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 61^st NAIA Baseball National Championship, Friday-Saturday, May 26-27, Harris Field, Lewiston, ID (all times PDT):

8:30 AM: #7 seed Science and Arts of Oklahoma (47-15) vs. #10 The Master's (39-21)

Science and Arts of Oklahoma (Chikasha, OK) is making their second appearance at the Baseball National Championship. They went two-and-out last year, and were taken out by The Master's. The Drovers win the United Nations award for the second straight year; they have an Australian, five Puerto Ricans, and a Dominican Republican.
Nickname: Drovers
Rankings: #19 in coaches' poll, #27 in ISR. Strength of Schedule: #37
Quality wins: 3-1 vs. Bellevue, Davenport, 3-1 vs. Friends, Oklahoma Baptist
Top position players: UTL Christian Perez (.434, 10 HR, 59 RBI, Bayamon, Puerto Rico), RF Randy Ventura (.429, 10 HR, 52 RBI, Carolina, Puerto Rico), C Dillon White (.410, 15 HR, 80 RBI). White's 80 RBI are fifth-best in the NAIA.
Top pitchers: LHP Francis Ventura (10-1, 1.64 ERA, 88 K), LHP Jose Hidalgo (9-1, 2.04 ERA, 85 K), RHP Ruddy Estrella (1-1, 2.49 ERA, 29 K), LHP Carson Korff (8-0, 2.56 ERA, 52 K). Ventura's ERA is third-lowest in the NAIA, and lowest of the pitchers in this tournament. Hidalgo's ERA is 15^th-lowest.
Coach: Mike Ross, 13^th season
Outlook: The Drovers had to beat a really good Bellevue team twice and a good Davenport team to get here. This is a tough first round matchup for both teams.

The Master's (Santa Clarita, CA) is making their fourth appearance at the Baseball National Championship. They went 1-2 in last year's tournament. The win was 6-1 over Science and Arts of Oklahoma; RHP Brad Lohse pitched a complete game. They won the Golden State Athletic Conference tournament by winning five straight after losing the opening game.
Nickname: Mustangs
Rankings: Unranked in coaches' poll, #7 in ISR. SoS: #6
Quality wins: 4-1 vs. Menlo, 2-0 vs. Georgia Gwinnett. Defeated Hope International twice in GSAC tournament.
Top position players: C Jonah Jarrard (.413, 12 HR, 46 RBI), 3B Michael Sexton (.401, 16 HR, 59 RBI), CF Max Maitland (.351), SS Aaron Shackelford (.316, 14 HR, 50 RBI), 1B David Sheaffer (262, 8 HR, 59 RBI)
Top pitchers: RHP Danny Lutz (2-1, 2.53 ERA, 29 K), RHP Aaron Alexander (10-4, 2.84 ERA, 95 K), RHP Robert Winslow (8-5, 2.92 ERA, 97 K), RHP Jason Karkenny (5-2, 4.28 ERA, 49 K)
Coach: Monte Brooks, 21st season
Outlook: After a slow start, the Mustangs went 24-4 since March 25, and enter this tournament with a nine-game winning streak. Preview from The Master's College.

NAIA coaches' poll for May 2, 2017, with Boyd Nation's ISR. Recaps below.

NAIA coaches' poll for April 18, 2017, with Boyd Nation's ISR. Recaps below.

NAIA coaches' poll for March 7, 2017, with Boyd Nation's ISR. Recaps below.

#1 Georgia Gwinnett swept through the Association of Independent Institutions tournament, defeating Fisher 13-3, Mount Mercy 9-1, and Clarke 6-3 and 14-1. In the first game against Clarke, CF Josh Merrigan hit an RBI single for the winning run. RHP Nikolay Uherek got the win, pitched seven innings, allowed two earned runs on nine hits, struck out six. Story

Zac Rinehart is second in the NAIA in hitting with a .476 average. The Grizzlies are hosting an Opening Round bracket May 17-20. video

#2 Bellevue won the North Star Athletic Association tournament. They hit eight home runs in the final against Mayville State, and won 14-1. LF Joe Moran hit two of the home runs. RHP Ben McKendall had a shutout going into the eighth inning before giving up a home run by LF Aaron Miller. The Comets had to play an "if necessary" game to get to the final, and ran out of pitchers in the seventh inning, when the Bruins scored ten runs. Story None of the games the Bruins played in the tournament were close. RHP Todd Nicks and RHP John Timmins combined for an 11-0 shutout over Waldorf; Nicks struck out 14. Story

McKendall is now 11-1, 1.53 ERA (ninth-best in the NAIA), with 111 strikeouts (tied for sixth-best in the NAIA). The Bruins now wait to learn their Opening Round location.

#3 Lewis-Clark State won the NAIA West tournament, without giving up a single run. The defending champions defeated Corban 7-0, British Columbia 3-0, and C. of Idaho 5-0. RHP Kevin Hamann, RHP Noel Gonzalez (in relief), and RHP Connor Brogdon got the wins; Hamann went the distance. The game against British Columbia was probably the best of the three. It was scoreless until the eight inning, and a good pitching duel between RHP Curtis Taylor of the Thunderbirds (6 IP, 4 hits, 10 strikeouts, no walks) and RHP Quin Grogan of the Warriors (7 2/3 IP, 3 hits, seven strikeouts, three walks). The Warriors got the only run they needed on an RBI double by CF Logan Griffin, off reliever RHP Christian Botnick. LF Jacob Zanon completed the scoring with a solo home run. Story 1B Tyler McDowell went 4-for-4 with two triples and a stolen base in the game against C. of Idaho. Story

The Warriors are idle until the Baseball National Championship tournament May 27-June 3. Both the Thunderbirds (ISR #9, #1 in strength of schedule) and C. of Idaho (ISR #12) will be playing in the Opening Round.

The headliners are DH Keivan Berges of Keiser (Formerly Northwood FL) and LHP Adam Hines of LSU-Shreveport. Berges batted .333 with 156 home runs last season. Hines had an ERA of 0.96, and pitched seven complete games, including four straight. OF Colton Nash of Bellevue batted .352, hit grand slam home runs in three consecutive games. RHP Curtis Taylor of British Columbia had an ERA of 1.02. SS Cabe Reiten of Lewis-Clark State batted .411, started all 58 games.

NAIA coaches' poll for April 28, 2015, with Boyd Nation's ISR. Recaps below.

NAIA coaches' poll for April 21, 2015, with Boyd Nation's ISR. Recaps below.

NAIA coaches' poll for April 14, 2015, with Boyd Nation's ISR. Recaps below.