Result of the final day of the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID, June 2.

Westmont 7, Lewis-Clark State 6

Parker O’Neil drew a bases-loaded walk with two out in the bottom of the eighth inning to win the game and Westmont’s first-ever national championship.

The decisive inning started with a ground out. Robbie Haw reached first on a throwing error, then went to second on a ground out. L-C State’s pitcher, Drake George, who entered the game in the third inning, was relieved by Greg Blackman. Ryan DeSaegher was intentionally walked, and replaced by a pinch runner, Paul Mezurashi. With Bryce McFeely at the plate, Haw and Mezcurashi executed a perfect double steal. McFeely drew a walk to load the bases, then O’Neil drew the walk for the winning run.

L-C State opened the scoring with a solo home run by Isaiah Thomas in the top of the second inning. Westmont answered with a two-RBI single by Liam Critchett. (Both teams have the Warriors nickname.) DeSaegher hit an RBI single in the bottom of the third, reached on a fielding error to bring in a run in the bottom of the fourth, and Westmont led 5-1.

L-C State got back in it with a three-run home run by Charlie Updegrave in the top of the fifth. Westmont added a run in the bottom of the sixth on a very unusual play. McFeely hit what should have been an inning-ending ground out to George on the mound. George probably could have just run the ball to first for

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 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.

Players from NAIA schools taken in the 2022 Major League Baseball draft:

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, 14 saves), RHP Zach Trevino (10-3, 3.88 ERA, 108 K), 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.

Players from NAIA schools taken in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft:

#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.

NAIA coaches' poll for May 3, 2016, with Boyd Nation's ISR. Recaps below.

NAIA coaches' poll for April 26, 2016, with Boyd Nation's ISR. Recaps below.