KANSAS CITY, Mo. – There is cause to celebrate in Kansas City, but the job is not done as the Warriors stamped their ticket to the NCCAA National Championship game. Needing two wins to extend the season to Thursday, Jessup was up for the task as wins against Concordia Ann Arbor and Fort Lauderdale set up a rematch with Mission.
The opening victory against Concordia Ann Arbor was a momentous one for Jessup as it was the 200th in the career of head coach
Trevor Paine. Paine took over the program in 2019 after spending one year as an assistant coach at Jessup.
Jessup were the first ones on the board in their opening game as two scored on a
Rudy Rodriguez single, but the lead was short-lived as a run in the second was followed by four in the third to put Concordia ahead, 5-1.
The Warriors chipped away at the deficit with two runs in the fourth as
Drew Andrews singled home a run and
Dominic Ott hit a sacrifice fly. The tying run came in the seventh when
Tony Otis hit a sacrifice fly, and then Andrews gave Jessup the lead with his third hit of the game.
Right-hander
Ryan Stone earned the start and responded with four runs (three earned) across 2.1 innings.
Evan Williams was the first one out of the bullpen, and similar to his outing against Oakland City, Williams proved to be the stopgap Jessup needed.
Williams logged 4.2 innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits. He struck out seven and walked just one.
Nolan Thebiay was called on to close the door, and he responded with two shutout frames to secure the win.
That victory meant Jessup would play again on Wednesday, as next up would be Fort Lauderdale. The Eagles punched their ticket to a meeting against Jessup after handing Mission its first loss of the tournament.
The winner of the Jessup-Fort Lauderdale matchup would be off to a winner-take-all championship game on Thursday.
Jessup wasted no time getting on the board as two runs scored in the second. The Warriors continued their rally in the third with two more runs, and then in the fourth, they scored two more again to make it 6-0.
Fort Lauderdale finally put runs on the board in the sixth, but Jessup answered their two with three of their own to make it 9-2. A tenth and final run came in the eighth when
Cole Anderson launched a solo home run.
Right-hander
Hailama Swartman made his second start of the tournament and proceeded to log seven innings. Swartman allowed two runs on six hits with six strikeouts.
Caleb Markwith tossed the final two innings of the 10-2 win.
The rematch with Mission is set for Thursday at 11 a.m. (CT). It will be a one-game, winner-take-all format.
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Jessup University is a provisional member of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division II and the PacWest Conference. For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Instagram & X).
