WINTER HAVEN, Fla.- On a day where top-seeded teams were put on upset alert across the landscape of the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round, the top-seeded Southeastern University Fire baseball team withstood an upset-bid from the second-seeded Middle Georgia State University Knights 5-4 in the Lakeland Winner's Bracket to advance to the championship round tomorrow, placing themselves one win away from Lewiston.
Senior left-handed pitcher
Ryan Munoz shoved his second postseason complete game effort, getting just his fourth start of the season. The Isabela, Puerto Rico native started out hot on the mound, turning in a stretch of seven-straight Knights retired during the first three innings.
The Fire struck first in the bottom of the fourth, thanks to a sacrifice fly to center off the bat of senior
Colton Onstott that scored
Sam Faith, as well as an MGSU error that allowed
Nick Bottari to score later in the frame to put SEU ahead 2-0.
Southeastern doubled its lead in the bottom of the sixth, first thanks to a Knights' balk that scored
Thomas Broyles from third. SEU grew its advantage to 4-0 later in the inning when Onstott drove in his second run of the day on an RBI-single to right field which brought
Jose Marcano across to give the Afire a 4-0 lead over the Knights.
The Middle Georgia State bats came alive and capitalized on Fire miscues in the top of the eighth, scoring four runs on five hits and two errors to even things up with SEU 4-4.
After the first two Fire hitters in the bottom of the eighth were retired in order, junior catcher
Luis Cabrera belted a 1-0 pitch over the left field fence to score the go-ahead and eventual winning run for Southeastern.
Munoz' final line was 130 pitches tossed over nine innings, 11 hits allowed, no earned runs, two walks, and eight strikeouts.
Southeastern now waits to take on the winner of the 11:00 a.m. elimination game tomorrow between the Knights and the third-seeded Bryan College Lions. First pitch for the championship game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. With a win in that game, the Fire will clinch a berth in the 2021 Avista-NAIA World Series. With a loss, SEU will be forced to play a winner-take-all if necessary game on Thursday at 11:00 a.m.
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