Southeastern

Players from NAIA schools taken in the 2018 Major league Baseball draft:

Schedule for the first two days of the 64^th NAIA Baseball National Championship, Friday-Saturday, May 28-June 4, Harris Field, Lewiston, ID (all times PDT):

8:30 AM: #8Keiser(36-16) vs. #9LSU-Shreveport (44-14)

Keiser (West Palm Beach, FL) is making their second trip to the Baseball National Championship. The first one was in 2017, and they went 1-2. Twitter: @KeiserBaseball
Nickname: Seahawks
Rankings: #17 in coaches' poll, #9 in Boyd Nation's ISR. Strength of Schedule: #10
Quality wins:3-0 vs. South Carolina-Beaufort, 3-3 vs. Saint Thomas, 2-0 vs. Oklahoma City
Top position players: 3B Tim Bouchard (.403, 16 HR, 67 RBI), OF Matthew Catalfo (.389, 7 HR, 62 RBI), OF Ben McConnell (.356, 6 HR, 40 RBI), SS Mason Dineson (.330, 10 HR, 53 RBI), C Zach Mazur (.253, 14 HR, 53 RBI)
Top Pitchers: RHP Pablo Arevalo (9-3, 1.38 ERA, 114 K), RHP James Reynolds (7-3, 3.65 ERA, 57 K), RHP Deykel Reyes (8-1, 5.52 ERA, 72 K). Arevalo's 1.38 ERA is third-best in the NAIA. He has pitched 117 innings, which is the most in the NAIA.
Coach: Brook Fordyce, fourth season
Outlook:The Seahawks are not at the same level as the top four teams in this tournament.

Louisiana State-Shreveport is making their fourth trip to the Baseball National Championship. The most recent one was 2012, and they finished third. Twitter: @LSUS_Baseball
Nickname: Pilots
Rankings: #25 in coaches' poll, #11 in ISR. SoS: #24
Quality wins:Central Methodist, 2-2 vs. Oklahoma City, Mobile, 2-0 vs. Point Park
Top position players: 3B Payton Robertson (.417, 7 HR, 56 RBI), OF Kody Kolb (.408, 45 RBI), DH Taylor Fajardo (.345, 15 HR, 43 RBI)
Top Pitchers: RHP Trent Sholders (6-1, 3.04 ERA, 30 K), LHP Josh Fortenberry (8-2, 3.23 ERA, 63 K), RHP Sebastian Selway (6-3, 3.36 ERA, 86 K), RHP Kevin Miranda (6-3, 5.30 ERA, 70 K), RHP Luisdiego Quintana (4-3, 5.12 ERA, 70 K)
Coach: Brad Neffendorf, second season
Outlook:Either the Pilots or the Seahawks will get a win.

Schedule for the first two days of the 65^th NAIA Baseball National Championship, Friday-Saturday, May 27-June 3, Harris Field, Lewiston, ID (all times PDT):

Friday, 8:30 AM: #8 seed Georgia Gwinnett (45-14) vs. #9 MidAmerica Nazarene (39-16)

Georgia Gwinnett (Lawrenceville, GA) is making their fifth trip to Lewiston. They are the defending champions. They won the Continental Athletic Conference tournament. Twitter: @GGC_Baseball
Nickname: Grizzlies
Rankings:#10 in coaches' poll, #30 in Boyd Nation's Iterative Strength Rating. Strength of Schedule: #94 (lowest in tournament)
Quality wins: 3-1 vs. Northwestern Ohio, U. of the Cumberlands, 1-1 vs. Webber International
Top position players: IF Braxton Megular (.394, 50 RBI), 3B Jake Defries (.324, 47 RBI), C Austin Bates (.377, 44 RBI), OF Livingston Morris (.327, 18 HR, 65 RBI), OF Blaze O'Saben (.372, 31 RBI), DH J.D. Stubbs (.340, 55 RBI)
Top pitchers:RHP Kevin Kyle (6-0, 1.41 ERA, 64 K), LHP Tyler Clayton (5-1, 1.99 ERA, 66 K), RHP Rob Hamby (8-2, 2.75 ERA, 80 K), RHP Gavin Heltemes (7-1, 3.31 ERA, 84 K)
Coach:Jeremy Sheetinger, third season
Outlook: The Grizzlies won't be repeat champions.

