KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2025 NAIA Baseball Championship began with 20 games, Monday, as weather redirected six games into Tuesday and altered schedules at six sites.

To follow all 10 sites, visit the 2025 NAIA Baseball Opening Round Schedule, at NAIA.org.

Record by seed:
1: 5-1
2: 4-4
3: 4-4
4: 6-6
5: 1-5

Hattiesburg Bracket
British Columbia pulled off the day’s first upset, scoring four runs in the top of the first and never looking back, beating Oklahoma Wesleyan 9-3. Mitchell Middlemiss drove in four runs in the game, going 5-for-5 with three extra-base hits, including a two-run first-inning triple. In game two, IU Southeast (Ind.) recorded the day’s only No. 4 over No. 1 upset, scoring five runs in the second and three in the sixth to beat William Carey (Miss.), 10-6. Nolan Bowser was part of IU Southeast’s big second inning, roping a bases-loaded double to right center to take a 3-1 lead.

Kingsport Bracket
Just one game completed in Kingsport, as Indiana Tech sent Louisiana Christian to the elimination bracket, 8-2, scoring all eight runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Brycen Hannah was 3-for-5, including a run-scoring double – one of four in the Warriors’ big inning.

Lakeland Bracket
Lakeland also saw just one game, as Briar Cliff (Iowa) scored four in the top of the ninth to split a 4-4 tie, earning the only win of the day by a No. 5 seed. The Chargers led early, with three in the first and another in the fifth, but Abraham Baldwin (Ga.) knotted the game, scoring all four of its runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. An error set the stage for the top of the ninth, and Rance Bryant delivered BCU an 8-4 win with a two-run double, later scoring as part of the four-run ninth.

Lawrenceville Bracket
Talladega (Ala.) earned one of the day’s two run-rule victories to begin play in Georgia, beating Saint Xavier (Ill.) 13-2 in seven innings. As advertised, Talladega – the second-leading base-stealing team in the NAIA – swiped eight bases. Miguel Oropeza and Darin Fernandez each had three hits, and Oropeza drove in four runs, including a three-run home run. Oropeza also recorded his 300th career hit in the win.

Also in Lawrenceville, Keiser (Fla.) walked off on Houston-Victoria (Texas), using two singles plating a pair in the ninth. Dylan Symonds delivered the second run-scoring single, as the Seahawks got by the Jaguars despite falling behind early. Keiser did score four in the fourth, including Symonds’ three-run double, but UHV took the lead back, scoring in every inning from the fifth inning on before Symonds’ walk-off heroics for KU. 

Lewiston Bracket
A battle of first-time qualifiers began the opening round site at Harris Field, which will host the NAIA World Series in 11 days, as Oregon Tech beat Dickinson State (N.D.), 4-2, scratching out the go-ahead run in the fourth and an insurance run in the eighth. First baseman Garrett Smith provided the highlight for the Hustlin’ Owls, belting a solo home run to left center, while CCC Pitcher of the Year Tim Williams went eight innings with four strikeouts to get the win for OIT. Oregon Tech fell in the late game, to top-seed Hope International, 3-2. The Royals had 13 hits, including 3-for-4 from Amari Bartee, and on the mound, Trey Seeley struck out 15 in a complete game, giving up four hits.

Site host Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) left no doubt in its opener, upending the bracket’s second seed, Wayland Baptist (Texas), 9-1. Warrior pitchers limited Wayland Baptist to only three hits, one off the bat of Sinclair Pimentel, a second-inning solo home run. The Warriors hit a pair of homers to put the game away, and Evan Canfield had seven of the Warriors’ 13 strikeouts in the win.

Lincoln Bracket
Seeds held in Nebraska, beginning with a dominant performance from Indiana Wesleyan’s Brock Buckley, tossing a one-hit shutout against Mount Mercy (Iowa) to win the opening game in the bracket, 3-0. The Wildcats would go into the loss column in the evening game, falling 5-4 to Webber International (Fla.) despite a four-run fifth inning that earned a momentary 4-1 lead. Webber added runs in the fifth and sixth, and in the seventh, Brandon Sanchez hit the second of back-to-back run-scoring singles to go in front.

In the middle game, Concordia (Neb.) also won 5-4 despite falling behind early to Science and Arts (Okla.), as the Drovers put up three in the third to go up 3-1. CUNE matched the three-run inning in the fourth, later taking the lead on a two-run double by Bronx Lewis and a run-scoring single from Cade Vanis.  

Shreveport Bracket
Ryan Wilwers opened Shreveport with a three-hit complete game on the mound, striking out nine as Ottawa (Kan.) shutout SUNO (La.), 6-0. The Braves scored single runs in the third, fourth, sixth and eighth, and Jesus Rodriguez lined a two-run double in the seventh to secure the win for OU. Ottawa couldn’t stop history, though, as LSU Shreveport used the night-cap to improve to 52-0, the best record in the history of college baseball. The Pilots beat the Braves 5-2, scoring four times in the bottom of the first, including a two-run triple in the inning from Jackson Syring.

In the middle game, Johnson (Tenn.) cracked a 2-all tie in the fifth inning with seven runs, and despite Noel McGarry-Doyle’s three-run homer for MACU in the bottom of the fifth, the Royals scored five more times, including a ninth-inning three-run homer from Bryson Shown, who ended the game 4-for-5 with six RBIs and a pair of runs.

Upland Bracket
Kansas Wesleyan upset Bellevue (Neb.) in Indiana, coming from behind to beat the Bruins 6-4. The Coyotes hit three home runs late, as Blake Dale homered in the seventh, followed by a pair of two-run home runs in the eighth from Garrett Garfield and Carter Allen.

Later, Taylor (Ind.) defended its home field with a 13-3 win in seven innings over Grand View (Iowa), scoring three in the fourth and five in the fifth to break open what was, at the time, a 3-2 game. The Trojans piled up 17 hits, including a 4-for-5 day from Brayden Manning, who drove in five runs. Mason David scored four runs for Taylor, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs.

Waleska Bracket
Loyola (La.) needed late runs to come from behind, beating Oakland City (Ind.), 7-4. Moises Rosario hit a three-run home run in the top of the first to give Oakland City a 3-0 lead, but the Mighty Oaks couldn’t hang on, as Loyola scored two in the third and three in the sixth before putting the game away in the eighth on Brandon Mooney’s two-run home run. Mooney had also driven in a run in the sixth with a single, finishing 3-for-4 with four RBIs.

Reinhardt (Ga.), the host in Waleska, scored a dozen runs to beat Ave Maria (Fla.), 12-5, getting a 4-for-5, two-RBI day out of Robert Phelps, and a pair of three-hit outings from Adrian Vargas and Louis Dion – Dion adding three RBIs.

Williamsburg Bracket
One game in Williamsburg, as host and home-standing Cumberlands (Ky.) walked off in the bottom of the 10th to beat MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), 8-7. The Patriots survived a pair of late three-run innings from the Pioneers, and Trent Prokes provided the extra-innings heroics, singling to center field to end the game.