Game Time...With its season on the line, Northwestern College will play (RV) Cumberland (Tenn.) in an elimination game on Tuesday, May 15 in the Uplands Bracket of the 2018 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round. First pitch is scheduled for noon (CST). The Red Raiders, 0-1 in bracket play, own a 30-19 overall record and are the No.5 seed in the Upland Bracket. No.3 Cumberland, also 0-1 in bracket play, brings a 34-20 overall record into Tuesday's match-up. 

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

Live Stats | KSOU Audio Broadcast | NAIA Opening Round Central 

Bracket Update...Northwestern lost to the host team, Taylor (Ind.), 2-1, in the final at-bat of the first game of the Bracket play on Monday. With Northwestern leading 1-0 and two outs away from the win, Taylor rallied for two unearned runs, the final on a walkoff single by Sam Wiese. 

Noah McBride took the loss as the freshman lefty went 8.1 innings, giving up five hits and no earned runs. Christian Stekl accounted for the Red Raiders offense with a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning. 

Cumberland lost to No.2 Freed-Hardeman 13-8 in its opening round match-up played Monday afternoon. Cumberland scored a pair of runs in the top of the fifth to take a 4-1 lead but Freed-Hardeman pushed across 10 runs in the next two innings to take the lead for good. The Phoenix totaled 10 hits, led by Jared Schmidt, Hector Morales and Jordan Hunt, who all had two hits. Polo Portela took the loss, giving up nine hits and eight runs in 5.1 innings. 

Scouting Report on Cumberland...

Earning votes in the final coaches' poll, Cumberland received an at-large bid into the 45-team field of the opening round. They finished third in the Mid-South Conference regular season with a 10-7 record, behind University of Cumberlands and Campbellsville. They are 34-20 overall, going 6-4 down the stretch.

Longtime skipper Woody Hunt is in his 37th year as the head coach at Cumberland, owning over 1,500 wins during his tenure. Hunt, a three-time NAIA Coach of the Year, has guided Cumberland to five NAIA World Series titles and two runner-up finishes. 

The most accomplished postseason teams in the Upland Bracket, Cumberland is making its sixth trip to the opening round, going 13-7 in the first round (since 2009). They won their bracket both in 2010 and 2014 where they went on to win the World Series in each of those seasons. Cumberland has qualified for 12 World Series, going 30-19.

By The Numbers...

    Batting Average: .297           Opponent Batting Average: .251
    Runs / Game: 6.9                  Runs Given Up / Game: 5.6
    Hits / Game: 9.5                    Hits Given Up / Game: 7.7
    Stolen Bases: 45/55              Stolen Bases by Opponent: 51

    Top Players:
    Rayden Sierra (Mid-South Player of the Year): .359 BA, 60 runs, 22 HR (2nd), 54 Ks
    Nick Mira (2nd team all-conference): .348 BA, 7 HR, 38 RBIs
    Carlos Moseley (1st team all-conference): .348 BA, 39 runs, 36 RBIs
    Caleb Kellogg: .308 BA, 17 runs, 21 RBIs
    Janson Neff: .300 BA, 3 HR

    Blake Young (2nd team all-conference): 5-1, 2.78 ERA  35.2 IP, 25 K's
    Thomas Galant (2nd team all-conference): 7-4, 3.45 ERA, 88.2 IP, 65 K's
    Polo Portela (2nd team all-conference): 8-3, 4.56 ERA