Lewiston, Idaho ----- Everyone kept telling Jay Prigmore to forget about his last start. Now he has something to remember.
The lefty from LaPorte bounced back in a huge way from Friday's horrific series opener, as he tossed a complete game and went 3-4 with an RBI to help Houston Baptist University bounce the tournament's top seed. The Huskies defeated Azusa Pacific University 5-1 on Tuesday at Harris Field to keep their title hopes alive and assure themselves no worse than a fourth-place finish at the Avista NAIA World Series.
Prigmore lasted just 1.1 innings in Friday's 18-4 loss to Lindenwood University in HBU's first-ever game in the series, but on Tuesday, things took a 180-degree turn. The sophomore was precise and efficient for seven innings before gutting out the final two frames as he battled cramps and pitch count down the stretch.
He ending up heaving 106 pitches in the matinee, scattering 10 hits and allowing just the one run on a two-out homer by Kirk Nieuwenhuis in the eighth. Prigmore worked through several jams, including the ninth, when APU got three straight singles with two outs before he induced a fly-out to end the game. The win improves his season mark to 7-5.
HBU got on the board with single runs in the second through fourth innings. Prigmore got the scoring started with an RBI double that scored Eric Schiro in the first.
Greg Gossett had a sacrifice fly in the third to push HBU ahead by two. In the fourth, Ryan Majewski had an RBI single to extend the lead to 3-0.
In the sixth, Schiro hit his seventh homer of the season, a solo shot off the billboards in left center. Later in the inning, Chad Hebert would provide a sacrifice fly to close out the scoring for Houston Baptist.
Prigmore led the Huskies with three hits and an RBI. Kory Johns went 2-3 at the dish while Schiro was 1-3 with the homer, RBI and two runs scored.
The loss ends the season for the NAIA's second-ranked team, who finishes the 2007 campaign at 51-10 overall.
Houston Baptist is now 43-20 on the season. It is the second most wins in school history, tying the mark of the 2000 squad that went 43-16.
HBU will face host and No. 1 ranked Lewis-Clark State College at 7:00 pm PCT on Wednesday night. LCSC is the defending NAIA Champion. The Warriors are the third-seed in the World Series and have won 14 national titles.
The Warriors defeated Bellevue University 8-1 in Tuesday night's finale, preceded by Spring Arbor University eliminating Lindenwood University. The tournament committee pairs the teams in the final stages according to who has played each other in the previous rounds, and because SAU and Bellevue have already played Lewis-Clark State in the series, HBU and LCSC were matched up for the nightcap of day five. Spring Arbor and Bellevue will play at 3 pm.
The game can be heard live right here, courtesy of KOZE Radio of Lewiston. Click on their website ahead of time to get aquainted at www.koze-sports.com .
For complete coverage of the World Series: www.naiaworldseries.com.
