The 2014 NAIA baseball tournament was the 58th edition of the NAIA baseball championship. The 46-team tournament began on May 12 with Opening Round games across nine different sites and concluded with the 2014 NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho that began on May 23 and ended on May 30.
Cumberland (TN) defeated Lewis–Clark State (ID) 3–0 in the championship game for their 3rd title in program history. Cumberland became the first and as of 2024, the only team to ever win an NAIA World Series title as a 10 seed since seeding began in 2003. This is also the most recent shutout in an NAIA baseball championship game.
The 46 participating teams were selected from all eligible NAIA teams with the World Series host receiving an automatic bid to the NAIA World Series. The remaining 45 teams participated in the Opening Round with 31 teams being awarded automatic bids as either champions and/or runners-up of their conferences, and 14 teams were selected at-large, which were determined by the final NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 Poll. Teams were then placed into one of nine pre-determined Opening Round sites of five teams a piece, each of which is conducted via a double-elimination tournament. The winners of each of the Opening Round sites plus the World Series host team participated in the NAIA World Series.
This would be the final year in which at-large berths were awarded based on the final Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
Tournament procedure A total of 46 teams entered the tournament. As World Series host, Lewis–Clark State received an automatic bid into the NAIA World Series. 31 automatic bids were determined by either winning their conference's regular season championship, conference tournament, and/or conference tournament runner-up. The other 14 bids were at-large, with selections determined by the final NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
Opening round hosts On April 15, the NAIA announced the nine opening round host sites, which were played from May 12–15.
Venue(s) Location(s) Host(s) Hunter Wright Stadium Kingsport, TN Appalachian Athletic Conference Smith-Wills Stadium Jackson, MS Belhaven University Wildcat FieldWinterholter Field Marion, INUpland, IN Crossroads League Sliwa Stadium Daytona Beach, FL Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University (FL) Harrison Field Montgomery, AL Faulkner University Grizzly Baseball Complex Lawrenceville, GA Georgia Gwinnett College Bison Field at Ford Park Shawnee, OK Oklahoma Baptist University Hobart-Detter Field Hutchinson, KS Tabor College Reese Field Santa Clarita, CA The Master's College
Bids Source:
Automatic School Conference Record Berth Last NAIA Appearance Bacone (OK) Red River 34–18 Tournament champion 2012 (Cleveland Bracket) British Columbia NAIA West Group 32–11 Tournament champion 2011 (Riverside Bracket) Bryan (TN) Appalachian 33–26 Tournament runner-up First appearance Culver–Stockton (MO) Heart 29–26 Tournament runner-up 2011 (Cleveland Bracket) Cumberland (TN) Mid-South 40–18 Tournament champion 2013 (Joliet Bracket) Davenport (MI) Wolverine-Hoosier 41–15 Tournament champion First appearance Doane (NE) Great Plains 42–9 Regular season champion 2012 (Marion Bracket) Embry–Riddle (FL) The Sun 37–19 Regular season champion 2013 NAIA World Series Faulkner (AL) Southern States 46–14 Tournament runner-up 2013 NAIA World Series Georgetown (KY) Mid-South 42–8 Regular season champion 2013 (Montgomery Bracket) Georgia Gwinnett A.I.I. 48–10 Tournament champion First appearance Houston–Victoria (TX) A.I.I. 23–21 Tournament runner-up 2010 (Group 6 Bracket) Jamestown (ND) Frontier/North Star 35–8 Tournament champion 2013 (Oklahoma City Bracket) Judson (IL) Chicagoland 42–17 Tournament champion 2013 (Joliet Bracket) Lewis-Clark State (ID) NAIA West Group 43–7 World Series host 2013 NAIA World Series MidAmerican Nazarene (KS) Heart 36–13 Tournament champion First appearance Midland (NE) Great Plains 42–17 Tournament champion 