ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Leadoff man Braden Odom hit for the cycle, including the go-ahead RBI triple, as No. 2 seed Trevecca Nazarene completed a memorable journey through the NCAA Championship bracket of the Midwest Regional to advance to the Division II World Series in Cary, N.C.
Two games were played between the Great Midwest Athletic Conference champion Trojans and No. 4 seed Davenport out of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) during a day with a roller coaster of emotions at the Lou Brocket Complex on Lindenwood’s campus.
Trevecca toppled Davenport in the winner-take-all ‘if necessary’ game by a final score of 11-9 after the Panthers had the slight upper hand to start Sunday’s championship series with a 6-2 win.
The Trojans have perfected their form on the dogpile in front of the pitcher’s mound, doing so not long ago at PRASCO Park with a Great Midwest tournament title.
Head coach Chase Sain had a cold cooler of water dumped on him before the team accepted the Midwest Region trophy from NCAA site rep and Maryville coach Pat Evers out at home plate.
This time, the dogpile carried more historical significance as the Trojans became first-ever baseball program in Great Midwest history to carry the banner as a regional champion. Six different region champions were determined on Sunday and two more will be finalized on Monday to comprise the World Series field.
TNU is one of those eight regional champions in the Division II field that will be reseeded for the Division II World Series on May 5-12 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex hosted by the University of Mount Olive.
Fireballing closer Jay Benard slowed down a turbulent offensive tide for the Panthers, who scored in five consecutive innings, by recording the final seven outs for the Trojans in relief fashion.
Odom singled in his first at-bat, hit a ground-rule double in the second inning, belted a two-run homer in the third inning and completed the statistical feat by legging out a triple in the eighth inning.
Odom plated teammate David Milam, which snapped a 9-9 tie. Ethan Harrison added an RBI infield single during the eighth frame as well, giving the Trojans a two-run lead in the late stages.
Odom was 4-for-5 with four runs scored and 4 RBI. Third baseman Joseph McNamee was 3-for-5 with two RBI and a double while Harrison was 2-for-4 and Milam scored three times while drawing a pair of walks.
Benard got the final out of the seventh inning before inducing weak contact on a pair of infield popups and struck out Tyler Harvey, who had a hit in seven consecutive plate appearances before facing Benard. In the ninth inning, Benard retired the side in order again with three different outs in the air.
The Trojans were in cruise control early, taking a 9-3 lead by the end of three innings. But Davenport had plenty of fight left, including a three-run sixth inning, and would finish with 16 hits.
Pitching was at a premium with both rosters cashed out making their way through the double-elimination bracket. At the start of the day, it was TNU who was unbeaten, but Davenport staved off elimination from a quality start by RHP Duncan Gillett. In game two, the Panthers sent out six different pitchers and the Trojans used five different arms in a strategic chess matchup.
The Trojans will go into their first Division II World Series appearance with a 36-11 record.