WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. – The No. 23-ranked Indiana Tech baseball team defeated No. 5-ranked University of the Cumberlands, 10-5, on Tuesday afternoon in the second game of the Williamsburg Bracket of the NAIA Opening Round at Doyle Buhl Stadium to advance to the championship game of the Williamsburg Bracket. It will be the third straight season that the Warriors have made it to the championship game of their Opening Round bracket.
 
Javier Castaneda launched a 1-2 pitch over the left field fence in the top of the second inning to put the Warriors up 1-0 while a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly from Jake DeFries pushed two more runs across the plate to give Tech a 3-0 lead in the third. Branson Dossen sent one over the left field wall on a 1-1 count to open up the sixth inning while Castaneda drove in DeFries with a double three batters later to extend the lead to 5-0.
 
The Patriots got their offense going in the bottom of the sixth thanks to three straight hits and an error to push four runs across the plate and chase starter Charles Dunavan off the hill, but Joe Pratt come in and got a 4-6-3 double play to end the threat and keep the lead intact at 5-4.
 
Tech's offense responded with runs in the next three innings, with Glen McClain providing a two-run homer in the eighth as part of a three-run inning to make it a 9-4 game. That would prove to be enough offense for Pratt as he finished out the final 3.1 innings of the game and surrendered just two hits and one run. Reese Olden and Jashaun Simon both recorded three hits with the former scoring twice.
 
Tech (40-14-1) has now reached the 40-win plateau for the fourth straight season and the fifth time under head coach Kip McWilliams as they advance to the Williamsburg Bracket title game. The Warriors will await the winner of University of the Cumberlands and the University of Mobile/Lyon College (currently playing) and will play at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday.