DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The 2012 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round kicks off Thursday, May 10 at nine sites across the country, including at Sliwa Stadium on the campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Five-team pods at each of the nine sites will compete in a double-elimination tournament that will ultimately decide the nine squads that will join Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho for the 56th Annual Avista-NAIA World Series from May 26 - June 1, 2012.
Host Embry-Riddle will be joined by Auburn Montgomery (Ala.), Biola (Calif.), Southern Polytechnic State (Ga.) and Siena Heights (Mich.) in the Daytona Beach bracket of the 45-team National Championship Opening Round.
No. 1 Embry-Riddle Eagles (40-16)
The eighth-ranked Eagles enter the national tournament as one of nine No. 1 seeds, the fourth time in as many years the Blue and Gold has been a top seed. ERAU earned an automatic berth in the 45-team field thanks to their 21-6 record in The Sun Conference regular season, claiming their fifth consecutive and 13th overall conference title in program history.
The Eagles have a 40-16 record in 2012, most due to their balance of offensive firepower and dominant pitching. ERAU brings in a .306 batting average in 56 contests, outscoring its opponents 403 to 214, including plating 77 runs in the fourth inning.
Third baseman and second team All-Sun Conference selection, Jeff Lemon, leads the Eagles with a .372 clip from the plate, collecting 51 hits in 137 at-bats. The entire Eagle starting outfield earned first team All-Sun Conference honors during the year. Frankie Arias, Greg Smith and Ian MacGeorge have struck for 201 hits, 124 RBIs and 149 runs. Smith and Arias lead the team with 28 and 19 stolen bases respectively.
The Eagle pitching staff has produced another great season on the mound, posting a team ERA of 3.10 in 475.2 innings of work. Opponents average .263 against the Eagles while striking out 353 times. Embry-Riddle has shutout seven teams in 2012 while throwing seven complete games.
First team All-Sun Conference hurlers Kevin Maloney and Daniel Eaton pace the Blue and Gold from the rubber. Maloney, a junior left-hander, leads the nation with just nine earned runs allowed on the year, posting a 1.31 ERA and 8-0 record in nine starts. Eaton, also a lefty, is 6-5 with a 2.91 ERA in 102.0 innings, boasting 77 strikeouts to just 24 walks.
ERAU has a 9-1 mark in the Opening Round, and has advanced to the World Series in each of the last four seasons under the direction of Head Coach Randy Stegall.
No. 2 Auburn Montgomery (36-22)
The Warhawks of Auburn University at Montgomery enter the 2012 National Championship as the 15th-ranked team in the country after a 36-22 overall record and 21-9 mark in the Southern States Athletic Conference in which they finished third. AUM received an at-large bid into the Opening Round, their third appearance all-time.
Head Coach QV Lowe is no stranger to winning, posting over 1,100 wins in his career, 1,000 of which have come at AUM. The Warhawks had five players represented on the SSAC Honor Roll, including first teamers Michael Dugan and Cody Hall.
Dugan, a senior catcher, leads the team with a .358 batting average on 53 hits, 19 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .473. Dugan was also named to the SSAC Gold Glove team. He is followed closely by Logan Remson, who paces the squad with 69 hits and Hunter Cross, who has driven in a team-high 51 runs.
As a team, AUM averages .304 from the dish, recording 286 RBIs and 545 hits in 58 games. The Warhawks are slugging a full 100-points higher than their opponents at .424 (opp: .321).
Hall is the team's leading pitcher, boasting a 8-2 record and 1.30 ERA in 97.0 innings. Hall has struck out 111 batters while only giving up 14 earned runs in 2012.
Michael Carden is 6-3 with a 2.53 ERA this season, holding opponents to a .235 batting average.
The Warhawks are 5-4 all-time in the Opening Round, and have made three World Series trips in their program history.
No. 3 Biola Eagles (26-27)
Biola earned the next-to-last at-large bid into the Opening Round and will look to make the most of their opportunity. Head Coach John Verhoeven, a former NAIA All-American and MLB pitcher for the Minnesota Twins, California Angels and Chicago White Sox, brings his team to Daytona Beach as the No. 3 seed.
The Eagles finished 18-14 in the Golden States Athletic Conference, placing third behind Azusa Pacific (Calif.) and defending national champion, Concordia (Calif.).
The Eagles average .304 from the plate, collecting 543 hits and 282 RBIs in 53 games. Biola has an on-base percentage of .380 and a slugging percentage of .427.
First team All-GSAC selection Vinnie Fayard has hit .365 with 80 hits and 44 RBIs in 2012, slugging .511 in 219 at-bats. Close behind is Drake Fages with a .363 average, 33 hits and 29 RBIs. Benji Sutherland leads the Eagles with 46 runs scored.
Chris Baek joined Fayard on the All-GSAC roster after his 5-4 year. Baek posted a 3.11 ERA in 81.0 innings with 62 strikeouts. He also managed four complete games and one shutout on the year.
The Eagles' pitching staff as a whole have a 4.87 ERA in 442.0 innings, with opponents hitting .292 against them.
Biola is making their third appearance in the Opening Round with a 3-4 record. They've advanced to the World Series three times with a 3-6 mark.
No. 4 Southern Polytechnic State Hornets (36-23)
The Hornets were the recipients of the final at-large berth into the National Championship after their 35-23 finish to the season, including a 17-13 mark in the SSAC, finishing fifth overall.
The Hornets had five players selected to the SSAC All-Conference teams, including infielder Devin Thaut. Thaut is second on the team with a .339 average with 61 hits and 36 RBIs while scoring 53 runs. He has also swiped 13 bags in 2012. Leading the way for SPSU is Jon White with a .365 average, 74 hits, 64 RBIs and 25 doubles, a number which leads the NAIA.
SPSU has a .308 average as a team, slugging .444 and reaching base more than 40% of the time. The Hornets have outscored their opponents 365-269 over the course of the season, and have only been outscored in one inning, the ninth.
SPSU's 4.16 team ERA in 450.0 innings may be a little deceiving with opponents averaging just .274 against the Hornets while striking out 338 times. Casey Shiver is 9-4 with a 2.76 ERA in 98.0 innings of work, while Kevin Bibler is 4-1 with a 2.96 ERA in 67.0 innings.
Matt Griffin is in his ninth season with SPSU and the Hornets are making their fourth trip to the Opening Round with a 6-4 record. SPSU has advanced to the World Series twice with 2-4 record.
No. 5 Siena Heights Saints (31-23)
One of the more surprising teams in the 45-team field is Siena Heights of Adrian, Mich. The Saints swept through the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament to earn an automatic bid to Daytona Beach.
The Saints had five players on the WHAC All-Conference team, led by WHAC Player of the Year, Cory Lehman. Lehman hit .392 with 76 hits, 19 doubles, 34 RBIs and 44 runs scored for the Saints. He slugged .572 with an on-base percentage of .470 and 12 stolen bases.
Kyle Benschoter is hitting .341 for the Saints, while the team is averaging .287 from the dish with 251 RBIs and 281 runs scored.
The Saints' pitching staff has been solid in 2012, posting a 3.16 team ERA in 436.1 innings. Opponents average only .248 against Siena Heights with 213 strikeouts.
Corey Alexander is 7-4 with a 2.03 ERA in 97.2 innings, while Brett Kuebler is 4-4 with a 2.95 ERA in 79.1 innings.
The Saints are making their first-ever appearance in the Opening Round, and have previously made one trip to the World Series where they went 0-2.