2013 (Claremore Bracket) Missouri Baptist American Midwest 45–12 Tournament runner-up 2013 NAIA World Series Mount Vernon Nazarene (OH) Crossroads 42–10 Regular season champion 2013 (Montgomery Bracket) Oklahoma Baptist Sooner 50–6 Tournament champion 2013 (Hattiesburg Bracket) Oklahoma City Sooner 35–17 Tournament runner-up 2013 (Oklahoma City Bracket) Oklahoma Wesleyan Midlands 52–6 Tournament champion First appearance Point (GA) Appalachian 31–25 Tournament runner-up First appearance Point Park (PA) Kentucky 40–16 Tournament champion 2013 (Kingsport Bracket) Southeastern (FL) The Sun 44–14 Tournament champion First appearance Southern Poly (GA) Southern States 42–16 Tournament champion 2012 (Daytona Beach Bracket) Spring Arbor (MI) Crossroads 31–15 Tournament champion 2009 (Group 5 Bracket) St. Francis (IL) Chicagoland 36–20 Regular season champion 2012 (Kingsport Bracket) Tabor (KS) Kansas 46–11 Tournament champion 2013 (Santa Clarita Bracket) Viterbo (WI) Midwest 31–18 Tournament champion First appearance Westmont (CA) Golden State 38–17 Tournament champion First appearance William Woods (MO) American Midwest 39–10 Tournament champion 2011 (Montgomery Bracket)
At–Large School Conference Record Last NAIA Appearance Belhaven (MS) Southern States 40–19 2011 (Oklahoma City Bracket) Bellevue (NE) Midlands 37–15–2 2013 (Claremore Bracket) Brewton–Parker (GA) Southern States 32–11 2011 (Daytona Beach Bracket) Friends (KS) Kansas 36–23 First appearance LSU–Alexandria A.I.I. 34–23 First appearance LSU–Shreveport Red River 42–16 2013 (Cleveland Bracket) Mayville State (ND) Frontier/North Star 40–14 2013 (Joliet Bracket) Northwestern (IA) Great Plains 41–11 2013 (Oklahoma City Bracket) San Diego Christian (CA) Golden State 39–18 2013 (Santa Clarita Bracket) Sterling (KS) Kansas 39–18 2013 NAIA World Series Talladega (AL) Gulf Coast 39–18 First appearance Tennessee Wesleyan Appalachian 33–22–1 2013 (Kingsport Bracket) The Master's (CA) Golden State 37–16 2013 NAIA World Series Vanguard (CA) Golden State 31–21 2010 (Group 2 Bracket)
Opening Round Source:
Daytona Beach Bracket Hosted by Embry–Riddle (FL) at Sliwa Stadium
Hutchinson Bracket Hosted by Tabor (KS) at Hobart-Detter Field
Jackson Bracket Hosted by Belhaven (MS) at Smith-Wills Stadium
Kingsport Bracket Hosted by the Appalachian Athletic Conference at Hunter Wright Stadium
Lawrenceville Bracket Hosted by Georgia Gwinnett at Grizzly Baseball Complex
Marion Bracket Hosted by the Crossroads League at Wildcat Field
Montgomery Bracket Hosted by Faulkner (AL) at Harrison Field
Santa Clarita Bracket Hosted by The Master's (CA) at Reese Field
Shawnee Bracket Hosted by Oklahoma Baptist at Bison Field at Ford Park
NAIA World Series The NAIA World Series was held at Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho.
Participants SchoolConferenceRecordHead CoachBracketPrevious NAIAWS AppearancesBest NAIAWS FinishNAIA WSRecord Cumberland (TN) Mid-South 44–19 Woody Hunt Kingsport 11 1st 25–18 Faulkner (AL) Southern States 49–14 Patrick McCarthy Montgomery 2 1st 5–2 Georgetown (KY) Mid-South 46–9 Micah Baumfeld Marion 1 T-5th 2–2 Georgia Gwinnett A.I.I. 52–11 Brad Stromdahl Lawrenceville none none 0–0 Lewis–Clark State (ID) NAIA West Group(Frontier) 43–7 Jeremiah Robbins n/a 32 1st 124–41 Oklahoma Baptist Sooner 53–7 Bobby Cox Shawnee 3 4th 3–6 Oklahoma Wesleyan Midlands 55–6 Matt Parker Jackson none none 0–0 San Diego Christian (CA) Golden State 42–18 Chris Bando Santa Clarita none none 0–0 Southern Poly (GA) Southern States 45–17 Marty Lovrich Daytona Beach 2 T-5th 2–4 Tabor (KS) Kansas 49–11 Mark Standiford Hutchinson none none 0–0
Bracket Source:
Preliminary Bracket
Championship Bracket
Game Results All game times are listed in Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−07:00).
Preliminary Bracket
Championship Bracket
Championship Game
See also 2014 NAIA softball tournament 2014 NCAA Division I baseball tournament 2014 NCAA Division II baseball tournament 2014 NCAA Division III baseball tournament
Notes
References