LEWISTON, Idaho – No. 4 LC State is one win away from a return to the Avista NAIA World Series after a complete shutout by
Mason Goodson on Tuesday in the 2026 NAIA Baseball Championship Opening Round, presented by Avista. The top-seeded Warriors put up 10 runs against third-seeded No. 21 Hope International (Calif.) to back up the junior's dominant effort on the mound. Goodson allowed just two hits in the seven-inning 10-0 victory.
LC State will face the winner of Hope International and fourth-seeded (RV) Keiser (Fla.) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Warriors need one win to clinch the Lewiston Bracket and earn a spot in the Series.
HOW IT HAPPENED
LC State struck first with two runs in the top of the second. The Warriors capitalized on HIU miscues as
Bryce Johnson reached on an error,
Jackson Reed walked and
Noah Weintraub was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Sam Weber drove a ball up the middle to plate a pair for an early lead.
The Warriors added on in the top of the fourth. Johnson led off the frame with a double to right and Reed followed with an RBI triple. A walk to Weintraub put two on before a sacrifice fly by Weber made it 4-0.
Cade Westerlund kept the inning going with an RBI single down the left field line.
LC State kept the offense rolling with four runs in the fifth inning.
Brandon Nguyen,
Jackson Jaha,
Izzy Madariaga and Johnson all earned free passes to bring in a run before a double by Reed knocked in two. Weintraub drove a sacrifice fly to left to plate a run for a 9-0 advantage.
Goodson held HIU hitless through his first four innings before giving up the first Royal hit in the fifth. Hope International threatened in the sixth but Goodson got the Warriors out of a jam to maintain the 9-0 lead.
Back-to-back hits by Johnson and Reed started the top of the seventh inning and had runners on the corners. Weintraub drove in the 10
th run for LC State with a productive groundout, and Goodson shut the door with a pair of strikeouts in the bottom of the inning.
STAT RECAP
Goodson gave up just two hits in seven innings against a potent HIU lineup. He struck out five batters in the shutout.
Reed went 3-for-3 at the plate, his second straight three-hit performance, and drove in three runs. Weber also drove in three runs and Weintraub knocked in two. Johnson had two hits and scored four times.
UP NEXT
The Warriors face the winner of HIU and Keiser, both teams they have defeated this week in the Opening Round, on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
