Falcons Baseball Eliminates Ecclesia at NCCAA World Series

The Kansas Christian College baseball team earned an 8-7 win over the #3 seed Ecclesia at the NCCAA World Series last week. The win registered as the fifth straight year that the Falcons have won at least one game at the World Series. 

Nate Boen took the mound for the Falcons in their first elimintation game against Ecclesia. Kansas Christian dropped their first game of the tournament to Toccoa Falls College out of Georgia to put them in the elimination bracket. Ecclesia gave the Falcons a more familiar foe as the two teams faced off three times earlier in the year and play in the Central Southwest Conference. Boen would wiggle out of three bases loaded jams and gave the Falcons five innings allowing just two runs.

After sending the minimum number of batters to the plate in the first four innings, Dorian Arraiz broke up the no hitter and shut out with an inside the park home run to ignite the Falcons' offense. Kansas Christian went on to score five more runs in the inning. With 2 outs, Denzel Rincon walked then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Connor Taylor then singled to short stop to continue the inning. Taylor then stole second before Dustin Rector entered to pinch hit and lined a ball through the shortstop. Rincon and Taylor would score. Jake Galloway singled to center to give the Falcons runners on first and second then TJ Bratton laid down a bunt for a base hit down the third base line. Ecclesia made a pitching change, but it wouldn't matter as Drew Lippold lined a three RBI double into right center to give the Falcons a 6-1 lead. 

Ecclesia scored three runs between the sixth and seventh innings but a sacrifice fly from Dorian Arraiz scored Galloway in the bottom of the seventh and the Falcons manufactured another run on a double steal play that led to Drew Lippold scoring before William Ashley was tagged out to ened the inning. Two more Ecclesia runs in the eighth inning made the score 8-7 but Corbin Sprague would close the game out on the mound with a strikeout in the ninth. 

The Falcons advanced to the nightcap game against Nelson American Indian College where they would fall 11-7 in a valiant effort after getting behind in early on 7-0 in the first inning. Dorian Arraiz homered and doubled in the game and would be named on the NCCAA Baseball World Series All-Tournament Team.