2022 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round Day Four Recap
Kansas City, Mo. – The fourth and final day of the NAIA Baseball National Championships Opening Round began with the dream of eight teams still alive. As the sunset, the final spots at the Avista-NAIA World Series have been secured. The crop includes three institutions making the journey for the first time as well as five having played at Harris Field in last year’s tournament.
Webber International defeated the hometown Bobcats in the ninth and final game of the bracket. After three previous trips, the Warriors have won their Opening Round and will play for the National Championship. They defeated a St. Thomas team who had been to Lewiston six straight years and nine times in the last 11 seasons.
Tennessee Wesleyan has been on a mission all season to rebound from their shocking loss in the Opening Round last year. For the sixth time in program history, the Bulldogs were able to celebrate a dog pile after clinching the victory. After falling behind 4-0 in the first few innings,
LSU-Shreveport (La.) were pushed to the test by the Loyola (La.) Wolfpack, but a two run jack in the bottom of the 10th by pinch hitter Jaylin Turner lifts LSUS to the Series for a second consecutive season. This is the fifth time in 13 times reaching the Opening Round where the Pilots are booking flights to the Pacific Northwest.
Due to previous weather impacting earlier games in the Opening Round, Bellevue (Neb.) matched up with the Concordia (Neb.). The Bulldogs needed to win two games in a row to earn the right to represent the Cornhusker State at the final site. Playing in their friendly confines, the Bruins bounced back from a lopsided Game Eight loss 16-2 and grabbed the victory when it mattered most.