FARMINGTON – The D-Bat baseball team stayed unbeaten during the 2026 Connie Mack World Series, this time with a flair for the dramatic, turning away a stubborn Midland Redbirds team with a 4-3 win in eight innings Friday at Ricketts Park.
The D-Bat victory, combined with a win earlier in the day by the defending CMWS champion Dulins Dodgers National team, means D-Bat can claim their first championship in more than a decade when these teams meet Friday at 8 p.m.
For the Redbirds, the loss eliminates the team from the tournament despite a dazzling performance on the hill from starting pitcher Wade Cozart, who threw seven innings, allowed only three runs on four hits and striking out 11 D-Bat hitters.
D-Bat opened the scoring in the top half of the first inning. Brady Morgeson led off the game with a double and was driven in when Talon Pate grounded out to second.
The D-Bat squad would add to their advantage with a pair of runs in the second after Brock Burkett and Jake Felsman scored to give them a 3-0 advantage. Xander Thacker was responsible for driving in Felsman, adding to Thacker’s already impressive this tournament, where he’s driven in 10 runs and hit a pair of home runs.
Cozart avoided any further damage, striking out Joshua Viars to end the second inning. He followed that up with a strong third inning in which he struck out all three D-Bat batters he faced.
Meantime, D-Bat starter Jack Jacob was effective early, getting through the first two innings relatively without trouble. In the home half of the third, Redbirds’ Jackson Harris cut into their deficit, speeding home off a double to centerfield by Trey Giametta to make it a 3-1 contest.
Jacob pitched into the fifth inning for D-Bat before he was replaced by Finley Hambrick. Jacob finished the game with 4 strikeouts and four walks allowing only one run on three hits.
The Redbirds had two on and two out in the bottom of the fourth inning but left them stranded after Max Woerner bounced out to second base, keeping D-Bat’s lead intact.
Cozart’s streak of retiring eight batters in a row came to an end with Morgeson’s walk with one out in the top of the fifth inning, but the Redbirds defense responded promptly with shortstop Harris collecting a sharp grounder off the bat of Viars before a quick throw to first baseman Easton Autrey for an inning-ending double play.
Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the sixth, the Redbirds mounted a rally. Autrey led off the frame with a double, was advanced to third via sacrifice fly but was stranded when Alejandro Hernandez bounced back to second.
Needing three outs to advance to the championship, Hambrick struck out Woerner before he walked Ethan Carswell and Harris. D-Bat went to the bullpen for Ian Mulligan, who promptly walked Troy Giametta to load the bases with one out.
Mulligan hit Cole Flashnick with a pitch to score Carswell before Autrey’s fly ball to left field drove in Harris with the game-tying run, sending the game into extra innings.
The Redbirds found themselves in trouble in the top of the eighth. After a Morgeson leadoff ground out, relievers Grayson Register and Isaac Gutierrez combined to load the bases. Gutierrez got Garner Rodriguez to strike out looking before issuing a free pass to Oliver Minyard, scoring Viars for a 4-3 lead heading to the bottom of the eighth.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Redbirds got a pair of runners on base before Harris grounded out to second base to end the game and send D-Bat into the championship.