A regular season and conference tournament championship, a perfect record at the NAIA Opening Round, and 18 straight weeks atop the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 poll has led the Southeastern University Fire to the Avista NAIA World Series for the sixth consecutive season.
The Fire enter the season-ending tournament as the number one overall baseball program in the NAIA. Southeastern has a 51-6 overall record and is riding a ten-game win streak, not having lost a single postseason match.
Southeastern is bolstered by the top pitching staff in all of the NAIA, a staff that has cashed in an NAIA best 650 strikeouts and has held opposing batters to a .191 average. As a whole the Fire pitchers have collectively a 2.72 ERA which leads the NAIA.
Throughout the postseason run, the Fire has held opponents to four or less runs in every game.
Darien Smith comes in at the helm of this staff. The Sun Conference and NAIA Pitcher of the Year, Smith has registered 126 strikeouts which ranks third in the NAIA, is 12-0 on the season, and holds a 1.81 ERA.
Robb Adams and
Ramsey David have also been consistent arms in the lineup, with Adams posting a 2.20 ERA with 83 strikeouts and David contributing 84 strikeouts with a 2.56 ERA. All three pitchers were All-Sun Conference First Team.
From the batter's box, catcher
David Castillo leads all Fire batters with a .353 batting average. However, in the Opening Round it was
Gary Lora and
Isaac Nunez who took over. Nunez notched three home runs in three games, including a two home run outing in a 7-2 win over the University of Sciences and Arts.
Lora went 9-15 with two home runs over the course of the Opening Round, adding three RBIs.
Josh Smith also connected on two home runs, and
Alfonso Villalobos and
Tommy Davis each claimed a home run. Davis went 4-for-4 in the 11-2 Opening Round final versus University of Sciences and Arts.
In their opening World Series contest on Saturday the Fire will take on either Kansas Wesleyan or Arizona Christian.
Arizona Christian holds the #9 seed after sweeping their opening round schedule which included World Series host Lewis Clark State.
The Firestorm have a 36-19 record and eleven ranked wins under their belt. Marques Titialii leads all Arizona Christian batters with a .384 batting average, 83 RBIs, and 24 home runs. Sean Garcia follows close behind with a .360 batting average, 15 doubles, and 20 RBIs.
The Fire and the Firestorm have met once, and that was last year in the East/West Challenge at Ted A. Broer Stadium which Southeastern won 6-4 to kick off their season. In the contest versus the Fire last season Titialii led the way for Arizona Christian going 3-for-5 with a solo homer.
Over the three Opening Round games, the Firestorm registered six home runs from five different batters, with Titialii knocking home two.
From the mound it is Eli Elliott, Adrian Santa Cruz, and Eastyn Culp who get the nod in most games. Elliott pitches a 3.20 ERA with 99 strikeouts over 16 appearances, Santa Cruz holds a 4.09 ERA and has contributed 100 strikeouts in his 15 appearances. Culp, who has 18 appearances and ten starts has a 6.09 ERA with 66 strikeouts.
As a team the Firestorm have a 5.12 ERA and a batting average of .327.
Kansas Wesleyan is the #8 seed in the World Series bracket after handling the Shreveport Bracket in the Opening Round. The Coyotes swept their region with wins over Concordia, Talladega, and a thrilling 2-1 win over host LSU-Shreveport in the bracket finale.
Coming into the tournament, the Coyotes 48-10 and looking for revenge against the Fire after being eliminated from contention by Southeastern in last year's Opening Round.
Senior Jarrett Gable is the premier bat in the Kansas Wesleyan lineup, hitting .386 with 19 home runs and a team leading 76 RBIs, Gable notched a home run in the Opening Round matchup versus Concordia which the Coyotes won 15-8.
Following Gable is Tyler Favretto who bats .358, Cruz Oxford who bats .354, and Kendall Foster who bats .353 and leads the team in home runs with 23.
From the mound it is Jarrett Brannen and Brett Maddock who see most of the starting work, having started every game they have appeared in. Brannen holds a 3.94 ERA with 77 strikeouts, and Maddock pitches a 5.35 ERA over 16 appearances with 75 strikeouts.
The bullpen is a strong point for the Coyotes, as KT Geralds, Ryan Sandoval, and Ritter Steinmann see the mound often. Geralds holds a 0.99 ERA over 22 appearances with 40 strikeouts contributed, Sandoval has eighteen appearances with 3.71 ERA and 19 strikeouts, and Steinmann has a 1.99 ERA over 28 appearances and reliever high 49 season strikeouts.
The first pitch from the Fire's NAIA World Series opener is at 3:05 p.m. Pacific on Saturday.
