Baseball | 05.27.2021
LEWISTON, Idaho – It has been 726 days since the last Avista NAIA World Series game at Harris Field. 726 days have passed since a champion was crowned in Lewiston, and on Friday, the Lewis-Clark State Warriors will set off in search of title number 20. The gates to Harris Field will open once again to welcome in the crowds from all over the country as spectators watch 10 teams battle it out for the red banner.
The third-seeded Warriors will face a familiar foe in postseason rival No. 6 Faulkner on Friday night at 7 p.m. LC State has had some big meetings with the team from Montgomery, Ala. in recent years, with many of those meetings coming in the biggest game of the year. The Warriors defeated Faulkner to claim the 2016 and 2017 national titles, and it was the Eagles that came away victorious in the championship-game meeting in 2013.
Three teams will make their first trips to Lewiston in No. 10 Concordia Nebraska, No. 7 IU Southeast and No. 2 Central Methodist. The 2018 champions, Southeastern (Fla.) hold the top seed in this year's tournament, and a familiar face in Georgia Gwinnett is seeded fifth. No. 8 Keiser, No. 9 LSU Shreveport and No. 4 Oklahoma Wesleyan are also making their way back to Lewiston.
The Warriors begin their hunt for the 20
th title on Friday night with the deepest roster they've had under
Jake Taylor. Taylor, in his third year at the helm, brings a lineup full of powerful bats and a deep bullpen.
Brock Ephan has been a terror for opposing pitchers throughout the season en route to being named the Cascade Conference Player of the Year. The senior ranks second in the NAIA in RBI per game (1.7) and fifth in total bases per game (3.4). He is also fifth in doubles per game (0.5). He leads the Warriors in multiple offensive categories, including batting average (.422), OPS (1.366), slugging (.850), on-base percentage (.516), home runs (18), RBI (75) and doubles (21).
Junior
Aidan Nagle has blossomed into one of the biggest contributors this season with a .387 batting average, .755 slugging and 13 home runs.
Riley Way is tied for the team-lead in hits with 76 and has swiped 26 bags this season. Both Ephan and Way are the only two Warriors to have started all 45 games this season.
On the mound,
Eric Chavarria leads the team with eight wins. An all-conference selection, the junior has tossed 63 innings with 65 strikeouts and just 12 walks. He holds an ERA of 2.43 which is the lowest among the LC State starters.
Alec Holmes, another all-conference selection, has an ERA of 2.62 and has struck out 43 batters in 44.2 innings. The freshman leads the Warriors in opponent batting average at .168.
As a team, LC State leads the NAIA in runs scored per game (11.2) and RBI per game (10.2). The Warriors are second in hits per game (12.8) and ERA (3.24), and are third in fielding percentage (.978) and doubles per game (2.8).
The gates to Harris Field open at 7:30 a.m. on Friday for the morning session featuring Keiser and LSU Shreveport at 8:30 a.m., and Oklahoma Wesleyan and Georgia Gwinnett at 11:30 a.m. IU Southeast and Concordia Nebraska will kick off the afternoon session at 3 p.m., and LC and Faulkner have the nightcap at 7 p.m. Opening Ceremonies will be virtual this year with a video on the P1FCU Videoboard in between the afternoon games.
Southeastern will take on the winner of Keiser/LSU Shreveport on Saturday at 3 p.m., and Central Methodist will face the winner of IU Southeast/Concordia on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are still available to the general public at naiaworldseries.com. Tickets can only be purchased online and must be printed at home or scanned on a smart phone. KOZE will carry each game on the radio, and live stats will be available on the NAIA website. The first 15 games will be aired on SWX and streamed on the NAIA Network. The semifinals and championship will be streamed on ESPN3.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
