TWU Scores Baseball Tournament Title in 10-Inning Thriller

KINGSPORT, Tenn. - It was a meeting of the conference's top two seeded teams, and the matchup did not disappoint as No. 2 seed Tennessee Wesleyan pulled out a 5-4, 10-inning decision over No. 1 seed Reinhardt to win the 2024 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Baseball Tournament Championship on Sunday.

The tournament was held at Hunter Wright Stadium in Kingsport, Tenn.

Early on, it was a real pitchers' duel between Tennessee Wesleyan's Jake Sergent and Reinhardt's Cobey Allison as the game was scoreless through the first five innings.

Tennessee Wesleyan broke the deadlock in the sixth when Jack Stevens scored on a Marco Martinez sac fly. Reinhardt answered quickly as Jarrett Burney blasted a solo home run over the left-field fence in the bottom of the inning.

The Bulldogs appeared to be pulling away as it built a 4-1 advantage. Carson Ford lofted a two-run home run over the right-field wall in the seventh, and Corbin Shaw doubled in Kruise Newman in the eighth for the three-run lead.

Reinhardt, yet again, had an answer as Dylan Lewis belted a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth to even the ledger.

After a scoreless ninth, Evan Magill led off the 10th with a walk. Two batters later, he moved over to third on a Newman single before scoring on a Shaw sac fly. Reinhardt has the right part of the lineup to come up in the bottom of the frame, but Christian Delaschmit sat the Eagles down in order to lock down the tournament crown for the Bulldogs.

Newman was named the Tournament MVP. Joining him on the All-Tournament Team were Martinez, Gage Vailes, and Blake Peyton of Tennessee Wesleyan; Tucker Zdunich, Andrew Herbert, and Matty Maurer of Reinhardt; Tommy Ramos and Jeff Cardazzone of Montreat; Caleb Berry and Vince LaConte of Milligan; and Ernesto Moreno of Union.

Both Tennessee Wesleyan and Reinhardt receive automatic berths to the NAIA National Championship Tournament. The NAIA Baseball Selection Show is set for Thursday, May 9, at 5 p.m. ET.

Tournament Schedule
Tuesday, April 30
Game 1 - No. 10 Union (19-27) def. No. 7 Johnson (24-21), 8-6 (box) - Johnson eliminated
Game 2 - No. 9 Bluefield (21-22) def. No. 8 St. Andrews (27-21), 7-3 (box) - St. Andrews eliminated

Wednesday, May 1
Game 3 - No. 4 Milligan (31-18) def. No. 5 Bryan (25-21), 10-3 (box)
Game 4 - No. 6 Montreat (27-23-1) vs. No. 3 Pikeville (30-18), 9-7 (box)
Game 5 - No. 2 Tennessee Wesleyan (34-15) def. No. 10 Union (19-28), 3-1 (box)
Game 6 - No. 1 Reinhardt (36-14) def. No. 9 Bluefield (21-23), 8-6 (12 innings) (box)

Thursday, May 2
Game 7 - No. 10 Union (20-28) def. No. 3 Pikeville (30-19), 15-3 (7 innings) (box) - Pikeville eliminated
Game 8 - No. 5 Bryan (26-21) def. No. 9 Bluefield (21-24), 10-6 (box) - Bluefield eliminated
Game 9 - No. 2 Tennessee Wesleyan (35-15) def. No. 6 Montreat (27-24-1), 13-0 (7 innings) (box)
Game 10 - No. 1 Reinhardt (37-14) def. No. 4 Milligan (31-19), 5-2 (box)

Friday, May 3
Game 11 - No. 6 Montreat (28-24-1) def. No. 10 Union (20-29), 9-8 (box) - Union eliminated
Game 12 - No. 4 Milligan (32-19) def. No. 5 Bryan (26-22), 6-3 (box) - Bryan eliminated
Game 13 - No. 6 Montreat (29-24-1) def. No. 2 Tennessee Wesleyan (35-16), 6-5 (box)
Game 14 - No. 4 Milligan (33-19) def. No. 1 Reinhardt (37-15), 7-3 (box)

Saturday, May 4
Game 15 - No. 2 Tennessee Wesleyan (36-16) vs. No. 6 Montreat (29-25-1), 7-2 (box) - Montreat eliminated
Game 16 - No. 1 Reinhardt (38-15) def. No. 4 Milligan (33-20), 9-8 (box) - Milligan eliminated

Sunday, May 5
Game 17 - Championship Game - No. 2 Tennessee Wesleyan (37-16) def. No. 1 Reinhardt (38-16), 5-4 (10 innings) (box) - Tennessee Wesleyan win the championship