Baseball Captures 2025 National Title

CARY, N.C. - The University of Tampa and Central Missouri played in the final game of the National Championship Series. After forcing this winner-take-all game three with a game two win earlier today, the Spartans entered this contest nine innings from capturing the program's 10th national title and successfully defending their championship from a year ago.  

Final: #1 University of Tampa Spartans 11, #2 University of Central Missouri Mules 5

Records: Tampa (55-10), Central Missouri (48-14)

Location: USA Baseball Training Complex l Cary, North Carolina 

All-Time Series: This was the 13th meeting all-time between these two elite programs. With the win in game three, Tampa takes an 8-5 series lead. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

With the national title on the line, the Spartans turned to Eli Thurmond for the biggest start of the year. A traditional reliever/closer, this is the first start for Thurmond since the 2023 season but was determined to get the job done. He began the championship deciding game by inducing three ground balls to shortstop, tossing a scoreless top of the first. In the Spartans first plate appearances, J.D. Urso worked a walk but was the only base runner to reach before the final out of the inning. In the top of the second, Thurmond produced three more easy groundouts for another scoreless frame. The Spartans got on the board first after Edgardo Villegas led off the bottom of the first with a blast over the scoreboard in right field (longest home run of the tournament at 434 feet). 

This solo shot from Villegas sparked a small rally for Tampa, adding two more runs to take a 3-0 lead. Jhoander Irigoyen and Mike Valdez both reached base and came in to score, Valdez scoring on a Jordan Williams single up the middle. Back out for the top of the third, Eli Thurmond continued to dominate. He induced the seventh ground out of his outing to start the inning before striking out the next two batters in just eight pitches. The Spartans were unable to add more runs to their lead in the bottom half of the inning despite a base hit and stolen base from Brayden Woodburn.

In the top of the fourth with a runner on first base and one out, the national championship deciding game was sent into a weather delay After play resumed, the runner on first came around to score by way of a stolen base and sacrifice fly. The Mules tried to keep the inning going with a two-out base knock, but Thurmond got out of the inning with Tampa still leading 3-1. After Tampa was sat down in order in the bottom of the fourth, Brayden Heidel entered for the Spartans and did not allow a base runner in the top of the fifth. In the bottom half of the inning, Tampa worked four walks to load the bases and bring home a run. The Mules were able to escape the bases loaded jam only allowing the one run but Tampa now led 4-1 as the game moved into the sixth inning. 

Central Missouri earned a leadoff walk to start the sixth, but Brayden Heidel locked back in, striking out the next batter before inducing two infield pop-ups. Wanting to keep adding to the lead, the Spartans kept the pressure on UCM. Mike Valdez led off the bottom of the sixth with a walk before advancing into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Nico Saladino came up clutch once again for the Spartans by singling to right center, which allowed Valdez to score. J.D. Urso and Brayden Woodburn added two outs hits of their own to load the bases but the Mules once again escaped the jam. With Tampa leading 5-1, Jacob Fletcher was handed the ball after the Mules earned back-to-back one-out base runners. Fletcher entered the game with runners on first and second but was unfazed. He got the first batter he faced to ground out to third base before ending the UCM threat by inducing a fly ball to right field. 

After the Spartans went three-up-three-down in the bottom of the seventh, the Mules capitalized in the eighth. They led off the inning with a solo home run to cut into the lead, only trailing by three. After a great defensive play from Cole Russo for the first out, the Mules earned another base runner before hitting another home run to pull within one run of the Spartans (5-4). Looking to respond and swing the momentum back to Tampa, Maddox King led off the bottom of the eighth by standing strong in the box and being hit by a pitch. King was then moved to second base by way of a Jordan Williams sacrifice bunt. The small ball worked to perfection for Tampa as three batters later, Brayden Woodburn doubled to left center to score a pair of ultra-important insurance runs (King and Urso scoring). The next two batters, Jhoander Irigoyen and Edgardo Villegas, both earned free passes to load the bases. Cole Russo stepped into the box and delivered the knockout punch, a towering grand slam to clear the bases and add four more runs to the scoreboard.

Tampa took an 11-4 lead into the ninth inning, three outs away from a second consecutive national championship. However, with their season on the line, the Mules were not going to go away quietly. After the leadoff batter was hit by a pitch, the next UCM hitter doubled to score a run before an out was recorded. C.J. Williams, who has pitched in every game this series, got the next batter to ground out to J.D. Urso at third, and Tampa was two outs away. Williams struck out the next batter on four pitches and ring number ten for the Tampa program was one out away. The final out was made by who else but J.D. Urso, catching a pop fly to secure the 2025 national championship.

AT THE PLATE:

• Brayden Woodburn - 3-4 2B, 2 RBI

• Edgardo Villegas - 1-3 HR, (Named MVP of the Dll College World Series)

• Cole Russo - 1-4 HR, 4 RBI

ON THE MOUND:

• Eli Thurmond - 4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 SO, 1 R, 0 ER 

• Brayden Heidel - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 SO, 0 ER

• C.J. Williams - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 SO, 0 ER

UP NEXT: Tampa Baseball has won the 2025 Division II Baseball National Championship, going back-to-back after winning it all a year ago. This is the tenth time in program history that Tampa has captured the national title, making them the only Division ll baseball program to win double-digit national championships. In addition to winning the national title, the Spartans concluded the 2025 season with a program record 55 wins.