LAKELAND, Fla. - The #11-ranked Southeastern baseball team will host their second NAIA East/West Challenge, January 29 - February 1 at Ted A. Broer Stadium.
One of the premier tournaments in the NAIA each year, the East/West Challenge is in its third year, with SEU hosting in 2023 and Arizona Christian University doing the honors in 2024.
The Fire are a perfect 7-0 in The Challenge, going 3-0 in last year's trip to Arizona and 4-0 In 2023 in Lakeland. In those seven wins, SEU outscored their opponents 64-24.
This season, Southeastern attempts to improve upon their undefeated record under new leadership, with head coach Gabe Grinder taking the reins. The Fire have a tough schedule in 2025, facing seven different teams ranked in the pre-season top-25. SEU will see four of those opponents right away, as all four teams they face in The Challenge this year are ranked in the NAIA top-25.
The Fire open against the Firestorm of #10 Arizona Christian University. SEU has matched up with them twice all-time, splitting the matchups 1-1, including a 6-4 win in the first East/West Challenge, and an 11-inning loss in the 2024 NAIA Avista World Series.
The following game has the Fire playing the #24 University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. This will be the first of four games between the two teams this season, as the Fire will face the Thunderbirds in a three-game series February 5-6 in Lakeland. Southeastern has bested UBC in their one and only previous meeting, pulling out a 4-1 win in 2019.
The next game will be against a familiar foe, #7 Lewis-Clark State College. Over the last four seasons these two teams have faced each other seven times, with five of those games being played in the NAIA Avista World Series. Southeastern has a 5-2 record in those games, with the most notable clashes coming in the 2022 World Series, where the Fire beat the Warriors 9-5 early in the series before facing them in the championship. LCSC beat SEU 10-9 to force a winner-take-all championship game, where the Fire beat the Warriors 11-5 to win the title.
The Fire's final game of the challenge has them up against the reigning World Series champion and #2-ranked Hope International Royals. The two teams met for the first time in last year's Challenge, where the Fire topped the Royals, 9-1.
The East/West Challenge will begin on January 29 and run through February 1, with all four of SEU's opponents representing the west. Southeastern joins Ave Maria University, St. Thomas University, and #1 Tennessee Wesleyan University representing the East.
To check out the 2025 SEU baseball schedule, click here. To purchase tickets, visit the box office by clicking here.
