59th annual Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series
Lewis-Clark 2015 Champs
By Alan Grosbach, Manager of Communications and Sports Information
LEWISTON, Idaho – Nine unanswered runs over the final four innings proved the difference, as No. 4 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) came from behind to beat No. 9 St. Thomas (Fla.), 10-7, en route to the 2015 Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series title. The victory pushes the Warriors’ NAIA record total to 17 national championships in the sport of baseball.
For the second night in-a-row, Lewis-Clark State was unfazed by a five-run-or-more deficit late in the game, as the Warriors bats came alive late once again.
A Robert Smith Jr. leadoff double sparked the eighth inning rally that included two hit batters, an error, two singles, two doubles and a sacrifice fly. Julian Ramon recorded the other two-bagger in the frame, marking the junior catcher’s first extra-base hit of the series. The effort put the Warriors up 10-7.
“Our guys, our staff and everybody involved in this program just put so much into it,” Lewis-Clark State head coach Jeremiah Robbins said. “What a reward for a lot of hard work this year, not only on the field but in the cages and in the community. It’s proof that when you really buy into something and invest the time, good things are going to happen.”
“I’m so proud of them,” Robbins said. “They deserve to end the season on their field, dog piling on the field they built. You couldn’t ask for anything better.”
With the win, Lewis-Clark State ends the year with a 46-12 record and improves to 133-44 all-time at the World Series. The title is the first for the Warriors since 2008. Lewis-Clark State is only the fifth team seeded fourth-or-higher ...read more