MARSHALL, Texas — Cal Lutheran baseball opened the 2023 NCAA Division III Baseball Championships against a formidable opponent, and host of the Marshall, Texas Regional, East Texas Baptist on Friday afternoon. The Kingsmen scored first, but the Tigers had the final say and won 16-6. 

With the loss, the Kingsmen have work to do to win a regional championship. They will play in an elimination game Saturday morning at 11 am CST against the loser of Pacific (Ore.) and Trinity (Tex.).

Nathan Nykaza, Jalen Parks, and Sebastian Smith all hit a homerun, two of which came in the top of the ninth. Parks had two RBI with Nykaza and Smith having one each.  

The Kingsmen took the first lead of the game, scoring two runs in the top of the first. Sean Blandino and Kyle Reuser both scored on wild pitches. East Texas Baptist responded in the bottom of the inning with four runs. 

The Tigers added to their lead with one run in the third and fourth inning. They added three more runs in the sixth and went up 9-2. After Cal Lutheran got a solo shot from Sebastian in the seventh, the Tigers scored five in the seventh and two in the eighth. 

Parks smashed a two-run homer in the ninth and Nykzaz made it back-to-back with a solo shot. The runs were not enough to overcome a big deficit as the Kingsmen fell in their first game of the NCAA tournament. 

Links and schedule below. 

Live Stream | Live Stats | Official Bracket | Regional Brackets

Regional Bracket and Schedule
Saturday, May 20
Game 3: 11 a.m. Cal Lutheran vs. Loser of G2
Game 4: 2:30 p.m. East Texas Baptist vs. Winner of G2
Game 5: 6 p.m. Winner of G3 vs. Loser of G4

Sunday, May 21
Game 6: 11 a.m. Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5
Game 7: 2:30 p.m. (approx.) Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 6 (if necessary)   

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