LEWISTON, Idaho – The 2023 Avista NAIA World Series began Friday at Harris Field where three of the four higher seeds playing on day one were victorious. The only “road” team to win was the hosting Warriors of Lewis-Clark State (Idaho). Westmont (Calif.) earned their programs first win at the series while Taylor (Ind.) won for the first time since 1969.
GAME NOTES/HIGHLIGHTS
No. 7 Taylor (Ind.) (41-15) defeats No. 10 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) (34-27), 6-5
The Trojans began their scoring in the bottom of the first with a two out rally via an RBI walk from Brayden Manning
In the next inning, Taylor scored three total runs off a pair of homeruns from Sam Gladd and TJ Bass
The Pioneers cut it to a one run deficit in their next trip to the plate; Brycen Sherwood had a two RBI single to center and two batters later Noah Castillo knocked one down the line
Joshua Martinez blasted a solo shot to right field in the top of the fourth to tie the game 4-4
A double off the bat of Ben Kalbaugh and a single from Brennan Frickel gave the Trojans the winning margin, 6-4
Jack Ross (W, 7-0) tossed three innings for the Trojans before Gabel Pentecost (Sv, 3) got the two inning save for Taylor; Bass, Manning, and Mason David tallied six of the nine hits for TU
Bryce Brecklin was issued his third loss of the season for allowing the winning run during his 1.2 innings on the bump; Sherwood wet 2-5 with three RBI in the loss and Martinez was the only other Pioneer to record multiple hits in the game
No. 3 Westmont (Calif.) (44-8) defeats No. 6 Cumberlands (Ky.) (49-8), 7-3
The Patriots needed only two batters to score their program’s first run at the World Series, as Charlie Muniz blasted a shot to left
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the first, Bryce McFeely ground out into a double play, but Robbie Haw was still able to score to tie the game 1-1
Cumberlands created some separation in the fourth as Ben Snapp singled to left and Josh Simon’s fielder’s choice scored a pair for a 3-1 edge
A double play around the horn allowed the Patriots to keep their two run advantage after the top half of the fifth fame
Westmont’s Liam Critchett knocked his fourth homer of the season to left field, cutting the UC lead in half
Reliever Dustin Sprong escaped a scoring threat from the Warriors, getting out of a jam thanks to excellent fielding by short stop Raphy Almanzar
Haw cleanly placed a sacrifice bunt down the right line, moving the two runners into scoring position; On the next pitch, a wild pitch brought Daniel Patterson across the plate to tie the game 3-3
During the next at-bat, Michael Soper scored on a balk, giving Westmont its first lead of the game which was pushed further to two runs by two singles and a pair of errors
The offensive onslaught of the eighth inning continued as Bryce McFeely blasted a two run shot to left field, bringing the score to 7-3
Bryan Peck tossed seven innings before handing it off to reliever Zach Yates (W, 3-1) who struck out one in his lone inning on the bump
Ryan DeSaegher and McFeely combined for four of the teams eight hits, three RBI and two scored runs
No. 4 William Carey (Miss.) (48-9) def. No. 5 Bellevue (Neb.) (48-9), 6-4
William Carey jumped out to a hot start, scoring a pair of runs off a double by Rigoberto Hernandez
Over the next three and a half innings, the defense of both sides revealed its prowess with a combined three hits and five runners left on the base paths
WCU took advantage of a two out, bases loaded situation with a double by Hernandez to bring it to a 4-0 count
The Bruins began to chip away at the deficit, clawing back one run in the top of the seventh on a RBI single off the bat of Tradd Richardson which scored Anthony Lind
Bellevue continued the pressure as they tied the contest 4-4 off a three run jack from Mathieu Sirois, bringing Nick Grade and Logan Grant home
William Carey wasted little time in countering the offense of the Bruins as RJ Stinson doubled to center for the game winning run before Jake Lycette added another insurance score
Hernandez was an offensive machine going 3-4 with four RBI while Stinson and Bobby Lada both had a pair of hits
WCU starter Andrew Shirah went 7.0 innings, striking out four and walking five; Preston Ratliff (W, 5-3) earned the win for finishing off the last four outs for the team
The five hits from the Crusaders were all recorded by separate batters
No. 9 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (34-16) def. No. 8 Indiana Wesleyan (39-19-1), 12-4
Lewis-Clark State started the game with scorching bats as Carter Booth scored the first run of the game followed by Charlie Updegrave scoring off the single from Dominic Signorelli
Drue Young was able to limit the damage, escaping the inning with two left on base
In the second, the Warriors loaded the bases before an out was recorded and Nick Seamons scored off an IWU fielding error
The next batter, Sam Olsson, reached on a fielder’s choice and a resulting RBI, before Updegrave was hit by the pitch to score the third run of the inning
While the Wildcat defense recorded the double play, Seamons scored to give a LCSC a 6-0 edge
During LCSC’s next trip to the plate, Isaiah Thomas knocked a three-run shot over the right center fence, scoring Updegrave and Isaac Haws
Indiana Wesleyan kept the bats swinging as a two RBI homerun from Ty Mathews also scored Evan Salmon
Updegrave made solid contact and hit a solo blast in the right center field alley, making it a 12-3 contest
LCSC starter Trevin Hope (W, 6-3) was awarded the win for commanding the mound for 6.1 innings before the bullpen brought home the contest
Signorelli was 3-5 on the game with a run, RBI and walk while Updegrave was 2-3 with four scored runs and two RBI and two walks