Baseball | 05.25.2023

LEWISTON, Idaho - Once again 10 teams have made it to Lewiston with national championship dreams. This season brings a mix of past champions, World Series regulars and first timers.
 
No. 1 Southeastern (Fla.) looks to defend its title as the top seed in this year's field while (RV) LC State looks for revenge from a championship game loss. The Warriors will have a tough road in the tournament as the No. 9 seed. 
 
2021 champion No. 3 Georgia Gwinnett returns to Lewiston for the fifth straight season while No. 5 Bellevue (Neb.) makes the World Series field for the 16th time, tied with Oklahoma City for second most all-time. No. 8 William Carey (Miss.) makes the tournament field for the fourth time, first since 2017. No. 21 Taylor (Ind.) ends a long drought making its first World Series appearance since 1969.
 
No. 6 Westmont (Cal.) and MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) had so much fun making their first ever World Series appearances last season that they will return this year. No. 6 Cumberlands (Ky.) and (RV) Indiana Wesleyan will both make their World Series debuts.
 
Taylor and MidAmerica Nazarene open tournament play at 8:35 a.m. on Friday.
 
No. 1 SOUTHEASTERN (FLA.) - No. 1 Seed (55-4)
 
The defending NAIA World Series champions earned a return trip to Lewiston after sweeping through the Fayette Bracket. The Fire had an early scare in a 3-2 victory against Madonna (Mich.) before defeating No. 16 Kansas Wesleyan twice by a combined score of 26-4.
 
Southeastern brings massive pop back to Lewiston, leading the NAIA with 145 home runs on the season. Stephen Cullen leads a Fire team that had seven different batters hit double digit home runs on the year. 
 
The defending champions also bring the most dominant pitching staff to the Series. Southeastern has an ERA (2.69) more than half a run better than any other team in the tournament. Danny Batcher, Darien Smith and Robb Adams combined to go 26-3 with 287 strikeouts in 216 ½ innings pitched.
 
No. 3 GEORGIA GWINNETT - No. 2 Seed (50-6)
 
The Grizzlies started the Lawrenceville Bracket red hot, outscoring its opponents 39-5 in its first two games. The offense cooled down enough for (RV) Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) to earn a 7-6 win before Georgia Gwinnett locked down the World Series bid with a 7-1 victory in the championship game.
 
Ajay Sczepkowski hopes to continue his historic season in Lewiston. The junior became the first NAIA player to ever record a 30/30 season with 30 home runs and 36 stolen bases. Sczepkowski was one of five Grizzlies batters to hit over .400 on the season on a team that hit .383. 
 
Georgia Gwinnett brings four solid starting pitchers that combined for 10 complete games on the year. Cameron Repetti went a perfect 12-0 with a 3.50 ERA while striking out 89. Gage Williams struck out 103 batters in 74 ⅓ innings going 10-1 with a 3.15 ERA.
 
No. 6 WESTMONT (CALIF.) - No. 3 Seed (43-8)
 
The Warriors punched their ticket for the second consecutive season going 3-0 in the Santa Barbara bracket as the host team. It took 10 innings for Westmont to get past (RV) British Columbia 7-6 before the Warriors rolled past No. 13 Benedictine-Mesa (Ariz.) in back to back games.
 
Westmont touted the sixth best team ERA (3.60) in the NAIA and will rely on their three main starters in the series. Bryan Peck, Chase Goddard and Eric Oseguera combined for 41 of the 51 starts going 26-3 as a trio. Peck was the most dominant of the three going 9-1 with 102 strikeouts in 95 innings pitched with a 2.84 ERA.
 
No. 8 WILLIAM CAREY (MISS.) - No. 4 Seed (47-9)
 
The Crusaders rolled in three games as the host of the Hattiesburg Bracket, winning each game by at least seven runs. In the championship game against No. 17 Ave Maria (Fla.), William Carey opened up the floodgates to win 27-4.
 
RJ Stinson is currently tied with Southwestern Christian's Jhors Gomez for the NAIA lead in hits on the season. The junior hit .401 on the season with 101 hits, 91 runs, 74 RBI and 11 home runs.
 
No. 5 BELLEVUE (NEB.) - No. 5 Seed (48-8)
 
The Bruins did not drop a game as the host of the Bellevue Bracket. The host team defeated Grand View (Iowa) 7-0 before defeating (RV) Oklahoma City twice to earn the bid to Lewiston.
 
