Arlington Baptist University Wins Second Straight NCCAA DII Baseball Invitational Title

2/21/2026 3:49:19 PM

Fort Worth, TX – For the second year in a row, top-seeded Arlington Baptist University (ABU) finished 4-0 and took home their second straight NCCAA DII Baseball Invitational championship, knocking off Champion Christian College 14-9 on Saturday, February 21.
 
Highlights
  • Arlington Baptist started the scoring early, as a pair of singles and a bases loaded walk brought home Kevin Rios in the bottom of the first inning to put the Patriots ahead 1-0. The Patriots added to their tally later in the frame thanks to a sac fly from Cannon Harper scored D’Angelo Williams to push ABU ahead 2-0.
  • Champion Christian cut into the lead in the top of the third, loading the bases with a pair of hits before an ABU error scored Riley Burge to put the Tigers down just 2-1.
  • ABU responded emphatically in the bottom half of the third frame, as a double from Jaxson Evans and a Tiger error scored Joseph Galindo and Harper to put the Patriots up 4-1. Evans would score later in the inning off a bloop single from Ernest Escamilla, and Arlington Baptist went ahead 5-1.
  • The Tigers again took advantage of ABU miscues in the top of the fourth inning, as an error allowed Blake Richardson to score, and a sac fly from Andon Dupre scored Jerimiah Sampson and cut the Champion Christian deficit to 5-3.
  • After reaching on an error and stealing third, Rios added to ABU’s lead in the bottom of the fourth, scoring on a wild pitch. A ground ball from Harper scored Nathan Duvall, and an RBI single from Galindo brought home Canton Golson to swell the Arlington Baptist lead back to 8-3.
  • Champion Christian College took their first lead in the top of the sixth inning, as another Patriot error allowed Richardson to score, while a Dupre single scored Sampson to make it an 8-5 ballgame. Caden Shryock brought home another with an RBI single to score Burge, and the Tigers leaped ahead 9-8 after a bases clearing single from JT Maharrey.
  • Arlington Baptist retook the lead with authority in the bottom of the sixth inning, as JP Mendoza brought Duvall home with an RBI triple, and then scored himself on an error by Champion Christian to put the Patriots on top 10-9.
  • It was Arlington Baptist who took advantage of Champion Christian miscues in the bottom of the seventh inning, as a Hector Cavazos double scored Rios and JJ Martinez to push the Pats advantage to 12-9. A Tiger error scored Williams, and ABU went on top 13-9.
  • Arlington Baptist took advantage of one more Champion Christian College error, adding a run in the eighth inning to clinch their second straight NCCAA DII Baseball Invitational title with a 14-9 win.
 
Arlington Baptist opened their path to a second straight blue banner on Thursday, February 19, with an 8-2 win over #4 Randall University. Corbyn Torti threw a complete game for the Patriots, striking out five batters and picking off two runners at first as ABU scored eight unanswered runs to earn the win.
 
On Wednesday, February 20, the pitching shined again for Arlington Baptist, as in the first matchup against #3 Champion Christian saw Keller Hensley throw 106 pitches and allow just one earn run while tossing nine strikeouts as the Patriots held on for the 4-3 win. Joseph Galindo also had a two-RBI single in the win for the Pats.
 
The Patriots completed the perfect pool play record later in the day, rolling to a 10-4 win over #2 Trinity College of Jacksonville in a rematch of last year’s title game. After going down 3-0 heading to the bottom of the fourth, ABU tied the game with a trio of runs in the frame thanks to a two-RBI single from Kevin Rios. Arlington Baptist took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth, taking advantage of a pair of TCJ errors and a two-RBI single for Jacob Martinez to earn the 10-4 win.
 
Corbyn Torti of Arlington Baptist University was named the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. A full list of the All-Tournament Team can be found here.
 
About the NCCAA
Established in 1968, the National Christian College Athletic Association uses intercollegiate athletics to further the Great Commission and is committed to equipping student-athletes and coaches to make a positive impact for Christ. The NCCAA currently holds 23 national championship events, along with one national invitational for 88 member schools across 28 states and two Canadian provinces. For more information on the NCCAA, visit our website, thenccaa.org, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram at @thenccaa