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LEWISTON, Idaho (5/29)  – The Sea Lions fell behind 5-0 in the bottom of the first inning of the Avista NAIA World Series Championship game, and although they battled back, Point Loma Nazarene eventually lost, 11-8 to Lubbock Christian (Tex.) Friday night in front of 4,005 fans at Lewis-Clark State’s Harris Field. 

PLNU, the third seed in the Series, ends the season as national runner up while the top-seed Chaps claimed the second championship in their program’s history.

The first title for the Chaps (52-8) came in 1983 when they defeated Lewis-Clark State 11-9. The Sea Lions (45-13) were seeking its first NAIA national title in any sport. PLNU teams have played in a national title game three times before: volleyball (1996) and softball (2002 & 2006). Each time the Green and Gold has come up short, though.

Baseball has come close before as well. The team made three World Series appearances prior to this season; ’93, ’94 and ’04. The program finished third in both ’93 and ’04.
 
Tournament MVP Will Stramp and Ross Blondin drove in three runs apiece to help Lubbock Christian top the Sea Lions in a  wild contest that featured 13 runs and 19 hits through the first three innings, quite a contrast to the club’s two previous meetings in the Series. On Tuesday, Point Loma claimed a 2-1 victory, while on Thursday, Lubbock Christian captured a 5-1 win to force an extra game in the 10-team double-elimination tournament.
 
Friday’s contest featured 30 hits as six players for LCU and four for Point Loma had two or more hits in the game. Lubbock Christian also had four players with two or more RBI. The two squads combined to strand 24 runners.
 
The Chaps appeared to be on their way to a big win on Friday when they scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning as Point Loma starter Chris Honer lasted one-third of an inning. He struggled with Friday’s tight strike zone and would give up four hits and two walks.
 
Blondin started the scoring in the inning with a two-run double, while a ground out made it 3-0. Rob Learned added an RBI single, while Jaime Armedariz was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in his second at bat of the inning to make it 5-0.
 
It only took Point Loma two innings to tie it. Right fielder Kaohi Downing was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force a run in during the second inning, while a two-run home run by DH Travis McCleary and an RBI double by Shortstop Tyler Kuehl led to a four-run third inning to knot the score.
 
Though the contest was in its early stages, it was already apparent that the Sea Lions weren't playing their game, while the Chaps felt right at home slugging it out.

Lubbock Christian regained the lead for good in the bottom of the third with three runs on two hits. Stramp provided the big blow as the senior outfielder smacked a three-run home run to left field for an 8-5 lead. Stramp homered in three consecutive games and finished with tournament-bests of 10 RBI and nine runs scored, along with tying for the most home runs.
 
Point Loma answered with two runs in the top of the fourth to make it 8-7.  After center fielder Kurt Steinhauer walked, McCleary picked up his third RBI of the game with a double. First baseman Steven Winnick later singled in McCleary.
 
LCU, however, answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning for a 10-7 lead. Dan Neumann started the rally with a triple and scored on a double by Learned, who later scored on a sacrifice fly.
 
After taking nearly two hours to complete the first four innings, both teams finally found the pitching they needed and only two runs were scored over the final five innings.
 
Part of that was due to the pitching of PLNU relievers Winnick and Davis Koenig. Koenig was the third Sea Lion hurler to toe the rubber in the game. The southpaw went three solid frames in which he allowed just one run on four hits. Winnick tossed a scoreless eighth.
 
Point Loma struck with a run in the sixth to make it 10-8.  After an error, Kuehl hit a run-scoring double. Lubbock Christian’s final run came in the eighth when Tanner Rindels was hit by a  Davis offering and later scored on a single by Blondin.
 
Stramp finished 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored, while Blondin went 2-for-4 with three RBI. Neumann and Learned went 3-for-4 and Learned finished with two RBI as did Armendariz.
 
McCleary went 2-for-5 with two runs scored to go with his three RBI, while Winnick went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Kuehn went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored.
 
Charlie Aceto, the second of four LCU pitchers, picked up the win to improve to 7-0, but it was Shane Karnbach and Jakob Cunningham that help Point Loma to one hit over the final four innings. Cunningham pitched a perfect ninth to pick up his seventh save.
 
Brandon Dixon, the second of four Point Loma pitchers, took the loss to fall to 10-4. He allowed eight hits and five runs in 3.2 innings.
 
Though disappointed that they came one win short of their goal, Point Loma Nazarene has a lot to be proud about. The Sea Lion’s 10-2 run in the postseason was a collective effort. The Green and Gold did what has to be done if a team is to play for the title: get hot and stay hot. From the opening game of the GSAC Tournament, to the NAIA Opening Round Playoffs at Azusa Pacific and through the World Series, the Sea Lions clicked in every category: hitting, power, fielding, pitching and base running.
 
Not regarded for their power, the Sea Lions launched 26 homeruns in the postseason while yielding only seven. PLNU belted a season best seven round trippers in the Opening Round title game against Azusa Pacific and then hit five shots against Lee (Tenn.) in the semifinals of the World Series.
 
Everyone, even the most unlikely, contributed. Ian MacMaster and Tim Winslow each put two over the fence in Lewiston despite having hit just one homerun prior. Mike Miles hit two homeruns during his PLNU career, both coming in the postseason.

