DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - For the seventh 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 Monday evening at the Opening Round Banquet and games begin Tuesday 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 59th Annual Avista-NAIA World Series, slated for May 22-29, 2015.
Host Embry-Riddle will be joined by Auburn Montgomery (Ala.), Bryan (Tenn.), Southeastern (Fla.) and Rio Grande (Ohio) in the Daytona Beach Bracket of the 45-team Opening Round field.
No. 1 Auburn Montgomery (40-16)The top-seeded AUM Warhawks are ranked No. 8 in the latest NAIA Coaches' Poll after winning both the Southern States Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships in 2015. The Warhawks swept through the league tournament, including an 8-5 win over Faulkner (Ala.) in the tournament title game.
AUM, under the diretion of first-year Head Coach Marty Lovrich sports a record of 40-16 overall and a 25-5 mark in the SSAC. The Warhawks are looking for their fourth-ever trip to the World Series where they previously made an appearance in 1990, 1992 and 2006.
AUM features a balanced squad with a .302 team batting average, a 4.14 team ERA and a .966 fielding percentage. The Warhawks have outscored their opponents 343-257 and are one of the best base-stealing teams in the country with 146 in 180 attempts.
First team All-SSAC selections Tremayne Hardin and Darius Reese lead the way for AUM offensively, hitting .356 and .352, respecitvely. Hardin has scored 54 runs and has 41 stolen bases while Reese has 13 doubles and 54 runs scored to go along with his 22 stolen bases. Matt Miller is one of the best dual-threat players in the country as the AUM first baseman/pitcher has a .346 average on 64 hits with 46 RBIs and an 8-3 record and 4.19 ERA in 92.1 innings of work.
Cole Goodwin is the team's ace at 10-1 with a 3.22 ERA in 12 starts with four complete games and 77 strikeouts in 92.1 innings. He also has recorded five saves while Brady Eldridge is 4-0 with a 1.95 ERA out of the bullpen.
AUM is 7-6 all-time in the Opening Round.
No. 2 Embry-Riddle Eagles (36-17)The host Eagles find themselves as the No. 2 seed in the Opening Round bracket for the second straight season. The Blue and Gold had been the top-seeded team in the previous five Opening Rounds in Daytona Beach before 2014. ERAU, coached by eighth-year skipper
Randy Stegall captured the program's sixth Sun Conference tournament title last week.
No. 16 ERAU is 17-8 at home this season and boasts a .307 team batting average with a 3.45 ERA as a squad.
All-Sun Conference infielder Enderon Velasquez is hitting .383 with 72 hits, 32 RBIS and 40 runs while outfielder
Liam Goodall leads the team with 77 hits, six triples, three home runs and 59 RBIs. Goodall has scored 47 runs while leadoff batter
Tobias Moreno has 49 runs and 27 stolen bases for the Blue and Gold.
The Eagle pitching staff is led by lefty
Stetson Nelson and his 8-4 record, 1.64 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 115.0 innings. Nelson has made 14 starts and has recorded three complete games, allowing opponents to hit just .231 against him.
Zac Grotz has a 7-1 record and 0.73 ERA in 28 appearances, including three starts with eight saves and 72 Ks in 61.2 innings.
Embry-Riddle is 18-3 all-time in the Opening Round with five titles and has made 12 appearances at the World Series.
No. 3 Bryan Lions (42-16)Taylor Hasty, in his seventh season at Bryan, leads his team to the Opening Round for the second time in school history. The Lions went 17-10 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference and finished as the conference tournament runner-up to Tennessee Wesleyan. Bryan is 17-11 away from home this season, including a 6-3 mark at neutral locations.
The Lions have impressive numbers all around, hitting .320 with a 3.51 ERA and a .972 fielding percentage, the third-best mark in the nation.
Preston King is one of six everyday starters for Bryan with a batting average over .300, he leads the team at .371 with 75 hits, including 23 doubles and 13 home runs. His 65 RBIs and 55 runs scored have helped lead the team to their second straight national tournament appearance. Chris Jeffried has scored a team-best 62 runs and he has 73 hits, 12 doubles, five triples and five homers to go along with 26 stolen bases. As a team, the Lions have registered 53 home runs and 125 stolen bases.
Kenny Knudsen is one of the best pitchers in the country and was named the AAC Pitcher of the Year as a senior. Knudsen is 12-1 with a 1.43 ERA in 15 games; he has eight complete games and five shutouts with one save and 98 strikeouts in 88 innings. Opponents are hitting only .154 against him and have just eight extra-base hits. L.J. Rowden is 7-3 with a 3.87 ERA in 14 starts while John Cain has five saves and a 2.27 ERA in 22 games out of the bullpen.
