Schafer's gem lifts No. 4 IU Southeast to upset of No. 1 Missouri Baptist in Upland Bracket

UPLAND, Ind. -- From completing a 12-run, two-out rally in the ninth to upsetting the top seed in the Upland Bracket, No. 4 IU Southeast (Ind.) had quite the day in the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round on Monday.

The Grenadiers carried the momentum from their thrilling victory earlier in the day into the nightcap, where they shut out one of the top offenses in the NAIA. Luke Schafer and Garrett Hill combined for a two-hit shutout on their way to a 4-0 victory over No. 1 Missouri Baptist.

With the win, the Grenadiers improve to 34-18 as they advance to the finals of the winner's bracket, where they will battle No. 2 Taylor (Ind.) on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Schafer couldn't have asked for a better start, retiring the first 12 Spartans he faced. The right-hander took a perfect game into the fifth and a no-hitter into the sixth. He gave his offense plenty of time to get going.

After being held in check for the first three innings, IU Southeast broke the scoreless tie in the fourth, scoring two runs on a big fly. Max Flock opened the inning with a single, and following a strikeout, Brayden Hazelwood stepped to the plate.

The senior from Camby, Ind. clubbed his fifth home run of the season with a two-run bomb that cleared the left field fence giving IU Southeast a 2-0 advantage.

It remained that way until the sixth, when Logan Murphy extended the lead to 3-0 after hitting a solo home run, his third of the season, to center.

The Grenadiers then added a key insurance run in the seventh. Luke Powell and Kody Putman opened the inning with back-to-back singles before moving into scoring position after a sacrifice bunt from Trevor Goodwin, the hero from earlier in the day.

Following a walk to load the bases and a strikeout, Ethan Burdette was called upon to pinch hit. Burdette delivered an RBI single to right field, scoring Powell from third, pushing the lead to 4-0.

The four-run cushion was more than enough for Schafer, who was on cruise control all night long. He walked the leadoff in the ninth before allowing just his second hit of the contest, which led to a call to the bullpen for Garrett Hill.

Hill got a strikeout for the first out but hit the next batter to load the bases. He then got a strikeout for the second out before getting a 1-3 groundout to clinch the 4-0 victory and nail down his sixth save of the season.

Schafer (9-3) picked up the win, pitching eight shutout innings and finishing with eight strikeouts.