May 29, 2007

LEWISTON, Idaho - Jay Prigmore scattered 10 hits and struck out seven to help ninth-seeded Houston Baptist University upset top seed Azusa Pacific University 5-1 in loser-out play at the 51st annual Avista NAIA World Series at Lewis-Clark State College's Harris Field on Tuesday.

Houston Baptist (43-20) was the last team to receive a bid to the 10-team double-elimination tournament but can now do no worse than fourth place.

HBU, which lost its opening game of the Series 18-4, bounced back with its third consecutive win, riding the arm of Prigmore (7-5). The 6-foot 190-pound sophomore allowed only a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning against a team that had been averaging 11 runs per game over its last five games.

Prigmore also helped himself at the plate. Hitting seventh in the lineup, he went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

APU, which was ranked second in the final NAIA poll, hurt itself by leaving 11 runners stranded on base. Its No. 3-4 hitters, catcher Stephen Vogt and third baseman Scott Hodsdon, were a combined 0-for-9 and left five runners stranded. The Cougars finish their season at 51-10.

Houston Baptist scored solo runs in the second through fourth innings to take a 3-0 lead off APU starter Ryan Zaft (6-1).

In the second, Prigmore helped himself with an RBI double after Eric Schiro walked. In the third, a walk and a single set up an RBI sacrifice fly by Greg Gossett. Ryan Majewski's RBI single in the fourth made it 3-0.

The Huskies made it 5-0 in the sixth when Schiro led off with a solo home run to left-center field. Later in the inning, Chad Hebert added a bases-loaded RBI sacrifice fly.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis finally got Azusa Pacific on the board with a two-out solo home run to right-center field in the eighth. In the ninth, three singles loaded the bases with two outs, but Vogt lined out to center field to end the game.

Zaft was touched for nine hits and all five runs (four earned) in 5.1 innings. He also walked two and struck out four. Christian Gagne pitched two-thirds of an inning and allowed a walk, while Brad Boekenstein finished up for APU with three innings of hitless ball. He struck out three.

Kory Johns added two hits for HBU, while Grant Beyer went 3-for-4 for APU.