2022 Avista – NAIA World Series Day Two Recap

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LEWISTON, Idaho – [BRACKET | SCHEDULE] Day Two was a success at Harris Field as all four games were played as scheduled in the 65th Annual Avista-NAIA World Series. Faulkner (Ala.) pulled the first upset on its way to winning two games and Southeastern (Fla.) earns the first walk-off victory. Westmont (Calif.) and Webber International (Fla.) both end their first ever NAIA World Series contests with a loss.

GAME NOTES/HIGHLIGHTS

No. 7 Faulkner def. No. 10 Webber International, 7-2

  • First run of the game was scoring off a throwing error in the bottom of the second
  • During the same inning, Sammy DeLaCruz and Juan Trinidad defeated sacrifice flies which scored the second and third unearned runs of the frame
  • Justice Lucas hits a solo shot to left field, putting the Eagles up 4-0
  • Faulkner added two more runs in the fourth inning off hits from DeLaCruz and Trinidad
  • Ben Hargis scored on a wild pitch making it seven unanswered runs by the higher seed
  • Webber International got on the board with a two run shot by Drake Dobyanksi in the top of the ninth
  • The Warriors had two runners on the bases when the game ended
  • Six of the nine innings, WIU was three up, three down
  • July Sosa (W, 12-1) pitched a four hit complete game with 12 strikeouts
  • Dylan Martin (L, 10-4) lasted 3.2 with six hits, four walks, and five K’s
  • Webber International used four total pitchers allowing 10 hits, four earned runs, six walks and six hits
  • Tyren Milliner (2-4) was the only Warrior batter to get multiple hits; Dobyanksi and Luis Acevedo had the other two
  • Jordan Funk, Lucas, and Trinidad paced the Eagle offense with a combined 6-10
  • Lucas and Brinkley each drew two walks for the Eagles; WIU only had one total in the contest

No. 3 Lewis-Clark State (55-5) def. No. 6 Westmont (45-12), 9-4

  • Trent Sellers and Bryan Peck met in a rematch from Opening Day played in Santa Barbara, Calif.
  • Josh Rego’s right line single scored the first-ever run for Westmont at the World Series, plated by Thomas Rudinsky
  • After both teams tossed up two blank innings, LCSC tied the contest in the bottom of the fourth off Zach Threlfall’s sacrifice fly
  • The LC Warriors blew up the game in the next frame scoring four runs via three singles and a ground out
  • Rudinsky scored for Westmont during their next trip to the plate
  • Going score for score, Aidan Nagle launched a two RBI homer to right field
  • Not wanting to miss the action, Luke White blasted his own solo shot to center in the eighth
  • In a pinch hit scenario, Charlie Updegrave dribbled a RBI single up the middle
  • In the top of the eighth, Rego drilled a two-run homer to center field, where Rudinsky scored his third run of the day
  • Sellers (W, 13-0) three six innings allowing five hits, three walks, and six strikeouts
  • Peck (L, 7-4) allowed 10 of the 13 hits by LC State and four strikeouts
  • Rego went 3-4 with three RBI; the other five hits were by separate WC Warriors
  • Threlfall was a perfect 3-3 in the box; Riley Way, Sam Linscott, and White all had two hits

No. 7 Faulkner (39-15) def. No. 2 Tennessee Wesleyan (54-7), 7-4

  • Coming off playing just under five hours earlier, the Eagles matched up against a team who had yet to play in the tournament
  • Faulkner is the third team in the modern era to win two games in one day – Cumberland (Tenn.) in 2010 and Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) in 1992
  • Playing earlier may have been a factor in Faulkner jumping out to a 2-0 lead in second inning
  • The game saw no scores until Faulkner’s Kevin Saenz blasted a three run shot to right center
  • Tennessee Wesleyan woke up in the bottom of the fifth off a two-RBI homer from Zach Hogueisso and then a double down the line by Carson Ford
  • After getting within striking distance, the Bulldogs’ Liam Doolan walked a batter with the bases loaded to make it a 6-3 score
  • TWU minimized the damage as it ended the inning with three runners still on the base paths
  • Facing a three run deficit and six outs to overcome, the Bulldogs wasted no time as Livian Reinoso swung at the first pitch he saw and lofted it into the left field bleachers
  • Runners at first and second with two outs away in the eighth, Brayan Garcia ended the inning with a strikeout
  • Recording two quick outs in the top of the ninth, momentum seemed to be favoring TWU
  • Jordan Funk launched a solo shot amidst his 3-3 outing to go along with two runs and RBI
  • The tying run was at the plate with an out punched in the ninth after consecutive singles by Jermayne Ward and Cayle Webster
  • Pop fly and strike out were the final two outs for the Bulldogs off the arm of Garcia
  • JC Toro (W, 6-2) went 6.1 for the Eagles; Kobe Foster (L, 13-1) suffers his first loss this year
  • Parker Stinnett and Reinoso had four of TWU’s eight hits
  • Saenz may have only been 1-4 but his three runs homer gave the Eagles a commanding 5-0 lead

No. 1 Southeastern (Fla.) (55-3) def. No. 9 Georgia Gwinnett (46-15), 9-7

  • The Grizzlies came out firing launching back-to-back solo home runs by Livingston Morris and Chase Evans, all with two outs gone in the frame
  • Morris now has 19 homers this season, breaking the old GGC record which was set in 2021
  • The action picked up in the top of the fifth inning where GGC took advantage of two SEU errors and a two RBI single by Braxton Meguiar to build a 6-0 lead
  • Immediately after, the Fire ignited and the bats came alive
  • The action started with a RBI double by Thomas Broyles and continues with a sacrifice fly to right by Abdel Guadalupe
  • With one swing of his bat, Gary Lora launched a three run shot to center field, closing the gap to 6-5
  • Southeastern tied the game on a fielder’s choice and error before scoring their seventh unanswered run as Sam Faith recorded an RBI single
  • With two outs gone, Georgia Gwinnett tied the game thanks to JD Stubbs being hit by the pitch and then brought home by Myles McKisic’s single
  • In the bottom of the ninth, both teams score lines were identical – seven runs, eight hits, and three errors
  • Guadalupe kicked off the inning with a flurry as he doubled to center but the runner was unable to advance on the first sac fly attempt
  • Pinch running, Zach Diewart stood on third base with the second out recorded in the frame
  • Faith tallied the first walk-off of the tournament with a two-run blast to center
  • Fire starting pitcher Robb Adams threw 125 pitches across 7.2 innings with 10 strikeouts and no walks; Alex Munroe came in for relief and earned the decision (W, 6-0) for 1.1 innings of work
  • Grizzly starter Tyler Clayton struck out seven across 4.1 innings before giving way to Gage Williams who pitched GGC through the seventh inning; Tuck Tucker (L, 3-3) allowed two hits and two runs
  • Offensively, Broyles and Faith were both 2-5 for SEU while Guadalupe was 3-4
  • Georgia Gwinnett had Meguiar, Morris, and McKisic end 2-4 in the loss

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