World Series of the imagination: Congratulations, Science and Arts
Staff Writer | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 7 months AGO
> Former Cumberland (Tenn.) infielder and NAIA baseball enthusiast Scott Hunt — the son of 39-year CU coach Woody Hunt — completed his simulation of the Avista NAIA World Series on Sunday, crowning Science and Arts of Oklahoma the champions for the first time in program history.
Hunt, who’s attracted droves of attention on Twitter for his real-time “coverage” of the PlayStation 2-simulated event, began his tournament early last week. He sought to pass the time, and make something amusing in times of uncertainty because of the coronavirus. The spread of the virus forced the NAIA to cancel the tournament a week ago.
On Saturday, he put Georgia Gwinnett vs. Science and Arts through his realistic simulation on a 13-year-old college baseball game to determine the championship contenders, which turned out to be Drovers vs. Series mainstay Faulkner (Ala.). USAO beat the Eagles 5-4 in front of “a record crowd of 8,420,” he joked. Hunt put himself through the Series’ painstaking reseeding process after a week of simulated games.
Hunt’s Twitter feed (@scmfalconbb) is worth a read-through. Along with game themes and big plays, he created Harris Field side notes, shouted out historic figures and noted Lewiston-Clarkston Valley establishments. Players, coaches, fans and the media began to interact with his game threads. His tournament field, the teams of which even sported the correct uniform colors, was generated using predictive math for stats and season records. Hunt paired NAIA teams with statistically similar NCAA counterparts to simulate Opening Round tournaments.
“Thanks everyone for tuning into the World Series sim,” tweeted Hunt, who’s made the trip to Lewiston four times, and was thinking about making it five this May. “I am tired, but I had fun, and my intent was to give us all a distraction from the current times.”
Hunt, who resides in Lebanon, Tenn., and is a schoolteacher and coach at Stewarts Creek Middle School, was featured in Saturday’s edition of the Tribune.
Lewis-Clark State played host to the World Series every year between 2000 and 2019, reprising a role it had filled for eight seasons ending in 1991. The host duties have gone hand-in-hand with the Warriors’ success on the field, resulting in 19 Series titles.