LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 24 UBC Thunderbirds (40-15) are one win away from advancing to a second straight NAIA World Series after a decisive 11-1 victory in eight innings over the Lakeland, Florida bracket host No. 14 Southeastern University Fire (40-16) Tuesday evening.
A pair of David Krahn home runs set the early tone as the sophomore infielder drove in four runs on the day, one of four T-Birds to manage multiple hits while Myles Chamberlain orchestrated a tremendous six-inning start allowing just the one run for his 11th victory of the season.
Starting the Lakeland bracket of the NAIA Baseball Championship Opening Round 3-0, the 'Birds will now battle the winner of Wednesday's early game between the Fire and Milligan (Tenn.) for the championship game set for 3:00 p.m. PT.
The T-Birds had themselves a 3-0 lead before the Fire had a chance to record their first out. A leadoff single by Matt Vanslyke was followed by Braeden Scott getting plucked by Southeastern starter Austin Peddycoart. The second pitch to Krahn was sent out of the park to left for the early multi-run advantage.
Krahn nailed a solo homer in the third to extend UBC's lead to 4-0 while Chamberlain continued to deal on the mound. With runners on the corners and one away in the top of the fourth, the junior righty got Victor Esquivel Perez to fly out followed by a Nathaniel Hopkins ground out to keep the hosts off the board.
Fire second baseman Paul Wittman hammered the ball off the left field wall for a leadoff double in the top of the sixth and Southeastern finally got a run across with a Hopkins two-out RBI double. Chamberlain got Armani Cozza to strike out looking, ending the frame with UBC up by four.
Kansai Sugimoto scored on a Braeden Scott sac fly in the sixth making it 6-1 'Birds and spelling the end of Peddycoart's night. Reliever Grant Trentmann promptly forced an inning-ending double play to keep the Fire within reasonable striking distance.
Mason Chien came out of the bullpen to pitch the seventh for UBC and went three-up, three-down, as did Linden Happell in the eighth, striking out each of his three batters.
After having the game start delayed multiple times due to weather, the 'Birds wasted no time calling lights out in the bottom of the eighth. UBC quickly got two runners in scoring position for Scott who drove in a pair. After Krahn reached base with his third hit of the night, Josh Cote launched a three-run shot over the left field wall to invoke the mercy rule and send the T-Birds into Wednesday's championship game.
The Fire will battle Milligan in an elimination contest at 11:30 a.m. PT in Lakeland, the winner facing the 'Birds with a trip to the NAIA World Series on the line.
Thanks to their perfect start to the tournament, the 'Birds will have two cracks to win the double-elimination bracket and earn a second straight World Series appearance.
First pitch Wednesday for UBC is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. PT at Ted A. Broer Stadium. The game will be streamed live on the Urban Edge Network.