LEWISTON, Idaho – Oklahoma City University meets California Baptist at 9:30 p.m. Central time Friday at Harris Field in the NAIA World Series.
The sixth-ranked Stars (49-12) advanced to the NAIA World Series for the 12th time in the OCU baseball program history. OCU tied for third place in the 2009 NAIA World Series and captured the national championship in 2005.
OCU moved on to the World Series with a 9-4 victory over Northwestern (Iowa) on Thursday at Jim Wade Stadium in the NAIA Championship Opening-Round Group 5 Tournament. The Stars top the NAIA in runs scored (659), hits (769), doubles (187), RBIs (616), slugging percentage (.673) and home runs (136).
Chad Carman, a sophomore catcher from Midwest City, Okla., has hit .410 with 13 homers and 54 RBIs, while Kirk Walker, a junior shortstop from Bakersfield, Calif., has a .407 average, nine homers and 61 RBIs for the Stars. Walker leads the NAIA with 30 doubles. Dustin Williams, a senior from Norman, Okla., has gone 12-2 with a 5.22 earned run average and 106 strikeouts in 91.1 innings pitched for OCU.
Matt Presley spearheaded the Stars with a .692 average, five homers and eight RBIs in the Group 5 Tournament. Presley, a junior from Colorado Springs, Colo., has hit .374 with 24 homers and 84 RBIs this year.
“We are clicking and playing our best right now,” Carman said. “We're getting the breaks. Right after the first game vs. Lubbock Christian in the conference tournament, we've been clicking. We're getting hot at the right time.”
OCU has made NAIA World Series trips in 1986, 1988, 1992, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009 and now, 2010. OCU entered this season with 11 consecutive 50-win seasons and tied with Florida State for the most victories in college baseball since 1991 at 973.
The first game of the World Series pits seventh seed Embry-Riddle (Fla.) against No. 10 Tennessee Wesleyan at 10:30 a.m. May 28. Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) awaits the winner of No. 8 Belhaven (Miss.) and No. 9 Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.), which will be played at 2 p.m. May 28.
Defending national champion and No. 5 seed Lubbock Christian (Texas) will tangle with No. 4 Lee (Tenn.) in the third game of the first day at 5 p.m. The final contest of Day 1 has No. 3 California Baptist going against No. 6 Oklahoma City. No. 2 Cumberland (Tenn.) faces the winner of the Embry-Riddle and Tennessee Wesleyan game.
The World Series is a double-elimination tournament with the winner being crowned either June 3 or June 4, dependent upon if the Champion team has to play in the Loser or Winner's Bracket. For ticket information in Lewiston, Idaho, contact the Lewis-Clark ticket booth at (208) 792-2471 or visit here.
The World Series will be video-streamed live by NeuLion, the parent company of JumpTV. Users can purchase the all-tournament pass, which includes every game for $24.95, or the day pass for $8.95. In order to view the streaming, click here.
Bracket
NAIA World Series
At Lewiston, Idaho
Harris Field
All Times Central
Friday's Games
Game 1: Embry-Riddle (Fla.) vs. Tennessee Wesleyan, 10:30 a.m.
Game 2: Belhaven (Miss.) vs. Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.), 2 p.m.
Game 3: Lee (Tenn.) vs. Lubbock Christian (Texas), 5 p.m.
Game 4: California Baptist vs. Oklahoma City, 9:30 p.m.
Saturday's Games
Game 5: Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 3, 10:30 a.m.
Game 6: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 4, 2 p.m.
Game 7: Cumberland (Tenn.) vs. Winner Game 1, 5 p.m.
Game 8: Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) vs. Winner Game 2, 9:30 p.m.
Monday, May 31
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 7, 10:30 a.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 8, 2 p.m.
Game 11: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 8, 9 p.m.
Game 12: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 7, 5 p.m.
Tuesday, June 1
Game 13: Winner Game 9 vs. Loser Game 11, 1 p.m.
Game 14: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 12, 5 p.m.
Game 15: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 9 p.m.
June 2-4
Game 16 and 17 pairings to be determined by tournament committee
