Joplin, Mo. – The top two-seeded teams advanced to the championship game of the 2026 Sooner Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament presented by Netting Pros/STADIONIC on Saturday afternoon at Joe Becker Ballpark in Joplin, Mo., as Texas Wesleyan and Mid-America Christian moved on to the final day of the tournament.
No. 1 Texas Wesleyan 14, No. 2 Mid-America Christian 5
The top-seeded Rams scattered 16 hits, five of them for extra bases, to advance to the title game on Sunday with a 15-4 victory over Mid-America Christian to begin action on Saturday afternoon.
Texas Wesleyan grabbed a 5-4 advantage after four innings as Jack Erickson hit a two-run blast in the bottom of the first with Endi Jaquez adding a solo shot in the third to give the Rams a 5-3 lead. Elijah Lee cut the lead to 5-4 in the fourth with a home run to right field. Texas Wesleyan’s offense erupted in the sixth frame, scoring nine runs as they sent 12 batters to the plate. Jose Rangel highlighted the inning with a grand slam to right center to give the Rams a 14-5 advantage. Rey Rivera, Jr., closed out the victory with a perfect ninth inning as Texas Wesleyan advanced to the championship contest.
Jose Rangel led the Rams’ attack with four hits and four runs driven in, while Johnathan Pena chipped in with three hits and three RBIs with two runs scored. Michael Pelosi picked up the win on the mound with three strikeouts.
Lee and Sammy Hallada paced the Evangels’ offense with three hits apiece while Lee drove in two runs in the contest.
No. 2 Mid-America Christian 4, No. 5 Nelson 2 (Nelson Eliminated)
Fabian Hernandez delivered an outstanding pitching performance while Mid-America Christian had 10 hits to shave off elimination with a 4-2 victory over Nelson.
Nelson grabbed an early lead in the home half of the first as Odnal Rivera scored on a fielding error to take a 1-0 advantage, but the Evangels answered in the top of the second as Lee singled to center to score Dyason Kinnaman to even the score at 1-1. The Lions regained the lead in the third as Joshua Pinter blasted a home run over the right field fence to give Nelson the lead at 2-1. The score stayed that way until the top of the sixth, when Lee slashed a two-run double into the gap in right center to give MACU a 3-2 edge. The Evangels added an insurance run in the eighth as Jalen King had an RBI single to put MACU ahead 4-2.
Lee, King, and Tuane Cope all had a pair of hits in the contest, while Lee drove in three runs to pace the Evangels’ offence. Hernandez was outstanding on the mound as he tossed a complete game two-hitter with 12 strikeouts to propel MACU into the title game. Pinter and Drew Ortiz each had hits in the game as the Lions finished with an overall record of 36-18.
The championship game will take place on Sunday with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. If Mid-America Christian wins the game, a winner-take-all contest will start 45 minutes upon completion of the opening contest.