Box Score LEWISTON, Idaho – Tyler McDowell was guessing an outside fastball. For someone who guessed wrong, it couldn't have been more right.
 
McDowell was one of three Lewis-Clark State College hitters to go deep as the Warriors picked up where it left off a year ago and used the long ball to defeat  Keiser University (Kan.) 7-4 in the opening day of the 61^st annual Avista- NAIA Baseball World Series at LCSC's Harris Field on Friday night.
 
The two-time defending champion Warriors, who used six home runs to defeat Faulkner (Ala.) 12-11 in last year's championship game, hit three home runs against Keiser to account for its first four runs. LCSC's win also meant all four of the lower seeds were victorious in Friday's play. LCSC entered the contest as the No. 5 seed in the 10-team double-elimination tournament, while Keiser is the No. 4 seed.
 
With the win, the Warriors, 35-13, receive a bye on Saturday and will play the winner of the William Carey-Oklahoma City game on Monday at 6:30 p.m.. Keiser, 42-20, falls into loser-out play.
 
Along with the three home runs, the Warriors received an outstanding outing on the mound from Connor Brogdon. The  6-foot-6 senior right-hander, who improved to 7-1 on the season, allowed just four hits and two earned runs over eight-plus innings He threw 125 pitches, 86 for strikes, and struck out 10 with three walks.

"This atmosphere with the crowd and everything is great," said McDowell about the 3,010 fans who attended the game. "I was calm throughout the game and so were the other guys and I think that's what helped us see the ball really well, just having the crowd behind us. "We were just able to let loose and swing."

McDowell's swing was certainly a welcome site for the Warriors. The junior outfielder has had an injury-plagued year and missed most of the season. The left-hander fractured his left wrist during the fall and had to have surgery on it. When he came back, he eventually began to feel pain in the wrist, which led to tendinitis in the wrist and then later in the elbow. He started a game in early March, but then didn't play again until the Warriors' final series of the season.  Even now, he's not quite at 100 percent as he normally plays right field, but is instead playing left field.
 
The Warriors, seeking their NAIA-leading 19^th national title, jumped on the board early when senior shortstop Seaver Whalen hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning to put LCSC ahead 1-0. It's his 10^th home run of the season.

LCSC made it 2-0 in the second when McDowell hit a solo home run in his return for his second blast of the season.

"I was actually looking outside fastball and he threw a slider that started outside," McDowell said of the pitch. "I thought it was a fastball and I just tried to keep my hands back, and it just broke right over the middle of the plate."

The Seahawks battled back with a run in the top of the third. Miguel Casanueva drew a one-out walk and went to second on a single by Reyni Olivero. Zack Saldivar then singled up the middle to score Casanueva, but Olivero was thrown out at third by LCSC center fielder Raymond Pedrina. A fly out to center then ended the threat.

The Warriors put up two more via a home run in the fifth inning. Catcher Cooper Goldby, hitting in the ninth spot, drew a one-out walk and Pedrina followed with a two-run home run to left field, his sixth of the season.

LCSC made it 6-1 in the sixth with two runs. J.J. Robinson was hit by a pitch and scored on a double to deep left-center field by McDowell, who took third on a wild throw to home. Logan Griffin then hit a sacrifice fly to center to score McDowell.

Keiser picked up its second run on a solo home run by Jack Curtis in the top of the seventh. It was the sixth home run of the season for Curtis.

The Warriors answered in the bottom of the seventh with a run to make it 7-2. Goldby singled and was replaced by courtesy runner Chase Hafer, who scored the Warriors' final run on a wild pitch.

Keiser did make things interesting with two runs in the top of the of ninth, but LCSC turned a line drive into a double play and held on for the win.

Along with McDowell, Whalen finished with two hits for LCSC, which collected seven in the game.

Keiser International, which is making its first-ever appearance at the World Series, plays again tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. against the tournament's other first-timer, Hope International University.