Taylor Hodges, Sports Information Director

HENDERSON, Tenn. – A complete-game effort by Jacob Sawyers and a 149-pitch night by Tyson Campbell highlighted the afternoon and evening for the Lions (46-15) as they were able to defeat Texas Wesleyan (46-16) 5-1 in the first game of the day, followed by a 7-4 win over Oklahoma Wesleyan (46-10) to force the if-necessary game on Thursday.

The Eagles of Oklahoma Wesleyan got the best of the Lions in their Tuesday-afternoon matchup with an 8-3 win, but the Lions were able to get revenge on Wednesday night.

Campbell – making his first start on the mound in over six weeks – went eight and two-thirds innings and threw 149 pitches en route to the clutch win.

Campbell wasn't the only Lions starting pitcher to throw arguably his best game of the season on Wednesday. Sawyers got the start against the Rams in the elimination game and threw a complete game, something the Lions desperately needed him to do in order to get some rest for the other pitchers on the postseason roster.

Campbell struck out 11 batters in his start, and Sawyers came away with six.

Campbell went back out to the mound to start the ninth inning and was able to get two outs before giving up a run that cut the Lions lead to just three. Head coach Jonathan Estes decided to go to his bullpen and had Landon Sewell close out the game.

Sewell was able to get the final out and earn the one-out save and giving Campbell the win.

The two arms weren't the only Lions to play clutch baseball on the day. Dom Pisano went a combined 5-for-8 in both games and had three runs batted in, all in the win over Oklahoma Wesleyan.

Josh Sears also had three RBIs in the win over the Eagles, bringing in two runs with a single in the second inning and hit a solo home run over the right-field wall in the seventh, his second long ball of the Henderson Bracket.

The win over Oklahoma Wesleyan means there will be a winner-take-all game on Thursday at 12 noon. The winner of that game will go on to Lewiston, Idaho, to play in the 2019 Avista-NAIA World Series.