By Ron Smith
May 12, 2022
 
(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) The NAIA has announced the 2022 Baseball National Championship Opening Round brackets, including the field of four teams that will play at Westmont's Russ Carr Field beginning next week in the Santa Barbara Bracket.
 
The first game will take place on Monday at 11:00 a.m. with the Grenadiers of second-seeded and 17th-ranked Indiana Southeast taking on the third-seeded Tigers of Olivet Nazarene (Ill.). Then at 2:30 p.m., top-seeded and ninth-ranked Westmont will host the Pioneers of Antelope Valley, the number-four seed.
 
The double-elimination tournament will continue with two games on Tuesday, two on Wednesday and, if needed, a single game on Thursday. The winner of the Santa Barbara Bracket will meet up in Lewiston, Idaho with the winners of the other nine brackets to compete in the 10-team double elimination NAIA World Series beginning on May 27.
 
Antelope Valley comes into the tournament with a record of 37-11 as the California Pacific Conference regular season and tournament champions. The Warriors and Pioneers did not play each other this year but had eight common opponents. In games against those eight teams, the Pioneers posted a record of 17-8 while Westmont went 22-5.
 
Eight of Antelope Valley's hitters have posted batting averages over .300 this season led by Noah Blythe at .386. Blythe has driven in a team-high 55 RBIs and tallied 26 extra base hits - five for home runs. Dominic Enbody leads the team in slugging percentage at .615. He has a team-high seven home runs and 51 RBIs.
 
Antelope Valley likes to run the base paths. The Pioneers have stolen 119 bases this season out of 142 attempts. Keola Viloria leads the team with 33 stolen bases in 36 attempts.
 
Andrew Garcia and Calvin Turchin lead the Pioneers' pitching staff. The two have started a combined 23 games with Garcia posting an ERA of 2.44 over 84 2/3 innings and with Turchin recording an ERA of 2.54 over 71. Garcia leads the team in strikeouts with a total of 84 (8.93 per nine innings pitched).
 
Neal White, in his third year as head coach of the Pioneers, holds a record of 71-29. This is Antelope Valley's fifth appearance in an Opening Round tournament.
 
Olivet Nazarene enters the tournament with a record of 38-15. The Tigers are both the regular season and tournament champions out of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
 
Jeff Mullikin is in his third year as the head coach at Olivet Nazarene where he has posted a record of 77-50. In his six years as a collegiate head coach, he has accumulated a record of 151-128. This is the Tigers' fourth trip to an Opening round tournament. Last year, Olivet Nazarene competed in the Marian (Ind.) Bracket.
 
Ethan Underwood and Aren Gustafson lead the Tigers' pitching staff. Underwood boasts an impressive ERA of 1.67 over 81 innings He has struck out 63 batters. Gustafson has accumulated an ERA of 2.65 innings over 78 innings with 87 strikeouts (10.0 per nine innings pitched).
 
Seven of the Tigers have posted batting averages over .300, led by Robert Jackman with .366. The junior has recorded 19 extra-base hits and notched 33 RBIs. Leading the team in slugging percentage is Tyler Wheeler at .648. He also leads the team in home runs (12) and RBIs (40).
 
Olivet Nazarene also likes to run, and has notched 88 stolen bases out of 114 attempts. Rod Lucas has pilfered 16 bags without begin caught.
 
The Grenadiers of Indiana Southeast, out of the River States Conference, enter the tournament with a record of 39-13. This is their eighth Opening Round appearance. Last year, Indiana Southeast won the Kingsport Bracket and advanced to the NAIA World Series where they went 2-2. The Grenadiers were both the regular season and tournament champions in the River States Conference.
 
Trevor Campbell leads the team in batting average at .411 and is one of six Grenadiers over .300. Campbell has belted 10 home runs and has a total of 25 doubles and 49 RBIs. The team's power slugger is Brody Tanksley with 14 home runs and 55 RBIs. He has a slugging percentage of .705.
 
Also a running team, the Grenadiers have stolen 111 bases in 130 attempts.
 
Left-hander Hunter Kloke leads the Grenadier pitching staff, the senior has an ERA of 2.59 over 87 innings of work. He has 102 strikeouts on the season (10.2 per nine innings pitched). Kloke was the River States Pitcher of the Year.
 
The Warriors are making their seventh Opening Round appearance including fourth in the last six postseasons. Westmont has an Opening Round record of 9-12.
 
In his 14th season at the helm of the Grenadiers' program, Ben Reel has posted a record of 514-242-1.
 
Robert Ruiz is in his 13th season as head coach for the Westmont baseball program. With a record of 394-261-1, he is the program's winningest coach.
 
Westmont's offense is powered by six hitters who have a batting average over .300. Simon Reid leads the group in both average (.388) and slugging percentage (.663). Reid has 32 extra base hits, including 10 home runs, and has posted 51 RBIs. Josh Rego ranks second in both categories with a .374 average and a .636 slugging percentage. Rego has nine home runs with a team-high 59 RBIs. Brady Renck leads the team in home runs at 13 while Thomas Rudinsky has hit 11.
 
Renck also leads the Warriors in stolen bases with 22 out of 23 attempts. As a team, the Warriors have swiped 76 bags in 91 attempts.
 
The Warriors have three starting pitchers with ERAs under 4.00. Eric Oseguera has pitched 57 2/3 innings with an ERA of 2.65. Bryan Peck has 73 1/3 innings under his belt and an ERA of 3.44. Bradley Heacock has pitched 69 2/3 innings with an ERA of 3.88. Chad Stoner, Jr. leads the team in strikeouts with 64 (9.60 per nine innings pitched).
 
Westmont comes into the tournament as the regular season co-champion of the Golden State Athletic Conference, looking to earn their first trip to the NAIA World Series.