LEWISTON, Idaho – Oklahoma City University rallied for a 10-8 victory to upend three-time defending national champion and host team Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) on Saturday in the NAIA World Series before 4,980 at Harris Field.
The second-ranked Stars (52-7) scored the winning runs on Jason Machado's two-run base hit. The lead changed hands four times in the game. OCU advanced to meet third-ranked Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) at 9 p.m. Oklahoma time Monday.
Lewis-Clark State threatened in the ninth inning. With the bases loaded, Brad Riddle of OCU forced Kyle Melton to pop out to shortstop Kirk Walker. Then Walker teamed with Landon Camp to turn a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.
“We never panicked,” OCU coach Denney Crabaugh said. “I think we've established that as long as we have outs, we can win a ballgame. Our guys stayed in the battle, and we got it done.”
OCU faced 2-0, 5-2 and 8-6 deficits during the game. Sean Halton hit a three-run home run in the top of the eighth to put Lewis-Clark State on top 8-6.
In the bottom of the eighth, Brian Fisher, running for Brandon Moss, reached home plate when Brent Weaver struck out, but Lewis-Clark catcher Travis Georgius had a passed ball. Walker tied the game by scoring on a wild pitch.
B.J. Wheeler loaded the bases by hitting a single that struck the field umpire. Machado knocked a base hit to left field to score Weaver and Wheeler and give OCU a 10-8 lead.
“It was absolutely huge,” Crabaugh said of Machado's hit. “The kid threw a good pitch, but Machado stayed with it. He made contact and hit it well.”
In the third, Wheeler drilled a 1-1 fastball over the stands in left for a two-run homer. That cut OCU's deficit to 5-4.
The Stars knotted the game at 5-5 on Steve Vitale's RBI double deep to the right-center field gap. Vitale drove in the run that put OCU ahead 6-5 on a sixth-inning base hit past the second baseman.
Down 2-0, OCU answered in the bottom of the second as David Mann turned on an 0-1 fastball for a two-run blast.
Machado went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, and Wheeler went 2-for-5, scored twice and drove in two runs. Vitale, a junior from East Meadow, N.Y., was 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs. Moss was 2-for-3, and Walker went 1-for-2 and scored twice. Mann drove in two runs.
Dustin Williams picked up the victory to move to 4-1. Williams, a junior right-hander from Norman, Okla., worked 2.2 innings, allowed one hit and struck out five. Riddle, a junior righty from Bethany, Okla., recorded his seventh save of the year.
Ashur Tolliver notched 10 strikeouts in the first 5.1 innings for the Stars.
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