MidAmerica Nazarene (Olathe, KS) is making their first appearance in the Baseball National Championship. They finished first on the South Division of the Heart of America Conference. Twitter: @mnusports
Nickname:Pioneers
Rankings:Unranked in coaches' poll, #15 in ISR. SoS: #28

Quality wins:4-3 vs. Central Methodist, Freed-Hardeman, 2-0 vs. Oklahoma City
Top position players: OF Josh Torrance (.379, 7 HR, 40 RBI), 1B/RHP Noah Castillo (.375, 7 HR, 46 RBI, and 7-1, 6.71 ERA, 63 K on the mound), SS Brycen Sherwood (.339, 11 HR, 40 RBI), C Joshuan Sandoval (.307, 15 HR, 50 RBI), 3B Dionathan Cornett (.321, 9 HR, 50 RBI)
Top pitchers:RHP Nathan Torres (1-0, 0.74 ERA, 43 K, 14saves), RHP Zach Trevino (10-3, 3.88 ERA, 108K), LHP Kristian Hurtado (7-3, 4.61 ERA, 61 K), RHP Eric Navarette (5-5, 5.42 ERA, 80 K)
Coach:Ryan Thompson, 16^th season
Outlook: Happy to be here.

Schedule for the first two days of the 66th NAIA Baseball National Championship, Friday-Saturday, May 26-June 2, Harris Field, Lewiston, ID (all times PDT):

Friday, 8:35 AM: #10 seed MidAmerica Nazarene (34-26) vs. #7 Taylor (40-15)

MidAmerica Nazarene (Olathe, KS) is making their second appearance in the Baseball National Championship. They went 0-2 last year. They were runners-up in the Heart of America Conference tournament. Twitter: @mnusports
Nickname:Pioneers
Rankings:Unranked in coaches' poll, #67 in Boyd Nation's Iterative Strength Rating (ISR). Strength of Schedule: #65
Quality wins:3-2 vs. Central Methodist, Morningside, 2-1 vs. LSU-Shreveport
Top position players: 1B/RHP Noah Castillo (.357, 11 HR, 45 RBI, and 1-6, 7.45 ERA, 26 K on the mound), SS Brycen Sherwood (.304, 10 HR, 37 RBI), IF Javier Melendez (Salinas, Puerto Rico; .350, 8 HR, 47 RBI), OF Sean Maple (.300, 8 HR, 36 RBI), 3B Dionathan Cornet (San Nicolas, Aruba; .282, 9 HR, 43 RBI)
Top pitchers:RHP Reece Holland (Moose Jaw, SK; 5-0, 3.52 ERA, 25 K), RHP Zach Trevino (9-2, 4.06 ERA, 98 K), LHP Kristian Hurtado (3-1, 3.58 ERA, 30 K), RHP Tyler Frieders (10-5, 4.85 ERA, 96 K)
Coach:Ryan Thompson, 17th season
Outlook: The Pioneers have improved their pitching since last year, but it might not be enough to come home with a win.

