Ticket Punched! Reinhardt Baseball is Headed to the NAIA World Series!

Waleska, GA - On a historic night at Ken White Baseball Field, Coach Jonathan Burton and his crew checked off another season goal by knocking off Keiser University 15-8 in a roller coaster game. The win puts the Eagles in the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho for the second time in the program's history.  The last trip was in 2018 under Head Coach Bill Popp who was also the acting Athletic Director at the time. The Eagles have had a great season and they topped it off by raising the trophy for winning the NAIA Opening Round Waleska Bracket!

Reinhardt made it to the championship game by beating Keiser on day one and Point Park on day two.  Point Park and Keiser played the early game on Wednesday afternoon with the Seahawks dominating that game and securing their spot to face the Eagles in the finals. 

In the final game, Adam Christopher got the nod from Coach Burton and he had an excellent game setting the tone for what was to come.  He pitched his most innings of the season and was around 70 pitches total after coming out in the fifth inning. Christopher is similar to starter Andrew Herbert - where both battled back after having arm surgeries last year.

Christopher was able to strike out 2 batters in his four and one-third innings but his most important stat was only giving up 3 hits and allowing 2 runs. He kept the game under control as the offense jumped out to a 6-0 lead.

Alex Galvez and Cobey Allison came in for Christopher in the fifth inning and the Eagles ran into some trouble.  This was an inning where the Seahawks would work their way back into the game.  After the fifth inning, Keiser took a 7-6 lead putting the Eagles back to square one. Hunter Paulsen was called next to get things under control and give a chance for the powerful Eagles' lineup to get the run back.  Paulsen had a great showing - maybe his best of the season. He struck out 2 batters and only gave up a run.  The one run was questionable as the pitch before the run scored was a painted corner strike that should have ended the inning, but unfortunately called a ball.

Reinhardt (GA)Pitchers

The offense kicked back into gear after the big inning by the Seahawks.  They got the run back on an Adrian Vargas single to left field that scored Dylan Lewis and tied the game again at eight all.

The seventh inning was an unbelievable inning for the Eagles. With two outs to start the inning, the Eagles went on a crushing run putting six runs on the board and taking the wind out of the sail of Kesier. Catcher Matty Maurer got things going with a single to left that scored Vargas. This gave the Eagles the 9-8 lead. Next, Lance Dockery singled to right which scored Luis Mendoza and gave the Eagles a 10-8 lead. Jarrett Burney was up next and he made the most of his final at-bat at Ken White Baseball Field.  With Dockery and Will Underwood on base, Burney smoked a ball over the tall fence in left field giving the Eagles a commanding 13-8 lead and inches away from making their way to Lewiston.

The Eagles went with the magnificent Brett Allen to shut down Keiser and secure the win in the final two innings of the game. There is not a more reliable player on the Eagles team than Allen and he showed why his number is always called with the game on the line.  Allen pitched the last innings keeping the Seahawks hitless and scoreless while striking out two batters.

Reinhardt was not finished though. In the bottom of the eighth, Dockery would help the Eagles add a little cushion to the score by hitting a double that scored Mendoza and Lewis. This would be the final runs of the game, 15-9 Eagles, and a trip to the 2024 NAIA World Series.

In the top of the ninth, Allen was able to get Keiser's final batter to pop up around first base. Second Baseman Jacob Profit called everyone off and watched the ball drop into his open glove and the yellow jerseys of Reinhardt stormed the field. The team converged around the pitcher's mound with bodies flying everywhere creating a yellow-jersey dog pile as they celebrated a historic accomplishment for Reinhardt University. It was a great moment for Reinhardt Baseball and all associated with Reinhart University!

The team will find out more information on when and who they will face in the NAIA World Series over the next few days.  Stay tuned to www.ReinhardtEagles.com for more information and follow us on Instagram @ru_eagles to get the most up-to-date news.

Coach Jonathan Burton's post-game interview with the game commentator Lorenzo Robinson: