LEWISTON, Idaho- Southeastern (Fla.) powered past IU Southeast 16-4 in its second game of the Avista NAIA World Series on Tuesday, piling up 18 hits in a contest that was originally scheduled for Tuesday night before being pushed back due to weather.
Indiana Southeast put runs on the board in the opening inning when Bryson Arnette launched a two-run homer to left-center to make it 2-0. The Grenadiers carried that lead into the fourth, but Southeastern began to chip away, as a passed ball brought home Cade Parry, and Cort Pryor followed with an RBI double to tie the game at 2–2. Indiana Southeast briefly regained the advantage in the bottom of the fourth, scoring on a double-play ball to go up 3–2.
The Fire flipped the game in the fifth on Jace Essig’s two-run single, grabbing a 4-3 advantage. The contest broke wide open in the sixth inning when Southeastern sent 12 batters to the plate and scored eight runs. The inning featured a go-ahead RBI fielder’s choice by Braden Bartholomae, a three-run homer by Nathanial Hopkins, an RBI double from Parry, and a three-run blast by Charlie Collins as Southeastern surged in front 12-3.
The Grenadiers managed one run in the seventh on Joel Johnson’s RBI groundout, but Southeastern answered again in the eighth with four more runs. Cooper Ciesielski homered, Bartholomae added an RBI single, and Armani Cozza capped the scoring with a two-run single to stretch the margin to 16-4.
Southeastern finished with 18 hits and three home runs (Hopkins, Collins, Ciesielski). Hopkins drove in three and went 3-for-4, while Collins went 2-for-4 with a double and a three-run homer. Essig collected three hits and two RBIs, and Parry added two hits, including a double.
On the mound, Blake Albritton earned the win for Southeastern, working 8.0 innings and allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits with six strikeouts. Indiana Southeast used five pitchers after starter Weston Harvey, but the staff was tagged for 16 runs on the day, with the sixth inning proving especially costly.
Indiana Southeast was led offensively by Arnette, who went 3-for-4 with the early two-run homer, while the Grenadiers were limited to six hits overall.
