Baseball Ends Season with Two Losses in NAIA Opening Round

WILLIAMSBURG, KY - After rain caused havoc on the first day of the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round, UNOH baseball ended up having to play twice on Tuesday losing both but in dramatically different ways to end the 2025 season.

Game one saw the Racers run into a offensive juggarnaut in No. 16 Missouri Baptist and they couldn't keep pace falling 12-2 in seven innings. The loss pushed UNOH into the losers bracket of the pod where they met up with (RV) MidAmerica Nazarene in an elimination game pushed back to 8:00 PM EST again because of inclement weather. Momentum swung violently throughout the game and the Racers had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth, but the Pioneers fended off the threat to steal the game in the tenth 10-9.

UNOH fell behind 6-0 after just two innings against Missouri Baptist and could never dig out of the hole. A two-run homer from Devon Tukes produced the only offense of the game for the Racers in the fourth with the Spartans adding one in the fourth, four in the fifth, and the game winning run in the home seventh.

Despite the loss, Joskar Feliciano had a strong performance at the dish going 3-4 and Jacob Watson finished 2-3 as the only two Racers with multiple hits.

Will Myklebust (4-2) took the loss after just and inning and two thirds allowing five runs on four hits with two walks. Jeremy Yurcak, Josh Mauney, Nick Soller, Zach Cabell and Aiden Nugent all took the mound in relief combining for the final four and a third innings.

UNOH fell behind early again in their second game of the day trailing 2-0 after three and a half innings. The Racers finally found some consistency on the offensive side scoring one in the fourth, two in the fifth and three in the sixth to lead 6-3 after six. MidAmerica Nazarene got one back in the seventh but continued to trail entering the final scheduled frame. A walk and a single put runners on for the Pioneers and they finished their at bat with a three-run shot with two outs that squeaked past the right field foul pole and put them on top 7-6. UNOH kept themselves alive in the bottom of the ninth linking three straight singles to score the tying run and force an extra frame. MidAmerica Nazarene loaded the bags and came through with a bases-clearing double that put them back on top 10-7. With just three outs between them and elimination, the Racers had to find a way to keep the game alive and got their half of the inning started with a lead off solo home run from Joskar Feliciano. A double and a sac fly added a second and cut the lead to one, but the tying run was held off by the Pioneers ending UNOH's season with a 10-9 loss in ten innings.

Joskar Feliciano produced again offensively going 3-5 with four RBI to end the day 6-9 at the plate. Devon Tukes also record three hits with Fabian Romero and Eric Brown going 2-4 and 2-5, respectively.

Daniel Healy went five and two-thirds innings off the start allowing three runs on four hits with six strikeouts and three walks. Jeremy Yurcak, Dean Sommer and Eliott Traver combined in relief to allow four runs on five hits. Brayden Lybarger (7-4) took the loss with three runs allowed, two earned, on two hits with one walk and one strikeout.