Taylor (Upland, IN) is making their second appearance in the Baseball National Championship; the previous one was in 1969. They won the Crossroads League regular season championship. Twitter: @taylorbaseball
Nickname:Trojans
Rankings:#19 in coaches' poll, #27 in ISR. SoS: #64
Quality wins:Benedictine-Mesa, Kansas Wesleyan, 4-0 vs. Indiana Wesleyan
Top position players:RHP/OF Kaleb Kolpien (.431, 6 HR, 51 RBI), C Ben Kalbaugh (.346, 7 HR, 46 RBI), 1B Cade Vander Molen (.305, 13 HR, 58 RBI), C/OF T.J. Bass (.281, 18 HR, 56 RBI). Kolpien's average is the 17^th highest in the NAIA.
Top pitchers:RHP Jack Ross (6-0, 2.89 ERA, 51 K, 8 saves), RHP Matt Dutkowski (7-2, 3.35 ERA, 81 K), RHP Alec Holcomb (6-2, 4.64 ERA, 66 K), RHP Dalton Swinehart (4-1, 5.45 ERA, 72 K)
Coach:Kyle Gould, 19th season
Outlook:The Trojans should win a game.

Results of the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID for May 31.

Lewis-Clark State 15, William Carey 6 (William Carey eliminated)

The Warrriors lit up a depleted Crusader pitching staff with six home runs. The barrage started with a three-run home run by Nick Seamons in the bottom of the second inning, chasing Crusader starter Andrew Shirah. The Warriors led 6-0 after two innings. The Crusaders got back into it with six runs in the top of the fourth inning, starting with a two-RBI triple by Rigoberto Hernandez. Hernandez scored on a ground out by Caleb Laird. Bobby Lada hit a three-run home run to tie the game 6-6, but the Crusaders didn’t score again the rest of the way. Isaiah Thomas hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth. Seamons hit his second home run of the game, for two runs, in the bottom of the fifth.

At that point, the Warriors led 9-6, and the game was still within reach for the Crusaders. However, the Warriors started the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run by Jakob Marquez. After an out on a popup, Carter Booth hit a home run. That chased John Snyder, who entered the game in the second inning. His replacement, Caeleb Williams, faced three batters, walked two of them. Williams was replaced by Connor Adams, and he was greeted with a three-run home run by Thomas, his second of the game. Dominic Signorelli hit a single, and scored on a double by Pu’ukani De Sa to complete the scoring. Every one of the Warriors’ starting position players got a hit.

Results of the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID for May 29.

Indiana Wesleyan 11, Georgia Gwinnett 10 (Georgia Gwinnett eliminated)

The Wildcats got ten runs in the first two innings, and they needed every one of them, plus one more that they added in the bottom of the eighth.

The Wildcats’ barrage was led by three-run home runs by Ty Mathews and Jeff Morton in the second inning. However, the Grizzlies got back into the game with five runs in the top of the fourth, led by a three-run home run by Braxton Meguilar, and a solo home run by Caden Smith. Ajay Szcepkowski added another solo home run in the fifth, and the Wildcats’ lead was cut to 10-6. The Grizzlies made it a one-run game by scoring three runs in the top of the eighth on an RBI double by Cohen Wilbanks, an RBI single by Devin Warner, and a sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Brody Parkerson. However, in the bottom of the eighth, the Bobcats got what turned out to be a crucial insurance run. The Grizzlies got within one run again with Szcepkowski’s second home run of the game in the top of the ninth, but the game ended with a double play.

Schedule for the first two days of the 62^nd NAIA Baseball National Championship, Friday-Saturday, May 25-June 1, Harris Field, Lewiston, ID (all times PDT):

8:30 AM: #8 seed Antelope Valley (44-12-1) vs. #9 Reinhardt (41-18)

Antelope Valley (Lancaster, CA) is making their first appearance at the Baseball National Championship, in only the third season of their program. They won both the regular season and tournament championships of the California Pacific Conference.
Nickname:Pioneers
Rankings: #17 in coaches' poll, #29 in ISR. Strength of Schedule: #93
Quality wins:2-2 vs. Lewis-Clark State, Middle Georgia State, 2-1 vs. William Jessup
Top position players:IF Michael Pereznegron (.398), IF Tyler Pittmon (.376, 9 HR, 64 RBI), OF Adam Maciel (.410, 57 RBI), C/1B Nathaniel Broaddus (.318, 8 HR, 42 RBI)
Top pitchers: RHP Clayton Rabiej (11-0, 3.28 ERA, 93 K), RHP Jacob Castillo (11-0, 4.75 ERA), RHP Jesse Garcia (7-4, 5.30 ERA, 77 K), LHP Chris Gutierrez (3-0, 2.61 ERA)
Coach:Jacob Garsez, third season
Outlook:The Pioneers should win this one, but if they do, Saturday night's game against Faulkner will be a challenge.

