Highlight Video Credit: SWX-Spokane
LEWISTON, Idaho – The No. 23-ranked and eighth-seeded Indiana Tech baseball made its first appearance back in the Avista NAIA World Series a memorable one on Friday morning at Harris Field as they defeated No. 21-ranked and ninth-seeded Bellevue University in 10 innings, 3-2, to open up the 63
rd annual NAIA Baseball National Championship.
The Bruins loaded the bases in the top of the first thanks to a pair of errors from the Warriors, but starter
Charles Dunavan got out of the jam thanks to a pair of great defensive plays from catcher
Glen McClain and right fielder
Jacob Alvidrez, with the latter making a nice running catch at the wall with two outs to end the threat.
The Warriors got on the scoreboard first in the fourth inning thanks to a two-out error that allowed
Reese Olden to score all the way from second base, who had led off the inning with an infield single. Tech got a two-out rally going in the next inning thanks to three consecutive singles from Alvidrez, Olden and McClain, with McClain driving in Alvidrez to make it a 2-0 game.
Bellevue came right back in the sixth thanks to a two-out RBI single to left that put them on the scoreboard and made it a 2-1 game, which would hold until the top of the ninth. The Bruins started off the frame with a double and a walk, but it appeared the Warriors would escape the jam thanks to a 5-3 double play, but the visiting team on the scoreboard tied it up in the next at-bat with a double to right center.
Taylor Nychyk delivered two-out pinch hit single in the bottom of the inning to give the Warriors a chance to end the game in regulation, but Bellevue managed to stand
Jashaun Simon at second and send the game into extra innings.
The Bruins got the leadoff man aboard in the top of the 10
th off a Tech error and got runners to second and third, but
Landon Bloir got out of the inning unscathed and the score still knotted up at 2-2.
McClain got a one-out single in the 10
th while
Branson Dossen worked a walk to move courtesy runner
Brandon Burch into scoring position.
Jake DeFries took three straight balls to begin his at-bat before moving to a full count, but sent the 3-2 pitch into shallow right field that drove home Burch and gave the Warriors their first win in the World Series since 2003.
Dunavan went 6.1 innings on the mound, striking out three while allowing just four hits and one run. Bloir picked up the win after going 1.1 innings in relief with two strikeouts. McClain finished the game 3-5 while DeFries and Olden each had two hits. The Warriors have now won 11 straight games and 16 of their last 17 contests.
Tech (42-14-1) will now take on top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan on Saturday at 6 p.m. EDT/3 p.m. PDT from Harris Field.
