LEWISTON, Idaho—The last time the Southeastern University baseball team was facing elimination, it rattled off five-straight wins to secure its third Sun Conference tournament title.
This afternoon, the Fire will take on Lewis-Clark State in an elimination game at Harris Field at 2 p.m. Eastern in the Avista-NAIA World Series.
To advance to the semifinal round of the tournament, SEU will need to defeat the team that has played in the World Series and won the World Series more than anyone else and do it on their home field.
L-C State has won 19 titles in 36 appearances and is the No. 3 Seed in the tournament with an overall record of 43-5. In the tournament, the Warriors are 2-1 with a 4-0 loss to Faulkner in the first round and a 10-0 win over Concordia and a 9-6 win over LSU-Shreveport yesterday.
The Warriors are third in the tournament in Team ERA at 3.33 and fourth in opponent batting average at .279. At the plate, Dalton Harum is hitting .462 this week with two hits in each of his three games played. In 34 games this season, Harum is hitting .302 with five doubles, two triples, seven home runs, and 25 RBIs.
Brock Ephan is the top hitter this season at .414 with 19 home runs and 78 RBIs. During the tournament, he's been walked four times in three games, yet still has a hit in each game, three runs scored, and three RBIs.
During the World Series, Southeastern has a team batting average of .430 which leads the tournament. Individually,
Carter Bridge is the tournament co-leader in batting average at .625 after going 3-for-5 against LSU Shreveport and 2-for-3 last night against Georgia Gwinnett. The senior outfielder has eight multi-hit games this postseason and is on a 17-game hit streak.
Nick Bottari is hitting .512 this postseason and has six RBIs and a pair of home runs during the World Series, becoming Southeastern's all-time leader in homers with 37 during his time with the Fire.
According to the bracket, the Fire were supposed to have played IU Southeast but with Faulkner's loss to Central Methodist and the Eagles having already played LC State, the Tournament Committee has the ability to matchup teams in the loser's bracket that have not yet played.
Following today's games, the Tournament Committee will set Wednesday's schedule and matchups with the first game at 6 p.m. Eastern and the second at 9:30 p.m. Eastern.
