Glendale, Ariz.- Fresh off a 2-1 start at the 5th Annual Coach Calderone Invitational, ACU Baseball gears up for the second-ever East West Challenge and four top-15 programs. Greenway High School will host a total of 10 games and nine teams from January 31st to February 3rd. The tournament will surely be the equivalent to a NAIA World Series preview, for all who enter are either ranked in the NAIA Top-25 Coaches' Preseason Poll or receiving votes.

Arizona Christian kicks off the premier event against #7 Bellevue University on Thursday night at 6:00 PM. Challengers in the form of #15 Ave Maria and #6 Tennessee Wesleyan follow the next day, at 12:30 and 3:45 PM. It all culminates with #1 Southeastern (FL) on Saturday at 6:00 PM, the purest litmus test of them all for the Firestorm.

Outside of Greenway, Benedictine Mesa will be hosting eight games at Gene Autry in Mesa (Wednesday through Friday) and three games will be played at Apollo High School on Saturday. 

Game Details

RV Arizona Christian vs #7 Bellevue - Wednesday, January 31 - 6:00 PM
RV Arizona Christian vs #15 Ave Maria - Thursday, February 1 - 12:30 PM
RV Arizona Christian vs #6 Tennessee Wesleyan - Thursday, February 1 - 3:45 PM
RV Arizona Christian vs #1 Southeastern (FL) - Friday, February 3 - 6:00 PM

Greenway High School - Glendale, AZ

*All Times Are Arizona Time

Live Coverage

Video - https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/azchristian/ 
Live Stats - https://acufirestorm.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary 

Arizona Christian

Arizona Christian gave up four home runs and two big innings to the visiting #13 MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers  in a 17-6 loss to cap the 5th Annual Coach Calderone Invitational. The Firestorm shrunk a 8-0 deficit to three in the sixth inning (9-6) before MNU spotted them eight runs in the seventh to effectively put the game away.

Senior Adrian Santa Cruz struggled in his first start on the mound for ACU, surrendering eight runs in 2.1 innings on 73 pitches. It became a bullpen show for the rest of the ball game, as seven Firestorm relievers needed 156 offerings to finish out a 3 hour and 45-minute marathon. 

Of ACU's 11 hits, Jaylen Edmonds stood out with two hits and two RBIs (6-of-11 to start his Firestorm career). 

The Firestorm came away with a 2-1 record at the Coach Calderone and are 17-3 all-time in five playings of the annual tournament.
 
ACU Key Players

Jaylen Edmonds - .545 BA, 6 hits, 4 RBIs 
Jared Anderson - .455 BA, 5 hits, 2 doubles
Kane Kiaunis - .429 BA, 3 hits, 5 RBIs
Troy Collins - .625 BA, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs
Ryan Eastham - .429 BA, 2 RBIs, 19 POs
Eli Elliott - 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 6 SOs
Jackson Hohensee - 0.00 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, 10 SOs

Series Notes

Wednesday night marks the first all-time meeting between Arizona Christian and Bellevue University.

The Firestorm will meet the Ave Maria University Gyrenes for the first time in program history on Thursday afternoon.

ACU faces Tennessee Wesleyan University for the first time in school history this Thursday evening.

Arizona Christian lost its only meeting with Southeastern (FL) 6-4 on February 1, 2023 in the inaugural East West Challenge held in Lakeland, Florida. The Firestorm held an early 2-0 lead in the first inning (and 3-1 advantage after four), but ultimately surrendered four runs to the Fire in the fifth to lose control of the game. Marques Titialii recorded three hits including a solo home run in the third inning.
 
Thoughts From Coach Joe McDonald

"We are excited to be hosting the premier NAIA event," Coach McDonald said. "With every team ranked in the top 25 or receiving votes, it will be a great test for us. We will be cleaning up some mistakes from this past week and building off of a lot of positives. Our dudes will be ready to compete."

#7 Bellevue

The Bellevue University Bruins (2023 Record: 48-10, 25-3 NSAA) will open their 2024 campaign by playing the Firestorm on Wednesday night. Last season, Bellevue won the NSAA Tournament title by defeating Mayville State 9-7. They advanced through the NAIA Opening Round via three straight wins, the final being a 13-3 performance against RV Oklahoma City University. Once in the Avista NAIA World Series, the Bruins suffered two consecutive losses and their season was ended by Indiana Wesleyan (5-3, 11 innings). In the final NAIA stats of 2023, Bellevue ranked seventh in RBIs (515), 11th in team batting average (.342), and 10th in extra base hits (228). Logan Grant is the leading hitter from last season (.392 BA, 11 home runs, 69 RBIs), Blake Crippen the leading pitcher (3.47 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 74 strikeouts, 10-2 record) and Tradd Richardson the top fielder (210 put-outs, 14 assists, .978 fielding percentage). 

#15 Ave Maria

The Ave Maria University Gyrenes (2023 Record: 36-18, 13-8 Sun) will open 2024 against Arizona Christian on Thursday evening. Last season, Ave Maria finished with the second-best conference record in the Sun Conference and advanced to the NAIA Opening Round despite losing in the semifinals of the conference tournament. The Gyrenes were one win short of moving on to the Avista NAIA World Series following a loss (27-4) to #8 William Carey (MS). In the final NAIA stats of 2023, Ave Maria ranked 63rd in team batting average (.306), 60th in on-base percentage (.438), and 36th in RBIs (381). Jimmy Coffey is the leading returner in the hitting category (.342 BA, 7 doubles, 24 RBIs), Cameron Horner in pitching (4.76 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 83 strikeouts, 12-3 record) and David Leonardi in fielding (399 put-outs, 27 assists, .993 fielding percentage).

#6 Tennessee Wesleyan
 
The Tennessee Wesleyan University Bulldogs (2023 Record: 43-11, 29-1 AAC) open their 2024 season on Thursday against #3 Lewis-Clark State in the East West Challenge. Last season, the Bulldogs were AAC regular-season champions and got knocked out of the conference tournament by Union (5-2). Despite the loss, TWU punched a ticket to the NAIA Opening Round in Upland, Indiana. They suffered two losses (8-4 and 6-5) to Point Park and were eliminated from a bid into the Avista NAIA World Series. In the final NAIA stats of 2023, Tennessee Wesleyan ranked 20th in RBIs (429), 18th in team ERA (4.41), and 24th in extra base hits (203). Carson Ford is the leading returner in hitting (.365 BA, 14 home runs, 52 RBIs), Gage in pitching (3.95 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 79 strikeouts, 7-2 record) and Evan Magill in fielding (390 put-outs, 22 assists, 1.000 fielding percentage).

#1 Southeastern (FL)

The Southeastern (FL) University Fire (3-0) swept an opening three-game series against Ottawa University (KS), as Josh Pigozzo led the game and the entire NAIA 2024 season off with a solo home run. Last season, the preseason number one team tallied a 58-6 overall record and 19-2 Sun Conference performance. They won their third straight Sun Conference title by defeating Webber International twice in one day. After easing their way out of the NAIA Opening Round, Southeastern advanced all the way to the championship game of the Avista NAIA World Series where they would lose 6-4 to #3 Westmont. In the final NAIA stats of 2023, the Fire ranked sixth in team batting average (.351), second in RBIs (592), and first in extra base hits (290). Isaac Nunez is the leading returner in hitting (.433 BA, 18 home runs, 61 RBIs), Darien Smith in pitching (2.94 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 127 strikeouts, 10-3 record) and Pablo Lanzarote in fielding (391 put-outs, 43 assists, .995 fielding percentage).


Roll Storm!