Story courtesy of NAIA sports information

LEWISTON, Idaho – Daniel Stewart went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs and Blake Peyton took a no-hitter into the sixth, striking out six, as Tennessee Wesleyan beat Loyola (La.), 7-3, to advance to Monday in the 2025 Avista NAIA World Series.
 
Loyola (41-17) made it interesting in the top of the ninth, scoring a run and loading the bases, but Tennessee Wesleyan went to Cameron Goffar, who threw two pitches to pick up the save, his third of the year, as the Bulldogs improved to 47-12.
 
Peyton ran his record to 8-1, while Thomas Hakimian dropped to 7-2, earning the loss for the Wolf Pack.
 
Tennessee Wesleyan picked up three runs in the bottom of the fourth, a rally that started with Kolton Reynolds’ solo homer, followed by back-to-back doubles by Corbin Shaw and Jack Stevens to make it 2-0. Stevens later scored the third run of the inning on an RBI single from Devin Dixon.
 
Peyton's no hitter was alive in the fifth, but began the inning with back-to-back walks that were both moved over on a ground ball to put two in scoring position. Peyton got Drew Lee to swing under an elevated pitch for the second out of the inning, and the third out also went down on strikes, this time running a fastball by Anthony Fernandez.
 
Tennessee Wesleyan loaded the bases in the fifth, but a double play on the ground limited the threat to one run, and the Bulldogs led 4-0 after five.
 
Peyton’s no-hitter expired in the sixth on a chopped ground ball, but he won a 12-pitch battle against the next batter, striking out Cole Romero to keep Loyola scoreless. Loyola’s drought ended an inning later, though, as Fernandez drove in Landon Trosclair, later scoring when Jaxon Buratt singled on the infield to make it 4-2.
 
Tennessee Wesleyan answered the Wolf Pack runs quickly, in the next half inning, when Stewart laced a two-run single into left, and in the eighth, Kruise Newman singled in Brayan Espinoza to make it 7-2.
 
With the win, Tennessee Wesleyan moves into the top side of the bracket Monday, taking on the winner of Georgia Gwinnett and British Columbia at 3 p.m. PT, Monday. Loyola falls into an elimination game Saturday, against the GGC-UBC loser, at 6:30 p.m. PT.
 
Both games, and the entire Series, will air on the NAIA Network and Urban Edge Network at www.naia.org/watch.