Bellevue brings a 10-game winning streak to Lewiston. The Bruins used a tournament field-best .977 fielding percentage to get back to the World Series. Bellevue turned 40 double plays on the season. Sophomore Jake Lacey anchors the offense with a team-leading 70 runs batted in and 31 extra base hits.
 
No. 6 CUMBERLANDS (KY.) - No. 6 Seed (49-7)
 
Head coach Brad Shelton collected his 1,000th career win at UC the same day the Patriots earned its first trip to the NAIA World Series. Cumberlands defeated (RV) Reinhardt (Ga.) 13-5 before outscoring (RV) Columbia (Mo.) 26-10 in two games to win the bracket as the host team.
 
Charlie Muniz and Max Harper both hit 23 home runs to lead a Cumberlands team to the second highest total (141) in the NAIA during the season behind only Southeastern. Eight different Patriots reached double digit home runs on the year.
 
No. 21 TAYLOR (IND.) - No. 7 Seed (40-15)
 
The only No. 2 seed to advance from an opening round, the Trojans went 3-0 in the Upland Bracket. Taylor threw seven straight scoreless innings to hold onto a 3-2 win over (RV) Cumberland (Tenn.) before scoring 12 runs in back-to-back games against (RV) Point Park (Pa.) to earn a World Series bid for the first time since 1969.
 
Kaleb Kolpien led Taylor with a .431 batting average with 93 hits and 20 doubles. Matt Dutkowski is the ace of the staff going 7-2 with two complete games, 81 strikeouts with a 3.35 ERA.
 
(RV) INDIANA WESLEYAN - No. 8 Seed
 
The Wildcats earned a win each of the other three teams as the No. 4 seed in the Kingsport Bracket to earn their first trip to Lewiston. Indiana Wesleyan started the wild ride with a 9-4 victory against the bracket's top-seed No. 9 Webber International (Fla.) 9-4. Victories over No. 20 Bryan (Tenn.) and No. 11 Missouri Baptist (7-6) concluded the perfect opening round for Indiana Wesleyan.
 
Indiana Wesleyan will look to use its team speed to surprise teams in the tournament. The Wildcats had 196 stolen bases, second in the tournament only to Georgia Gwinnett (256). Lucas Goodin led the way going 38 of 40 in stolen base attempts.
 
(RV) LC STATE (IDAHO) - No. 9 Seed (33-16)
 
The Warriors did not enter the opening round in the best of circumstances, but they once again showed that it all depends on when you get hot. LC State was the No. 4 seed in its own bracket, but clutch home runs and two one-run victories helped push the Warriors back into the World Series. LC State closed out the opening round with a strong 19-7 win over (RV) Concordia (Mich.) in the championship game to go 3-0 for the week.
 
LC State relies on a deep bullpen and is not afraid to go to it quickly. No pitcher for the Warriors has thrown 50 or more innings this season. Greg Blackman has been the most successful out of the pen with a 1.87 ERA in 13 appearances with 50 strikeouts in 43 ⅓ innings pitched.
 
Much like the pitching staff, the offense has been a complete group effort. Dominic Signorelli, Carter Booth, Isaiah Thomas and Nick Seamons all scored 50 or more runs on the year. Seven different Warriors have knocked in 30 or more runs. The return of Charlie Updegrave created the spark LC State was looking for with a four home run, 13 RBI opening round performance.
 
MIDAMERICA NAZARENE (KAN.) - No. 10 Seed (34-26)
 
The Pioneers enjoyed their first ever trip to Lewiston so much last year that they are making a return trip. MidAmerica Nazarene was the only No. 4 seed to advance to the World Series in a bracket with five teams, meaning the Pioneers were the only team that needed four wins to punch their ticket. MNU defeated No. 2 and host LSU Shreveport twice including a ninth inning go-ahead bases loaded walk to win the championship game 7-6.
 
Zach Trevino and Tyler Frieders will be looked on to take the bulk of the innings pitched in the World Series. The duo started 30 of the 60 games played for MNU with both making relief appearances in the postseason. Trevino had the better season of the two going 9-2 with a 3.97 ERA, striking out 98 in 102 innings pitched.