LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — The fifth-seeded Louisiana Christian University baseball team is among three clubs still kicking in the NAIA Tournament’s Lawrenceville Bracket after sending third-seeded Ottawa (Arizona) home Tuesday by posting a 9-4 victory.

That’s the good news. The daunting news is the Wildcats need to beat tournament host Georgia Gwinnett today to stay alive – the same team, ranked No. 2 nationally, that pounded LCU 26-2 Monday evening.

That elimination game starts at 11 a.m. local time (10 CDT) this morning, with the winner advancing into a 3 p.m. (2 CDT) championship-round game to play second-seeded Faulkner, which shocked Georgia Gwinnett 6-3 Tuesday.  Faulker can win the regional Wednesday but if it loses, an 11 a.m.. winner-take-all game will be played Thursday.

LCU (34-20) stayed alive Tuesday thanks to the arms of  Andrew Yuratich and Kade Linn while getting clutch at-bats up-and-down the lineup card, including four doubles.

Yuratich tied a season-high with seven full innings and set another by striking out eight batters as he used his arsenal to surrender only two earned runs (four total) on four hits and four walks. Linn pitched the last two innings and held the losers scoreless, striking out two.

Luke Morgan picked the right time to have a career outing at the plate, notching his first-ever three-hit game (3-of-4) with an RBI.

Chris Kelley, the Wildcats’ pinch-hit wizard, struck again in the winners’ five-run sixth, coming off the bench to rip a two-RBI line-hugging two-bagger.

Braden Trull was the other LCU hitter to collect multiple base knocks, going 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored.