Lewiston, Idaho - The Firestorm faced five innings of deficit and a potential blown lead late, but gutted out a 5-3 upset win over top-seed Southeastern in Game 7 of the 2024 Avista NAIA World Series. A two-out rally in the sixth by ACU leveled the contest at 2-2 before Jared Anderson embraced a legendary role again in the eighth with a go-ahead RBI single. Despite two errors gifting the Fire new life in extra innings, a Matthew Beckworth wormburner and wild pitch in the 11th cleared the way for Trey Tarver to salvage a heart-stopping winner's bracket game in front of 1835 fans.

ACU became the first nine-seed to defeat a World Series one-seed since Rogers State downed LSU Shreveport in 2012. A sensational pitching effort led by Adrian Santa Cruz held #1 SEU to three runs, ACU becoming just the fifth team this season to keep them at three or fewer runs. The Firestorm seem to have found a home away from home, now 5-0 at Harris Field since the start of the NAIA Baseball Opening Round.

Kane Kiaunis produced yet again, his two singles in this one tipping the scales. A two-out RBI single by the third baseman knotted the game at two apiece and another two-out knock in the eighth extended the inning.

Anderson redeemed his disastrous start to the World Series (0-for-8) with the game-tying RBI single and scored the winning run after a base-hit in the 11th. 

Santa Cruz was rock solid in his 16th start on the mound this season, only surrendering two runs and two free bases in 6.1 innings. The senior's length opened things up to a trio of Firestorm relievers. 

Payton Robertson was the first in relief, and he escaped a jam (two runners) in the seventh with two outs on only 10 pitches. Jackson Hohensee was in line for the win but two costly errors in the ninth forced extras. Tarver, first baseman for the first nine frames, buckled up and secured not only his first victory of the season but perhaps the greatest victory in program history. 

As a Ball State student once said, "BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE!"

GAME INFO

Score: RV Arizona Christian 5 | #1 Southeastern 3 (11 INN)
Records: RV ACU 38-19 | #1 SEU 51-7
Location: Harris Field - Lewiston, ID

STAT TRACKER

Jared Anderson - 2 hits, 1 RBI, 1 run
Kane Kiaunis - 2 hits, 1 RBI
Trey Tarver - 1 hit, 1 RBI, 1 double
Matthew Beckworth - 1 hit, 1 RBI
Riley Quinton - 1 hit, 1 run
Jaylen Edmonds - 1 hit, 1 run
Sean Garcia - 1 hit
Troy Collins - 1 hit
Andrew Ivy - 1 run, 6 putouts 
Deshon Thomas - 1 run
Adrian Santa Cruz - 6.1 IP, 2 RA, 4 K
Tarver - 2.0 IP, 0 RA, 1 K

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Windy conditions threatened to affect the outcome of this ball game, and it certainly did poison the DNA of this one. When all was said and done, both teams would combine for two extra-base hits.

The Firestorm had the chance to punch first, but saw the top of their lineup be retired as Marques Titialii and Tarver went down on strikes. Santa Cruz then finished off a marathon at-bat with a strikeout of David Castillo. ACU sent a message with a 1, 2, 3 inning of their own, Santa Cruz striking out back-to-back batters who swiped at nothing but air.

SEU's Darien Smith, statistically the best pitcher in the NAIA (1.87 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 130 K, 12-0 record), bled his third consecutive punch out (Kiaunis) into the second inning. Sean Garcia registered the contest's first hit, sneaking a grounder under the glove of the Fire's Cristopher Munoz. A Troy Collins' groundout snuffed out the scoring opportunity.

Josh Pigozzo managed a two-out single in the second, but Santa Cruz retired the next hitter to only see one above minimum (seven) through two complete. Three Firestorm players (Beckworth, Jaylen Edmonds, Andrew Ivy) made ball contact on Smith in the third, but were all sent packing with haste. The ACU defense looked to put up a third zero but Munoz lifted one over the outreached arm of Titialii in left field for a solo home run. 

A lead-off walk of Titialii went from promising to disappointing, Tarver grounding out into a double play and Kiaunis popping out to the SEU shortstop, Isaac Nunez. ACU escaped the fourth unscathed, as Ivy squeezed a pair of fly balls and Santa Cruz manufactured a 1-3 out to strand one (Alfonso Villalobos) on first base.

