LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – The #24 Louisiana Christian University baseball team advanced to the Championship Round of the Lawrenceville Bracket of the 2026 NAIA Baseball National Championship Tournament Opening Round by run-ruling the (RV) Northwestern Ohio Racers 16-3 in seven innings in an elimination game, but fell to the #3 Georgia Gwinnett Grizzlies 12-4 in the first game of the Championship Round to end its season Wednesday at the Grizzly Baseball Complex.
Game 1 - #24 Louisiana Christian 16, (RV) Northwestern Ohio 3 (7 innings)
Acting as the visiting team, #24 Louisiana Christian (37-15), the two-seed in the Lawrenceville Bracket, took advantage of an error and jumped all over (RV) Northwestern Ohio (38-18), the Bracket's four-seed, to start the game. With one out,
Caleb Brown started the first inning rally with a base hit back up the middle.
Braden Trull was hit by a pitch, and then an error by the Racer third baseman allowed
Drake Aldridge to reach safely, loading the bases.
The Racers induced a ground ball and got the force at the plate for the second out, getting UNOH one out away from getting out of the jam. However, the Wildcats would not let that happen as
Brady Huffman found the right-center gap for a hit, scoring both Trull and Aldridge.
Luke Morgan was hit by a pitch to reload the bases and, after the Racers made a pitching change,
Harrison Waxley cleared the bags with a double down the left field line which scored
Matthew Cody, Huffman, and Morgan for a 5-0 LCU lead after just half an inning.
UNOH tried to respond in the bottom of the inning as the Racers led off the bottom of the inning with a double, RBI single, and a walk. But the Wildcats were able to turn a 3-6-1 double play on the next batter which settled down starter
Jacob Bareswill. He got the next batter to pop out and LCU took a 5-1 lead into the second inning.
LCU blew the game wide open in that second inning by matching the five runs the Wildcats scored in the first inning. With one out and Brown on first base, Trull was hit by a pitch, and Aldridge placed a base hit into right field which allowed Brown to come home. Cody followed with a hit down the left field line, scoring Trull from second and forcing another UNOH pitching change. The new Racer pitcher started his stint by plunking both Huffman and Morgan to force home Aldridge. With two outs,
Jake Messina shot a pitch right back up the middle, scoring both Cody and Huffman just before the third out was recorded behind them, making it 10-1 Wildcats after two innings of play.
The Wildcats continued the scoring parade in the third.
Braden McLin led off the inning with a double. With one out, Trull traded places with McLin by doubling to right field. Now with two outs, Cody drew a walk to set up Huffman who greeted another new UNOH pitcher by driving the ball into the right field corner and legging out a triple, scoring both Trull and Cody for a 13-1 LCU advantage after three complete.
Runs continued to pile up in the fourth. Waxley led off the inning with a hit to left and McLin drew a walk with one out before Trull also walked with two outs. Aldridge met yet another new UNOH pitcher with a base hit through the left side of the infield, scoring both Waxley and McLin to make it 15-1 Wildcats through just four innings.
The Racers pulled a run back in both the fifth and sixth innings to make it 15-3 as the Wildcats came to bat with an eye on the run-rule in the seventh. Waxley gave LCU an insurance run towards that goal in the seventh inning as he belted a two-out, solo home run over the left field fence for the game's final run. UNOH got a couple of base hits, but no runs in the bottom of the frame and the game ended at that point via the run-rule and sending the Wildcats into the Championship Round.
Waxley had a day at the plate in the game against UNOH, going 4-for-5 with his second home run of the season, a double, four RBI, and two runs scored.
Huffman was 2-for-4 with a triple, was hit by a pitch, knocked in four runs, and scored twice.
Aldridge was also 2-for-4, drew a walk, had three RBI, and scored twice.
Messina was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI.
Trull was 1-for-2 with a double, was hit by pitch twice, drew a walk, knocked in a run, and scored three times.
McLin was 1-for-4 with a double, drew a walk, and scored twice.
Brown was 1-for-5 and scored a run.
Morgan was hit by pitch twice, got a RBI and scored a run without getting a hit in two official at bats.
With the assistance of the run production from his offense,
Jacob Bareswill (5-3) did what his team needed of him, chew up outs and preserve the bullpen. That led to him getting a complete game win as he threw all seven innings and allowed nine hits and three runs, two earned, with no strikeouts and a pair of walks.
Game 2 - #3 Georgia Gwinnett 12, #24 Louisiana Christian 4
Much like the first meeting with #3 Georgia Gwinnett (49-6), the Lawrenceville Bracket's top seed and host, on Tuesday, it was the Wildcats who held an early edge. After getting out of a bit of a jam in the bottom of the first, LCU got the game's first run in the second inning. Aldridge and Huffman started the inning with back-to-back base hits. Waxley sacrificed himself to move them both into scoring position, and then
Gavin Vordick dropped a base hit into center field, scoring Aldridge for the 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats added to the lead in the third inning as
Matthew Cody drove the first pitch he saw over the left field fence for a solo shot and a 2-0 LCU advantage.
With McLin keeping the Grizzlies at bay, the Wildcats tacked on another run in the top of the fifth. Brown started the inning with an infield single. Cody sacrificed him over to second while Trull's ground ball to third allowed him to get to third base. Aldridge came through again with a base hit deep in the hole on the left side of the infield, bringing Brown home for a 3-0 Wildcat lead.
But an error in the bottom of the fifth helped GGC get its first run of the game, and then the Grizzlies found their offensive footing in the sixth as five runs came home in the inning, giving GGC a 6-3 lead.
Georgia Gwinnett blew the score open in the bottom of the eighth, putting up six runs as the first seven batters of the inning all reached safely, six with singles and one walk, before a strikeout and double play finally ended the frame with GGC now up 12-3.
Down to the last three outs of the season, the Wildcats got a little something going in the top of the ninth as both
Logan Lobell and
Ian Erbe drew walks in pinch hit opportunities to start the frame. With one out, Cody tightened the score a bit with a base hit to left which scored Lobell for the game's, and season's, final run for the Wildcats.
Aldridge was 3-5 in the nightcap with a RBI and a run scored.
Cody was 2-for-4 with his fifth home run of the season. He drove in two runs and scored once.
Huffman was 2-for-3 with a walk.
Vordick was 1-for-4 with a RBI.
Brown was 1-for-4 with a walk and scored a run.
Lobell drew a walk and scored a run in his pinch hit opportunity.
McLin got the start on the mound and did an admirable job, throwing five-plus innings, allowing six hits and three runs, two earned, with five strikeouts and three walks. He did not get a decision.
The decision went to
Owen Simoneaux (5-2) who faced three batters. He walked two and hit one, all three of which came around to score.
Colton Williams went two innings, giving up six hits and five runs, all earned, with one walk and one strikeout.
Thomas Collins threw an inning, giving up two hits and a run, which was earned, with a walk and a strikeout.
The Wildcats wrap up their season with a 37-15 overall record and third-straight appearance in the NAIA Baseball National Championship Tournament. In their second appearance in Lawrenceville for the Opening Round, LCU again picks up two wins, this time making their deepest run by advancing all the way to the Championship Round.
