LEWISTON, Idaho – As crazy at it may sound, the tougher things become for the Lewis-Clark State College baseball team, the better the Warriors play.
 
At least that was true on Tuesday as the Warriors overcame some obstacles to defeat No. 2 seed Faulkner (Ala.) 8-6 and become the lone undefeated team left in the 61^st annual Avista NAIA World Series being played at Harris Field in Ed Cheff Stadium.
 
Take pitcher Matt Fish for example. The senior left-hander threw 90 pitches in the first three innings and fell behind the Eagles 3-0. However, over the next three innings, he retired seven in a row and put up zeros on the scoreboard.
 
Then there's J.J. Robinson, the Warriors' leading power hitter and the Far West NAIA Player of the Year. He was 1-for-7 entering Tuesday night's contest in the Series, but quickly changed that with one swing of the bat and launched a long home run that hit the roof of the LCSC indoor batting cages.
 
Add Tyler McDowell, who despite suffering tendinitis in both his wrist and elbow, is putting together a great tournament offensively and defensively.
 
And finally, there's center-fielder Raymond Pedrina, who had another solid game despite playing with two small fractures in his left cheek area, the result of being hit by a pitch the previous night. Pedrina went 2-for-5 with a couple of RBI to help the Warriors Tuesday night.
 
What all of this means is that a team that has had to fight through all sorts of adversity this season – from weather and scheduling issues to various injuries – it's all coming together at the right  time.
 
The Warriors put together another solid effort against Faulkner and guaranteed themselves no worse than a third-place finish in the tournament. LCSC is one of four teams remaining and will take on William Carey (Miss.), the tournament's No. 9 seed, on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. The tournament's top two seeds, Faulkner and Oklahoma City, will meet in loser out play at 3 p.m.
 
If LCSC defeats William Carey, the Warriors will play for their third straight Series title on Thursday night.
 
"It means a lot to us," Robinson said of LCSC's position in the tournament. "We want to win every game."
 
For the second straight game, the Warriors fell behind early. This time it was 3-0 as Faulkner pushed across three runs in the second. Ryan Rosa hit a solo home run as the Eagles battled around, but left the bases loaded. In the third, the Eagles again left the bases loaded, this time without scoring.
 
In the fourth, Faulkner put runners on second and third with two outs, but couldn't score. Fish then retired the next seven batters, which gave the Warriors time to take the lead.
 
Fish struggled with his control, especially early. He wound up with eight strikeouts and five walks. In six-plus innings, he also gave up seven hits, but only two earned runs. He was the winning pitcher and improved to 7-1 on the season.
 
"It seems like he gets better after he throws 100 pitches," Robinson said of Fish, who is known for being a slow starter. "It seems like it takes him forever. He's pretty rough in the first few innings before he bears down. But he showed us that he really had a lot of heart tonight."
 
The Warriors put up two runs in the bottom of the second. Robinson started the scoring with his monster home run. Robinson was ahead in the count 3-0 when he got the fastball he was looking for.
 
"Coach gives me the green light when I'm feeling pretty good in the (batter's) box and I've been feeling pretty good even though I haven't got a lot of hits," Robinson said of the Series. "I've had some pretty decent at-bats. I know guys at this level like to throw fastballs with a 3-0 count and he gave me one."
 
A fielder's choice grounder by Cooper Goldby allowed the second run to score.
 
The Warriors put up five runs in the third inning for a 7-3 lead. McDowell started the scoring with a two-run single, while Logan Griffin later added a two-run single. The final run came in when Pedrina, swollen cheek and all, singled in a run.
 
Pedrina made it 8-3 when he led off the bottom of the sixth with a home run.
 
Faulkner did make things interesting when it scored three runs in the top of the eight. Three hits and two errors helped the Eagles cut LCSC's lead to 8-6. Faulkner even had the tying run at the plate when the final out of the inning was made.
 
LCSC reliever Anthony Balderus, who earned his fourth save, retired the side in order in the ninth to preserve the win.
 
Pedrina, Micah Brown, and Brock Ephan finished with two hits apiece for LCSC, while Griffin, Goldby and Pedrina each finished with two RBI.
 
The pairings for Wednesday are set by the NAIA Games Committee, which tries to match teams that haven't played each other yet. Since LCSC has played Oklahoma City and Faulkner, they get William Carey in the night game, while Faulkner and OCU meet at 3:05 p.m.