FARMINGTON – The defending Connie Mack World Series champion Dulins Dodgers National team survived another round of elimination games, shutting out the Midland Redskins 4-0 Wednesday morning at Ricketts Park.
The National team, behind a pair of RBIs from Carson Sharp and two runs scored by Tommy Baker, will move on in the bracket this week still in line to defend their 2025 CMWS title.
“Just take it one game at a time, one pitch at a time, and don’t try to do too much, just pass the baton to the next guy,” said National head coach Chris Godwin.
Both pitchers appeared to be on their game early in the contest. Nationals starter Carson Herlehy allowed only a pair of singles in the opening two innings while Midland’s Evan Vincent overcame a shaky first inning but finished strong with a strikeout of Ashten Ballew.
Dulins National broke the scoreless tie with two out in the top of the third inning. Tommy Baker walked then raced home on a double to the left field wall off the bat of Carson Sharp.
The National added to their lead in the top of the fourth, using more polished base running in the process. Christian May raced home from first base after a double off Jacob Pruett and giving them a 2-0 lead.
Herlehy continued to be a force on the mound for the National team, striking out four and allowing only three hits over hits the first four innings.
The duo of Baker and Sharp came through again in the top of the fifth inning. Baker got on board with a one-out double then was driven in by Sharp’s single to right field to extend the National lead to 3-0.
In the top of the seventh inning, Jace Elrod scored from third base on a one-out fly ball to right field, giving the National a four-run cushion.
Herlehy got the first out in the home half of the seventh inning before he was pulled for Cutter Nix. Herlehy threw 6 1/3 innings and allowed only four hits and a walk while striking out six Midland batters.
With runners on first and second, Nix fanned Troy Fisher and Brayden Schittou to preserve the shutout.
Midland has been eliminated from the CMWS.
Dulin’s Dodgers American edged the NW 509 Stars Lucas 3-2 with a walk-off victory in the bottom of the seventh inning to advance in the Connie Mack World Series winners’ bracket. The loss sends the Stars to the consolation bracket.
Both teams struggled to generate offense early. The Stars went down in order in the first, while Stars starter Lucas Quinlan escaped trouble in the bottom half after issuing two walks to load the bases, getting Mason Fritz to pop out to shortstop to keep the game scoreless.
Quinlan pitched six innings, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out seven. Landon Walker started for the Dodgers, giving up two runs on six hits with four strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings.
Quinlan kept the Dodgers off the board again in the second with two strikeouts. The Stars then capitalized in the third when Caden Andreas lined an RBI single to right field, scoring Marshall Tomlinson for a 1-0 lead.
The Dodgers answered in the bottom of the third. Brady Sommers reached base and later stole home on a throwing error at third to tie the game 1-1 before a double play ended the inning.
Lucas Smith put the Dodgers ahead 2-1 with a solo home run in the fifth. Smith finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Facing their final outs in the top of the seventh, the Stars rallied. Jacob Wilson reached on a single to right field and advanced to third on Tanner Davis’ sacrifice fly for the second out. The Dodgers then replaced Walker with Fritz on the mound. Andreas followed with an infield single, driving home Wilson to tie the game 2-2.
Kyle Rayment relieved Quinlan to open the bottom of the seventh for the Stars. The Dodgers quickly loaded the bases on a Liam Quinlan single and two walks with no outs. Smith then delivered the walk-off RBI single, scoring Quinlan to secure the 3-2 victory.
The Albuquerque Baseball Academy moves into the fourth round of the CMWS, advancing with a dramatic 6-5 win over the Brand Of Athletes on Wednesday afternoon at Ricketts Park.
Wyatt Tinker’s bases-clearing single in the bottom of the sixth inning proved to be the backbreaker in a 4-run inning that vaulted the ABA into relatively uncharted territory in the World Series.
Wednesday’s win win not only staves off elimination from the tournament, but also assures the ABA of becoming one of the few teams representing the state of New Mexico in more than a decade to be one of the final six teams still in the draw.
“This means a lot to us. You know, we’ve had one win before, but more than anything, it just means that New Mexico can do this,” said ABA head coach Tim Campos.
BOA opened the scoring in the top of the fourth inning when Brett Carnott raced home during a fielders choice.
Both teams got strong performances from their respective starting pitchers. BOA’s Aiden Wiliams and ABA’s Camern Brown combined for 12 strikeouts over the course of five complete innings.
The ABA grabbed the lead in the bottom of the fifth thanks to some sharp baserunning. Cody Clugston reached on a walk and tied the game when Tyler Swarts singled him across. With the bases loaded, Crosby Carmichael walked home on a bases-loaded free pass from BOA reliever Jase Winchester.
BOA tied the game in the top of the sixth thanks to a fly ball to right field that got lost in the sun, dropping in and allowing Luke Hill to even the contest at 2-2. They grabbed the lead after Mason Thornton’s 2-out double plated Eli Parkhurst and Jaxon McCarthur to assume a 4-2 advantage.
The sun played tricks on the BOA defense, facing bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning when a routine fly ball to centerfield by Tinker fell harmlessly to the grass, clearing the bases and putting ABA back in front. They would add another run when Tyler Swarts tripled to right field, scoring Tinker and extending the ABA lead to 6-4.
Needing a pair of runs and facing ABA reliever Luke Feist out of the bullpen , BOA closed the gap in the top of the seventh thanks to Jace Winchester scoring on a fielders choice. Down to their final out, McArthur struck out, allowing the ABA to stay alive to play another day.
The Midland Redbirds staved off elimination from the CMWS on Wednesday night, using a three-run sixth inning and a game-ending double play to secure a 7-4 victory over the Marlins Baseball Club, ending their championship bid.
Ethan Carswell led the Redbirds with two hits and a run scored, while Cole Flashnick added a hit and scored twice.
Carswell opened the game with a double before Jackson Harris singled. Marlins starter Will Bozeman then issued a walk to load the bases, and Trey Giametta followed with a two-run single to left field to give Midland an early 2-0 lead.
Bozeman responded with back-to-back strikeouts, but Jax Robinson raced home on a passed ball to extend the Redbirds’ lead to 3-0.
After a scoreless second inning, Dylan Duran jump-started the Marlins in the bottom half of the frame with a triple to deep right field. Alex Cooley drove him home with an RBI single before being thrown out at first base on the play, trimming the deficit to 3-1. Duran finished 3-for-3 on the day.
With two outs in the top of the third, Flashnick launched a solo home run to push Midland’s lead to 4-1.
Duran reached again in the fourth with a single through center before Cooley walked. Chance Kirtley then lifted a sacrifice fly to score Duran and cut the lead to 4-2.
The Marlins completed their comeback in the fifth inning. Brycen Gilbert advanced to third on a groundout by Regan Williams, prompting Jacob Lessman to relieve Midland starter Montes. Montes tossed 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs while striking out three.
Gilbert scored on a passed ball before Roman Stevens delivered an RBI single to bring home Williams and tie the game at 4-4. Lessman then walked three batters to load the bases before Issac Gutierrez took the mound. Gutierrez escaped the jam with consecutive strikeouts and finished with 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief.
Kolton Hale replaced Bozeman to start the sixth. Bozeman allowed four runs on five hits across five innings. Easton Autrey doubled to left field, moving Flashnick to third, before Gianni Corral broke the tie with a two-run double to left to give Midland a 6-4 lead. Hale then balked, allowing Corral to score an insurance run for a 7-4 advantage.
The Marlins loaded the bases with one out in the seventh after Cooley singled to left, but the Redbirds sealed the win with a game-ending 4-6-3 double play.