BRANSON, MO-- Dallas Christian College pulled off a major upset Wednesday afternoon, knocking off top-seeded Ecclesia College 5-3 in the second round of the NCCAA Central Region Tournament at Bob Smith Field to keep their postseason run alive.
The Crusaders wasted no time setting the tone, exploding for four runs in the opening inning against Ecclesia ace Josh Hinds, who entered the game with a 9-1 record. After
Nathan Fuentes drew a lead-off walk and
Gage Anderson singled,
Isaac Young delivered the biggest hit of the inning with a two-run double into the right-center gap.
Kreed Jones followed with an RBI single before
Kennedy Butler capped the rally with another run-scoring hit to give Dallas Christian an early 4-0 advantage.
Dallas Christian added an insurance run in the fourth inning when Wyatt Smith lined an RBI single to left field, extending the Crusaders' lead to 5-0. Anderson finished with two hits, while Young went 2-for-4 with two RBI's and a double. Smith also drove in a run and reached base twice as the Crusaders collected nine hits on the afternoon.
On the mound, Jonas Ledesma turned in one of his best performances of the season. The right-hander tossed a complete game, allowing just three runs on seven hits while striking out six. Ledesma kept the powerful Ecclesia lineup scoreless through six innings and worked out of multiple jams to preserve the upset victory.
Ecclesia mounted a late rally in the seventh inning, scoring three runs and bringing the tying run to the plate. Gustavo Soto highlighted the comeback attempt with a two-run double to center field, but Ledesma induced a game-ending fly-out to seal the win and send the Crusaders into the next round of the regional tournament. The Crusaders will play in the winner bracket game on Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m.
