LEWISTON, Idaho – The fifth-seeded Southeastern University baseball team is pressing on in the 2018 Avista-NAIA World Series. The Fire look to keep their place in the winner's bracket in a showdown with the top-seeded Faulkner University Eagles later this evening. The Fire look to their hot bats and will roll out senior right-handed pitcher Jordan Scott on the mound. This marks just the fourth meeting all-time between the Fire and the Eagles, with the last meeting being on 2/3/12, a 4-3 10 inning contest won by Faulkner.
GAME: No. 1 Faulkner (54-7) vs. No. 5 Southeastern (55-7) Monday 6:00 p.m. EDT
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HEATING UP THE PLATE: The Fire offense has totaled 11 or more hits in three straight postseason contests. Versus Oklahoma City in their first game of the World Series, SEU bats hit a combined .351 at the plate (13-37). The Fire featured three position players with three hits in the lineup. One of those players was junior designated hitter Ivan Nunez. (3-5), who reached base safely in his 39th consecutive contest versus OCU. Another one of those bats is junior outfielder Manuel Mesa. The leadoff man is hitting .500 since the Opening Round (9-18) and is a perfect 4-4 on stolen bases during that stretch.
FIRE FRAMES: After a complete game gem by junior southpaw Jonathan Bermudez, Southeastern turns to Scott on the mound. At 13-1 with a 2.50 ERA on the season, the Atlanra, Ga. native would tie the new single-season program win record set by Bermudez last game at 14 with a victory of his own. Scott has won nine consecutive starts for SEU, with his last loss coming on 3/3 versus Judson. He has tossed seven or more frames in four straight contests and has struck out an average of 6.3 over that span.
THE EAGLES: Faulkner edged eighth-seeded Antelope Valley on Saturday night 8-7, after trailing 3-0 in the top of the first. The Eagles used power to battle their way back into the contest, belting three home runs. One of the long balls came from senior outfielder Reese Cooley, who has now went yard in three of his last four games, leading the team in home runs with14 on the year. Junior leadoff hitter Te'kwaan Whyte was 3-5 at the plate versus AVU. Whyte is hitting .522 at the top of the order over his last five starts and has scored or driven in a run in 10 consecutive contests. On the mound, Faulkner will likely turn to junior righty Tyler Thornton. The 6-4, 280 pound Greenville, S.C. native is 7-0 on the season with a 3.58 ERA.
Be sure to follow @SEUFireBaseball on Twitter for all of the latest updates from Lewiston.
