May 18, 2007

ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Nate Eisenbeis picked up the biggest victory in Lindenwood baseball history in Game Three of the NAIA Mid-South Super Regional. Eisenbeis threw a complete game shutout to lead Lindenwood to a 2-0 victory over Houston Baptist.

With the win, Lindenwood earns an automatic bid to the NAIA World Series, marking the school's first-ever trip to the national tournament. Houston Baptist is also going to Idaho with an at-large bid to the World Series.

Eisenbeis scattered nine hits on the day and struck out 10 batters. Houston Baptist only put more than one runner on base in two innings, including the ninth. In that inning, Eisenbeis got the next batter to hit into a 6-4-3 double play to touch off a huge celebration at the Lou Brock Sports Complex.

Offensively, Lindenwood managed just six hits, but had two big ones. The first was a solo home run by Chris Bielski, his third in the last four games. The other big hit was an eighth-inning leadoff double by Timmy Hall. A sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly scored him for an insurance run for the Lions.

Bielski and Hall both finished the day with two hits for Lindenwood. Chris Getz picked up the other RBI in the game.

Houston Baptist was led offensively by Andrwe Taccolini who had three hits. Both Greg Gossett and Kory Johns had two hits on the day.

Matt Weible threw a complete game for the Huskies. He allowed just six hits and two runs.

GAME 2: HOUSTON BAPTIST 4, LINDENWOOD 1
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - A great pitching performance by Houston Baptist's Jay Prigmore tied the Mid-South Super Regional up at one game apiece. The Huskies defeated Lindenwood in Game Two of the series by a 4-1 margin.

Prigmore allowed just one run and seven hits in the complete game win. He overshadowed Lindenwood's starter Jon Story who also threw a complete game and allowed just two earned runs.

Houston Baptist went up early in the game with a pair of runs in the first inning. Three straight singles allowed the first run to score, and an error on the third single also allowed to a run later in the inning on a sacrifice fly.

In the third, the Huskies added another run thanks to another Lion error. With two on, Houston Baptist hit a ground ball to first. Lindenwood got the lead runner, but the throw back to first got away and allowed the lead runner to score.

Lindenwood cracked the scoreboard in the fifth inning after Chris Bielski and Travis McConnell opened the inning with hits. Matt Pohlman singled to score Bielski, but a double play got Houston Baptist out of the inning.

The Huskies scored the final run of the game in the top of the sixth. Michael Crabtree tripled to start the inning and scored on Eric Schiro's single.

The Lions last big threat came at the end of that inning. Two two-out singles brought Lindenwood's top power threat, Chris Bielski, to the plate as the tying run. Prigmore got Bielski to fly out though and was never threatened again. He allowed just one single over the final three innings to force a Game Three.

Crabtree finished the game with three hits, and he had one run and one RBI. Chad Hebert added two hits and two runs, while Schiro drove in a pair of runs.

The lone Lindenwood hitter with multiple hits in the game was Marty Clements with two.