SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 17-ranked IU Southeast baseball team fell to No. 9 Westmont College 9-3 in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round on Tuesday.

The Grenadiers went three-up, three-down in the top of the first inning. Westmont led off the bottom of the first with a single. The Warriors loaded the bases with two outs, but the Grenadiers escaped the jam without giving up a run.

Neither team scored in the second inning. The Grenadiers had runners on first and second with one out in the top of the third, but Westmont induced a double play to end the inning. With one out in the bottom of the third, a Westmont triple put a runner on third with one out. An RBI groundout gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead.

Marco Romero singled with one out in the top of the fourth inning, and Ben Berenda followed with a single of his own. Brandon Boxer delivered a third-straight single for the Grenadiers, driving home Romero to tie the game at 1-1.

A two-out double put runners on second and third for Westmont in the bottom of the fourth, but the Grenadiers escaped the jam after a lineout to second base ended the inning. In the top of the fifth inning, Clay Woeste walked and Trevor Campbell singled to put runners on first and third with one out for IU Southeast. Westmont retired the next two batters with a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning.

A single and a Simon Reid two-run home run gave Westmont a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. A double put a runner on second with no outs, and a single gave the Warriors runners on the corners. An RBI squeeze bunt allowed Westmont to score another run, making it 4-1 in the fifth.

Ben Berenda led off the top of the sixth with a walk for the Grenadiers, and Brandon Boxer followed with a single. Westmont got an out with a strikeout, but Derek Wagner drew a walk to load the bases for IU Southeast. Westmont induced another groundball double play to get out of the inning without allowing a run.

IU Southeast put a runner on second with one out but could not muster a run. Westmont led off the bottom of the seventh with a hit by pitch and a single. A flyball allowed both runners to advance, and a single to right field scored both runners to give the Warriors a 6-1 lead. An RBI single extended the lead to 7-1.

Daunte DeCello responded for IU Southeast with a two-RBI single to narrow the gap to 7-3, but Westmont answered with two runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a 9-3 lead. The Warriors went on to win the contest 9-3, securing their place in the championship game.

The Grenadiers play Antelope Valley in an elimination game on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET.