Before we get to the first day of NCAA Regionals around the nation, we have to give it up for Lewis-Clark State winning their 17th NAIA World Series championship in dramatic fashion on Friday night at Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho.
In front of the home fans, the Warriors erased a 7-1 deficit to beat St. Thomas (Fla.) 10-7 to raise the championship banner for the first time since 2008.
Full disclosure: I was an assistant sports information director at LCSC in from August 2012-August 2014 and saw first-hand the agony of coming so close to championships in each of those seasons and falling just short.
Congratulations to LCSC coach Jeremiah Robbins and his players and staff for taking care of business and continuing to fight in the face of such adversity.
There’s a local hook to LCSC’s title as well, as second baseman Max Whitt (Granite Falls, Everett Community College) went 1-for-5 with three RBI to help fuel the comeback. Whitt finished the season batting .300 with 17 home runs and 69 RBI.
Whitt, who was named to the All-Tournament team following the championship game, lashed a two-run single up the middle to give the Warriors their first lead an 8-7. He also delivered a run with an RBI groundout earlier in the game.
On to the NCAA Regionals, as Oregon State outfielder Kyle Nobach (Marysville Pilchuck, Everett Community College) socked an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning to score Joey Jansen from second base and break a 4-4 tie.
Nobach went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI in the game.
The Beavers wound up beating Texas 5-4, and will face VCU in the winner’s bracket later this afternoon.
Trever Morrison (Archbishop Murphy) was cleared to resume playing for Oregon State after missing over a month with a hand injury, but did not play on Friday against the Longhorns.
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