Baseball | 5/13/2025 12:25:04 PM

Story Courtesy of Indiana University Southeast Athletics

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The fourth-seeded, 18th ranked IU Southeast baseball team kicked off the NAIA Opening Round with a bang, defeating top seeded and 10th ranked William Carey 10-6 on Monday.
 
William Carey scored first, taking a 1-0 lead after an inning.
 
A bases-clearing double by Nolan Bowser in the second gave IU Southeast a 3-1 lead. An RBI double by Logan Beard made it 4-1, and an RBI single by Preston Shelton made it 5-1.
 
William Carey answered with four runs in the bottom of the second to tie the game at 5-5.
 
A two-RBI single by Nolan Bowser in the third put IU Southeast back ahead 7-5.
 
The score remained 7-5 until the sixth. An RBI infield single by Ethan Burdette brought in two runs to extend the Grenadier lead to 9-5. An RBI single by Coulter Hamilton made it 10-5.
 
William Carey scored in the sixth to make it 10-6, but the Grenadiers shut down the Crusaders for the remaining three innings to secure a 10-6 win.
 
Nolan Bowser, Preston Shelton and Coulter Hamilton all had three hits. Bowser led the Grenadiers with five RBI. Bowser, Shelton, and Logan Beard all doubled. Trevor Goodwin and Coulter Hamilton stole a base.
 
Luca Sandrella got the start, allowing one earned run in five innings. Aiden Darlage picked up the save, allowing just one run in four innings of relief while striking out five.
 
"Great pitching by Luca and Aiden along with really competitive, gritty at-bats made for a lot of momentum," IU Southeast head coach Brett Neffendorf said. "Starting off the tournament in a hostile environment against a high-level offense should give us a chance tomorrow."
 
IU Southeast will take on No. 24 British Columbia in the winner's bracket at 6 PM CT on Tuesday.