Eagles Survive Belhaven, 8-4
LEWISTON, Ida. - The NAIA No. 7 Embry-Riddle Eagles came from behind to beat No. 8 Belhaven 8-4 in an elimination game at the 2010 Avista-NAIA World Series. ERAU (46-18) battled back from a 0-2 deficit after the first inning to end the Blazers season; Belhaven finished 44-17 overall.
Riley Galloway started for the Blazers, striking out two Eagle batters in the first inning, although Steve Sabins got the first hit of the game with two outs when he singled to center field.
Senior Jonathan Kountis took the hill for the Blue and Gold, looking for his eighth win of the 2010 season. Unfortunately for Kountis and ERAU the first inning proved to be trouble as the Blazers scored two runs and two hits to take an early 2-0 lead. After Drew Dillard singled through the right side to start the inning, Jimmy Gilford tripled to left center to score Dillard. Gilford's hit was placed perfectly in the outfield as Mike Jutkiewicz just missed making the catch in left center. Lake Eiland drove in Gilford from third with a groundout to Sabins. Kountis struck out Timmy Foster in the next at-bat; the strikeout broke an Embry-Riddle team record for strikeouts with 460 for the pitching staff.
After Austin Goolsby struck out to begin the top of the second inning, Aaron Glaum battled Galloway for seven pitches before swinging at the eighth pitch and coming up empty. Matt Tomaszewski grounded out to second baseman Eiland to retire the ERAU side.
Kountis was able to get out of the second inning without any further damage after surrendering a one-out double to catcher Derek Tortorich. Kountis got Jordan Brewer to ground out before Dillard ended the inning with a foul-out to Tomaszewski down the right field line.
The Eagles' offense went to work in the third inning, scoring four runs to take a 4-2 lead. ERAU was helped by two errors by the Blazers' defense which lead to all four unearned runs. Freshman Keaton Stroud led the inning off by pinch hitting for Beaudette, drawing a walk. Jutkiewicz bunted for a hit in the next at-bat, putting Eagles on first and second with no outs. Tyler
Robbins was able to reach first safely when he reached on a throwing error by Belhaven's third baseman; the throw would score Stroud from second and put Jutkiewicz on third and Robbins on second. Jeff Lemon hit a hard ball to the right fielder for the first out, followed by a strike out by Sabins.
Branden Roper-Hubbert came up clutch again with a two-out single to center field to score both Robbins and Jutkiewicz. Goolsby recorded his first RBI of the World Series with a double high off the center field wall that score Roper-Hubbert.
The ERAU defense gave two runs back in the home half of the third inning after an error by Sabins at third and a passed ball by Goolsby behind the plate. Kountis was relieved by Corey Bevis after two outs in the inning and the senior from Oviedo, Fla. was able to record the final out of the third by getting Tortorich to fly out to Roper-Hubbert in right field.
ERAU started a rally in the fourth inning, however, it was with two outs already recorded. Jutkiewicz singled to center field and Robbins was hit by a pitch before Lemon flied out to to right fielder Dillard a step in front of the warning track to end the Eagles' hopes of any runs in the visitor half of the fourth.
Bevis didn't allow a hit in the fourth inning, the first time in the contest Belhaven was held hitless, as the Eagles moved to the fifth tied at 4-4.
Sabins kick started the ERAU fifth with a triple into the corner in right field. That would prove to be the last pitch for Galloway as he was repalced by Golden Grasse. Roper-Hubbert would record his third RBI of the game with a ground out to the Blazer third baseman Craig Dean that that scored Sabins from third. After Goolsby grounded out for out number two, Glaum hit his second home run of the year off the first pitch from Grasse; this one getting out of the park as his first was an inside-the-parker against St. Thomas during the regular season. Glaum went opposite field with the round-tripper, going over the wall in right centerfield.
Bevis had his second strong inning in the fifth, facing just four batters, only giving up a weak single up the middle to Dean.
Grasse answered Bevis' strong inning by getting out of a jam in the visitor half of the sixth by getting a groundball double play to end the inning.
Grasse had put runners on first and second with one out, but a slow chopper to the second baseman off the bat of Lemon ended the Eagle threat with a 4-6-3 double play.
Not to be outdone, Bevis went three-up and three-down in the bottom of the sixth, getting a ground out, strikeout and fly-out to end the Blazer inning.
Roper-Hubbert got on base in the seventh inning on an error by Diehl at short, and was almost brought home when Goolsby crushed a ball to deep centerfield. Gilford was able to jump at the wall and make the catch as
Goolsby barely missed his 13th homer of the season. The hard-hit ball was enough for Grasse to be relieved by Andy Kuehn as Glaum stepped into the batter's box. Glaum would pop up to Foster at first base to end the inning for the Blue and Gold.
Bevis dominated Belhaven in the seventh, going 1-2-3 for the second straight frame, recording two strikeouts and a groundout.
Kuehn would give up a two-out single in the eighth to Jutkiewicz, his third of the day, but would get Robbins to strike out to end the eighth for ERAU.
Pinch hitter Kyle Feazell would double off of Bevis with two outs in the eighth, but Bevis wouls strike out Tortorich by blowing one past him while the Blazers' catcher swung and missed to end the eighth.
Belhaven sent their closer, Wade Broyles, to the mound in the top of the ninth, and after getting two outs got into trouble. Another error by Blazer shortstop Diehl allowed Roper-Hubbert to reach first, followed by a single up the middle from Goolsby. Glaum worked the count full before watching ball four go by to load the bases full of Eagles. Tomaszewski was hit by a pitch to push across one run and give ERAU a 7-4 lead. During the next at-bat, all three Eagles' on the base paths took off on a Broyles' pitch and Saul Meza, Goolsby's courtesy runner, stole home plate to account for the 8-4 final.
Bevis pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the ninth to end the game, striking out Gilford swinging for his fifth strikeout of the contest.
Bevis was credited with the win, pitching 6.1 innings, allowing no runs on just two hits and one walk with five Ks. Bevis moved to 7-2 on the year with one of his best outtings of the season.
Roper-Hubbert drove in three runs, going 1-for-5 with two runs scored, while Jutkiewicz went a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk and a run. Goolsby was 2-for-5 with a run batted in and Sabins finished 2-for-5 with a run.
Embry-Riddle will take on the loser of the No. 1 Lewis-Clark v. No. 4 Lee game tomorrow at 11 a.m. or 3 p.m. (PDT).