LAKELAND, Fla. -- Southeastern stayed alive in the NAIA Opening Round Lakeland Bracket on Wednesday afternoon, erupting for 15 runs over the final four innings to eliminate Milligan, 15-0, at Ted A. Broer Stadium. The Fire now advance to the Opening Round Final against British Columbia later tonight. Milligan's season comes to an end at 41-15.

After three scoreless innings to open the elimination game, Southeastern broke through in the fourth and never slowed down. The Fire plated four runs in the inning behind RBI hits from Paul Wittmann and Nathanial Hopkins, taking advantage of five hits in the frame to seize control.

That early cushion was more than enough for Byler Reither, who turned in one of his best performances of the season. The right-hander tossed a complete-game shutout, allowing seven hits while striking out four and not issuing a walk across seven innings. Reither improved to 9-2 on the year and kept Milligan off the scoreboard despite multiple early threats.

The Fire offense continued to build separation in the fifth inning when Cooper Ciesielski launched a solo home run to left. Later in the frame, aggressive baserunning by Charlie Collins and Paul Wittmann helped Southeastern capitalize on a Milligan throwing error to push the lead to 7-0.

Southeastern delivered the knockout blow in the sixth. After Nathanial Hopkins opened the inning with a single and Armani Cozza followed with a base hit, Charlie Collins crushed a three-run homer to left field to extend the advantage to 11-0. Collins finished a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate with four RBIs and three runs scored in one of the top offensive performances of the season for the Fire designated hitter.

Collins' five-hit performance marked the most hits by a Southeastern player in a game this season. It was also the first five-hit game by a Fire player in NAIA postseason play since Gary Lora recorded five hits against Mount Mercy on May 13, 2024, and just the seventh five-hit game by a Southeastern player in NAIA postseason history.

The seventh inning added even more insurance as Southeastern plated four additional runs. Cade Parry delivered a two-run single while Collins capped the scoring with another RBI base hit, giving the Fire 15 runs on 16 hits in the victory.

Collins led a relentless offensive effort that saw six different Fire players record multiple hits. Cozza finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored, Ciesielski went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs, Hopkins added two hits and two RBIs, while Parry drove in two runs and scored once. Southeastern also swiped six bases in the win and did not commit an error defensively.

With the victory, Southeastern advances to the Opening Round Final against British Columbia. The Fire must defeat the Thunderbirds tonight to force an if-necessary championship game on Thursday afternoon as they continue their pursuit of an eighth consecutive trip to the NAIA World Series.