LEWISTON, Idaho - Much like last season, the road to the 2022 red banner begins Friday night in familiar territory with a familiar opponent. The No. 7 seeded Eagles open their Avista NAIA World Series at 5 p.m. central against No. 10 seeded Warriors at Harris Field on the campus of Lewis-Clark State College. Although Faulkner is appearing for the ninth straight season, just nine players are returning to Lewiston for the Eagles under the brightest lights in NAIA baseball. Webber International is making its first trip to the LC Valley. 

THE HISTORY

The Eagles and Warriors tango for the fourth time this season after Webber came to Harrison Field and swept the then No. 6 ranked Faulkner at home for the first time in the McCarthy era Feb. 18-19. The series was marred for Faulkner with 28 runners left on base with a  .130 batting average with runners in scoring position. The Eagles were outscored 19-5 in the three game set. The sweep ran the losing streak to six and dropped Faulkner to 2-7. The Eagles have lost the last four contests against the Warriors dating back to 2012. This is the first meeting outside the confines of Harrison Field back through 2004. 

THE STAKES

The victor Friday evening gets a date with the No. 2 seed Tennessee Wesleyan Saturday at 8:30 p.m. The loser falls into an elimination game Saturday at 1:30 central against either No. 6 Westmont or No. 3 Lewis-Clark State in the double elimination bracket. 

THE PATHS

Faulkner, ranked 15th in the latest national poll, earned its ninth straight trip to the World Series sweeping through the Montgomery Bracket defeating all three other teams in the event, knocking No. 3 seed Keiser and No. 1 Ottawa into the loser's bracket before punching its ticket with a win over Reinhardt. The Eagles are 32-8 since the Webber series including an SSAC regular season championship and runner-up in the league tournament. 

Webber International finished the regular season fifth in the strong Sun Conference and ranked No. 24 before entering a league foe's home bracket in Miami Gardens with St. Thomas, the team that beat them twice in the Sun Tournament for the Warriors to finish fourth. However, Webber got the last laugh, defeating the No. 8 ranked Bobcats twice including a nine-run ninth to seal their spot in a 17-6 win to travel to the World Series for the first time in program history. 

THE NUMBERS

When you dive into the numbers, this is about as even of a matchup on paper as one can get offensively and on the mound. The Warriors rank 61st in the country with a .303 team batting average and 55th with a .409 on base having drawn 293 walks. Faulkner has the 91st ranked batting average at .291 but is 33rd with a .420 on base percentage having drawn the third most walks (332) in the country. 

By the numbers, the two pitching staffs are about as even as possible in all the major categories. They have almost identical ERAs with Faulkner having a 4.61 and Webber a 4.63–34th and 35th in the nation– and WHIPs with Webber having a .03 edge in walks and hits per nine at 1.42 while the Eagles hold a 1.45. Faulkner strikes out 9.96 batters per nine while Webber is just behind at 9.16. The Warriors walk 3.98 batters per nine while Faulkner walks 3.99.

Defensively, Faulkner boasts the 10th best fielding percentage in the country at .969 and has erased 25 percent of would-be base stealers. Webber International is tied for 41st with a .961 fielding percentage and caught 19 percent of potential base thieves. 

One of the biggest differences is the aggressiveness on the basepaths. Faulkner has stolen 101 bases on 118 attempts (85.6 percent) while Webber has taken 62 of its 75 efforts (82.7 percent) through the season. 

STATS WITH NO RELEVANCE NOBODY ASKED FOR

Faulkner is 2-2 on May 27th at the World Series, having most recently beaten The Master's (Calif.) 13-5 in 2017. The other win came against The Master's as well with a 7-6 win en route to the World Series title in 2013. The losses came in 2014 to Lewis-Clark State and 2015 to St. Thomas.

The seven seed for Faulkner this year is the lowest seed at the World Series since claiming the eight seed in 2011. 

COVERAGE

The game will be broadcast in a pay-per-view format on the NAIANetwork for $9.95 for the day pass and $34.95 for the tournament. Live stats will be available via Presto. Supplemental coverage will be available on Twitter @FaulknerBSBL.