Kurt Steinhauer, who is the university career and single season homerun holder, isn’t an unlikely power source, but no one could have expected eight round trippers in 12 contests. Shortstop Tyler Kuehl belted four homers since the end of the season, including two at the Series, and drove in a team-high 16 runs. Steinhauer plated 13 runners in postseason play while third baseman Wes Kartch drove in 11. DH Travis McCleary blasted two homers in Lewiston.
 
That’s just the start; PLNU outscored their opponents 77 to 33 in the postseason, out hit the competition .314 to .222 and swiped 11 bags. The Sea Lion pitching staff was just as dominate, posting a 2.31 ERA (compared to 5.84 against ERA) and struck out 84 batters. PLNU starters were especially effective as they earned wins in all 10 postseason victories, including three apiece by Andrew Bovich, Chris Honer and Brandon Dixon.
 
The Green and Gold’s defense made all the routine plays and many, many spectacular ones. As a team they turned 10 double plays. The outfield of Miles, Steinhauer and Kahoi Downing was stellar. Not only did they make many highlight-reel catches, they have combined for four rally-killing assists.
 
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM - ALL AMERICANS

- Lubbock Christian University senior outfield Will Stramp has been chosen as the Most Valuable Player of the 53rd annual Avista National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) World Series after leading the Chaps to the championship on Friday night at Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho.
 
Stramp heads the 2009 Avista-NAIA Baseball All-Tournament Team, as selected by the NAIA-Baseball Games Committee and attending media. The all-tournament team was announced following Lubbock Christian’s 11-8 win over Point Loma Nazarene in the title game.
 
Stramp hit three home runs in the tournament – all in consecutive games, including his 27th of the season in Friday’s win. In the championship game, Stramp went 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored.
 
For the tournament, Stramp finished 12-of-28 for a .429 batting average. He had nine runs scored and 10 RBI, both of which were tournament highs. He also had a slugging percentage of .821
 
Lubbock Christian and Point Loma Nazarene placed five players apiece on the All-Tournament Team. Sea Lions on the team were Wes Kartch, Andrew Bovich, Kurt Steinhauer, Brandon Dixon and Tim Winslow. Steinhauer was the recipient of the Charlie Hustle Award.

Steinhauer and Bovich were also selected as honorable mention All-Americans, though it is hard to understand why the pair didn't garner first or second team status. Steinhauer blasted 19 homers during the campaign and earned Rawlings Gold Glove honors for his excellent defense in center field.

Bovich won an NAIA leading 13 games to go with a 1.70 ERA. His earned run average is second best among all pitchers on the All-American lists and he won three postseason contests, including a 10-0 run-rule stoppage victory against Embry-Riddle and their first team pitcher at the World Series.
 
Other awards were dished out including the Hank Burbridge Champions of Character Team Award (Lubbock Christian University) and Buffalo Funds-NAIA 5-Star Champions of Character Team Award (Point Loma Nazarene). Both accolades recognize the team that has best exhibited the five core character values of Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Servant Leadership and Sportsmanship.
 
Nathan Quesenberry, a senior second baseman from Campbellsville University (Ky.) was pegged as the Hank Burbridge Champion of Character player. This marked the fifth straight year for recognizing this award in memory of Hall of Fame Coach Hank Burbridge who won over 1,000 games in 40 years at Spring Arbor (Mich.). 

 
2008 AVISTA-NAIA Baseball All-Tournament Team

Pos.	Name	School	Year	Hometown
1B	Andrew Starr	Berry (Ga.)	Sr.	Panama City, Fla.
2B	Jake Barrow	Southern Polytechnic St.	Jr.	Kennesaw, Ga.
SS	Armando Dominguez	Lubbock Christian (Texas)	Sr.	Presido, Texas
3B	Wes Kartch	Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.)	Jr.	Irvine, Calif.
INF	Chris Waters	Lee (Tenn.)	Sr.	Los Angeles, Calif
C	Tyler Johnson	Lubbock Christian (Texas)	Jr.	Elkhart, Ind.
C	Tim Winslow	Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.)	Jr.	Tucson, Ariz.
OF	Sean Halton	Lewis-Clark State (Idaho	Sr.	Fresno, Calif.
OF	Will Stramp	Lubbock Christian (Texas)	Sr.	Keller, Texas
OF	Kurt Steinhauer	Point Loma Nazarene	Sr.	Rolling Hills, Calif.
OF	Jason Machado	Oklahoma City	Sr.	Frisco, Calif.
DH	Junior Rodriguez	Lee (Tenn.)	Jr.	Coral Gables, Fla.
P	Brandon Dixon	Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.)	Jr.	Tucson, Ariz.
P	Rene Garcia	Lubbock Christian (Texas)	Jr.	Chino, Calif.
P	Andrew Bovich	Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.)	Sr.	San Clemente, Calif.
P	Jakob Cunningham	Lubbock Christian (Texas)	Sr.	Lubbock, Texas

AVISTA-NAIA Most Valuable Player - Will Stramp, Lubbock Christian (Texas)
Charlie Hustle Award - Kurt Steinhauer, Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.)
Gold Glove Award - Todd Muecklisch, Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho)
Hank Burbridge Champion of Character Player - Nathan Quesenberry, Campbellsville University (Tenn.)

Hank Burbridge Champions of Character Team - Lubbock Christian University (Texas)
Buffalo Funds-NAIA 5-Star Champions of Character Team Award - Point Loma Nazarene University (Calif.)

-NAIA.org