The LSU Shreveport Pilots defeated the Southeastern University Fire on Friday night to win the NAIA baseball championship and secure a perfect 59-0 record on the year. The Pilots are the first team in men’s college baseball history to go undefeated.
The Pilots fell behind the Fire early on Friday night, with SEU securing two runs in both the first and second innings. LSU Shreveport would answer back with three runs in the bottom of the second and then two more in the bottom of the third to take a 5-4 lead. The Fire weren’t done, however, and would build a 7-5 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth. From there, the Pilots took over the game, plating eight unanswered runs en route to a 13-7 victory.
Right fielder Ryan Davenport and shortstop Jose Sallorin each drove in three runs. Left fielder Jackson Syring and center fielder Ian Montz, meanwhile, both delivered home runs. On the pitching side of things, pitcher Kenneth Schechter threw four shutout innings in relief to steady the tides and earn the victory.
On the season, the Pilots’ lineup averaged more than 11 runs per game while their pitching staff maintained a 2.38 ERA. Five different members of the LSU Shreveport roster were named to the NAIA World Series All-Tournament Team, while the Pilots cleaned up on individual honors: Isaac Rohde won the tournament MVP Award, Cooper Huspen was awarded for his hustle, and the aforementioned Sallorin took home Gold Glove honors.
Predictably, according to ESPN, the Pilots established the new highest single-season winning percentage in NAIA history, besting the 93.5% set by Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) in 1996 (43-3). The highest winning percentage in Division I history belongs to the 1972 Arizona State Sun Devils, who went 64-6 (91.4%).
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