Late-Inning Rally Falls Short, Warriors Drop Elimination Game to DWU

SEWARD, Neb. – After dropping its opening game of the tournament Wednesday night, fifth-seeded Midland University returned to the ballpark on Thursday for an elimination matchup against eighth-seeded Dakota Wesleyan University. Both teams were looking to keep their postseason hopes alive and the Warriors jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but the Tigers responded with a pair of three-run home runs in the seventh inning to go in front and held on for the 7-5 win int eh Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Tournament.

Following a quiet first inning, Chris Ortega put the Warriors on the board with a leadoff home run over the left-field fence to make it 1-0. Hadyn Crawford added a one-out single, advanced to second on a groundout, reached third on a wild pitch, and then scored on a Tigers' error to give Midland a 2-0 lead after two innings.

Dakota Wesleyan broke through in the top of the fifth with a leadoff triple, followed by a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The Tigers seized momentum in the sixth, launching two consecutive three-run home runs to surge ahead 7-2.

showed signs of life in the eighth. Alec Villanueva singled to right field, and Joshua Hardamon drew a walk to put two runners on with one out. Eimir Perez stepped up and delivered a two-out, three-run homer to right field, trimming the lead to 7-5 and giving the Warriors a glimmer of hope.

However, the Tigers shut down Midland's offense the rest of the way, sealing the 7-5 win and ending the Warriors' season.

Statistical Standouts

• Alec Villanueva: 2-for-4, R
• Chris Ortega: 1-for-4, HR, RBI
• Eimir Perez: 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI

Midland concludes the 2025 season with an overall record of 20-28. The Warriors finished fifth in the GPAC, going 16-12 in conference play.