LA GRANDE, Ore. – Teams will head to Portland, Ore., as Concordia University plays host to the NAIA West Grouping Baseball Championships presented by U.S. Bank, beginning on Friday, May 1.
The Cavaliers’ right to host comes after a 19-9 NAIA West record, going 29-21 on the season, to earn the first-seed in the tournament. Offensively, the Cavs are led by infielder Nate Esposito who batted .340 with 28 RBIs and 21 doubles off of 67 hits. Pitcher Austin Hadley leads the defense for Concordia collecting 10 saves with a 2.45 earned run average and 60 strikeouts.
Controlling the second-seed in the tournament is the University of British Columbia (35-16, 18-10 NAIA West). The Thunderbirds led the conference in ERA, strikeouts and tied for first in saves. Conor Lillis-White started 13 games on the mound earning nine wins, 97 strikeouts and kept a 3.32 ERA through 84 innings. On the offensive side, infielder Bruce Yari batted .356 with 38 RBIs and six home runs.
Menlo College lands in the third-seed after a 14-14 conference record, finishing 33-20 overall. Menlo ended the regular season with the second best batting average (.302), the second most runs (380), and the second most homeruns (58). Catcher Daniel Comstock led his team to the postseason with a .398 batting average totaling 82 hits with 55 RBIs and 16 homeruns.
Coming in as the fourth-seed is Corban who finished NAIA West play at 14-14, and 26-27 overall. Pitcher Austin Guzzon was a strong performer for the Warriors on the mound this season with a 2.87 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 13 starts. At the plate, Nic Coffman registered a .355 BA to lead his team along with 37 RBIs and eight homeruns.
Rounding out the bottom of the tournament pool is fifth-seeded College of Idaho (13-15, 31-24 NAIA West). Catcher Cole Mansanerez led the offense for the Yotes hitting .345 while tallying 67 hits and 48 RBIs. On the mound, Kyle Garvin pitched 83 innings to end with a 2.71 ERA with a team highs in wins (seven) and strikeouts (65).
The champion of the NAIA West Grouping Baseball Championship presented by U.S. Bank will earn the conference's automatic bid to the opening round of the NAIA tournament on May 12.
2015 NAIA West Grouping Baseball Championship presented by U.S Bank Schedule
Day 1-Friday, May 1
10:00 a.m. Game 1: No. 4 Corban vs. No. 5 College of Idaho
1:00 p.m. Game 2: No. 2 UBC vs. No. 3 Menlo
4:00 p.m. Game 3: Game 1 Winner vs. No. 1 Concordia
Day 2-Saturday, May 2
10:00 a.m. Game 4: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser
1:00 p.m. Game 5: Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner
4:00 p.m. Game 6: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner
Day 3-Sunday, May 3
12 noon Game 7: Game 5 Loser vs. Game 6 Winner
3 p.m. Game 8: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner
Day 4-Monday, May 4
12 Noon Game 9: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser (if necessary)
Note: LCSC does not participate in the NAIA West post season tournament as they receive an AQ to NAIA National Tournament as the host institution.