Kansas City, MO - After a thrilling victory the night before, the Judson Eagles found themselves as one of the final two teams remaining on Championship Wednesday at the NCCAA World Series. Looking to avenge their lone loss of the tournament, Judson needed to defeat Southwestern Christian twice in order to be crowned 2026 champions.

However, the quest came up just short on Wednesday afternoon, but the season will forever be remembered as one of the best in program history as the Judson Eagles finished as the 2026 NCCAA National Runner-Up following a 5-3 loss to Southwestern Christian in the NCCAA World Series Championship Final.

Incredibly, the Eagles were down two of their key starting pitchers entering the tournament, and still found ways to reach the final day. 

After battling through the bracket to reach the title game, the Eagles found themselves in an early hole as Southwestern Christian erupted for five runs in the opening inning on six hits. The big inning gave Southwestern a quick advantage that proved difficult to overcome. It also would be the only inning in which Southwestern scored. 

As they have done time and time again, Judson responded immediately in the top of the second inning. Matt Armstrong opened the frame with a single before Alex Wickett reached after being hit by a pitch. After a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, Carson Hubert delivered one of the biggest hits of the afternoon with a two-run double to left center, cutting the deficit to 5-2.

The Eagles continued to battle throughout the afternoon, putting pressure on Southwestern Christian in multiple innings. Allan Navarro doubled in the third, Alijah Acevedo collected a pair of hits, and Blake Stempowski added two more knocks as Judson consistently threatened offensively.

Starting pitcher Owen Wanner settled in after the difficult first inning and gave the Eagles a tremendous effort on the mound. The right-hander tossed a complete game, allowing just five runs while striking out six over eight innings to keep Judson within striking distance the rest of the way. It was Wanner's second start of the tournament with this one being on short rest. It was a tremendous effort by him to keep his team in the ball game. 

Judson trimmed the lead again in the seventh inning when Yasiel Trinidad stole third base before Kevin Flores brought him home with an RBI groundout to make it 5-3. The Eagles continued fighting until the final out and brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning in the form of Acevedo, but Southwestern Christian was able to close out the championship victory on a diving play by the center fielder to secure the final out of the game, tournament, and season. 

Hubert finished with two RBIs and two hits, while Acevedo, Navarro, and Stempowski each recorded multi-hit performances in the championship contest.

Judson finished the year 37-23 overall. A year after winning the CCAC conference regular season championship, they now see a second place finish at the NCCAA World Series. It has been an incredible two year run for the Eagles with fantastic seasons and careers by many players who now take off the uniform for the final time. 

Of their eight trips to the NCCAA World Series, this was the best finish for a Judson team. For his efforts, Alijah Acevedo was named to the All-Tournament Team. 

Judson entered the conference tournament and this tournament short-handed with two key pitchers in Daniel Alworth and Yasiel Trinidad unable to pitch due to injuries, and still found ways to grind and win ball games. For this week in Kansas City, the Eagles went 3-2 and continued to battle until the final out. 

Although the final result was not the one the Eagles hoped for, the 2026 season will go down as a historic campaign for Judson Baseball. The Eagles battled their way to 30 plus wins for the second consecutive season, reached the NCCAA World Series Championship Game, and proudly earned the NCCAA National Runner-Up hardware.