Collins sent a laser through the left-field gap for a two-out single in the Firestorm's fifth. Munoz, seemingly involved on every Fire defensive play, repelled a hard-grounder by Beckworth and left ACU still searching for their first run. 

Santa Cruz had to sweat out the fifth, as a wild pitch and hit by pitch filled the first two bags with only one out on the board. Munoz came up big a second time for SEU, this time bringing in a run via single to right center. Castillo appeared to read the soft ACU infield correctly with a bunt, but Santa Cruz hustled and got the ball to Collins, his tag just beating Tommy Davis to home. A quick flyout to Ivy ended the inning and kept the Firestorm within two.

Edmonds became ACU's second leadoff of the ball game with an infield single and Ivy reached on a five-pitch walk from Smith. A proceeding infield fly ball saw Titialii out but the two runners advanced. Tarver did enough with a grounder to first and sent Edmonds through home. Kiaunis then barrelled a ball to left field and Ivy transformed into the tying run.

Santa Cruz put a lid on the Firestorm's momentum by producing the team's second "three up, three down" and sending the ACU dugout into a frenzy. Though the Firestorm offense finally had Smith on edge, two quick groundouts led to an empty offensive outing.

Two base runners and only one out meant Santa Cruz's day was over. Robertson, despite inheriting a tough situation, forced a pop up and struck out his second batter (Luis Gonzalez). 

Ivy and Titialii were silenced yet again in the eighth (Titialii's 17-game hitting streak eventually snapped). With two outs and another scoreless inning creeping into the scene, Tarver hit arguably the most critical double of the World Series thus far, his ball painting the white line a few feet past third base. Kiaunis rolled with the positive vibes, smacking a deep single to right field. Though Tarver was unable to head home, Anderson rewrote the narrative of his World Series (0-for-8) with a bloop RBI single over Munoz's head. ACU took its first lead of the whole game.

Hohensee was tasked with the eighth and got off to a solid start (first batter strikeout). A second straight single by Villalobos appeared to put SEU in the driver's seat. However, the Fire's Gary Lora hesitated on his turn toward third and Titialii gunned him down at second for a monumental second out. Pigozzo flew out and Hohensee successfully preserved the Firestorm lead heading into the ninth.

The bottom of the ACU batting order went down in order, leaving the game's outcome in the defense's hands. Landrey Wilkerson, the Fire's right fielder, reached first on a rushed throw from Beckworth that would have been the inning's second out. In the same at-bat (Hohensee vs. Davis), Wilkerson stole second and, instead of being picked off trying to steal third, advanced home on an errant throw from Edmonds. Hohensee forced two more outs (fly out, foul out) but ACU's victory parade was postponed.

A second consecutive 1, 2, 3 performance by the Firestorm placed the Fire in a walk-off position. Tarver transitioned from first to pitcher in the 10th, his 19th mound appearance of 2024 carrying by far the most weight. Despite conceding a lead-off walk (Gonzalez), Tarver induced a fly out and double play ball to keep the Firestorm upset alive.

Anderson singled once again in the 11th and Riley Quinton ripped the first pitch he was offered (in his first plate appearance of the World Series) to occupy first and second with one out. Beckworth prolonged the game's redemption arc, bending a hard wormburner through the left-infield gap and giving ACU a 4-3 lead. With Edmonds up to bat, Quinton jumped on a wild pitch and beat the tag at home to provide ACU with an insurance run (5-3).

Tarver was unwavering in the 11th and retired the SEU five, six and seven hitters in order. He not only nailed down the Fire's seventh loss of the season, but finally entered the win column after an 0-6 allowance until this point. 

THOUGHTS FROM COACH JOE MCDONALD

"I would be lying if I told you that today shocked me because at this point it doesn't," Coach McDonald said. "That's the best team in the country and we went and played an amazing baseball World Series game that could have gone either way. I have a ton of respect for Southeastern and their coaching staff and I'm very proud of our team and our guys for coming out on top on the biggest stage of the year. I love this team!"

NEXT FOR THE FIRESTORM

Arizona Christian will stride on in the winner's bracket on Monday afternoon, with five-seed Reinhardt awaiting. First pitch from Harris Field is slated for 3:05 PM. Don't miss a single play with live stats at https://naiastats.prestosports.com/links/9z95at and watch the action at https://naiastats.prestosports.com/links/elx90d. 

                          
Roll Storm!