LEWISTON, Idaho- No. 8 Tennessee Wesleyan turned Harris Field into its own launching pad Friday night into early Saturday morning, trumping No. 3 Lewis-Clark State 12-4 behind a 16-hit attack and a steady outing on the mound from Justin Jackson.

Allan Gil Fernandez led off the scoring for the Bulldogs with a first-inning solo homer to center. Fernandez was just getting started, as he finished 5-for-6 at the plate with four runs scored, a home run, a double, and two RBIs, setting the tone for an offense that put pressure on the Warriors throughout the contest. 

TWU added on in the second frame via a wild pitch that brought home Kolton Reynolds, then made it 3–0 in the third when David Ballenilla lined an RBI single up the middle to score Rob Gordon. The margin grew to 4-0 in the fifth on Gordon’s RBI single to right-center.

Lewis-Clark State finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth when Jackson Jaha tripled to center to drive in Payton Smith, trimming the deficit to 4-1. Wesleyan answered back in the sixth on Fernandez’s RBI double, then blew the game open in the seventh when a fielding error brought home a run, and Brayan Espinoza followed with a two-run homer to center to push the lead to 8-1.

The Warriors showed some fight in the seventh with back-to-back solo shots, Brandon Nguyen to right-center and Izzy Madariaga to center, cutting it to 8-3. The Bulldogs responded again, this time with a decisive three-run eighth inning. Ballenilla lifted a sacrifice fly for one run before Reynolds delivered the final statement, a two-run homer to right that made it 11-3. Wesleyan tacked on one more in the ninth on Josh Shelly’s RBI single, while Lewis-Clark State plated an unearned run in the bottom half on Zane Bidwell’s RBI single to close the scoring at 12-4.

Jackson (12–1) earned the win, working 6.2 innings and allowing three runs on nine hits with six strikeouts. Colton Brumley and McGwire Taylor finished the final 2.1 innings; Taylor struck out three and allowed one unearned run. Lewis-Clark State's Canfield (8–2) took the loss after allowing three runs in three innings, and the Warrior staff ultimately surrendered three homers and 12 runs (10 earned).

Tennessee Wesleyan finished with 12 runs on 16 hits and drew five walks. For Lewis-Clark State, Jaha went 3-for-5 with an RBI triple, Bryce Johnson collected three hits, and Nguyen and Madariaga provided the long-ball highlights.

The Warriors will face No. 2 Georgia Gwinnett in an elimination game on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. PT. The Bulldogs are back in action on Monday against No. 9 IU Southeast (Ind.) at 6:30 p.m. PT.