LEWISTON, Idaho – (Box score) Junior T.J. Condon drove in five runs, including four on a key grand slam in the sixth inning, to help top seed Faulkner (Ala.) defeat No. 3 seed Bellevue (Neb.) 14-5 on Thursday to advance to the championship game of the 60th annual Avista-NAIA World Series at Harris Field.

Faulkner (53-14) will face No. 4 seed Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (51-8) for the title at 6:35 p.m. Friday night in a rematch of the 2013 championship game, which Faulkner won. Bellevue (54-12) winds up third in the 10-team double-elimination tournament. The 54 wins for Bellevue are the most since the 2005 season and the third highest total in a season.

Faulkner never trailed in Thursday’s contest as it scored four runs in the top of the first and added another in the second for a 5-0 lead. Bellevue fought back and cut the margin to 6-5 in the bottom of the fifth, but Condon’s blast, his 10th of the year, gave the Eagles some breathing room. Faulkner added four runs in the ninth for the final margin.

“We are just blessed to have this opportunity,” Faulkner coach Patrick McCarthy said. “We knew every pitcher they went through was fatigued.”

The Eagles pounded out 17 hits in the contest as eight of the nine starters had at least one hit. Condon finished 2-for-5 with five RBI as he also had an RBI single in the first.

“T.J. is such a hard worker that he now has to wear batting gloves because his hands are bleeding so much,” McCarthy said. “Baseball is a game of inches and his grand slam hit the top of the fence.”

Faulkner leadoff hitter Dario Polanco finished 4-of-6 with four runs scored, while David Palenzuela was 2-for-6 with two RBI and two runs scored. Deivy Palmeiro went 2-for-3 with four RBI.

In all, the top four hitters in Faulkner’s lineup finished 9-of-19 with nine RBI and 10 runs scored.

Ross Feeley had two hits and two RBI to lead Bellevue.

Faulkner also got a big performance from reliever Ivan Pelaez, who went 3.2 innings and allowed just one hit with three strikeouts. He took over in the bottom of the fifth after Bellevue rallied and picked up the win to improve to 7-3 on the season.

“Ivan said his arm was tired so he was just trying to put the ball across,” McCarthy said. “He just stepped up and did his job.”

Faulkner put up four runs in the first when Condon singled in the first run while Palmeiro hit a three-run home run, his sixth of the season, as the Eagles got to Bellevue starter Kameron Miner early.

Alexis Cruz’s RBI single made it 5-0 in the second.

Bellevue answered with two runs in the bottom of the third. Garrison picked up the Bruins’ first hit with a solo home run, his first of the season, and Feeley added an RBI double.

After Dennis Morton’s RBI single made it 6-2 in the top of the fifth, Bellevue scored three times in the bottom of the inning to make it 6-5. A throwing error allowed the first run to score, while Trevor Jones singled in a run. Feeley added his second RBI double for the team’s final run.

After Condon’s slam made it 10-5, the Eagles put up four more insurance runs in the ninth. Cruz had a sacrifice fly to drive in the first run, while Palenzuela drove in two with a single. Palmeiro brought in the final run with a single.

This will be the sixth time LCSC and Faulkner have met in the World Series in the last four years, including twice each in the past two Series. Faulkner won the first meeting 11-4 in the 2013 championship game, but LCSC eliminated Faulkner from the tournament in 2014 6-0. The two teams split last season with Faulkner winning 12-10 in the third round, but LCSC claiming a 10-8 victory in the third-place elimination game. LCSC then defeated St. Thomas for the title.

Faulkner is making its 5th appearance in the Series and has a 13-7 all-time record. Faulkner won the title in 2013 and was third last season.

Lewis-Clark State will be playing in its 20th national championship game. The Warriors have won an NAIA record 17 titles, including the 2015 crown, and have finished second twice. LCSC has an overall series record of 136-45.

Friday’s contest will be shown live on ESPN3.

The Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series is a 10-team, double-elimination event hosted by Lewis-Clark State (Idaho). For more information on the 60th annual event, click HERE.