Scott Hunt wasn’t willing to see a season without the Avista NAIA World Series.

So he decided, by his own hands, that the tournament would go on.

From his couch in Lebanon, Tenn., Hunt — a former Cumberland University (Tenn.) infielder and the son of the school’s longtime baseball coach, Woody Hunt — has been running a simulation of the Series on his trusty PlayStation 2 the past several days, and posting updates from his rapidly growing Twitter account, @scmfalconbb.

In the process, he’s seen an outpouring of support from the NAIA baseball community, and received encouraging messages from Tennessee Wesleyan coach Billy Berry and Georgia Gwinnett’s Jeremy Sheetinger, to name a few.

“I’ve gotten texts from players, coaches, NAIA athletic directors, saying, ‘I really enjoy what you’re doing. Thanks for the distraction,’” Hunt said.

A pastime is necessary amid uncertainty caused by the spread of the coronavirus, which forced the NAIA to cancel the tournament March 17. More locally, Middle Tennessee was ravaged by a tornado two weeks ago, which destroyed Hunt’s parents’ home, among many others. His relatives were unharmed, but not everyone around the region was.

“It’s just been a lot,” he said. “We’ve had some hard times the past couple weeks. I think everybody needs a distraction right now.

“My intention was to just kill some time, and it kinda took off.”

Hunt sought to create something light in bleak times. His iteration of the Series isn’t lacking in amusement for the NAIA scene.

He doesn’t play, but simulates games on EA Sports MVP ’07 NCAA Baseball, his favorite and most recently purchased video game (around 13 years ago).

“I was surprised (when) I pulled the system out and the game worked. I thought, ‘Hey man, I’m gonna play the Series,’” he said.

He tweets by the inning, and with each notable swing, pitch or double play — as if games were in real time.

Hunt, an English major in college and writer at heart, brings the sim to life with expository details. Managers get in spats with umpires — and are sometimes ejected; dozens of valley establishments and sight-seeing opportunities get shout-outs; attendances are announced; pitch counts/speeds are tracked; historical record-breakers are noted, and there’s no shortage of fantastical fan accounts and animated highlight reels.

Games on the third day were postponed because of rainfall. Hunt posted a photo of a tarp on Lewis-Clark State’s Harris Field.

“You know you’re gonna have a rain delay at some point,” he said with a laugh. “I spend some time each day, ‘What do I need to make this a good experience?’”

Hunt, 47, observes game themes, like a lack of mound prowess in an eventual 8-6 Georgia Gwinnett win against LSU-Shreveport in Game 4, noting, “Pitching must be in Clarkston, sure hasn’t shown up in Lewiston.”

“I’ve seen players tweeting back and forth, like if someone made an error on the simulation, his teammates are on Twitter giving him a hard time, ‘I knew you’d do that at some point,’” said Hunt, a part-time scout for the Chicago Cubs who teaches and coaches baseball and football at Stewarts Creek Middle School, which has closed its doors until at least April 5. Like many, he and his wife, also an educator, are temporary home bodies. “There’s just been a lot of fun interaction. It helps take your mind off things.”

For Hunt, an avid follower of NAIA baseball, it’s not all for kicks. He needed scenarios to feel authentic, so he did his research — a good deal of it.

He calculated season records by the pace each team was on, poured through team statistics and compared them to numbers of clubs in the video game, “matching up teams from the NAIA with teams from the NCAA with similar strengths.” For example: Defending champion Tennessee Wesleyan was represented by Oregon State, the defending champ in 2007.

When the Series field was set, he ensured uniforms corresponded. Series mainstay Faulkner (Ala.), sporting royal blue, becomes the Kansas Jayhawks. When simulating LCSC games, Gonzaga is the Warriors’ stand-in.

Hunt will name an all-Series team when his simulated tournament concludes today. He’s already revealed Colton Williams of Science and Arts (Okla.) and Jason Munsch of Concordia (Neb.) as conjectured co-pitchers of the year, and Luis Vargas of Wayland Baptist (Texas) as player of the year. Hunt generated their stat lines using predictive analytics.

“It’s all kinda been a process,” he said. “Just having some fun with it helps pass the time.”

In 16 games so far, his makeshift Series has supplied a healthy dose of stunners and well-matched games, as is natural. There have been three walk-offs, any number of momentum swings, and stars — like USAO’s Williams — shining in big moments. Hunt shocked himself when stalwarts Tennessee Wesleyan and Southeastern (Fla.) were knocked out in the Opening Round tournaments, which he also seeded and simulated.

“Every year there’s gonna be a surprise; someone’s gonna end up here that you don’t expect,” he said.

Hunt’s remaining four to be re-seeded are 3-0 Georgia Gwinnett, No. 1 USAO, Cumberland (Ky.) and Faulkner.

Ninth-seeded L-C was ousted in two games — a 16-12, 15-inning loss to Indiana-Southeast, then a 3-2 defeat, ending with a Faulkner walk-off.

“I know some Lewiston folks will be upset,” he joked. “I tried to make it realistic, didn’t pull any homer moves here. My dad saw it first. I told him, ‘Sorry, (Cumberland) didn’t make the postseason.’”

Hunt is no stranger to Lewiston or the Series — as a senior for Cumberland in 1995, he was part of a runner-up team at an Iowa-hosted tournament. He’s been to Lewiston four times to watch his father’s teams, the first in 1988 when he was 13. He’s spectated two second-place Cumberland finishes, including a 5-4 L-C win in 2006.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t around to see Bulldog titles in 2004, 2010 and 2014.

“Needless to say, it’s a special place for my dad. It’s big for my family,” he said. Woody Hunt’s Cumberland Bulldogs (renamed “Phoenix” in 2016) have been longtime fan-favorites here. “Just seeing the way the town embraces the teams, the whole community’s excited, and seeing the pageantry and the opening ceremony, it’s almost magical.”

Scott Hunt, who was pondering making a return trip to Lewiston this year, has preserved some of the magic, fashioning his own tournament to create a fun diversion in tough times.

“If it gives people a chance to breathe with everything going on, great,” Hunt said.

Clark may be reached at cclark@lmtribune.com, on Twitter @ClarkTrib or by phone at (208) 848-2260.

Series teams

1. USAO (52-6)

2. Cumberland (Ky.) (48-8)

3. Georgia Gwinnett (50-6)

4. St. Thomas (Fla.) (48-8)

5. Faulkner (Ala.) (45-11)

6. LSU-Shreveport (46-11)

7. Lyon (Ark.) (40-17)

8. Indiana-Southeast (42-16)

9. LCSC (37-14)

10. Concordia (Neb.) (36-21)