LEWISTON, Idaho - The two schools are separated by nearly 2,500 miles, but arguably there's not a better small college baseball rivalry in the country than Faulkner vs. Lewis-Clark State. The Eagles and Warriors have combined to win two of the past three national championships, and heading into the 60th Avista-NAIA World Series had split four previous battles at Harris Field.
Their fifth meeting, in front of 3,300 fans here on a crisp Monday night, was decided by one swing of the bat.
Lewis-Clark State's Dylan Tashjian's pinch-hit, three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth lifted the Warriors to a 3-0 victory, keeping the Warriors in the winners' bracket and sending the Eagles into an elimination game Tuesday afternoon. Faulkner fights for survival in the double-elimination tournament at 5 p.m. central time against Sterling (Kan.), while Lewis-Clark State faces Tennessee Wesleyan, the only other undefeated team left, at 8 Tuesday night.
Faulkner's loss did little to take the shine off of a sparkling performance from starting pitcher Ivan Pelaez, who saved his best outing of the year for the biggest stage. He pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing just three hits while striking out seven. In the ninth, after an inside pitch glanced off the Warriors' Robert Smith, the hard-throwing left-hander surrendered a hit to Jacob Zanon. One out later, Faulkner head coach Patrick McCarthy pulled him after a season-high 104 pitches. Tashjian's dramatic blast came off the first offering from Eagle reliever Austin Moreland, who had earned the save in Faulkner's win over Lindsey Wilson two nights ago.
"Chip (Moreland) got his slider up a bit and the kid was sitting on it, but that's baseball," said McCarthy, whose team dropped to 50-14. "Ivan threw one of the best games a pitcher has thrown for us all season. We just couldn't take advantage of a few opportunities we had to score. This team is very resilient, though, and I'm excited to see how we respond Tuesday afternoon. I think we'll be ready to play. It's double elimination for a reason, and we're glad of that."
While Pelaez was keeping the Warrior hitters off balance, Lewis-Clark State starter Quin Grogan was going the power route, striking out nine of the first 12 Faulkner batters he faced. The Eagles had runners in scoring position in the first, fourth and seventh innings, but could never get the critical hit needed to break the ice. Perhaps the best chance came in the fourth inning, when designated hitter T.J. Condon singled with one out. Condon took off for second when a Grogan pitch bounced in front of the plate, and then raced to third after catcher Julian Ramon's throw slipped past the shortstop into center field.
Mario Amaral then laced a liner to center, but the Warriors' Logan Griffin made a sliding catch and Condon, who had broken for the plate, did not have time to get back to the base to tag up. Deivy Palmeiro's sharp grounder to short then ended the threat. The Eagles got back-to-back two-out singles in the seventh, only to have Onix Martinez called out on what was Grogan's final pitch, which resulted in his 13th strikeout of the night. Lewis-Clark State reliever Jake Barnett earned the victory, allowing just one hit in the final two innings.
Faulkner outhit Lewis-Clark State (50-7) six to five and had more baserunners, leaving seven stranded to the Warriors' four. David Palenzuela had a first-inning double and a single to lead the Eagles' effort, while Tyler McDowell was the only Lewis-Clark State player with multiple hits. The biggest of the night came from Tashjian, who has been the last-inning hero twice now in the two Warrior games. His pinch-hit single in the ninth inning Friday night knocked off Science & Arts (Okla.) 2-1.
