Monday, May 19
Embry-Riddle has given Lewis-Clark State fits in the NAIA World Series. Now the Eagles get the opportunity to fluster the two-time defending champions on opening night.
The Warriors will square off with the Daytona Beach, Fla., school Friday evening at Harris Field in the last of four first-round games in the Series’ 52nd edition. They will play following the opening ceremonies, at approximately 7:30 p.m.
The seedings and, consequently, the pairings for the 10-team tournament were announced Sunday, and there were no major surprises. As expected, Lee, Tenn., was awarded the top seed while L-C was slotted at No. 3 - the highest position it is allowed as the host team. Oklahoma City and Azusa Pacific, Calif., were placed at Nos. 2 and 4, a swap of super-regional seedings that no doubt resulted from the Stars sweeping the Mid South Super Regional and the Cougars losing two straight to L-C in the West Coast best-of-three.
Embry-Riddle, which was swept by Lee in the Atlantic South Super Regional, dropped to sixth, falling behind Union, Tenn., the Series’ only first-time qualifier. The minor slip left the Eagles a first-round date with L-C.
The Warriors and Embry-Riddle faced off in the Series in four consecutive years (2003-06), with each team winning twice. The Eagles’ victories eliminated L-C from both the 2004 and ‘05 tournaments; the 5-0 win in ‘05 marked just the second time the Warriors have been held scoreless in their 141-game Series history.
This will be the Eagles’ sixth Series appearance in seven years - they failed to qualify last year.
Since L-C qualified as one of seven super-regional champions, the automatic berth it is guaranteed as the host team was transformed into a third at-large invitation. Bellevue, Neb., was the recipient, and the Bruins will make their 12th Series appearance, second in this field only to L-C’s record 27.
Perhaps the most curious seeding decision involved Bellevue. It received the No. 8 spot while Jamestown, N.D., the team that beat the Bruins in the Heartland Super Regional, was seeded 10th.
The top two seeds are awarded first-round byes while the winners of L-C/Embry-Riddle and Azusa Pacific/Union pairings get a break Saturday.
The Series, a double-elimination affair, will run through at least May 29, with games every day but Sunday.
The Warriors, however, have one bit of business to which they must tend before opening pursuit of their 16th national championship. They will travel to Seattle on Tuesday to face Washington in a 5 p.m. contest. L-C is 3-0 against NCAA I opponents this year, having beaten Washington 8-6 on Feb. 27.
