Lee University's baseball team finished in the top four of the NAIA World Series for the fifth year in a row but again is without a championship.
After losing 13-3 to neighbor Tennessee Wesleyan in the late game Tuesday, the second-seeded Flames lost 7-5 to ninth seed Rogers State of Oklahoma on Wednesday, ending their season at 56-11-1.
Wesleyan then sustained its first loss in the tournament, 7-3 to top-seeded LSU Shreveport, and will play the Pilots again tonight at 9:35 EDT. The winner will face Rogers State (49-15) at that time Friday. Rogers edged Shreveport (54-5) on Saturday, 2-1.
Wesleyan (51-12) had only three hits going into the bottom of the ninth but regained some momentum despite its first loss in 18 games as Taylor Oldham singled, Jordan Guida hit a two-run homer, Dale Ricketts doubled and Thomas Sicking tripled. Guida was 2-for-3 for the Athens team.
The Pilots totaled 14 hits with three from David Dorton and two apiece from Ridge Gonsoulin, Kyle Pearson, Kade Billeaudeaux and Brandon Cooksey.
Lee took a 5-1 lead on Rogers with a five-run second inning but never scored again. The Oklahoma team scored two in the fifth and went ahead with a four-run seventh when Keith Poverud and Brandon Bargas opened with singles off Flames starter Jose Samayoa, Eric Baker greeted reliever Matt Passauer with a two-run double, Colton Campbell added a one-out RBI single and Lance Rymel singled in a run off Joe Fabre.
Leadoff man Baker was 3-for-5 with a triple, two doubles and four RBIs for the Hilldcats, and Campbell was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Corey Davis was 3-for-4 with a home run leading off the second for Lee, and Trevor Burgess had a two-run homer and Blake Barber a two-run double in the inning.
Although the Flames had beat Wesleyan in two of their three regular-season meetings and seven of their nine previous losses had been by one or two runs, Tuesday night's matchup was all Bulldogs. They scored two runs in the second, three in the fourth and four in the top of the fifth for a 9-0 lead, and when Lee scored two in the bottom of the fifth the Bulldogs answered with three in the sixth.
Guida was 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs and three runs and Stephen Branca was 3-for-5 with a homer, two RBIs and two runs for TWC. Oldham was 2-for-2 with two doubles and two RBIs, Ricketts was 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs, Sicking also drove in two runs and Jake Stone scored three times.
Leadoff man Brady Renner was 2-for-3 with an RBI double for the Flames, and Mike Moore had a double and scored twice. Wesleyan starting pitcher Corey Rhoney allowed five hits and six walks in eight innings and had stretches of nine and seven successive outs.