HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The week could not have started better for the UBC Thunderbirds (37-17, 29-8) as they blew out a top-15 ranked team in the Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles (46-10, 30-6) to begin their NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round tournament.
The win is a very important one, as it sets up the T-Birds for an absolutely massive game tomorrow. If they win, then they'll book their spot in the championship round and have two chances to win the whole tournament. If they lose, then they'll need to win three more in a row to make it to the NAIA World Series.
In this one, it was Mitchell Middlemiss who was the star as the fourth-year player notched five hits, four RBI and two runs scored in a virtuoso performance. Trent Lenihan, Jonny McGill and Kaden Zarowny also all had multiple hits as the T-Birds' veterans stepped up in a big way.
Will Anderson earned the win on the mound by giving up just two runs in 5.2 innings of work, while James Brock was excellent in relief – pitching the final 3.1 innings and allowing just a single hit.
The Eagles' ace Evan Foor struggled on the mound to begin the day, hitting two batters and giving up a pair of hits to kickstart the 'Birds who jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening inning.
With a runner on first Lenihan had the first big swing of the day as he hit a double down the left field line. After Aaron Marsh brought home the first run of the day with an RBI groundout and Kyle Yip was hit by a pitch, Middlemiss then cleared the bases with a stand-up triple to make it 3-0. He proceeded to score on a passed ball that went straight through the catcher's legs, capitalizing on another early miscue from the Eagles.
That was all the scoring for the first five innings, as Foor settled into a groove and Anderson was pitching well early for the T-Birds. There was a nervy spot in the bottom of the fourth when Oklahoma Wesleyan loaded the bases with just one out, but Anderson managed to induce a fly out too short to score a run before striking out the next batter to escape the jam.
The Eagles again got runners on second and third the following inning, but Aidan Rose this time played hero as the second baseman made a nifty back-handed grab on a grounder that he flung to first to grab the final out of the frame.
UBC then got some more offensive pressure in the sixth, with a pair of singles followed by a sacrifice bunt and a walk to load the bases for Zarowny. The Alberta native promptly placed a single to left that scored two more Thunderbird runs.
Desperate to get themselves back into things, the Eagles finally broke through in the bottom half of the sixth with a two-RBI single from Edinson Renteria. Brock closed out the inning in relief, as the count of runners in scoring position left on base by Oklahoma Wesleyan rose to seven.
Middlemiss made it seven runs on the board in the seventh for UBC with a double for his third RBI of the day. The Eagles got another back with a solo homer from Connor Hickey but the gap remained at four runs heading into the final two innings.
McGill and Middlemiss added the cherries on top in the ninth, with the former hitting a leadoff home run and the latter smacking another RBI double to record his first career five-hit game.
The Thunderbirds will next face the IU Southeast Grenadiers. That game will begin at 4:00 p.m. (PT) on Tuesday.