LAKELAND, Fla. – After earning the second Sun Conference Tournament title in program history, the No. 8 Southeastern University baseball team are set to embark on the NAIA National Championship quest. The Fire were announced as an Opening Round top seed in the Hattiesburg bracket, competing against (2) Texas Wesleyan, (3) host school William Carey, (4) Lyon (Ark), and (5) LSU-Alexandria.
Entire bracket viewable
here.
FIRE NOTABLES:
Senior outfielder
Marcus Guzman turned in one of the all-time great performances in Sun Conference Tournament history. Guzman tied the tournament record for hits with 12 and led all players in batting average (.600), runs batted in (8), and stolen bases (5). The Tampa native also belted .625 with runners in scoring position.
Senior shortstop
Luis Diaz posted a season for the record books. Diaz already eclipsed the single season program record in runs scored (74) and triples (12). The Miami native is also one hit away from setting a new mark in hits and eight bases away from topping total bases.
Senior Southpaw
Kade Wagner has forged back to back complete game victories in his last two starts with 16 total strikeouts.
FIRE IN THE OPENING ROUND:
The Fire are 2-4 all-time in the first round of the national tournament. SEU will look to claim its first opening round win since 5/13/14 versus St. Francis (Ill.) 7-0.
READING THE RAMS:
Texas Wesleyan enters the mix as the Sooner Athletic Conference regular season and tournament runners-up. TWU boasts one of the most consistent offenses in the tournament, ranking top 15 in the NAIA in eight offensive categories. The Rams offense is revved up by junior Kiki Menendez. The first team All-SAC outfielder is batting .447 with three homers, 12 runs batted in, and 12 runs scored over his last 10 games.
CHECKING THE CRUSRADERS:
William Carey features the Southern States Athletic Conference Player of the Year in senior first baseman James Land, the first selection for the program since 2010. The Gulfport Miss. Native is mashing .394 with 17 long balls and 61 runs batted in on the season. Junior second baseman Tyler James is one of the top speedsters in the nation, ranking fifth in stolen bases with 41. William Carey is the only team in the bracket the Fire have faced in program history, with SEU taking two of a three game series back in 2015.
SIZING UP THE SCOTS:
Lyon earned a berth in the big dance after a shocking 5-2 upset win over top seeded Missouri Baptist to earn their first American Midwest Conference Tournament title in program history. The Scots tout perhaps the top ace in the Hattiesburg bracket in junior righty Tyler Tognarine. The AMC Pitcher of the Year is 10-5 with a 2.09 ERA in 103.1 innings tossed to go along with an opponent batting average of .193. Struggles at the plate hampered Lyon throughout the season. The Scots hold a team batting average of just .284 (115
th in the NAIA) and have been punched out 417 times. Senior middle infielder Will Lindsey has emerged as a steady source of production. Lindsey has an on base streak of 12 games and is batting .389 with two homers, eight RBI, and nine runs scored.
GAUGING THE GENERALS:
LSU-Alexandria claimed its third straight Red River Athletic Conference regular season title, however, the Generals were a quick two game out in their conference tournament. The LSUA pitching staff punches out opposing bats quite proficiently, with 403 strikeouts on the season, ranking 25
th in the NAIA. Anchoring the rotation is the RRAC Pitcher of the Year senior righty Fernando Martinez. In his last three starts, Martinez is 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA and 17 strikeouts. At the plate, sophomore outfielder Logan Constantine is relied on heavily to do most of the damage. Constantine leads the Generals in hits (73), runs scored (45), home runs (6), RBI (36), and stolen bases (28).
BY THE NUMBERS:
| Team |
SEU |
TWU |
WCU |
LC |
LSUA |
| R |
454 |
455 |
443 |
330 |
342 |
| HR |
61 |
62 |
37 |
22 |
32 |
| RBI |
390 |
392 |
392 |
301 |
297 |
| AVG |
.333 |
.334 |
.306 |
.284 |
.297 |
| SB |
153 |
46 |
116 |
55 |
96 |
| P-K |
532 |
328 |
325 |
307 |
403 |
| ERA |
3.30 |
3.78 |
5.04 |
3.69 |
5.29 |
| HRA |
19 |
28 |
23 |
19 |
27 |
| Opp. BA |
.240 |
.280 |
.287 |
.266 |
.267 |
| SV |
14 |
11 |
9 |
7 |
7 |
Be sure to follow @SEUFireBaseball on Twitter for all of the latest NAIA Opening Round updates.
