KINGSPORT, Tenn. (May 14, 2019) – Backed by the 10th complete game and first shutout of the season for senior pitcher Zak Spivy, the No. 19 Webber International University baseball team was victorious in a battle of two conference pitchers of the year and upset the No. 2-ranked team in the NAIA and the top-seed in the 2019 NAIA Opening Round – Kingsport Bracket, Tennessee Wesleyan University. In the end, Spivy and the Warriors defeated the Bulldogs 1-0 to advance to the championship of the Kingsport bracket.

Taking on Cole Bellair (11-2), the Appalachian Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year for the Bulldogs, Webber struck early with a two-out rally in the top of the very first inning. With two outs, Marcus Begg singled past the shortstop, moved to second on a walk by Carlo Mancillas and then beat the throw home on a single to left center by Quirino Esquivel.

Pitching with the slim lead, that would be all of the run support Webber's Sun Conference Co-Pitcher of the Year, Spivy (11-4), would need as he set the Bulldogs down in order through the first two innings with three strikeouts.

In the bottom of the third inning, a 6-4-3 double play erased a leadoff single for the Bulldogs and then a strikeout and throw out of a runner trying to steal second base erased another single for TWU in the fourth as Spivy stilled faced the minimum number of hitters through four innings. Spivy had five strikeouts through those first four innings.

Then, in the bottom of the fifth, Spivy erased another leadoff single for TWU by starting a 1-6-3 double play on a bunt attempt by the Bulldogs before his defense helped him strand the tying run on third base as Macillas, the shortstop, dove to his right to make a backhanded stop and threw across to first to end the inning.

Spivy then worked to keep the tying run on second base in the bottom of the sixth on a fly out to Willie Carter in left field, stranded a two-out single in the seventh, set the Bulldogs down 1-2-3 with two strikeouts in the eighth, and finished it all off with a swinging strikeout to leave another two-out single on first base in the ninth.

In all, Spivy finished with a line of seven hits, nine strikeouts, zero walks and zero runs to his credit.

"Every time I think I have seen Zak's best, he goes out and does it again," said Webber's Head Baseball Coach Brad Niethammer. "It was an awesome job of controlling the game by him, and it was a well-played game by both teams. Marcus had a couple big hits and scored the winning run. We will be back at it again tomorrow as the games just keep getting bigger."

It was the third shutout victory for the Warriors in 2019 and was their second shutout win in three years of competition in the NAIA Opening Round. For Tennessee Wesleyan, it was the Bulldogs' first time being shutout in a game since April 14, 2017.

Begg and Esquivel both finished with two hits and accounted for all four of Webber's hits against Bellair. Begg hit his first triple of the season with a one-out, gap-shot to right center in the top of the ninth before being stranded at third. Esquivel, meanwhile, finished with his second consecutive two-hit game in the opening round.

No. 2-seeded Webber will now await the winner of the semifinal game in the Kingsport bracket, which kicks off day three of action on Wednesday, May 15. Then, the championship game will start at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The Warriors are the last unbeaten team in the bracket as a loss in the championship would push the action to a fourth day on Thursday, May 16, for the winner-take-all final contest.

Webber improved to 38-20 on its season and kept TWU (49-9) from reaching the 50-win mark.

A win in the championship would send the Warriors to their first ever Avista-NAIA World Series appearance, which is set to take place May 24-31 in Lewiston, Idaho.