LEWISTON, Idaho – After a win in its first NAIA World Series game in history, Missouri Baptist baseball will advance in the winners' bracket to face No. 1-seed Faulkner (Ala.) on Saturday, May 25 at 5:00 p.m. CST.
The Spartans took game one of the World Series with a commanding 8-3 victory on Friday, aided by a six-run third inning. MBU's Garrett Vail hit a three-run RBI single to left field to give his team the lead for good. Ethan Gibbons got the win and improved to 11-0 on the year in an eight-inning performance where he allowed two runs on five hits with three strikeouts.
ABOUT FAULKNER
WHO: Faulkner University (Ala.)
NICKNAME: Eagles
SCHOOL COLORS: Royal and White
CONFERENCE: Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC)
RECORD: 51-11
CONFERENCE RECORD: 25-5
NAIA NATIONAL RANKING: 1
WORLD SERIES SEED: 1
The Faulkner University Eagles enter the 2013 Avista-NAIA World Series as the No. 1-ranked team in the NAIA and the winner of the Southern States Athletic Conference title. This is the second trip to the World Series for the Eagles in their history after a brief stay in 2011 where the team lost two consecutive games to Concordia (Calif.) and Lee Universities.
2013 has been a great run for Faulkner, who jumped to the top spot in the NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 in the final week of the season after having won both the Southern States regular season and conference tournament.
Right-handed starting pitcher Johnny Shuttlesworth, who will get the ball on Saturday against the Spartans, has led the Eagles. Shuttlesworth is a transfer from University of Alabama-Huntsville and boasts a 1.19 ERA heading into the World Series. The senior was the top player for Faulkner this season and was named the SSAC Pitcher of the Year.
Shuttlesworth is 14-1 on the year, which leads the NAIA in wins, and has four shutouts in five complete games. He currently ranks 11th in the NAIA in strikeouts with 93. Batters are hitting a combined .166 against the righty, which ranks him fourth in the nation in that category.
Zac Colby will also be a threat on offense. The catcher is currently batting .379 with 13 doubles and 50 RBI and was named to the SSAC All-Conference First Team. Third baseman Sergio Sanchez is hitting .356 with a .560 on-base percentage.
Perhaps the most dangerous hitter will come in the form of Michael Cruz. The designated hitter has also been productive for the high-powered Eagles' lineup. Cruz is hitting .365 on the season with a slugging percentage of .630. Overall, he has 13 homeruns and 66 RBI (Third in NAIA).
On the base path, MBU will need to keep Antonio Kendrick and Brook Boudreaux in check. Kendrick is second in the nation in stolen bases (52), stolen base attempts (56) and third in stolen bases per game (.897) and stolen base attempts per game (.966).
Boudreaux ranks fourth in stolen bases (44), fifth in stolen base attempts (49) and sixth in runs scored (61).
ABOUT MISSOURI BAPTIST
WHO: Missouri Baptist University
NICKNAME: Spartans
SCHOOL COLORS: Navy and White
CONFERENCE: American Midwest Conference (AMC)
RECORD: 36-12
CONFERENCE RECORD: 24-4
NAIA NATIONAL RANKING: 20
WORLD SERIES SEED: 9
Missouri Baptist University entered the 2013 Avista-NAIA World Series as the No. 20-ranked team in the NAIA and the winner of the AMC regular season title. MBU was defeated in the AMC Tournament by eventual winner, Benedictine University-Springfield.
The Spartans have bounced around the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 after beginning the season ranked No. 14 overall. The team was ranked as high as No. 15 during the regular season in the poll released on April 2.
Missouri Baptist put together an 18-game win streak beginning on March 12 against Judson and ending on April 5 in a 5-3 loss to then-ranked No. 24 Lyon College.
The Spartans will send right-handed starting pitcher Julien Soucy to the hill on Saturday. Soucy has been one of the most consistent pitchers in the rotation this season and leads the starting staff with a 1.90 ERA and a 5-2 record. Soucy has thrown two complete games with one shutout and has allowed just 15 earned runs in 2013. Opponents are hitting just .220 off the Arizona native.
Closer Matt Marsh will also be a key piece to the puzzle on Saturday and may be pressed into service outside of a save situation if-needed. Up until the final game of the NAIA Opening Round Kingsport Bracket Championship game, Marsh had only thrown as many as two innings in one game. In the final, 19-inning marathon against Tennessee Wesleyan, Marsh threw six innings of scoreless baseball. Opponents have hit just .213 against him in 2013.
Patrick Johnson and Ryan Gunhouse will likely lead the offense yet again. Johnson is hitting .387 in 2013 with 14 doubles and 51 runs scored. He is second on the team in stolen bases (23 for 25) and holds an on-base percentage of .460. The Spartan shortstop is currently ranked eighth in the NAIA in average hits per game (1.565)
Gunhouse has been consistently one of the top two-hole hitters in the NAIA this season. He is hitting .373 with 40 RBI and a slugging percentage of .601. The outfielder also leads Missouri Baptist with 25 stolen bases.
First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. CST at Harris Field on the campus of Lewis-Clark State College. To watch any part of the Avista-NAIA World Series, CLICK HERE.
