No. 6 Baseball Finishes World Series as National Champion Runner-Ups

LEWISTON, Idaho- For the third time in program history, the baseball team played for a national championship. The six seed met the No. 4 seed in the tournament, the Hope International University Royals, in the Avista NAIA World Series Title game. 

Tennessee Wesleyan got on the board early. Braxton Turner started the game with a single to left field while Jack Stevens reached base on a hit by pitch. A throwing error occurred on Evan Magill's single, allowing Turner to move from second to home plate and Stevens to third, making the score 1-0. Cayle Webster hit a sacrifice fly to right field as Stevens tagged up on third to score, giving the team a 2-0 lead after the top of the first inning. Hope International scored four runs in the bottom of the first to take the lead.

The momentum turned back to the Bulldogs in the second inning. Daniel Stewart opened the top of the second with a double to center field. Courtesy runner Hagen Escoto moved to third on a Dante Leach single. After a wild pitch allowed Leach to get to second, Stevens put TWU on top with a three-run home run to give the team a 5-4 lead. In the third inning, Kruise Newman made it back-to-back inning with a home run, this time a solo shot over the right field wall, moving the lead to 6-4. 

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, another momentum shift occurred that helped Hope International take the lead Tennessee Wesleyan was not able to regain. The opponents went on to win the game 14-6. 

The team ends the season with a 44-18 overall record. This is the fourth straight season the team has won 40 or more games.