NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round — Day 3 Recap

Day Three Highlights
• There were 18 games were played on day three of the 2018 Baseball National Championship Opening Round.
• No. 4 University of Northwestern Ohio was the first team to punch a ticket to the 2018 Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series, as the Racers downed No. 3 Point Park (Pa.), 10-1, in the Williamsburg Bracket final. The opening round title is the first in program history for the University of Northwestern Ohio. The Racers are only the fifth team seeded lower than No. 3 in the format’s 10-year history to advance to the World Series.
• No. 3 Reinhardt (Ga.) capped its magical first appearance in the opening round with a title in the Bowling Green Bracket. The Eagles downed No. 2 Campbellsville (Ky.), 5-1, in the “if necessary” game.
• Top-seeded Faulkner (Ala.) won the Montgomery Bracket for sixth-straight season with a 10-7, 13-inning win against No. 3 Indiana Tech. Gage West was the hero in the contest with a three-run, game-winning home run in the bottom of the 13th.
• Rounding out the trio of World Series qualifying newcomers is Southeastern (Fla.). The Fire capped a 3-0 record and title at the Kingsport Bracket with a 7-4 win over Tennessee Wesleyan.
• Georgia Gwinnett won the Lawrenceville Bracket and secured a spot in the World Series for the first time since 2014. The Grizzlies were nothing short of dominant in their run through the opening round, outscoring their opponents by a combined total of 33-2.
• St. Thomas (Fla.) – the No. 1 seed in the Hattiesburg Bracket – capped day three with an opening round title. The Bobcats, who defeated host William Carey, 6-3, are back in the World Series for a sixth time in program history.
• Records by seeds through three days:
o No. 1 seed: 21-6
o No. 2 seed: 12-16
o No. 3 seed: 14-15
o No. 4 seed: 15-15
o No. 5 seed: 9-18
• The 10th annual opening round event takes place from May 14 – 17 at nine host locations. The format is a five-team, double-elimination tournament.
• The nine opening round champions join Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) at the 62nd annual Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, May 25 – June 1.