Reinhardt (Waleska, GA) is one of five teams making their first appearance at the Baseball National Championship. The Eagles and Freed-Hardeman are tied for fourth in the NAIA in team fielding, with a .971 average.
Nickname:Eagles
Rankings: Unranked in coaches' poll, #14 in ISR. Strength of Schedule: #24
Quality wins:1-1 vs. Middle Georgia State, 2-1 vs. Campbellsville
Top position players: OF Kaleb Swayze (.356, 10 HR, 45 RBI), 1B Sherman Graves (.316, 10 HR, 55 RBI), IF Jacob Cagle (.256, 12 HR, 49 RBI)
Top pitchers: RHP Heriberto Casasola (Panama City, Panama; 6-2, 2.25 ERA, 48 K), RHP Dylan Powers (11-3, 2.62 ERA), 80 K), RHP Jason Gifford (9-3, 3.32 ERA, 85 K)
Coach:John Harris, first season
Outlook:The Eagles are happy to be here.

Schedule for the first two days of the 63^rd NAIA Baseball National Championship, Friday-Saturday, May 24-31, Harris Field, Lewiston, ID (all times PDT):

8:30 AM: #8 seed Indiana Tech (41-14-1) vs. #9 Bellevue (46-14)

Indiana Tech (Fort Wayne) is making their sixth trip to the Baseball National Championship. The most recent one was in 2003. They are the champions of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. Twitter: @INTechBaseball
Nickname: Warriors
Rankings:#23 in coaches' poll, #7 in ISR. SoS: #20
Quality wins:2-0 vs. Tennessee Wesleyan, 2-1 vs. Freed-Hardeman, 2-0 vs. U. of the Cumberlands
Top position players:1B/C Glen McClain (.435, 17 HR, 54 RBI), 3B Branson Dossen (.370, 5 HR, 49 RBI), 1B/3B Jake Defries (.368, 3 HR, 42 RBI). McClain is tied for 12^th in the NAIA in hitting and home runs.
Top Pitchers: RHP Tanner Perkins (5-0, 1.10 ERA), LHP Charles Dunavan (9-1, 2.60 ERA, 93 strikeouts), RHP Seth Sorensen (7-3, 2.24 ERA, 63 strikeouts), LHP Dan Shaw (2-2, 1.79 ERA, 62 strikeouts)
Coach:Kip McWilliams, 12^th season
Outlook:The Warriors are happy to be here.

Bellevue (Omaha, NE) is making their 13^th trip to the Baseball National Championship. The most recent one was in 2016. They are the champions of the North Star Athletic Association. Twitter: @BUBruinBaseball
Nickname:Bruins
Rankings:#21 in coaches' poll, #20 in ISR. SoS: #77
Quality wins:Saint Thomas, Oklahoma City, LSU-Shreveport
Top position players: SS Kory Longaker (.385, 12 HR, 57 RBI), C Travis Tanaka (.380, 3 HR, 51 RBI), 3B J.T. Patterson (.379, 24home runs, 87 RBI). Patterson is fourth in the NAIA in home runs, and second in RBI.
Top Pitchers: LHP Jarrett Poh (9-0, 1.55 ERA, 68 strikeouts), RHP Stephen Knapp (10-2, 2.33 ERA, 51 strikeouts), RHP Colton Walker (5-2, 4.13 ERA, 60 strikeouts). Poh has the sixth-lowest ERA in the NAIA.
Coach:Duane Monlux, ninth season
Outlook:The Bruins will win a game.