LEWISTON, Idaho -- The best season ever is over for the Fresno Pacific baseball team.
A 5-4 loss to Lee of Tennessee at Harris Field on Monday ended the Sunbirds' run in the NAIA World Series. FPU finished 39-21 after reaching the national tournament's final eight.
A towering two-run homer by Lee slugger Chris Wharters was the deciding blow in the top of the eigth inning. The Sunbirds had scored in the bottom of the seventh when
David Hawes came home on a double play to take a 4-3 lead.
"I knew in a game like this whoever capitalized late would get the win," Fresno Pacific coach Oscar Hirschkorn said. "Unfortunately, it was them.
"It was a well-played game by both sides. It always comes down to the little things."
There was nothing little about Wharters' home run, a rocket blast to center off Sunbirds reliever
Kelyn Schellenberg. Wharters entered the World Series batting .447 with 16 homers. Monday's was his second HR of the tournament.
Fresno Pacific had a 3-1 lead after four innings.
Dwight Nixon homered to lead off the fourth, then
Anthony Lowell and
Joey Norwood hit back-to-back doubles. Norwood eventually scored on a sacrifice fly.
Lee retaliated with a run in the sixth and another in the seventh to tie.
"I thought we could do it today," said Nixon, whose pinch-hit, two-run walkoff home run in the ninth inning won Saturday's game against Embry-Riddle. "Things went well at the start, but we just came up short."
Lowell finished the World Series with 10 hits in 13 at-bats.
Brian Oliver pitched six innings of shutout relief in the tournament.
Jacob Burns started Monday's gamed and allowed just two runs in six innings.
"This was probably one of our better-played games of the season," Sunbirds catcher
Jared Coleman said. "Jake pitched an awesome game to keep us in the game."
It was Fresno Pacific's first appearance at the NAIA World Series, in just the fourth season for the program. The Sunbirds earned the trip to Lewiston by winning five straight elimination games to claim the regional in Sioux City, Iowa.