Missouri Baptist 6, Culver-Stockton 3
The rain came about 15 minutes too late for the Culver-Stockton baseball team during the first game of the 2008 NAIA Region V Championship as Missouri Baptist was victorious with a 6-3 victory.
The Wildcats and Missouri Baptist were both scoreless through five innings before the Spartans scored five times in the bottom of the sixth right before rain suspended the contest until Thursday.
Missouri Baptist’s sixth inning was sparked by a two-run homer by Scott Talbert. A hit batter and three straight hits followed, including a double by Clint Massey that plated two runs.
Once the contest resumed, Brandon Patek added a solo homer for the Spartans to put them up 6-0. Culver-Stockton rallied in the ninth with two runs and loaded the bases with no outs. Clayton Dill got the Wildcats to hit into a double play though and got the final out for the save.
The early innings were both dominated by the starting pitchers. Culver-Stockton’s Brandon Daudt allowed just one hit through the first five innings before getting in trouble in the sixth. Missouri Baptist’s Matt Murray went six innings and allowed just one hit and three hit batters.
Culver-Stockton’s best chance early in the game came in the sixth inning when an error and single put runners on first and third with one out. The team’s cleanup hitter flied out to short right field and the lead runner was thrown out at the plate to end the threat.
Missouri Baptist finished the game with seven hits, one error and five left on base. Both Patek and Talbert led the offense with two hits apiece. Culver-Stockton’s line included five hits, two errors and seven left on base. The Wildcats were led by Jaime Munoz and Kevin Steinhardt, who both had one hit, one run and one RBI.
Lindenwood 16, William Jewell 5
Lindenwood trailed 2-0 heading into the fifth inning when it jumped ahead with six runs. The Lions continued to pour it on the next three innings with 10 more runs.
Mike Parson led the hit attack with four hits, and he collected two runs and a RBI. Ryan Shockley had two hits, three runs and four RBIs. Sean Cunningham and Mark Ruiz each had three RBIs. Matt Pohlman scored three times, and Chris Torres, Justin Lamar and Mike Parson all cross the plate twice.
On the mound, Don Anderson became the first pitcher in the region to reach double-figure wins on the season. He picked up his 10th victory by throwing an eight inning complete game. He allowed eight hits and five runs, with two of the runs being unearned. Anderson struck out seven and walked no one.
William Jewell was led by Colt Ferguson who had two hits and two RBIs. Zach Kohan and John Farris each added two hits.
Avila 10, McKendree 3
A pair of two-out, two-run singles in the sixth inning helped Avila break a 3-3 tie and the Eagles eventually won the final game of the first-round over McKendree by a 10-3 score.
Avila took a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning on a three-run home run by Adam Rodriguez. The Bearcats knotted the contest an inning later sparked by back-to-back doubles by Dusty Schallenberg and Tyler Muren.
Avila took control of the game after that, scoring seven unearned runs over the next three innings. The big inning was the sixth, when the Eagles loaded the bases with one out. McKendree struck the next batter out, but Drew Ambach and Brandon Haley delivered two-run singles to put Avila up for good.
Rodriguez finished the game with three runs and four RBIs for the Eagles. Nathan Albert picked up the win, throwing a complete game. He allowed eight hits, three runs and two walks, and struck out 10.
For McKendree, Adam Davinroy, Schallenberg and Muren all had two hits and scored once.