Lewis-Clark State senior Cade Westerlund delivered a walk-off hit in the bottom of the 10th inning to beat Hope International, California 3-2 tonight (Wed) at Harris Field.
With the win, the Warriors completed a three-game sweep of the NAIA National Opening Round Tournament – presented by Avista, and ended a two-year hiatus from the Avista NAIA World Series.
Along with Westerlund’s heroics, LC’s Jackson Reed had two hits and two runs-batted-in and Jackson Jaha added three hits and scored the game-tying run in the 10th, while Bryce Johnson scored the game-winning run.
On the mound, three Warrior pitchers – Landon Webb, Jackson Cloud and Joey Estrada, combined to hold the Royals to 2 runs on six hits. Estrada earned the win with an inning of relief.
LC will enter the Avista NAIA World Series, which begins one week from Friday at Harris Field, with a record of 43-7.
Nine teams have now qualified for the series: Tennessee Wesleyan, Georgia Gwinnett, Indiana University – Southeast, Mid-America Christian of Oklahoma, Johnson of Tennessee, William Carey of Mississippi, Doane of Nebraska, Taylor of Indiana, and LC State. One opening round tournament remains unsettled. The University of British Columbia and host Southeastern will play a winner-take-all championship game tomorrow (Thur) in the Lakeland, Florida bracket.
