DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - For the fifth consecutive season, Daytona Beach will be one of nine sites across the country hosting a NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round as the five-team, double-elimination event is unofficially kicked off Wednesday evening at the Opening Round Banquet and games begin Thursday morning at Embry-Riddle's Sliwa Stadium. The winners of each of the nine Opening Rounds will join Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston Idaho for the 57th Annual Avista-NAIA World Series, slated for May 24-31, 2013.

Host Embry-Riddle will be joined by Concordia (Calif.), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Ave Maria (Fla.) and Martin Methodist (Tenn.) in the Daytona Beach Bracket of the 45-team Opening Round field.

No. 1 Embry-Riddle Eagles (45-13) • @ERAUBaseball

The Eagles, ranked No. 5 in the final regular season NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll, are the top seed in the bracket for the fifth time in as many years. Embry-Riddle earned an automatic berth to the National Championship after capturing both the regular season and tournament titles of The Sun Conference. The Blue and Gold's two conference crowns in 2013 give the program its 18th and 19th conference titles in 20 seasons of league participation.

The Eagles have gotten it done on the mound this season, posting a conference-best and second-best nationally, 2.32 team ERA. Embry-Riddle enters the Opening Round allowing less than two earned runs in eight of its last nine contests and will bring a balanced starting roation with a stalwart bullpen to the field this weekend.

Stetson Nelson, Kevin Maloney and Chad Modomo are the Eagles' three conference starters, all three earning All-Sun Conference accolades with sub-3.00 ERAs for the trio. Nelson is 8-2 with a 1.77 ERA in a team-leading 107.0 innings of work, accumulating 92 strikeouts while issuing just 16 walks and holding opponents to a .237 batting average against. The sophomore Nelson is the young gun in the Eagle rotation, following seniors Maloney and Modomo. In 2013, Maloney is 10-1 with a 2.31 ERA in 85.2 innings, posting a pair of shutouts and 56 strikeouts in his final season in an Eagle uniform. Over his three seasons with the Eagles, Maloney is 29-1 with a 2.51 ERA in 240.0 innings. Modomo, a native of Winter Park, Fla., has a 6-2 mark and 2.93 ERA in 14 starts, throwing 80.0 innings, striking out 57 with one complete game under his belt.

Embry-Riddle's offense has gotten it done when needed, and despite a .263 team batting average, has outscored opponents by 115 runs. Senior Jeff Lemon is the team's leader at the plate with a .347 average on 75 hits, 46 RBIs and 32 runs. Lemon has struck out just six times in 216 at-bats this year and has manned the hot corner while the Eagles are in the field. Junior Kevin Lindheim led The Sun Conference with 49 RBIs and is second on ERAU's team with a .333 average, collecting 70 hits, 15 doubles, three home runs and scoring 37 times.

Embry-Riddle is 12-1 all-time in four appearances in the Opening Round, and has advanced to the World Series in each of the last five seasons under the direction of Head Coach Randy Stegall.

No. 2 Concordia Eagles (34-19) • @CUIBaseball

The second set of Eagles in Daytona Beach will be from Irvine, California as Concordia makes the cross-country trip from west coast to the east as the second-seeded team in the bracket. The Eagles spent the majority of the season ranked inside the top-15 of the NAIA Coaches' Poll, slipping to 17th in the final ranking released on Sunday. Concordia received an at-large berth to the Opening Round after finishing second in the Golden States Athletic Conference regular season.

Mike Grahovac leads his team to Florida after losing two straight in the GSAC Tournament, but the Eagles are the only team in Daytona that have won a NAIA World Series, doing so in 2011. Interestingly enough, the only loss for Concordia during the 2011 World Series came at the hands of Embry-Riddle.

Similarly to the hosts, Concordia has relied on pitching and timely hitting during 2013, boasting a 3.37 team ERA in 53 contests with a .289 batting average. Chris Garrison is the Eagles' top starter with a 5-4 record and 2.87 ERA in 94.0 innings. He holds opponents to a .195 average from the plate and is second on the team with 65 strikeouts. Adam Quintana is 7-5 with a 3.29 ERA while Cole Swanson is 8-4 with a 3.35 ERA. The Eagles have eight pitchers with at least eight appearances and have struck out 346 total batters.

Ty Holm and Cody Smith lead the charge for the Eagles offensively, posting .343 and .337 batting averages respectively. Holm has recorded 62 hits, including 15 for extra-bases and has 12 stolen bases on the year. Smith has 58 hits with 41 runs scored and 33 RBIs. The Eagles' Spencer Ofelt is hitting .324 with 12 doubles and five home runs with 45 RBIs.

Concordia is 4-2 all-time in two Opening Round appearances, advancing to the World Series in 2011 where the Eagles claimed the ultimate prize.

No. 3 Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders (42-17) • @LWCBaseball

The 22nd-ranked Blue Raiders of Lindsey Wilson will be making their second straight trip to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round after winning the Mid-South Conference Tournament and earning the league's automatic bid.

Jonathan Burton's squad boasts an impressive resume with eight wins over current top-25 ranked teams, including two over NAIA No. 1 Faulkner. The Blue Raiders are winners of 12 of their last 15 games, including five of their last six.

