Game Time...The Northwestern College baseball team is set to compete in the 2018 NAIA Baseball Championship Opening Round-Upland (Ind.) Bracket this week, held at Winterholter Field on the campus of Taylor University. The five team, double-elimination tournament begins Monday, May 14 and is scheduled to conclude with the bracket championship game on Thursday, May 17 at noon. Northwestern, the No.5 seed, will play No.4 seed and host Taylor University on Monday...first pitch now scheduled for 10am (CST)---moved up the start time one hour due to possible storms later in the day.

Upland Bracket Tournament Page | Video Webcast (courtesy of Taylor)

Live Stats | KSOU Audio Broadcast | NAIA Opening Round Central 

Upland Bracket / Format...The Upland Bracket is one of nine opening round sites across the NAIA that host a five-team, double-elimination tournament with the winner advancing to the 2018 Avista NAIA World Series held in Lewiston, Idaho on May 25 - June 1. The host team of the World Series, Lewis-Clark State, earns an automatic bid and completes the 10-team field at the final site.

The five teams that comprise the Upland Bracket are:
    No.1 seed /7th-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan
    No.2 seed / 24th-ranked Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
    No.3 seed / RV Cumberland (Tenn.)
    No.4 seed / Taylor (Ind.)
    No.5 seed Northwestern

How Northwestern Qualified...Northwestern is one of the 31 automatic qualifiers in the 45-team opening round field, earning an auto bid by way of the winning the GPAC Regular Season title. The Red Raiders also won the postseason championship, defeating Midland 2-1 last Wednesday night. Midland earned the GPAC's other auto bid and is the second of two conference teams in the field.

Opening Round History...The Red Raiders are making their fourth appearance in the NAIA Opening Round (since the 2009 season when the current postseason format began) and first since the 2014 season. They are 4-6 all-time in opening round games, all under current head coach Brian Wede, with their best finish in 2010 when they were the runner-up of the Oklahoma City Bracket with a 3-2 record.

    2010: 3-2 record, runner-up @ Oklahoma City
    2013: 0-2 record @ Oklahoma City
    2014: 1-2 record @ Shawnee, Okla.

Northwestern Notes..The Red Raiders have won six straight and 13 of their last 15 games for a 30-18 overall record. They are 23-6 dating back to March 28, beginning with a sweep over Dordt in GPAC play. The 30 wins is the most since the 2014 season and tied for the fifth most in program history. Northwestern won the GPAC regular season title with a 19-7 record, three games in front of second place Midland. They also won the postseason tournament title, accomplishing the double championship for the second time (2013). 

Brian Wede is in his 12th season as the Red Raiders head coach and  14th overall season with the program, owning a 346-256 record coming into this week's championship. He is the winningest coach in program history and has twice been named the GPAC Coach of the Year, including this past season. Wede has guided the Red Raiders to all four of its GPAC regular season title, all three postseason title and all four of its NAIA Opening Round appearances.

    By The Numbers...
    Batting Average: .292             Opponent Batting Average: .275
    Runs / Game: 5.9                    Runs Given Up / Game: 4.8
    Hits / Game: 8.6                      Hits Given Up / Game: 8.1
    Stolen Bases: 34/58                Stolen Bases by Opponent: 55/67

    Individual Players:
   Zachary Rosson : .351 BA, 6 2B, 3 HR, 22 RBIs (1st team all-conference)
   Matt Martin: .340 BA, 28 runs, 6 HR, 37 RBIs (HM all-conference)
   Christian Stekl: .333 BA, 41 runs, 3 HR, 20 RBIs (2nd team all-conference)
   Reed Smith: .322 BA, 39 runs, 5 HR, 27 RBIs (3x all-conference)
   Dustin Gaither : .314 BA, 26 runs, 32 RBIs (2x all-conference)
    
    Mitchell Kresnik: 7-2, 3.43 ERA  65.2 IP, 12 BB, 42 K's (HM all-conference) 
    Noah McBride: 6-2, 3.48 ERA  64.2 IP, 29 BB, 57 K's (2nd team all-conference)
    Victor Mena: 3-3, 4.25 ERA, 42.1 IP, 11 BB, 37 K's (HM all-conference)
    Alec Rickabaugh: 2-4, 4.25 ERA   42.1 IP, 13 BB, 15 K's

Scouting Report on Taylor...

    One of three teams from the Crossroads League that earned a spot in the 45-team Opening Round field, Taylor brings a 43-14 overall record into Monday's match-up. The Trojans finished second among 10 teams, behind Indiana Wesleyan, in the Crossroads League regular season and then lost to tournament champion Marian (Ind.) and Huntington in the conference tournament to earn an at-large bid into the Opening Round. They are 7-3 over their last 10 games. 

   The Trojans are making their sixth appearance in the Opening Round and first since the 2016 season. They are 4-10 overall with their best showing in 2009 when they went 2-2 in the Mount Berry Bracket (Ga.). Taylor has one World Series appearance, back in 1969, when they went 1-2.

            Opening Round:
            2009-2-2 @ Mount Berry, Ga.
            2010-0-2 @ Lee, Tenn.
            2012-1-2 @ Marian, Ind.
            2013-1-2 @ Kingsport, Tenn.
            2016-0-2 @ Savannah

    Kyle Gould is in his 14th season as Taylor's head coach, owning a 433-257 record for a win percentage of 63%. Gould has guided the Trojans to seven league titles and has been named the conference coach of the year five times.

    By The Numbers...

    Batting Average: .327                         Opponent Batting Average: .228
    Runs / Game: 7.2                               Runs Given Up / Game: 2.8
    Hits / Game: 10.3                               Hits Given Up / Game: 6.8
    Stolen Bases: 128 (10th in NAIA)      Stolen Bases by Opponent: 33

    Top Players:
    Nathan Taggart (All-American): .396 BA, 44 runs, 19 2B, 6 HR, 63 RBIs
    Josh Lane: .363 BA, 51 runs, 29 RBIs
    Tanner Watson (All-Conference): .345 BA, 18 runs, 13 2B, 36 RBIs
    Brett Lawson: .337 BA, 25 runs, 3 HR, 33 RBIs
    Andrew Kennedy (All-Conference): .336 BA, 25 runs, 5 HR, 38 RBIs

    Luke Shively: 6-1, 1.76 ERA  41 IP, 21 BB, 43 K's
    Matt Patton (All-Conference): 10-3, 1.88 ERA, 91 IP, 7 BB, 99 K's
    Clay Riggins: 7-1, 2.57 ERA, 63 IP, 16 BB, 46 K's