LEWISTON, Idaho – [BRACKET | SCHEDULE] And then there were four! The 65th Annual Avista-NAIA World Series played two elimination games followed by the matchup of undefeated teams at Harris Field Tuesday. Of the 10 teams that began the 2022 double-elimination tournament, the top four seeds remain - with Southeastern (Fla.) being the lone team to not yet suffer a loss. 

WEDNESDAY GAME SCHEDULE

[Game 16] 3:05 p.m. PST - No. 3 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) vs. No. 4 LSU-Shreveport (La.) (elimination)

[Game 17] 6:30 p.m. PST - No. 1 Southeastern (Fla.) vs. No. 2 Tennessee Wesleyan

GAME NOTES/HIGHLIGHTS

No. 2 Tennessee Wesleyan (56-7) def. No. 10 Webber International (43-22), 9-1

• The first elimination contest of the day saw a pair of teams that we matched up by the tournament committee because they had not yet played each other in the World Series
• On paper, the Bulldogs had a games played advantage since the No. 2 seed had a bye which 10^th seeded Webber International did not; this resulted in the Warriors playing four games compared to three for TWU
• Both teams began the game with the first three batters on each side getting out with a combined three strike outs swinging
• Parker Stinnett ripped a double to left center field before a fielding error by TWU gave the Eagles runners on first and second with no outs away in the frame
• A sacrifice bunt moved the runners over which allowed the first run of the day was plated by Chad Picton’s single through the gap
• Tennessee Wesleyan snagged a 2-0 lead by the end of the inning as a groundout by Dan Sayre scored Kyle Lavender
• In the next trip to the box, Carson Ford nuked his first homer of the World Series and 14^th of the year, giving TWU a 3-0 lead on three total hits
• Two batters later, Livan Reinoso, took the fourth pitch he face and launched it off the bat to left field; both teams and the crowd knew its destiny was over the outfield fence by the sound alone
• Webber International had a chance in the bottom of the fourth to close the gap as the bases were juiced with two outs away
• Michael Taylor preserved the Bulldogs 4-0 advantage as he ended the inning with a fly out to center
• Once again in the next inning, WIU had two runners within scoring position but were unable to push either of them across the plate to cut into the deficit
• For the second time in the game, the Warriors were able to get a clean sweep in the top of the sixth, this time by relief pitcher Dawson Young
• Ian Kalman began the bottom of the frame drawing a walk and was brought home by Josh Blackmore dropping a single in front of Jermane Ward in center field
• Having previously used extra pitchers in the previous extra game played, the Warriors were deep into the bullpen by the eighth inning
• Tennessee Wesleyan went through the full order in the inning starting with a pinch hitters in Cayle Webster’s slot in the lineup and ending with him striking out
• In between, the Bulldogs doubled up their lead scoring four runs on four hits, four walks, three wild pithers and one defensive error by WIU
• After using three pitchers in the eighth inning, the fifth Warrior took the mound in the game allowing one final Bulldog run
• In the box, TWU was passed by Braxton Turner, Reinoso, and Stinnett who recorded nine of the teams 11 hits
• Webber International was paced offensively by Blackmore who was 2-4 with the other six hits all coming from different Warriors
• Tennessee Wesleyan elected a bullpen by committee contest with Michael Taylor throwing four scoreless innings, Kyle Bloor and Trent Thrash taking two each, and third baseman Reinoso closing out the ninth inning
• The loss ends the best campaign in WIU program history, besting the 39-17 record in 2017 when they were eliminated in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round by Georgia Gwinnett

