Day Five Recap of 2024 Avista NAIA World Series

by | May 30, 2024 | Baseball, Headlines | 0 comments

Day Five Recap of 2024 Avista NAIA World Series

LEWISTON, Idaho –  [SCHEDULE | BRACKET] The fifth day of the 67th Annual NAIA World Series at Harris Field began with four teams in the hunt for the Red Banner. Hope International (Calif.) was victorious in the first game and due to the result of the night cap, they will advance automatically to the “if necessary” game on Friday. Reinhardt (Ga.) and Tennessee Wesleyan will play their sixth total game of the season.

 

No. 4 Hope International (Calif.) (44-16) defeats No. 2 Georgia Gwinnett (53-9), 15-11

  • This was the second time in program history Hope International reached the World Series and the first time they won a game
  • JJ Cruz started the game off with a bang as he blasted a three run homer to right center field in the top of the first
  • Braxton Meguiar singled down the left line scoring Blaze O’Saben in the bottom of the first to cut it to a 3-1 count
  • During their second at-bat, the Grizzlies blew open the game to take a 6-3 lead and added another pair in the bottom of the third inning
  • HIU cut it to a 8-5 count in the top of the fifth inning on a Cruz double and a Derek Sims sacrifice fly
  • Georgia Gwinnett countered right back with three RBI hits in a four batter span to lead 11-5
  • Trailing by six suns, the Royals began the fifth inning with a Sims leadoff home run to left field before David Rivera hit a double to bring the score to 11-7
  • HIU would add on another pair of runs to close it to an 11-9 gap as Cruz hit a double down the line and then Alex Moreno scoring on a wild pitch
  • Hope International scored six runs in the top of the ninth, making it 10 total unanswered scores
  • The first two were off a hit by pitch and a bases loaded walk before a Moreno single scored two more
  • Alec Arnone singled to left field to give HIU a four run edge heading into the bottom of the ninth inning
  • Cruz was 5-6 in the batter’s box to go along with five RBI and two scored runs and Rivera added 3-5 hitting with a pair of RBI and three runs scored
  • For the Grizzlies, Cohen Wilbanks was 3-4 and Meguiar was 2-4 with four RBI and two runs
  • Steven Ordorica (W, 3-1) was the fourth pitcher used in the game by the Royals
  • Austin Testerman (L, 0-1) was given the decision after allowing five runs in the eighth and ninth innings after GGC starter Gage Williams went 7.2 innings allowing 15 hits
  • The Royals have won four straight elimination bracket games

 

No. 6 Tennessee Wesleyan (45-16) defeats No. 5 Reinhardt (Ga.) (42-18),  6-2

  • Entering the game, Reinhardt was 3-1 against Tennessee Wesleyan this season
  • The first two innings between the conference foes were scoreless
  • In the top of the third, Marco Martinez homered to left field too give the Bulldogs an early lead
  • During the bottom of that same frame, Jarrett Burney singled to right field scoring Jacob Profit followed by Lance Dockery doubling to center field
  • The 2-2 score remained until the top of the fifth when Braxton Turner’s left field single brought home the game winning run
  • Later in the top of the eighth, Turner doubled to center field bringing in three total runs for the 6-2 final score
  • Tennessee Wesleyan had the bases loaded with two outs punched in the bottom of the ninth, but a groundout to short stop ended the comeback attempt
  • Turner was the start for the Bulldogs going 2-4 with four RBI while Cayle Webster, Kruise Newman, and Carson Ford each had two hits
  • Reinhardt’s offense was guided by a pair of hits from Burney and Matty Maurer
  • Daniel Davila (W, 8-4) nearly went complete game as he got all but one out, striking out 10
  • Adam Cristopher (L, 2-2) pitched seven innings allowing three runs

 

COVERAGE               

The Championship Games will be streamed exclusively through ESPN3.

Related Stories

Jerni Kiaku Signs With Indiana Women’s Basketball

Jerni Kiaku Signs With Indiana Women’s Basketball BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana women’s basketball has announced the signing of Jerni Kiaku to the 2025-26 roster. Kiaku (pronounced Journey kee-AH-koo) has one year of edibility remaining after spending two seasons with...

Kearns, Grein tabbed as Louisville Slugger/Wilson DI weekly honorees

Kearns, Grein tabbed as Louisville Slugger/Wilson DI weekly honorees LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Idaho State’s Jenna Kearns and Oregon’s Lyndsey Grein were tabbed Division I Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player and Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for contests played...

Texas A&M remains No. 1 in NFCA/GoRout DI Top 25 Coaches Poll

  Texas A&M remains No. 1 in NFCA/GoRout DI Top 25 Coaches Poll                                                      LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Texas A&M remained the No. 1 team in this week’s NFCA/GoRout Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Aggies (39-6) did drop...

Crossroads League Announces Athletes of the Week | April 14-20

Crossroads League Announces Athletes of the Week | April 14-20   JACKSON, Mich. – The Crossroads League Athletes of the Week were announced on Monday, recognizing the league’s top individual performances from April 14 through 20. Sports Information Directors from the...

Bill Rogers presents his 2025 NFL Mock Draft

It's that time of year again. Our resident NFL Draft expert, Bill Rogers, has all of the answers and the details. The 2025 NFL Draft is scheduled to occur in Green Bay, Wisconsin.   Round one will start on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, with Rounds two and three on Friday at...

Beacons Softball Edged by Bruins to Claim Series

Beacons Edged by Bruins to Claim Series   The Valpo softball team was within two innings of closing out a series win on the road at second-place Belmont Saturday afternoon in Nashville, Tenn., but the host Bruins plated a pair of sixth-inning runs to earn the 2-1...

Taylor baseball earns third straight Crossroads League crown

Kolpien Crosses 300-Hit Threshold as TU Secures Three-Peat of CL Crown   MARION, Ind. – Kaleb Kolpien surpassed 300 career base knocks with a booming six-hit day, Brayden Manning went 6-for-8 with six RBIs, and No. 11 Taylor (35-8, 26-4 CL) secured a third consecutive...