(Rio Grande Sports Information)
KINGSPORT, Tenn. - One year removed from getting within a game of an NAIA World Series berth, the University of Rio Grande baseball team is set to begin its latest quest for a trip to Idaho.
The RedStorm will square off with Indiana Tech in the Kingsport Bracket of the NAIA Championship Opening Round on Tuesday, at 11 a.m., at Hunter Wright Stadium.
Rio Grande, seeded fifth in the five-team bracket, secured its place in the national tourney by virtue of a 6-1 win over No. 19 Indiana University Southeast in the championship game of the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
The RedStorm, who are 37-23 and the winners of 10 of their last 11 outings, are making a second straight - and third overall - national tourney appearance.
Indiana Tech (39-18) reached the national tournament by virtue of being the runner-up in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tourney. The Warriors defeated WHAC regular season champion Madonna (Mich.) in the championship first final, 7-4, but dropped a 4-2 decision to the Crusaders in a winner-take-all second title game last Thursday.
Indiana Tech is making its sixth postseason appearance under ninth-year head coach Kip McWilliams.
The Rio Grande-Tech winner will meet top-seeded Tennessee Wesleyan (45-12) in Tuesday's, 6 p.m. finale, following the 2:30 p.m. contest between No. 2 seed Middle Georgia State (39-16) and third-seeded St. Thomas (Fla.) (35-20).
Rio Grande is led offensively by the quintet of junior Daryin Lewis (Circleville, OH), senior right fielder Kirk Yates (Chillicothe, OH), senior left fielder/third baseman Chris Ford (Athens, OH), junior center fielder Carlos Flores (Guayanilla, Puerto Rico) and senior first baseman Lance Montano (New York, NY).
Lewis is batting a team-high .427 with two home runs and 28 runs batted in; Yates is hitting .383 with eight home runs and 49 RBI to go along with a team-high 67 hits, 59 runs scored and .617 slugging percentage; Ford is batting .363 with three homers, 44 RBI and team-high 20 doubles; Flores is hitting .353 with a club-high nine home runs to go along with 38 RBI; and Montano, who checks in at .346 with five home runs and a team-leading 51 RBI.
On the mound, the RedStorm is paced by the trio of Lewis, freshman Zach Harvey (Kenova, WV) and junior Trent Downs (Chillicothe, OH).
Lewis, who came back on one day of rest to throw a complete game in the KIAC title game win over IU Southeast, is 10-4 with a 2.83 earned run average and six complete games in 16 appearances.
Harvey is 9-3 with a 3.26 ERA, five complete games, three shutouts and 79 strikeouts in 80 innings pitched, while Downs is 8-4 with a 5.23 ERA in 15 appearances.
The Warriors are led by senior catcher/third baseman Brian Hakes, a first team All-WHAC selection, who tops the club in batting average (.387), hits (74), doubles (22), triples (5), runs batted in (64), slugging percentage (.712) and on-base percentage (.502). He's also been hit by a pitch a team-best 20 times.
Tech's top pitchers include senior James McReynolds, a second team All-WHAC pick, who is 7-2 with a 2.33 earned run average and a team-best .197 opponent's batting average and junior Jared Harvey, who's 5-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched.
The Warriors also have junior right fielder Peyton Newsom (.305, 11 HR, 54 RBI) and a trio of second team all-conference honorees - senior second baseman Mark Carpenter (.304, 2 HR, 30 RBI), junior left fielder Charlie Sipe (.335, 5 HR, 29 RBI) and freshman first baseman Glen McClain (.344, 1 HR, 29 RBI) - in their arsenal.
There will be no live video, but live statistics will be available http://www.dakstats.com/WebSync/Pages/Webcasts.aspx?association=10.