice fly to left field which scored Jarrett Burney
Another insurance run was tacked on by RU with Lewis’ single up the middle which scored Lance Dockery
It was needed as two GGC runs were scored Off Henry Daniel’s right field single and a subsequent throwing error
With one out punched and runners on second and third, Brett Allen finished the complete game with a strikeout looking and a fly out to right
In total, Allen threw 151 pitches and struck out 11 Grizzly batters
Tyler Clayton (L, 8-1) struck out eight and allowed five runs on seven hits in seven innings of work on the mound for Georgia Gwinnett
Meguiar and Ajay Sczepkowski tallied four of the eight hits for the Grizzlies
Mendoza and Lewis each were 3-2 with a combined three runs scored and five RBI
COVERAGE
The Semifinals and Championship Game(s) will be streamed exclusively on ESPN3.