LEWISTON, Idaho – A historic run came to an end as St. Thomas (48-18) lost to Lewis-Clark State 10-7 (46-12) late Friday night in the championship game of the NAIA World Series.   The runner-up finish is the best in school history for the Bobcats who won four straight elimination games to earn a spot in the championship game.
 
Lewis-Clark State came from behind from a 7-1 deficit, scoring nine unanswered runs.  The Warriors scored two runs in the sixth and one run in the seventh, before scoring six runs in the eighth inning to take the lead.  Much of the rally came following a 45-minute lightning delay in the bottom of the sixth.
 
St. Thomas jumped out to a big lead early with five runs in the bottom of the first.  Nico Hernandez drew a lead-off walk, followed by a single to right field by Cesar Ramirez.  Paul Chacin singled to load the bases for left fielder Jerry Downs who recorded a RBI ground out to score Hernandez.  First Eric Santamaria then  grounded out to score Ramirez.  Chacin would score on a wild pitch and Adam Duarte drove in two more runs later in the inning on a single to center.
 
Lewis-Clark State scored a run in the third to cut the STU lead to four runs.
 
In the fifth, Chacin led off with a double.  With one out, Santamaria hit a home run deep down the left field line to give the Bobcats a 7-1 lead.
 
In the top of the sixth, the Warriors added two more runs to make the score 7-3.  A lightning delay came in the bottom of the sixth with one out at 11:50 p.m. ET.
 
STU's Starting pitcher Ben Ancheff was outstanding, allowing just one run on two hits while striking out five on 86 pitches over 4.1 innings.  It was a season-long outing for Ancheff, who debuted for the Bobcats on March 31 after coming back from Tommy John surgery.
 
Brandon Valentin relieved Ancheff with a runner on first in the fifth, then loaded the bases with back-to-back walks.  Tyeler Checkley then entered the game with the bases loaded and two outs.  Checkley retired a batter on the fly out in foul territory caught by Santamaria, then ended the innings with a deep fly ball to right field caught on the fence by Hernandez.

The Bobcats return to South Florida on Saturday and are scheduled to arrive into Fort Lauderdale International Airport on three separate flights (United #1763 at 6:35 p.m., Southwest #2119 at 7:20 p.m. and US Airways #553 at 10:29 p.m.) on Saturday evening.