LWC will bring a team ERA of 3.68 to Daytona with 16 complete games and 348 strikeouts in 474.1 innings. Darren Travers highlights the Blue Raiders' staff with a 10-2 record and 2.15 ERA in 109.0 innings. His 77 Ks ranks first on the team, one more than Chris Erker who is 11-2 with a 2.47 ERA in 11 starts. The pair have combined for 11 complete games and 211.0 innings of work.

The Mid-South Player of the Year in 2013 was Manuel Alonso after the Blue Raider hit .431 with 85 hits, 46 RBIs, 40 runs, a .477 slugging percentage and .506 on-base percentage. Ranking second on the team is Manuel Ozoria's .377 average, 75 hits, 15 doubles, 45 RBIs and 27 runs scored. As a team, Lindsey Wilson is hitting .308 with 304 RBIs on 343 runs scored. The Blue Raiders boast an impressive .961 fielding percentage in 59 games.

Lindsey Wilson is 2-2 all-time in one Opening Round appearance.

No. 4 Ave Maria Gyrenes (37-19) • @GyreneBaseball

In just the fourth year as a program, the Gyrenes are making their first-ever appearance in the NAIA Opening Round after the best season in program history. Ave Maria went 37-19 and finished second in The Sun Conference, claiming an at-large berth to the 45-team national tournament.

Head Coach Shawn Summe's team brought home Player, Pitcher and Coach of the Year honors in The Sun Conference, placing six on the All-Conference roster.

The Gyrenes have a 3.23 team ERA, led by league Pitcher of the Year, Joe Bocchino. Bocchino is 10-2 with a 2.11 ERA in 15 games. The Gyrene hurler has four complete games and 98.1 innings in 2013, allowing batters to hit just .201 against him. Ethan Striz is 7-6 with a 2.47 ERA with seven complete games in 102.0 innings. Reliever Ray Messner is 3-2 with four saves and a 2.52 ERA in 22 appearances, all in relief.

Ave Maria has 147 stolen bases this year with eight players in double-digits. The Gyrenes are one of the best defensive teams in the country with a .968 fielding percentage, committing only 69 errors in 2,130 chances.

Alex Sanchez leads the team with a .396 average from the dish, collecting 95 hits, 17 doubles, 37 RBIs and scoring 55 runs on his way to Player of the Year accolades. Trace McDermott is second with a .380 average, 84 base hits, 44 RBIs and 39 runs, while Gabe Loweree has 20 doubles and four homers, driving in 42 runs for the Gyrenes.

2013 marks the first-ever appearance for AMU in the Opening Round.

No. 5 Martin Methodist RedHawks (38-17) • @MMCRowdyRedHawk

The fifth and final team in the Daytona Beach Bracket is Kelly Bratton's Martin Methodist RedHawks. MMC grabbed an automatic bid to the Opening Round with the GCAC/TranSouth Tournament championship, winning 12 of the team's final 14 games, including six in the tournament.

The RedHawks are statistically the best offensive team in Daytona this week with a .329 team batting average. Martin Methodist has scored 397 runs and has RBIs on 337 of those runs, slugging .464 as a team with a .403 on-base percentage. Matt Thomas has a .432 average with 80 hits, 14 doubles, six triples and three long balls, collecting 52 RBIs and scoring 47 runs while swiping 18 bags. Clint Gobbell has a .365 average with 70 hits, 67 runs scored an 37 stolen bases in 41 attempts.

On the mound, Martin Methodist has a 5.39 team ERA with 289 strikeouts. Blake Beavers is 9-3 with a 4.34 ERA in 87.0 innings and Josh Brown is 7-4 with a 5.04 ERA in 85.2 innings. The two have 64 and 63 strikeouts respectively.

The RedHawks, like the Gyrenes, will be making their first-ever appearance in the Opening Round.

Team Comparison	No. 1 Embry-Riddle	No. 2 Concordia	No. 3 Lindsey Wilson	No. 4 Ave Maria	No. 5 Martin Methodist
2013 Record	45-13	34-19	42-17	37-19	38-17
NAIA Ranking	5th	17th	22nd	RV	NR
Opening Round Appearances (Record)	5th (12-1)	3rd (4-2)	2nd (2-2)	1st (0-0)	1st (0-0)
World Series Appearances (Record)	11 (17-22)	2 (6-3)	0 (0-0)	0 (0-0)	0 (0-0)
Conference	The Sun	Golden States Athletic	Mid-South	The Sun	TranSouth Athletic
Conference Record / Finish	23-4 / 1st	22-14 / 2nd	16-7 / 3rd	18-9 / 2nd	8-4 / 2nd
Batting Average	.263	.289	.308	.310	.329
Runs	290	286	343	347	397
Hits	481	475	568	586	536
Home Runs	7	26	24	11	27
RBIs	248	255	304	298	337
SLG%	.329	.407	.417	.391	.464
OB%	.352	.362	.373	.380	.403
Stolen Bases	86	94	67	147	104
FLD%	.966	.964	.961	.968	.945
ERA	2.32	3.37	3.66	3.23	5.39
Innings Pitched	500.2	446.1	474.1	480.0	402.2
Earned Runs Allowed	129	167	193	172	241
Strikeouts	398	346	348	328	289
Batting Average Against	.236	.234	.273	.242	.282