LEWISTON, Idaho ------ Auburn Montgomery senior Mac Seibert has been around the game of baseball from the time he was born and he hopes to have a chance to continue being around it even after his collegiate playing days.

However, right now he and the Warhawks have their backs against the wall, facing No. 8 seed Lindsey Wilson in an elimination game in the Avista-NAIA World Series Monday afternoon at noon PDT.

Seibert and the Warhawks have played two games in Idaho, which have actually been closer to three. AUM has played a pair of extra-innings games, including the longest World Series game ever played at Harris Field - an 11-9 victory over Point University in 14 innings that lasted four hours and 26 minutes on Saturday.

"It is a broken record, but we have no sense of panic," Seibert said. "Our backs are against the wall right now and we have nothing else to do except go out and win. All we can do is go out and play hard. At the end of the day, we can look in the mirror and know we gave it our all."

Seibert's baseball career has had an interesting storyline, culminating with the 2016 Warhawks.

"Coach (Lovrich) said it best when he described our team as being from the Island of Misfit Toys," Seibert said of this year's squad. "We don't have any superstars and are just a group of hard-nosed players who love to play the game. Most of our team played junior college ball before coming to AUM, where we learned how to play the right way. That is translating to now. We might have to scratch to get back into a game, but we do not get rattled by being down. We all know, and understand, our roles, whether that be starting, coming off the bench to pinch run or pitching as a starter or out of the bullpen."

His exposure to baseball began from the moment he was born, as his father was working as an assistant coach at Jefferson Davis Community College in Brewton, Ala., where he helped the team to the Junior College World Series in 1994. He later went on to work with the Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays organizations, before accepting his current position with the New York Mets and scouts potential prospects in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Yet, despite his wealth of experience around the game and a solid prep career at nationally-respected Tate High School in Cantonment, Fla., Seibert signed with Meridian Community College coming out of high school.

"I didn't play varsity until the end of my sophomore year, when I was pulled up for the district tournament," Seibert said. "I played well as a junior and senior, but only had a few walk-on opportunities (Southern Miss, Delta State) to play at the college level. Then Meridian came along and it was a perfect fit for me at the time."

Following two successful seasons with the Eagles, Seibert was left with a decision of where to continue his collegiate career. Coming out of junior college, he was working to learn a new position and AUM was a perfect fit.

"I was transitioning to catcher to try to extend my career after college and both Marty and Booty were catchers, so that was very appealing," Seibert said. "I also liked that AUM was 2 1/2 hours from home, so my parents and grandparents could come see me play. It really added up for me to come to AUM."

After helping the Warhawks to a 40-win season, as well as the Southern States Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships in 2015, Seibert was a key piece of the puzzle returning for the team in 2016. But despite being one of the team's top returners, even Seibert had some uncertainty about his role with this year's squad.

Last season, he started 32 games for AUM as a junior, 18 at catcher, 12 as designated hitter and two at third base. This year, he has made 11 starts behind the plate, but has found a home at first base, where he has 35 starts entering Monday's game. In 55 games this season, he is hitting .333 with a team-leading seven home runs. He has added 37 runs batted in, six doubles and 26 walks.

"At the beginning of the year, everyone was trying to learn their role with the team, but about a quarter of the way through the season, it started to click," Seibert said. "Everyone understood what they brought to the table and how they could help the team. That is when we really started to roll."

However, it was not always easy for the team, who finished runner-up in the SSAC regular season and tournament. In particular, AUM fell behind 6-2 to nationally-ranked Keiser University in the first championship game of its Opening Round tournament, but rallied to win in 11 innings to punch its ticket to Lewiston. Seibert felt that win speaks to the make-up of the team.

"This team never feels like it is out of a game," he said. "We know we will have an opportunity and it is just about cashing in. In the Keiser game, we were down and it felt like it was just another game. We knew we wanted to go to Idaho and the World Series, so we just went out and played our game."

In that game, Seibert accomplished a personal highlight, as he not only hit the game-tying home run in the top of the ninth inning, but he also hit for the cycle.

"I never had an opportunity to hit for the cycle because I never hit a triple until this year," Seibert said jokingly. "That was new for me this year, adding the triple to my repertoire so to speak. It was definitely neat, but even better to win the game. I would have gone 0-for-6 if it meant we won the game."

Now, having already become a part of AUM baseball history as just the fourth team to advance to the NAIA World Series, Seibert will continue to embrace the opportunity of playing for the NAIA Baseball National Championship with his teammates.

"For me and a lot of guys on this team, this is the first time we have played in a World Series or for anything of this magnitude," Seibert concluded. "This whole experience is something I will never forget and I will tell my children about, but to find a way to win it would unreal."