Travis Watson may be in his first visit to Lewiston, Idaho, and the Avista-NAIA World Series as a head coach, but he knows his way around the town very well.
The first-year boss of the baseball Bulldogs of Tennessee Wesleyan College made nine trips the last 12 years as an assistant coach, first for Lee University and then for Faulkner. He went to Lewiston four times the past five years at the Montgomery, Ala., school and is familiar with "about 90 percent" of its players, many of whom he recruited before coming back to his home area after Billy Berry left Athens, Tenn., to coach at Baylor School.
Watson grew up between Sweetwater and Loudon and played for Loudon High School.
Faulkner (49-13) is seeded No. 1 and TWC (48-13) is No. 2 for the 10-team World Series, so Watson has been a big part of both teams that had byes and did not play Friday. His current team opens today at 3 p.m. PDT (6 EDT) against No. 7 seed Sterling (51-14) of Kansas, which beat Point University 9-3 in the tournament's opening game.
"I'm not sure we're a top-two team," Watson cautioned Thursday from Lewiston. "The seedings may not be accurate. There are other very good teams out here."
He specifically noted that fourth-seeded tournament host Lewis-Clark State (48-7) won its 17th NAIA title last year, when 2013 champion Faulkner finished third.
Wesleyan, the 2012 winner, has to be considered a strong threat again, however. Appalachian Athletic Conference pitcher of the year Ryan Hartman is 9-0 with a 0.60 earned run average and 120 strikeouts in 89 innings for the Bulldogs, and Diego Ibarra is 10-2 with eight complete games and a 2.09 ERA. Tyler Thornton and Chris Washington each is 6-2, with ERAs of 3.35 and 3.57. Thornton threw back-to-back no-hitters in the regular season.
Relievers Danny Guido (3-1) and Reed Bright (four saves) have ERAs of 1.85 and 1.87, and Dillon Dove (3-0) has a 2.08.
Chevis Hoover is 5-3 with a 3.31 ERA and also hits well. He has a .323 batting average and a .538 slugging percentage.
The Bulldogs' top offensive players include infielders Pedro Barrios, who has a .389 average, 18 extra-base hits, 48 runs scored, 36 batted in and 29 stolen bases in 38 attempts, and Wardy Polanco, who's hitting .350 with 16 homers, 11 doubles, two triples, 62 runs, 45 RBIs and 32 steals in 38 tries. Those two have 216 and 214 at-bats, and third on the team in that category is outfielder Alfred Cruz with a .305 average, eight homers, 13 doubles, 48 runs and 39 RBIs in 190 at-bats.
Paolo Montezuma has 130 at-bats in 45 games, with 42 starts, yet has eight homers, seven doubles and a team-high 46 RBIs. He also has walked 28 times, tying him with Barrios and senior first baseman Cody Stroud for second on the team behind Sully Rios Reyes' 33. Rios Reyes is batting .290 with seven homers and 34 RBIs, and Marlor Villafana also has seven homers, with 32 RBIs and a .281 average.
Watson pointed to Stroud as "that surprise you always have" who's had a significant impact. At 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, he does not have prototypical first-base-slugger size but combines timely offense with nifty defense. He's batting .298 with seven homers, 11 doubles, a triple, 36 runs and 34 RBIs.
"He had limited (playing) time the last three years, but he has really turned into a fine baseball player," the coach said. "He started out slow but has really come on."
Freshman Malik Stephens from Johnson City has been dynamic in center field and has made key offensive contributions as a 59-game starter.
"I think he's the first player I've coached who was an everyday starter as a freshman since Andrew Shaver at Lee. That was in 2004," Watson said.
The Bulldogs' only health issue is relatively minor. Right fielder Omar Gomez was able to return to the lineup earlier than expected for the NAIA opening- round series last week in Kingsport, after meniscus surgery sidelined him, and the affected knee has some lingering tenderness. But he took batting practice Thursday.
Gomez has played in 42 games, with 41 starts, and is batting .340 with five homers, 12 doubles and 26 RBIs.
The Wesleyan contingent took four widely different routes in flying to Spokane, Wash., for a two-hour van or bus ride to Lewiston. One group flew by way of Minneapolis, one by way of Salt Lake City, one by way of Las Vegas and the last by way of Phoenix.
But the Bulldogs are all together now and hoping to play united in winning the national championship.
Contact Ron Bush at rbush@timesfreepress.com.