JOURNAL SPORTS
The LSUS baseball team is undefeated, and practically speaking, so are the other four teams in the NAIA’s Shreveport Opening Round tournament beginning today at Pilot Field.
The double-elimination tournament runs through Thursday, with the winner of the Shreveport bracket advancing to the 2025 Avista-NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, scheduled for May 23–30.
All 46 teams in the national field start over, unbeaten yet winless, in the NAIA’s postseason reset with regional play beginning today at 10 sites.
LSUS (51-0) is the top seed as the No. 1-ranked team in the NAIA heading into postseason. The Pilots are slated to begin their action this evening at 6 against the winner of the 11 a.m. contest between No. 4 seed Ottawa (Kan.) and No. 5 seed SUNO.
Ottawa posted a 38-14 overall record and climbed as high as No. 19 in the national rankings. The Braves are led offensively by Brian Parry, who boasts a .423 batting average and a .527 on-base percentage, while Ryan Wilwers anchors the pitching staff with 76 strikeouts and a 1.63 WHIP. SUNO, in only its second season, makes its first-ever NAIA Opening Round appearance. The Knights finished 24-25 overall and advanced to the HBCUAC Tournament title game after knocking off Stillman and Wiley in impressive fashion.
Game 2 is set for 2:30 p.m. between No. 2 seed Mid-America Christian taking on No. 3 seed Johnson (Tenn.). MACU enters with a 38-15 record and earned an at-large berth after finishing second in the Sooner Athletic Conference with a 20-7 league mark. This marks the Evangels’ second straight trip to the Opening Round. Johnson finished 33-17 and posted a 21-9 conference record in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. The Royals climbed to as high as No. 11 nationally during the season, the highest ranking in program history. Offensively, Johnson hit .315 as a team and stole a program-record 147 bases, while defensively the Royals posted a .963 fielding percentage with four shutout wins.
LSUS has been the most dominant team in the country throughout the 2025 campaign, showcasing elite pitching, timely hitting, and veteran leadership from a battle-tested and veteran roster looking for the program’s first national championship.
The Pilots, led by sixth-year coach Brad Neffendorf, have 20 seniors and 18 juniors on the squad aiming for the program’s sixth berth in the World Series.
LSUS is hosting a regional for the fourth consecutive year. The Pilots won in 2022 and advanced to the World Series, where they finished third, but in the past two years, LSUS has been upset and halted before making it to Idaho.
Shreveport Opening Round bracket updates, livestream links, and ticket information can be accessed at https://www.lsusathletics.com/tournaments/bsb/2025/index