LAKELAND, Fla.- The No. 11 ranked Southeastern University Fire will begin their journey to a NAIA National Championship this week as they head to Lawrenceville, Ga. to compete in the NAIA Opening Round from May 16
th to May 18
th.
Lawrenceville, Ga. and Georgia Gwinnett will play host to the double-elimination, four team tournament with the winner advancing to the World Series from May 26
th to June 1
st.
The bracket will consist of the top-seeded Fire, second-seeded Grizzlies, St. Xavier University as the three seed and the University of Michigan-Dearborn as the four.
The Fire will first take on the University of Michigan-Dearborn on Monday at 2:30 p.m.
The Fire earned their spot in the Lawrenceville Bracket after claiming the title of Sun Conference Regular Season Champions with a 43-8 overall record and 20-3 SUN Record. As a team, the Fire hold a current batting average of .355, on base percentage of .415, and have registered 6.8 runs per contest. SEU currently ranks third nationally in hits with 543, ninth nationally in RBI's at 325, and are the top base stealing team in the NAIA with 220 stolen bases.
The offensive numbers for the Fire have been largely aided by graduate transfer,
Jamie Mead, who has posted a .446 average and .542 on base percentage with 15 doubles and 45 RBI's. Freshman
Riley Sanders has also been a significant contributor to the Fire's offensive success with a .412 average behind 73 hits and 68 stolen bases which ranks at the top of the NAIA. Senior
Katie Atkins has been the Fire's lead run producer with 54 RBI's, a .366 average, and .584 slugging percentage.
On the mound, the Fire have three different arms with an ERA of under one with freshman
Claire Sekinger leading the way with a 1.59 ERA in 149.1 innings and a 20-4 overall record. Sophomore
Autumn Hunter holds a 1.87 ERA through 108.1 innings of work while freshman
Kenzie Forrester has allowed 15 earned runs through 57.2 innings for a 1.82 ERA.
Michigan-Dearborn enters the tournament with a 30-11 overall record after winning the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament, securing their first ever trip to an opening round. The Wolverines will enter the tournament with a .299 collective batting average while bringing in 5.3 runs per contest.
Shae Scott has been the offensive leader for the Wolverines as she sits at the top in at bats, runs scored (30), hits (48), doubles (12), and batting average (.378). Makenna Milhorn leads the Wolverines in RBI's with 32 with nine doubles and six home runs while Lainie Ellinger has collected a team best eight home runs.
The Wolverines have looked to Ellinger for a majority of the innings on the mound as well as she has recorded 140 innings and an ERA of 2.35 while averaging 7.25 strikeouts per seven innings for a 16-5 overall record.
The Cougars of St. Xavier enter the opening round after winning the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament and regular season with a 36-6 overall record and 21-1 CCAC record. Lynda Robinson and Brittany Schultz have been the dynamic duo offensively with Robinson posting a team high .445 average, .494 on base percentage, and 39 stolen bases. Schultz leads all power categories with a .422 average, .867 slugging percentage, 14 home runs, 13 doubles, and 58 RBI's.
Julianne Claas has gone the distance on the mound for the Cougars with 106.2 innings pitched, 15-2 record, and 1.77 ERA while Laila Summers has collected 76 innings and an 11-3 record with a 2.49 ERA.
The host team, Georgia Gwinnett, will begin the opening round with a .320 team batting average and 5.7 runs per contest behind a .447 slugging percentage. The Grizzlies ranks 12
th nationally in doubles at 96 with Piper Wagner collecting a team high 17. Wagner also leads the Grizzlies in batting average (.452), slugging percentage (.828), hits (71), home runs (12), triples (3), and RBI's (53).
Junior Alexa Good has collected over 200 innings on the mound for the Grizzlies for a 22-9 record and has struck out 198 batters for an average of seven strikeouts per seven innings while freshman Kailyn Berry has gone 117.2 innings and collected a 2.38 ERA.
To view the NAIA Opening Round bracket, click
here.
