Eagles drop heartbreaker to East Central in NJCAA World Series

ENID, Okla. – East Central's Jacob Wooten delivered a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Warriors past Wake Tech, 12–11, in the opening round of the NJCAA Division II World Series at David Allen Memorial Ballpark.

Wake Tech wasted no time getting on the board. In the first inning, Blake Russell led off with a solo home run, setting the tone early. Jackson Jones followed with a single and later scored on Colton Mayes' RBI base hit to give the Eagles a 2–0 lead.

East Central, who spent the early part of season ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA DII poll, responded in the bottom half of the inning, plating three runs to take a 3–2 lead after one.

The Eagles' offense came alive again in the second inning. A single by Brendan Fulcher and a walk to Jentz Steiner helped chase Warriors starter Landon Willis. In his second at-bat, Russell doubled to score Fulcher, and Jones added an RBI single to bring in Steiner. Blake Gaffney lifted a sacrifice fly to the warning track in center, scoring Russell, and Jake Mathis followed with an RBI single to plate Jones. The scoring continued when Fulcher was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, as Wake Tech put up five runs in the frame.

East Central answered with five runs of its own in the second inning. Mason Hickman launched a two-out solo home run, sparking a rally that included a walk, hit-by-pitch, and another free pass. The Warriors added a run on a wild pitch and two more on a double to take an 8–7 lead after two innings.

Wake Tech evened the score at 8–8 when Schultz grounded out, allowing Russell, who had reached on an error, to score.

After two scoreless innings, East Central regained the lead in the sixth on a Jackson White RBI double, and Pablo Roque later scored on a wild pitch. Ayden Sumner recorded the final two outs of the frame for the Eagles.

Wake Tech responded in the seventh. Russell led off with a single, and Jones followed with another base hit. Gaffney's sacrifice fly to left cut the deficit to 10–9. With the bases loaded, Davis Reed drew a four-pitch walk to tie the game, and Fulcher delivered an RBI single to give the Eagles an 11–10 lead.

The Warriors answered again in the bottom of the seventh, as Hickman's infield single and a throwing error allowed Ryan Nelson to score, tying the game at 11–11.

After trading blows throughout the night, Wooten's solo home run in the bottom of the ninth provided the final margin.

Russell led Wake Tech at the plate, going 3-for-6 with a double, a home run, and two RBIs. Jones finished 3-for-5, while Fulcher added two hits and two RBIs.

Christian Davis (2–2) took the loss for Wake Tech (31-23).