The Lewis-Clark State College baseball team will face a familiar foe in the opening round of the 56th annual Avista NAIA World Series on May 25. The Warriors will square off against Oklahoma City in the final game of the day at 7 p.m. at Harris Field in Lewiston.
LCSC is the No. 6 seed in the 10-team double-elimination tournament and brings a 41-12 season record into the game. Oklahoma City, 47-10, is the No. 3 seed. It will be the 13th time in Series history the two teams have met with LCSC holding a 7-5 series lead. OCU, however, has won the last two meetings and three of the last four, including a 2-1 triumph last season.
LCSC (119) and Oklahoma City (32) rank Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in total wins at the Series among current NAIA programs. LCSC also has won the most Series titles of any program with 16. The two programs also rank first and second in Series appearances – this will be LCSC’s 30th trip, while OCU is making its 14th.
Oklahoma City had to win three straight games in order to qualify for the Series and did so in impressive fashion, all in shutouts. In fact, in five games at its opening round tournament, OCU’s pitching staff allowed just five runs, three of which were earned. It’s only loss was a 2-1 setback to Sterling of Kansas, a team OCU came back to beat 7-0 and 3-0 to claim the title. OCU has not allowed an earned run in 37 straight innings and its staff struck out 41 and walked just 10 during the opening round.
The Stars are making their fifth straight trip to the Series, which is a program first.
With the remainder of the first-round tournaments coming to a close on Monday, the 10 teams were then seeded based on the final regular-season NAIA Top 25 poll.
LSU Shreveport (51-4) and Lee of Tennessee (54-9-1) are the top two seeds in the tournament and will receive first-round byes on May 25.
The Series kicks off with No. 7 seed Point Park of Pennsylvania (51-9) taking on College of Idaho (41-19) at 9 a.m. College of Idaho, the No. 10 seed, upset Azusa Pacific in its opening round tournament to claim a spot in the field.
No. 8 South Carolina Beaufort (40-17) and No. 9 seed Rogers State of Oklahoma (45-15) meet at noon. It is the first Series appearance for both programs, and the contest will be followed by No. 4 Tennessee Wesleyan (48-11) and No. 5 Embry-Riddle (43-16) at 3 p.m. The Opening Ceremonies are scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
LSU Shreveport jumps into action on May 26 against the South Carolina Beaufort-Rogers State winner at 6:30 p.m. Lee also plays on Saturday at 3 p.m. against the College of Idaho-Point Park winner.
Six of the 10 teams also played in the Series a year ago, including LSU Shreveport, Lee, Tennessee Wesleyan, Embry-Riddle, Oklahoma City, and LCSC. Defending champion Concordia and runner-up Lubbock Christian did not qualify this year. Point Park is making its first appearance since 1998, while College of Idaho has been absent since 2002.
In the final poll of the regular season, which was released prior to the opening-round tournaments, LSU Shreveport was ranked No. 1, Lee No. 2, Oklahoma City No. 3, Tennessee Wesleyan No. 6, Embry-Riddle No. 8, LCSC No. 10, Point Park tied for 12th, South Carolina Beaufort tied for 15th, Rogers State was at No. 23, and College of Idaho received the third highest vote total among teams that didn’t make the Top 25.
Tickets for the Series are on sale at the LCSC ticket office, located upstairs in the Activity Center. They also can be purchased online at www.naiaworldseries.com/2012/tickets
To view the bracket click here
2012 Avista NAIA World Series Qualifiers
|
School
|
Qualification
|
Record
|
WS Appearances
|
WS Record
|
Titles
|
|
College of Idaho
|
Azusa Bracket Champion
|
41-19
|
5
|
13-7
|
1
|
|
Embry-Riddle (Fla.)
|
Daytona Beach Bracket Champion
|
43-16
|
11
|
17-20
|
0
|
|
Lee (Tenn.)
|
Cleveland Bracket Champion
|
54-9-1
|
7
|
15-12
|
0
|
|
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)
|
Host Berth
|
41-12
|
31
|
119-37
|
16
|
|
LSU Shreveport (La.)
|
Paducah Bracket Champion
|
51-4
|
3
|
5-4
|
0
|
|
Oklahoma City
|
Oklahoma City Bracket Champion
|
47-10
|
14
|
32-25
|
1
|
|
Point Park (Pa.)
|
Marion Bracket Champion
|
51-9
|
11
|
10-20
|
0
|
|
Rogers State (Okla.)
|
Hutchinson Bracket Champion
|
45-14
|
First
|
0-0
|
0
|
|
South Carolina Beaufort
|
Hardeeville Bracket Champion
|
40-17
|
First
|
0-0
|
0
|
|
Tennessee Wesleyan
|
Kingsport Bracket Champion
|
48-11
|
3
|
0-4
|
0
|
|
|
