Box Score LEWISTON, Idaho – The Southeastern University baseball team positioned itself well in the 2018 Avista-NAIA World Series. Fueled by a gutsy performance on the mound by senior righty Jordan Scott, along with an 11-hit day at the plate, the Fire defeated the top-seeded Faulkner University Eagles 6-4 to advance in the winner's bracket.
The Fire got off to a shaky start in the top of the first, due to a pair of defensive miscues. The Eagles plated two runs in the top of the first off of two hits and two errors.
"I thought our guys did a great job of battling through their mistakes. We pitched very well today and this was an incredible team win," shared Head Coach Adrian Dinkel.
After leading off the opening World Series game for SEU with a triple, junior outfielder Manuel Mesa led off this contest with another extra-base hit, a double to center field. After advancing on a wild pitch, Mesa was scored by junior infielder Dominic Anagnos on a sacrifice fly to put the Fire on the board and cut the deficit to 2-1.
The exact same sequence repeated itself in the bottom of the third, as Anagnos sacrificed Mesa across the plate after the Bronx, N.Y. native led off the frame with a double and advanced to third on another errant throw. The run knotted things up 2-2.
Scott battled through several tough spots throughout his start. The Atlanta, Ga. native recorded three strikeouts with Faulkner runners in scoring position from the second through sixth innings.
"I couldn't let the things that happened early on get to me. I just had to stay locked in and keep hitting my spots," commented Scott.
With 7.1 frames tossed, Scott recorded his fifth consecutive start with seven or more innings pitched. He also registered seven punch outs and only walked one Faulkner batter. With the win, Scott tied the single-season program record for wins at 14 with teammate Jonathan Bermudez, who set the record on Friday versus Oklahoma City.
An RBI-double poked down the left field line by junior infielder Keiner Colmenarez in the bottom of the fourth scored Vince Volpatti and Ivan Nunez to make it 4-2 in favor of the Fire.
Nunez was 3-4 at the plate on the day with a pair of runs scored. He extended his on-base streak to 40 games.
The Eagles scored one in the top of the sixth to make it a one-run game.
The Fire tacked on a pair of key insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh and eighth innings.
In the seventh, junior outfielder Marvin Malone singled home junior shortstop Adam De La Cruz to make it 5-3. In the eighth, junior catcher Marcus Stump doubled down the left field line, scoring Nunez and making it 6-3.
Faulkner threatened in the top of the ninth, scoring a run on an RBI-single to make it 6-4. However, with senior reliever Jared Crescentini on the mound, Eagles on second and third, and two outs, a ball was lifted high into first-base foul territory and landed into the glove of junior first baseman Nick Bottari for the final out.
The Fire now face the seventh-seeded Freed-Hardeman University Lions in the winner's bracket Tuesday night at 9:30 p.m. EDT.
