LEWISTON, Idaho – In a contest that stretched past midnight, eighth-seeded Tennessee Wesleyan continued the trend of lower seeds winning on Friday as LC State Baseball fell 12-4. The Warriors will face second-seeded Georgia Gwinnett on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in an Avista NAIA World Series elimination game.
All four lower seeds in Friday's games upset their way to the winners bracket, while the top four seeds all face elimination on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tennessee Wesleyan struck first with a solo shot to lead off the contest and added another run in the second. The Bulldogs scored runs in the third and fifth to grow the difference to 4-0.
The Warriors got on the board in the home half of the fifth inning.
Payton Smith walked, moved to second on a wild pitch and stole third before a triple off the bat of
Jackson Jaha cut the deficit to 4-1.
TWU combined for four runs in the sixth and seventh to pull away 8-1, but a solo shot to right center by
Brandon Nguyen made it 8-2.
Izzy Madariaga added a run with a blast over the batter's eye.
Another three-run inning had the Tennessee Wesleyan lead at 11-3 in the eighth before a run in the ninth made it 12-3.
Zane Bidwell drove in a run in the bottom of the ninth, but that is as close as LC State got.
STAT RECAP
Bryce Johnson and Jaha each had three hits in the contest.
Evan Canfield took the loss after allowing three runs in three innings.
Joey Estrada gave up five, four earned, with five strikeouts in 3.1 innings,
Tyler Logan gave up three in 1.2 innings, and
Kolby Solomon closed out the final frame.
UP NEXT
The Warriors face the GGC Grizzlies on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. to stay alive in the 2026 Avista NAIA World Series.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
