By Gabe Katz
The Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs baseball team, ranked #1 in the NAIA preseason poll, backed up their ranking with a dominant performance at the coveted East/West Challenge in Lakeland, Florida, finishing 3-1 for the weekend. This tournament is a battle between the best of the best in NAIA baseball. The Bulldogs knew that “they were going to play really tough teams” but they were “all really excited because we have a really good group of guys and a great coaching staff” according to Senior IF transfer Nick Collins.
TWU 9 – British Columbia 6
Tennessee Wesleyan opened their season January twenty-ninth against the #24 ranked University of British Columbia, a game that saw the Bulldogs defeat the Thunderbirds 9-6. Kolton Reynolds came up clutch in the bottom of the third inning with a bases loaded, 2-RBI single that paved way for a 4-run inning for the Bulldogs. Timely hitting from the team across the board, including six players with an RBI, as well as quality pitching from Cameron Goffar and Daniel Davila saw the Bulldogs move to 1-0.
TWU 4 – Arizona Christian 3
The challenge didn’t stop their, as this win meant a dance with the #10 ranked Arizona Christian University the following day. This was as close a contest as you could hope for, each team registering 8 hits and an error. The difference was that Tennessee Wesleyan had Daniel Stewart and Arizona Christian did not. Stewart was responsible for the bringing in of all four runs that the Bulldogs tacked on the board. A double in the first inning, a two-run triple in the second inning, and a solo, eventual game-winning, home run in the sixth inning capped off a stellar day for Stewart. Apart from a three-run bottom of the seventh for the Firestorm, pitching was quality once again for Tennessee Wesleyan. Daniel Batcher finished with six strikeouts and the win, while Daniel Davila was credited with his second save in as many games. The Bulldogs moved to 2-0 with this result and booked themselves a spot in the championship game against the #2 ranked Hope International.
TWU 5 – Hope International 4
A team that the Bulldogs know all too well, the Hope International University Royals topped the Bulldogs just months ago in the 2024 NAIA World Series Championship. The rematch was nothing short of what we expected between two teams of this caliber. Although not taking part in last year’s showdown with Hope International, Collins felt like “hearing all the stories, there was a feeling in the air right before we played that was super competitive”. It was an evenly matched affair the whole way through. The Bulldogs scored three runs in the first three innings and carried a 3-1 lead into the sixth inning before the Royals drew level in the top half of the inning. The Bulldogs’ response was swift as a pair of RBI singles from Devin Dixon and Edwin Toribio restored the Bulldogs’ two-run advantage. The Royals made it interesting in the ninth inning with a run that halved the deficit, but the Bulldogs’ bullpen did enough to secure the victory. Christian Delashmit was credited with the win out of the bullpen. In a rematch that lived up to the hype, Toribio and Daniel Stewart drove in two runs apiece for the Bulldogs, Justin Jackson had seven strikeouts, and the Bulldogs took home their third straight ranked win to start the 2025 campaign.
Interview by Dakota Caldwell
Editorial Assistance by Noah Lones
The Bulldog Beat 