No. 10 IU Southeast starts fast, upsets No. 7 William Carey in Avista NAIA Baseball World Series
No. 10 IU Southeast starts fast, upsets No. 7 William Carey in Avista NAIA Baseball World Series
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LEWISTON, Idaho -- Tenth-seeded IU Southeast (Ind.) got off to a strong start and held off a furious rally from seventh-seeded William Carey (Miss.) to hang on for a 6-5 victory on the opening day of the 2024 Avista NAIA Baseball World Series at Harris Field.
The Grenadiers scored three in the first and tacked on single runs in the third, fourth, and sixth innings to take a 6-2 lead into the bottom half of the sixth. The Crusaders scored three in their half of the sixth, but the IUS bullpen held the Crusader offense in check, hanging on for the win.
With the win, IU Southeast improves to 37-18 and advances to play No. 2 Georgia Gwinnett (51-7) on Saturday at 9:35 p.m. ET.
Mason White, the River States Conference Baseball Player of the Year, got the Grenadiers on the board when he hit a solo home run – his 19th of the season – off the scoreboard in right field.
Following three consecutive walks to Luke Powell, Kody Putnam, and Trevor Goodwin, Max Flock hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Powell to make it 2-0. After a hit by pitch, Brayden Hazelwood drew a bases loaded walk to score Putnam and push the lead to 3-0.
In the third, Trevor Goodwin clubbed his seventh home run of the season when he hit a solo home run to straightaway center field, extending the Grenadier lead to 4-0.
White was at it again in the fourth when he extended the IU Southeast lead to 5-0. The senior from Evansville, Ind. hit his second homer of the game and 20th of the season with a solo shot to right center.
The Crusaders (37-15) got on the board and cut the deficit to 5-2 after Bailee Hendon hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth, but IU Southeast got a run back in the top of the sixth when Slater Schield singled before later scoring on a wild pitch making the score 6-2.
William Carey loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the sixth and cut the IU Southeast lead to 6-5 following a pair of RBI groundouts and a walk.
Then in the seventh, the Crusaders had two on and two outs, but Kacey Cheek got the Grenadiers out of the jam with a strikeout. Cheek fanned two and surrendered two hits in his two innings of work.
The Grenadiers then turned to closer Garrett Hill to get the final three outs. The senior got a popout, a strikeout, and a flyout to secure the win and nail down his eighth save of the season.
Luke Schafer (10-3) picked up the win after tossing six innings and allowing five runs on five hits with eight strikeouts.