NORWALK, Calif. – The Midland Redbirds left no room for doubt on Sunday, unleashing an absolute offensive onslaught to dismantle BPA Gold 18 in a 16-0 shutout in the championship game of the California Connie Mack World Series Qualifier at Cerritos College.
The win advances the Redbirds into the 2026 CMWS, giving the Midland organization a second team in one of the nation’s most prestigious amateur baseball tournaments.
The Redbirds wasted zero time setting the tone, pushing five runs across the plate in the bottom of the first inning. BPA starter Sam Ursulo struggled mightily with his command early, walking Easton Autrey and Brody Wilson with the bases loaded to spot Midland a quick 2-0 lead.
Giovanni Corrall then broke the frame wide open, lacing a line-drive double to left field off Aiden Champus that cleared the bases and allowed Corrall to advance to third on the throw, extending the lead to 5-0.
Midland’s bats grew even hotter in the second inning, exploding for an eight-run frame. Jaxx Robinson sparked the rally with an RBI double to center field, driving in Ezekiel Lara. After Ethan Carslwell drew a bases-loaded walk off reliever Jacob Rameriez to force in another run, Wilson delivered the defining blow of the contest—a towering line-drive grand slam over the right-field wall to make it 11-0.
The Redbirds refused to take their foot off the gas in the second. Lara added an RBI single to left, and Robinson capped the frame with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Corrall to push the advantage to 13-0.
Midland added three more insurance runs in the bottom of the third to round out the scoring. Jackson Harris and Tre Miller tagged consecutive RBI singles to left and right field, respectively, before Shaun Cover slapped a ground-ball RBI single into left to seal the final 16-0 margin.
The pitching duo of Jobe Reed and Tucker Thompson combined to allow only one hit over four innings, striking out eight hitters and walking only three.
The Redbirds, coached by Heath Autrey, are made up primarily of athletes from Texas and California. According to the team’s official page on FiveTool Baseball’s website, the team is also coached by former Farmington High baseball coach Don Lorett.
The NW 509 Stars will be making their debut in next month’s Connie Mack World Series, earning a spot in the tournament after topping the Spokane Crew by a score of 4-3 in Sunday’s championship game of the Northwest Qualifier in Spokane, Washington.
Coached by Tim Ayers, the Stars reached the CMWS in dramatic fashion as Tanner Davis delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning, capping a thrilling comeback.
The Crew wasted no time jumping on the scoreboard, striking for three runs in the top of the first inning. Following a wild pitch that advanced a pair of runners, Elijah Williams lined an RBI single to center field off Dallin Higgins, scoring Griffin Tamagni.
Drayden Birley kept the pressure on with a line-drive single to right field to drive in Connor Moffitt. Moments later, Williams swiped home on another wild pitch before Griffin Butler flied out to center to end the early onslaught.
The Stars slowly chipped away at the 3-0 deficit. In the bottom of the second, Marshall Tomlinson drilled a hard ground ball past left fielder Charlie Lynn, bringing home Braxxton Barker to put the Stars on the board.
The Crew’s defense held the slim lead until the bottom of the sixth when the Stars mounted their primary threat. With runners on base, Barker came through with a clutch, two-out single sharply hit to center field off Butler. The hit allowed both Tanner Davis and Caden Andreas to cross the plate, knotting the contest at 3-3.
In the final frame, Andreas sparked the winning rally by single-handedly generating scoring position, stealing second base to put the pressure on the Crew’s defense. Davis then sealed the victory, lifting a fly ball over right fielder Ben Wartinger to bring Andreas home and complete the late-inning comeback.
There are three remaining qualifying tournaments for the Connie Mack World Series. The second Texas qualifier opens this week and will conclude on Sunday, followed by the Farmington qualifier, opening Wednesday, July 1.
The final CMWS qualifier will take place in Norman, Oklahoma, and will kick off Tuesday, July 7.