Bryan has committed just 56 errors in 1,994 chances while turning 63 double plays.
Bryan is 2-2 all-time in the Opening Round.
No. 4 Southeastern (38-19)For the second straight season, Head Coach Jason Beck has taken his Fire team to the Opening Round, this season as an at-large selection. The Fire finished fourth in The Sun Conference, advancing to the final day of the league's tournament before bowing out to St. Thomas (Fla.). SEU is 2-2 at neutral sites in 2015, but went 2-1 at Sliwa Stadium with a series win over Embry-Riddle during the regular season.
Southeastern is the fourth team with 100-plus stolen bases this year, and the Fire have 114 doubles, 16 triples and 40 homers as an offense. Josiel Colon's .362 average leads the team, while Willi Martin makes his All-American case with a .362 average, 75 hits, 23 doubles, 16 home runs, 61 RBIs and 146 total bases. Aaron T.J. Glessner's 26 stolen bases is best on the team, while Hunter Bonner is close behind with 25.
The Fire boast a pair of second team All-Sun Conference pitchers in Clay Rideout and Patrick Kinney. Rideout is 8-2 with a 2.88 ERA in 14 starts while Kinney has an 8-4 record and 3.32 ERA in 14 starts. Dylan Jameson has five saves and a 2.08 ERA as the team's closer. SEU has a 4.23 team ERA in 474.2 innings of work.
Defensively, Southeastern has a .961 fielding percentage with 56 double plays.
SEU is 2-2 all-time in the Opening Round.
No. 5 Rio Grande RedStorm (32-20)Like Bryan and Southeastern, Rio Grande is making its second appearance in the Opening Round, but first since 2010 when they appeared in the Daytona Beach Bracket as the No. 3 seed. The RedStorm won the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament to earn an automatic berth to the 45-team field.
URG has an impressive offense that is hitting .336 with 512 hits, 105 doubles and 302 RBIs. Grant Tamane is nearly hitting .400 with a .398 average on 66 hits with 33 RBIs and 50 runs scored. Cody Blackburn leads the team with 36 RBIs while Daryin Lewis has five homers and 20 doubles. Kevin Arroyo has collected 25 doubles and 35 RBIs.
On the mound, the RedStorm have a 5.32 ERA in 380.1 innings, striking out 264 batters. Trent Downs is 5-1 with a 2.25 ERA in 13 appearances, including six starts with four complete games and two saves. Kyle Miller is 8-2 with a 2.35 ERA in 84.1 innings with a team-high 53 Ks.
Rio Grande is 1-2 all-time in the Opening Round.
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| Team Comparison | No. 1 AUM | No. 2 ERAU | No. 3 BC | No. 4 SEU | No. 5 URG |
| 2015 Record | 40-16 | 36-17 | 42-16 | 38-19 | 32-20 |
| NAIA Ranking | 8 | 16 | RV | RV | - |
| Opening Round Appearances (Record) | 4 (7-6) | 6 (18-3) | 1 (2-2) | 1 (2-2) | 1 (1-2) |
| World Series Appearances (Record) | 3 (8-6) | 12 (19-24) | 0 (0-0) | 0 (0-0) | 0 (0-0) |
| Conference | SSAC | TSC | AAC | TSC | K.I.A.C. |
| Conference Record | 25-5 | 19-8 | 17-10 | 16-10 | 15-5 |
| Batting Average | .302 | .307 | .320 | .280 | .336 |
| Runs | 343 | 380 | 401 | 349 | 329 |
| Hits | 526 | 553 | 548 | 506 | 512 |
| Home Runs | 20 | 15 | 53 | 40 | 25 |
| RBIs | 307 | 332 | 372 | 307 | 302 |
| SLG% | .400 | .414 | .482 | .427 | .462 |
| OB% | .377 | .380 | .407 | .368 | .401 |
| Stolen Bases | 146 | 105 | 125 | 129 | 66 |
| FLD% | .966 | .959 | .972 | .961 | .959 |
| ERA | 4.14 | 3.47 | 3.51 | 4.23 | 5.32 |
| Innings Pitched | 449.2 | 446.0 | 451.0 | 474.2 | 380.1 |
| Earned Runs Allowed | 207 | 172 | 176 | 185 | 225 |
| Strikeouts | 350 | 418 | 396 | 354 | 264 |
| Batting Average Against | .264 | .243 | .251 | .265 | .289 |
