The road back to the Avista NAIA World Series runs through Lewiston for the Lewis-Clark State baseball team, and now the Warriors know exactly who they'll have to face to get there.
The NAIA unveiled the full National Baseball Championship bracket on Wednesday, featuring 10 host sites for the double-elimination Opening Rounds. Top-seeded and No. 4 nationally ranked LC State will welcome a tough field to Harris Field starting Monday, including No. 13 Texas A&M-Victoria, No. 21 Hope International (Calif.), and Keiser (Fla.).
In a matchup dripping with history, the Warriors will open their postseason run against Keiser at 6 p.m. Monday. The last time LC State faced the Seahawks in the playoffs—back on May 26, 2017—they went on to win the national championship. That was the most recent of the program's NAIA-best 19 titles, and it came under current coach Jeremiah Robbins.
Robbins is back at the helm after the Warriors stumbled in the Opening Round the past two seasons, leading to a coaching change. In his first year back, LC State has roared to a 41-7 record, claimed a share of the Cascade Conference regular-season title, and won the conference tournament in Lewiston over the weekend. Robbins was named CCC Coach of the Year, and eight Warriors earned conference postseason honors.
The double-elimination format runs through Wednesday, with an "if-necessary" game set for Thursday.
Hope International, meanwhile, has become a familiar thorn in Lewiston's side. The Royals have survived the last two LCSC-hosted Opening Round brackets to qualify for the World Series, including a national championship run in 2024 after falling to the Warriors 15-14 in the Opening Round. Last season, they beat LC State 12-1 before falling twice to eventual champion LSU Shreveport. This year, Hope International enters at 37 wins and will look to make Lewiston their second home once again.
For the Warriors, the path is clear: win at home, and punch a ticket back to the World Series stage where their legacy was built.