No. 4 LSU Shreveport (La.) (53-7) def. No. 7 Faulkner (Ala.) (39-17), 3-2

• With two outs, Allbry Major was the first player to step on the base paths; A single and stolen base by Carlos Pineyro gave LSUS two runners in scoring position, but they were unable to bring them home
• In the second inning, the Shreveport once again had a drawn walk and a single but ended the frame with the scoreboard still showing zeros
• Two Pilots were hit by pitches in the third but the contest was still without a run scored
• Kevin Miranda was given the ball for the Pilots and steered them to perfect through the first three innings, retiring all nine batters while recording six strikeouts
• Nathan Beyer ripped a ball to right field which scored Cameron Lewis from third base who was pinch running for Josh Wunnenberg after his single to left
• In the fourth inning, Sammy De La Cruz got the first hit for the Eagles but they would not score until the next trip to the plate
• J Lucas kicked things off with an opening walk and was swiftly brought home by a right line triple from Evan Gilliam; T Reyes-Cru singled through the right side to give Faulkner its first lead in two games on Harris Field
• Miranda was able to prevented more damage by ending the inning on a double play, after which he would exit the contest having pitched five innings allowing two runs and striking out 10 batters
• The next inning of defense, Gilliam leaped into the center field wall and snagged the deep fly ball of Beyer, but the sacrifice fly brought home Pineyro who tied the game at 2-2
• LSUS preserved the tied contest with an incredible, twirling fielding play by third basemen Julian Flores – the final out of the sixth
• Pilot relief pitcher Josh Fortenberry got LSUS out of the jam after he inherited two baserunners who were walked by the previous player manning the bump
• Initially Faulkner kept the score tied at two each, thanks in part to a 463 double play turned by De La Cruz and Shawn Ross, but Trevor Burkhardt crushed a 2-0 count fastball into left field
• Fortenberry was tasked with getting the final three outs of the game, but a single and a balk later saw him hand the ball off to an unlikely player
• Center fielder Allbry Majors, who had made his imprint of the tournament with his three home runs, took on the pressure closing out the game after only pitching 1/3 of an inning in the entire season
• Just 90-feet away stood the tying run with two outs gone thanks to a pop up to the catcher and a strikeout; despite hittin the next batter, Majors put the game on ice with his third strikeout of the year
• The star offensively for the Pilot going 2-3 with two RBI; for the Eagles it Gilliam going 2-4 with a scored run and a RBI

No. 1 Southeastern (Fla.) (57-3) def. No. 3 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (56-6), 9-5

• Brian Fuentes controlled a two out pitch to the shortstop followed by Gary Lora’s single down the right field line; Sam Faith hit an RBI single
• After a walk was issued to Isaac Nunez which loaded the bases, LCSC pitcher Eric Chavarria escaped the inning with a fly out to center field
• Copying what SEU did in the top half of the inning, the Warriors juiced the bags by way of a hit, walk, and fielding error
• Three straight outs from Bryce Moyle ended the inning and kept the Fire leading 1-0
• Next time to the plate, Jose Marcano started things off with a double down the left field line, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and then score on Abdel Guadalupe’s single up the middle
• After originally being awarded a double down the left field line, the umpires ruled it a foul ball; fortunately for the Fire, he came back to the plate and hit a homer instead
• Lewis-Clark State pulled their starter in the top of third with two outs and the move was golden as the new pitcher, Drake Borschowa, recorded a line out on his first pitch, stranding two runners
• After getting out of the inning with only one run added, Riley Way put the Warriors on his back and fired off a solo bomb to right field in the bottom of the third
• SEU had two runners in scoring position in the fourth but was unable to advance them any further
• Moyle started off by awarding two free bases which enabled LC to move them both over on a sacrifice bunt by A.J. Davis before scoring Coy Stout on a RBI groundout and Nick Seamons sliding home on a wild pitch to tie the game at 3-3
• The lead didn’t last long as Stephen Cullen launched a two-run bomb 365 feet over the center field batter’s eye for a 5-3 score
• Consecutive singles by Luke White and Sam Linscott, followed by Justin Mazzone being hit by the pitch loaded the bases; Moyle was not phased and coolly struck out the next batter before ending the inning on a groundout to short
• During the sixth, Nunez launched a three run shot to center field which brought the Fire lead to 8-3; while the top of the seventh saw another SEU tally be added on Broyles sacrifice fly
• Moyle’s night came to an end once he allowed a double and then two walks, all with no outs recorded in the frame
• Reliever Stull faced only one batter, in which he walked a run in to bring it to a 9-4 count
• The third pitcher used in the inning was Ronnie Voacolo who shut down the Warrior offense with three straight force outs
• Lucas Gregory took over control of the mound in the top of the eighth and rewarded head coach Jake Taylor’s trust with a clean inning
• In the Warriors last gasp, White and Way stood on the corners but Mazzone ended the inning with a center field fly out
• LCSC added a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning