LEWISTON BOUND! Grenadiers headed back to Avista NAIA Baseball World Series for second time in four years
UPLAND, Ind. -- For the second time in four years, IU Southeast headed back to Lewiston, Idaho, and the Avista NAIA Baseball World Series after sweeping their way through the Upland Bracket in the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round.
The Grenadiers, who were the No. 4 seed in the Upland Bracket, punched their ticket to the final site following a thrilling 14-10 victory over top-seeded Missouri Baptist on Wednesday at Taylor University's Winterholter Field.
IU Southeast, who improved to 36-18 with the win, is making a return trip to Lewiston after making their first trip in program history in 2021.
Former head coach and now assistant coach Ben Reel led the 2021 squad to Lewiston, while first-year head coach Brett Neffendorf is leading the Grenadiers on a return trip for just the second time in program history.
The Grenadiers got the scoring started in the opening frame after Colin Long was hit, and Luke Powell singled to put runners on first and second with one out. Following a double steal, the catcher threw the ball into center field allowing Long and Powell to score giving IUS a 2-0 lead.
Cesar Soto cut the deficit in half with an RBI single in the bottom of the second, but IU Southeast answered, scoring one in the third and four in the fourth, extending their lead to 7-1.
Before the four run fourth, Max Flock hit a two-out, RBI single in the third that scored Powell, who reached on a one-out walk earlier in the inning. IU Southeast then grabbed all the momentum after scoring four runs on five hits in the top of the fourth.
The inning saw four straight RBI base hits from Colin Long, Mason White, Luke Powell, and Kody Putnam. Long had an RBI single, and White hit an RBI double to left before Powell and Putnam hit back-to-back RBI singles pushing the Grenadier lead to 7-1.
Missouri Baptist, who was held in check through the first four innings by Tyler Yotkewich, got their offense going in the fifth. Jakob Kouneski got the rally going with an RBI single before the Spartans broke through in the sixth, scoring six runs to grab their first lead of the game.
Soto had another RBI single, and Alex Adams cut the deficit to 7-3 with a sacrifice fly before Kouneski stepped to the dish with the bases loaded and two outs. He hit a long fly ball that cleared the right field fence for a go-ahead grand slam giving the Spartans an 8-7 lead.
Now trailing by a run with three innings to play, the Grenadiers – as they had done throughout the opening round – rallied. This time around they scored three in the seventh and eighth innings to regain a 13-8 lead.
Slater Schield and Colin Long each walked to open the seventh bringing the River States Conference Baseball Player of the Year, Mason White, to the plate. The senior from Evansville, Ind. delivered, and did so in a big way with a no-doubt moonshot to deep right field. The three-run home run was the 17th of the season for White as IU Southeast regained a 10-8 advantage.
The Grenadiers then played 'add-on' in the eighth, scoring three insurance runs. Long and White had back-to-back one-out singles with Powell due up. The senior from San Clemente, Calif. followed White's homer with a three-run shot of his own to center, his fifth of the season, as the Grenadiers extended their lead to 13-8.
The Spartans got a pair of runs back in the bottom of the eighth on a bases loaded walk by Jayden Orozco and an RBI groundout by DJ Schmidt, but they left a pair stranded as the Grenadiers would take a 13-10 lead into the ninth.
The IU Southeast offense wasn't done yet as they added another run in the top of the ninth pushing the lead to 14-10. With runners on second and third, and one out, Schield laid down a perfect sacrifice squeeze that scored Alex Yurt, who was the courtesy runner for Logan Murphy, who reached on a one-out hit by pitch earlier in the inning.
With a now four-run lead, the Grenadier defense took to the field in the bottom of the ninth, three outs away from a return trip to the NAIA World Series.
Back-to-back walks opened the frame as Garrett Hill was called upon out of the bullpen to get the final three outs. Hill got a fielder's choice, a strikeout, and a pop out for a third out that sent the Grenadiers into a dogpile after securing a 14-10 victory to win the Upland Bracket.
Hill, who was making his third appearance of the opening round, picked up his second save of the tournament and seventh overall. Conner Fries (4-1), who was the third arm out of the pen for the Grenadiers, picked up the win after allowing two unearned runs in his 1.2 innings.
Kacey Cheek got the final two outs in the bottom of the eighth, while Yotkewich was dealt with a no-decision. He pitched five innings and allowed four runs – three earned – on seven hits.
Offensively, it was the trio of Powell, White, and Long that led the way. Powell went 4-for-5 with four RBIs and four runs, and White went 3-for-6 with four RBIs and three runs, while Long added two hits, an RBI and four runs scored.
Thursday's victory capped off a magical run in the opening round for the Grenadiers. They were down to their final out in their opener on Monday, but answered with a 12-run, two out rally capped by a walk-off three-run home run by Trevor Goodwin. They followed with a 4-0 shutout victory of No. 7 Missouri Baptist later in the day before advancing to the opening round championship after defeating the host and 17th-ranked Taylor (Ind.), 3-2, on Wednesday.
All that culminated on Thursday in a 14-10 victory over Missouri Baptist that resulted in a return trip to Lewiston, Idaho for the second time in program history.
The Grenadiers will now celebrate as they await their matchup for the Avista NAIA Baseball World Series, which runs from May 24-31 at famous Harris Field.