No. 1 Taylor Knocks Out No. 4 Lewis-Clark State, Advances in Avista NAIA World Series

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LEWISTON, Idaho – No. 1 and first-seeded Taylor (54-6) remains alive at the 2026 Avista NAIA World Series after knocking out the host No. 4 and third-seeded Lewis-Clark State 8-5 in Monday's elimination game in front of a packed Memorial Day crowd at Harris Field. It was the second straight victory while facing elimination, as the Trojans advance to Tuesday's 3 p.m. PT (6 p.m. ET) elimination game against No. 18 and seventh-seeded Mid-America Christian.

TU came out aggressive at the plate and jumped out to an 8-1 lead following a pair of runs in the first inning and pushing across six more in the third.

Sam Gladd launched a three-run homer in the big inning – a no-doubter to right center for the senior's 46th career home run and fifth career blast in Lewiston where he homered four times as a freshman in 2023. The Trojans were eliminated from the World Series that year by Lewis-Clark, which also marked the Warriors' last appearance at the baseball national championship.

Lewis-Clark (45-9) got three runs back on four hits in the bottom of the third. That trimmed the deficit to four at 8-4, but the Trojan pitching staff delivered a strong performance the rest of the way, limiting the Warriors to just one run and three hits over the final seven frames.

Nick Crabtree gave the Trojans 2.1 innings in his 10th start, while Nathan Frady (3.1), Jake Boyer (1.1) and Gage Gongwer (2.0) were dominant out of the pen. Frady improved to 6-2 on the season with the victory, while Gongwer secured his first save after retiring all six batters he faced in the eighth and ninth innings.

The Trojans outhit the Warriors 13-10 in the contest, with nine different players registering a base knock in the TU lineup. Gladd (2-for-5, HR, 3 RBIs), Ben Kennedy (2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBIs), Nate Simpson (2-for-5) and Jordan Malott (2-for-4, RBI) each recorded two-hit outings.

Brayden Manning's hitting streak extended to 19 games following his third-inning single while reaching base now in 38 consecutive appearances. Quinn Kunkel produced a pinch-hit single for the third straight game and fifth over the past six outings. Luke Sutter, Brennan Frickel and Fletcher Roemmich each tallied a base hit.

After Kennedy and Sutter reached base to lead off the game, TU got the scoring started on Malott's RBI single to left center. With the RBI, the senior first baseman broke the TU single-season record and now stands with 95 runs-produced on the year. Brennan Frickel stepped up next and delivered a sacrifice fly to put the Trojans ahead 2-0.

Lewis-Clark plated one run in the bottom of the first with a two-out RBI single, but Crabtree prevented more damage by escaping a bases-loaded jam with a strikeout.

Two innings later, the Trojans distanced themselves after batting around and sending 11 batters to the plate. Manning and Malott led off with back-to-back singles, before Gladd stepped up two batters later and connected on his long ball to deep right center, lifting the Trojans to a 5-1 advantage.

The rally continued as Simpson and Jace Schrock reached base to turn the lineup over and Kennedy delivered a two-run double to right center. The senior shortstop, who has posted 17 RBIs in seven games, later came around to score on a passed ball.

The Warriors responded with three runs in the third to keep within striking distance, with three of the first four batters Frady faced delivering an RBI. However, the junior righty settled in and retired the next eight batters he faced with a pair of strikeouts to carry the Trojans into the sixth inning.

Lewis-Clark's final run came across on a sacrifice fly in the sixth, before Boyer entered to record the final out of the frame. Gongwer took over in the eighth and need just 14 pitches to slam the door on the Warriors' season.