Keiser, IU Southeast Remain Unbeaten in Opening Round

KINGSPORT, Tenn. - In a day filled with solid pitching and surprises, No. 1 seed Keiser (Fla.) and No. 3 seed Indiana Southeast are the lone undefeated teams remaining in the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round - Kingsport Bracket.

The tournament is being held at Hunter Wright Stadium in Kingsport, Tenn., and is hosted by the Kingsport Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Monday's play began with No. 5 seed Marian (Ind.) edging fourth-seeded Talladega (Ala.) 3-2, which was followed by IU Southeast knocking off No. 2 seed Tennessee Wesleyan 6-2. The day concluded with Keiser holding off Marian 4-1.

Games resume Tuesday with Tennessee Wesleyan and Talladega meeting at 11 a.m. in an elimination game. Keiser and IU Southeast square off at 2:30 p.m. in the winners' bracket final, and Marian awaits the Tennessee Wesleyan-Talladega winner in another elimination game at 6 p.m.

For a more information, check out the tournament page.

For complete statistics, visit the DakStats Tournament page.

Game 1 - Marian 3, Talladega 2

Marian used a pair of eighth-inning runs to propel it to a 3-2 win over Talladega in the first game.

Tied at 1-all in the top of the eighth, the Knights had a runner on second with one out when John O'Malley singled to left-center field to drive in a run. After stealing second, O'Malley scored on Cody Earl's ground-rule double to left field to give Marian a 3-1 lead.

Talladega made things interesting in the bottom of the eighth as it put runners on the corners with one out. Wilkin Louis reached on a fielder's choice as Jorge Rodriguez scored to make it 3-2. Brondrick Johnson followed with a deep fly ball to left-center field, but it was caught just in front of the wall for the third out.

The Tornadoes got a lead-off single in the bottom of the ninth, but reliever Brenden Smith struck out two of the next three batters in locking up the save as the Knights held on for the 3-2 win.

Matt Burleton picked up the win for Marian, going 7 1/3 innings and allowing two runs on seven hits with one walk with four strikeouts. At the plate, Earl finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs.

Game 2 - IU Southeast 6, Tennessee Wesleyan 2

IU Southeast used a six-run eighth inning to break a scoreless deadlock en route to a 6-2 win over Tennessee Wesleyan.

Through the first seven innings, Tennessee Wesleyan appeared to have much of the momentum as pitcher Chris Washington cruised through the IU Southeast, allowing only two hits and no walks and recording five 1-2-3 innings. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Wesleyan offense had its chances with four hits, two hit batters and two walks. Yet, IU Southeast's defense stepped up as catcher Tanner Leenknecht gunned two would-be base stealers, starter Ryne Underwood picked off another runner, and a runner was thrown out at the plate.

In the bottom of the eighth, IU Southeast had runners on second and third with one out when pinch-hitter Matt Volz lofted a sac fly to center to score the game's first run. Zach Reboulet followed with a RBI single to make it 2-0. The Grenadiers managed to load the bases with two outs when an error allowed two runs to cross. Leenknecht and Hector Marmol added run-scoring hits to up the margin to 6-0.

Tennessee Wesleyan tried to mount a comeback in the ninth, cutting the deficit to 6-2 following an Adrian Gonzalez two-out, two-run double. The Bulldogs had runners at second and third when Grenadier reliever Brian Cherrington struck out the final batter to lock up the 6-2 victory.

Ryne Underwood picked up the win, going 8 2/3 innings, giving up two earned runs on eight hits and two walks with six strikeouts. Leenknecht paced the Grenadier offense in going 2-for-4 with a RBI.

Game 3 - Keiser 4, Marian 1

Keivan Berges picked up both the win and the game-winning hit as Keiser defeated Marian 4-1.

Berges tossed a complete game for the Seahawks, all one unearned run on six hits and no walks with seven strikeouts.

In the eighth, Berges broke a 1-1 deadlock with a run-scoring triple. Gabby Mundo lined a one-out double and advanced to third on a stolen base. Berges followed with a triple to deep right-center field to put Keiser up 2-1.

The Seahawks collected a pair of insurance runs in the ninth to secure the 4-1 victory.

Mundo finished 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored, while Reyni Olivero went 2-for-4 with a RBI.