Louisiana Christian’s baseball team and the softball squad from LSU Alexandria completed their comebacks through the losers’ bracket in their respective NAIA postseason regionals Wednesday, but couldn’t take the final steps.
LCU pounded Northwestern Ohio 16-3 to reach the championship round of the Lawrenceville (Ga.) regional in the NAIA Baseball Opening Round, but the home team was too stout. The Grizzlies, ranked fourth nationally, completed an unbeaten run through the regionals on their home field and advanced to the World Series by beating the Wildcats 12-4.
The LSUA softball team did beat the regional hosts on their home field Wednesday, taking a 9-2 victory in a showdown with Science and Arts of Oklahoma in the losers’ bracket final of the Chickasaw regional. But College of Idaho stayed perfect in the regional in the championship round, stopping the Generals 10-6.
LCU WILDCATS: Scoring five runs in each of the first two innings, the 24th-ranked Wildcats took command in their do-or-die contest with Northwestern Ohio. Harrison Waxley had a three-run double in the first inning for LCU, and Jake Messina’s two-run single was the last blow in the second frame for a 10-1 lead. Three more runs in the third sealed the deal as Waxley went 4-for-5 with 4 RBI.
But Georgia Gwinnett (49-6) was not to be denied its eighth straight World Series trip, including a 2021 national championship and semifinal appearances in each of the last two years.
LCU (37-15) opened a 2-0 lead on an RBI single by Monday’s walk-off HR hero, Gavin Vordick, and Matthew Cody ripped a solo homer for a third-inning advantage. It grew to 3-0 in the fifth when Drake Aldridge rapped a run-scoring single.
The Grizzlies got on the board in the fifth, then posted a five-run sixth and blew it open with six runs in the eighth inning. Aldridge went 3-for-5 in the final game.
LSUA GENERALS: A seven-run third inning was the cornerstone of the 9-2 win over the tournament hosts. Kaetlyn Dunbar’s bases-loaded triple and a two-run double by Haley Fontenot were the big rips to blow open the game for LSUA, which eliminated the regional top-seeded Drovers (48-11).
College of Idaho had the fast start in the championship round. Needing to beat the Yotes twice to reach the World Series, the Generals fell behind 9-2 after two innings.
But LSUA (37-18) punched back with a four-run third inning. College of Idaho added another run in the bottom half, and neither team scored again.