LAKELAND, Fla. – The Fire are headed back to a familiar postseason destination: Lewiston, Idaho. Southeastern University earned its seventh consecutive trip to the Avista NAIA World Series with a 10-4 victory over Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Thursday's Opening Round Championship game.
SEU used a three-home-run outburst and ten runs across four innings to power past the Stallions and continue its postseason dominance. The win marked Southeastern's 21st straight Opening Round victory and advanced the program to the NAIA World Series for the seventh consecutive year.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the second, David Castillo sparked the Fire offense with a two-run blast to right-center. After Abraham Baldwin tied the game at 2-2 in the third, the Fire responded with back-to-back home runs from Connor Hicks (two-run) and James Strom (solo) to take a 5-2 lead they would not relinquish.
SEU's offense was sharp on Thursday, collecting 11 hits. Nick Streuer led the way, going 3-for-4 with a run scored. Hicks added a single, a two-run homer, and a sacrifice fly for three RBI and one run scored. Castillo's two-run shot got the scoring started, and Strom added a solo homer.
Charlie Collins tallied a hit, two runs batted in on sac flies, and scored once. Jon Paul Pennella and Alfonso Villalobos each recorded a single, run, and RBI, while Tyler Hinrikus chipped in a single and scored twice. John Rossi scored a run with a walk and stolen base.
On the mound, Agnel Miranda started the game with two innings and two strikeouts but exited with an injury. Andrew Hansen (3-1) earned the win with a strong five-inning relief effort, allowing just two hits and one earned run with three strikeouts. Reece Wissinger handled the eighth inning before Jones closed the door in the ninth by striking out the side.
Abraham Baldwin struck first with a two-out solo homer in the second. After SEU answered with Castillo's two-run homer, the Stallions tied the game with a leadoff homer in the third. The Fire quickly reclaimed the lead with Hicks' two-run shot and Strom's solo homer.
SEU added three more runs in the fourth—sac flies from Collins and Hicks and an RBI single from Villalobos—and extended the lead with RBI hits from Pennella and Collins in the fifth for a 10-2 advantage. Abraham Baldwin added solo runs in the seventh and eighth, but Southeastern's bullpen held firm to finish the job.
With the win, SEU improved to 44-13 and will now turn its sights to Lewiston, where the Fire will chase their third NAIA National Title, adding to championship runs in 2018 and 2022. The 2025 World Series is set to begin Friday, May 23, and runs through Saturday, May 31. The Fire have gone 17-9 in World Series play over their last six trips and enter this year's tournament after outscoring their three Opening Round opponents 24-11.
