Video highlights (courtesy SWX-Spokane)
LEWISTON, Idaho – Jake DeFries drove in Brandon Burch with a single to right field to lift Indiana Tech to a 3-2 10-inning victory over Bellevue University in Game 1 of the NAIA World Series at Lewis-Clark State College’s Harris Field.
With the game tied at 2 in the bottom of the 10th, Glen McClain reached on a single to left and Burch was brought in to pinch run. Burch advanced to second when Branson Dossen walked and then came home on DeFries sharply hit single.
Indiana Tech (42-14-1), the eighth seed, takes on No. 1 Tennessee Wesleyan (52-9) in Saturday’s 3 p.m. game. Bellevue (46-15), the ninth seed, plays the loser of Friday’s opening-round game between #4 Faulkner (49-10) and No. 5 Georgia Gwinnett (46-11).
The game-winning hit was DeFries’ second of the game in five at-bats with Glen McClain the hits leader with three of the Warriors’ 12. McClain had the other RBI with a run-scoring single to right in the fifth, which gave the Warriors a 2-0 lead after Reese Olden scored on an error in the fourth.
- Bellevue cut its deficit to one in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by Riley Baasch to score Cody Banks. Baasch finished the game two-for-five with one RBI.
- The Bruins made their stand to tie it beginning in the bottom of the eighth with a critical 6-4-3 double play to end the inning with runners stranded at first and third for the Warriors.
- With two away in the top of the ninth, Bellevue tied the game on a Kory Longaker double to right center, which scored Wataru Kazama.
- Bellevue had a chance to take the lead in the top of the 10th with runners at second and third with two away, but Stuart Eurich grounded out to second to end the inning.
