(Kansas City, MO) – The Concordia Cardinals baseball team is one of the final four teams at the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) World Series. After falling in their first game last Saturday, the Cardinals responded with a pair of 6-5 wins today over #8 Judson University and #1 Oakland City University. Concordia will face off against #4 Jessup on Wednesday, with first pitch slated for 12 PM ET. If the Cardinals win against Jessup, they would then face the winner of Fort Lauderdale and Mission. 

The tournament features 10 teams from across the country and the teams have to battle through a double-elimination bracket to become the champions. 

Game Information

#2 Concordia Cardinals vs. #4 Jessup University | May 21 | 12 PM ET | McGuff Field

Live Video ($) | Live Stats | Updated Bracket

HOW THE JESSUP WARRIORS GOT HERE

The Jessup University Warriors entered the tournament as the West Region Representative, sporting a 33-20 overall record, earning them the #4 seed. 

In their first game at the NCCAA World Series the Warriors evoked the mercy rule against #5 Campbellsville with a 15-2 win. Campbellsville jumped out to an early 2-0 lead over the Warriors in the first inning, but Jessup exploded for 15 unanswered runs, including 6 in the third and fifth innings. Cody Antone and Nick Poss both drove in four runs, while Hailama Swartman threw six innings in the win. 

Jessup walked off the top-seeded Oakland City on Monday, with Dominic Ott knocking the first pitch of the bottom of the 9th inning out of the park for the 3-2 win. The Warriors took a lead in the game from the onset, as Nick Poss hit a 2-run homer in the first inning, but then coughed up a pair of runs to the Mighty Oaks in the middle innings. Ott played the hero in the end, giving Evan Williams the win, who followed up six solid innings from Diego Chavez. 

On Tuesday, the two remaining undefeated teams squared off, and Mission got the upper hand over the Warriors from the jump. The Patriots knocked Loren Iwata out of the game after giving up 5 runs through 4 innings pitched to send Jessup to the consolation side of the bracket. 

The Warriors are coached by Trevor Paine who is currently in his seventh year with Jessup and has a record of 199-126-1.

HOW THE FORT LAUDERDALE EAGLES GOT HERE

The University of Fort Lauderdale Eagles are the South Regional Champion and have a 40-14 overall record on the season which earned them the #3 seed. 

In their first game of the World Series the Eagles defeated #6 Southwestern Christian in a closely contested 10-9 victory. Fort Lauderdale used a 5-run second inning to come back from an early deficit, but required a 2-RBI single from Wilbert Javier-Vargas and walk-off double from Rolando Lujo to win the game. 

The Eagles were blanked by Mission in their second game at the World Series, 5-0. Samuel Tejada opened the game on the mound for the Eagles, but was tagged with the loss after giving up one run to the Patriots in two innings. Fort Lauderdale stranded 13 runners in the game, failing to score any of their baserunners in the loss. 

On Tuesday, the Eagles defeated Arlington Baptist 6-2. Payton Casey pitched five innings of two-run ball and was followed up by Demetrius Vizcarra and Gabriel Rangel who kept the Patriots scoreless for the remainder of the game to secure the win. At the plate, Jordan Lewis singled a run home and Rolando Lujo had a bases clearing double in the fifth inning to score the bulk of the runs for the Eagles. 

Fort Lauderdale is led by Billy Glessner who is in his 4th year as the head coach for the Eagles. Glessner has an overall record of 148-80. 

HOW THE MISSION PATRIOTS GOT HERE

The Mission University Patriots enter the tournament as an at-large bid and enter the game with a 38-20 overall record and are the only undefeated team remaining as they are 4-0. 

The Patriots first game of the tournament saw them take on #10 Arlington Baptist University. Following teams trading runs in the first and second innings, Mission finished the game by scoring the last four runs over the final six innings, including a three-run sixth inning. Tate Wheeler led the offense with a pair of RBIs on one hit, while Brennan Montgomery, Dylan Blehm, and Grant Merryman each added an RBI. 

Mission's second game of the World Series saw them mount a comeback against CUAA scoring the final eight runs of the game, including four in both the sixth and the ninth inning. Dylan Blehm was once again a top hitter, recording three RBIs, including a 2-run single in the ninth. Trey Mulholland, Sam Golden, and Carter Vienhage each added a RBI. 

Fort Lauderdale was the third victim of the Patriots tournament run, as Mission controlled the game from the first pitch. After play picked back up on Tuesday, following suspended play on Monday due to weather, Mission scored four more runs to pick up the 5-0 win. Trey Mulholland was once again in the RBI column with a two and recording three hits. Sam Golden and Collin Miser also added three hits with an RBI in the win. 

The Patriots most recent game featured them pitching their second straight shutout against Jessup. Trey Mulholland picked up his fifth RBI of the tournament with a home run in the fifth and Landon Richards and Collin Miser also added two hits in the game. Richards tallied two RBIs. 

The Patriots are coached by Randy Merryman who has been with Mission University since 2021 and has a record of 117-108.

CUAA'S PREVIOUS GAMES

Concordia played a pair of games on Tuesday which saw the Cardinals leave with a pair of 6-5 wins. The first game saw CUAA take on the eighth-seeded Judson Eagles. 

Logan Morris (5-2) took the mound to start the game and gave the Cardinals a strong six innings of work where he allowed one run on three hits. Kenneth (Dave) Rozmys pitched two innings allowing one run with two strikeouts. Blake Weaver and Dylan Kints closed out the final inning as Weaver recorded two outs and Kints one. Weaver allowed three runs on one hit with a strikeout, while Kints was able to get a one-pitch popup to earn his first save of the year. 

The Cardinal offense came off the bat of Logan Hylek, who recorded four hits and four RBIs, while Tyler Lawson tallied a trio of hits, and Justin Kozlowski scored twice. The Cardinals were running free on the Eagles catcher with nine stolen bases in the game. Hylek led the way with four while Jake Kuhlman recorded three, Gus Simon and Kozlowski each had one. 

The second game of the day had the Cardinals take on the top-seeded Oakland City Mighty Oaks. The Cardinals were once again aided by a strong start from Drew Murphy who pitched six innings. Murphy allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits. Trey Acker came in to pitch in the seventh inning and finished the game on the mound. He allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out six batters. 

Game 2's offense was once again provided by Logan Hylek with three RBIs, while Derek Hebner was able to record one RBI. Justin Kozlowski, Jake Kuhlman, and Gus Simon each scored twice. 

2025 NCCAA World Series Schedule

*Lower seed will play in Game 17 and higher seed will play in Game 16. Higher seed is defined as team with a seed value closer to one.

**Loser Game 17 if WG13 loses G17. Loser Game 18 if WG13 wins G17 and loses G18.