On the final day of the NCCAA World Series, the Oakland City baseball team was not able to wrap up their season as champions. In two close games, Southwestern Christian University pulled away with two victories, making them the NCCAA National Champions.
The first game started well for the Mighty Oaks, as they plated two runs in the top of the first. Singles from
Aron Busick and
Noah Baugher were followed by a 2-RBI double from
Fred Fernandez. The Eagles scored one on a solo homerun in the second and took the lead in the fourth inning. On seven hits, they were able to score six runs.
The Oaks were looking at a big deficit, which became bigger in the seventh inning. After this, Oakland City was down 2-10. Back-to-back homeruns from
Oliver Hamilton (2 RBI) and
Xander Willis gave the Mighty Oaks some life, but it was not quite enough. One more run was scored in the ninth, after a double from
Leyton Ivers and singles from
Aron Busick and
Fred Fernandez. The final score was 6-10, resulting in a winner take all game later that day.
In the championships game, Southwestern Christian took a 0-1 lead in the first, but Oakland City answered right away in the bottom half of the inning. A walk from
Leyton Ivers was followed by an
Aron Busick single.
Noah Baugher also walked to load up the bases. On a sacrifice fly from
Fred Fernandez, the tying run scored. With two outs in the inning,
Xander Willis singled to left field to drive in two more runs.
An inning later, the Mighty Oaks scored again. Singles from
Marcos Arocho,
Leyton Ivers and
Noah Baugher made it a 4-1 ballgame after two. The score became 5-1 in the bottom of the fourth when Baugher singled home Ivers.
The Eagles slowly fought their way back in the game, taking a 5-6 lead in the top of the eighth. Oakland City was not able to answer back, making them the runner-up team in the 2024 NCCAA World Series.
Coach Andy Lasher and his team ended the year with a 45-18 record. A new record for wins in a season was set and a lot of individual records were broken as well.
