By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports
Here’s how far it is from Shreveport to Lewiston, Idaho – when you get to Denver, you still aren’t halfway there.
But it’s a 2,100-mile trip the LSUS Pilots have made before and they are hoping that will pay off when the NAIA World Series begins today on the campus of Lewis-Clark State College.
LSUS, the No. 4 seed, will take on fifth-seeded Bellevue (Neb.) in the opening round at 11:30 a.m. in Idaho (1:30 p.m. CT).
A year ago, it was all new to LSUS. The Pilots opened with a 10-3 win over Keiser (Fla.), but got punched in the mouth after that. Sure, they scored 13 runs against Southeastern (Fla.); the problem was they gave up 25.
After that, Lewis-Clark sent the Pilots on their way with a 9-6 loss. But the Pilots brought a lot of lessons back home.
“I think any time that you can bring some experience back to something it always helps,” said LSUS coach Brad Neffendorf. “Probably half of our roster was here last year and I think that’s a big reason why we have accomplished what we have. That’s a tremendous part of it.”
LSUS (51-6) is just one of five teams that are returning from a year ago. It is the 13th appearance for the Pilots, but they are one of four teams in the 10-team field to have not won the NAIA championship.
The atmosphere is different in western Idaho and sometimes games tend to be pitching-challenged. “It’s different air out here,” Neffendorf said. “The ball travels a little bit farther. There’s always been the saying that you have to pitch (well) to get to Lewiston, but you have to really hit to win it when you get here.”
Bellevue (48-11) is a member of the North Star Athletic Conference. The Bruins feature pitcher Elijah Johnson, who is 11-2 with a 2.05 ERA and leads the nation in strikeouts with 147. (Kevin Miranda of LSUS is second with 140).
Neffendorf expects to see Johnson on the mound and will counter with Bobby Vath (12-0, 2.23 ERA). “He’s been the guy who spearheads every series as the first guy on the mound,” Neffendorf said.
An interesting part of this tournament is the unusual bracket. If LSUS were to win its first game, the Pilots wouldn’t play again until Monday. “If you lose Friday, you play Saturday and could be on your way home before the top seeds ever play,” Neffendorf said.
Southeastern (54-3), the team that put 25 runs on the Pilots last year, is the No. 1 seed and, if both were to win their opening games, would be the LSUS opponent in the second round Monday.
But Neffendorf is quick to say he does not get caught up in seedings for any team. “People get out here and worry about that (seeding),” Neffendorf said. “Obviously, game one is important because you wouldn’t have to play again until Monday if you win. But everybody is playing good baseball at this time of year. Seeds really don’t matter. If we execute the right way, we can play with anybody.”
The win in the Shreveport Regional, in which LSUS lost the first game and won four straight to qualify for the World Series, was exciting but won’t have much of a lasting effect.
“The (players) have done a good job of understanding that they did what they had to do to get here,” Neffendorf said. “The way that we did it (pinch hit home run in extra innings) doesn’t happen too much, and I think they are excited to be here. But they know they aren’t here on vacation. We are here to try to accomplish something that has never been accomplished before.”
Photo courtesy LSUS Athletics