Spring Hill eliminates Morehouse in semifinal before Edward Waters closes the door in championship game
The final day of the 2026 SIAC Baseball Tournament delivered two very different kinds of baseball drama at Luther Williams Field: a gritty elimination-bracket semifinal that ended Morehouse’s historic run, followed by a championship game in which Edward Waters answered the biggest inning of the day with one of its own.
No. 1 Spring Hill opened the day by defeating No. 5 Morehouse, 6-4, in the elimination bracket final, earning its way into the championship round against No. 3 Edward Waters. The Badgers needed to beat Edward Waters once to force the tournament’s “if necessary” game. Instead, Edward Waters rallied from a two-run deficit, beat Spring Hill 6-4, claimed the SIAC championship and secured the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA South Region Tournament in Pensacola, Florida.
Semifinal: Spring Hill 6, Morehouse 4
Spring Hill advanced out of the elimination bracket with a 6-4 win over Morehouse in the SIAC Loser’s Bracket Final, ending the Maroon Tigers’ deepest SIAC Tournament run in decades. Morehouse finished with 11 hits, four more than Spring Hill, but the Badgers used early pressure, free bases and aggressive baserunning to build just enough cushion. Spring Hill drew eight walks, was hit by two pitches and stole six bases, while Morehouse left 11 runners on base and hit into two double plays.
The Badgers jumped ahead in the first inning, using a hit batter, a wild pitch, a passed ball and a Jaylen Jones RBI single to take control early. Jones later scored on another wild pitch, giving Spring Hill a 2-0 lead. The Badgers added two more runs in the third when Gavin Moran walked, John Webb singled him to third and Andrew Juez brought him in with a bunt single. Alex Roux was later hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, pushing the lead to 4-0.
Morehouse started its comeback in the fourth. Myles Tucker singled to center, T.J. Whiteman followed with a single to right, and Elijah James reached on a throwing error that allowed Tucker to score. Spring Hill answered in the bottom half when Moran walked, moved to third on Webb’s infield single and scored on a wild pitch, stretching the Badgers’ advantage to 5-1.
The Maroon Tigers kept chipping away. In the fifth, Satchel Hamilton walked, Robert Robinson Jr. singled and Elijah Pinckney walked to load the bases. Spring Hill limited the damage, but Morehouse pushed across a run on a double play to make it 5-2. The Badgers added their final run in the bottom of the fifth when Reggie Cooper singled, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jatnier Torres.
Morehouse’s bullpen gave the Maroon Tigers a chance late. Dejorryn Pettis worked two innings, allowing one run on one hit, and Andwele Pittman followed with two scoreless innings to keep the deficit manageable. Offensively, Tucker led Morehouse by going 3-for-5 with a run scored, while Robinson, Whiteman and Tripp Braswell each collected two hits. Whiteman drove in a run, and Mariano McLean added a ninth-inning RBI single.
The Maroon Tigers cut the deficit to 6-3 in the seventh when Robinson singled, Tucker followed with another hit and Whiteman delivered an RBI single to left. In the ninth, Pinckney walked, Tucker singled and McLean brought Pinckney home with a two-out single to right, trimming the margin to 6-4. Spring Hill reliever Dylan Peck then recorded the final out to send the Badgers into the championship game.
Ray Ochoa earned the win for Spring Hill, allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits over six innings while striking out nine. Peck closed the final three innings, allowing two runs on six hits with four strikeouts. Morehouse’s season ended at 25-21, but the Maroon Tigers left Macon with a modern program-record win total, their deepest SIAC Tournament finish since 1994.
Championship Game: Edward Waters 6, Spring Hill 4
Spring Hill carried its momentum into the championship game and appeared positioned to extend the tournament one more game. The Badgers tied the game in the third, moved in front in the fifth and took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth. But Edward Waters responded with the decisive inning of the championship.
Edward Waters scored first in the bottom of the first after three consecutive walks loaded the bases. Bobby Torres lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Daniel Donaldson-Fountain for a 1-0 lead. Spring Hill evened the game in the third when Jaylen Jones singled, advanced after John Webb reached on a bunt single and throwing error, and scored on Gavin Moran’s sacrifice fly.
The Badgers moved ahead in the fifth. Alex Roux singled, Jones followed with a base hit, and Webb drove in Roux with a single to left. After a balk moved both runners up, Moran singled home Jones to give Spring Hill a 3-1 lead.
Edward Waters answered with a four-run sixth that flipped the championship. Dannon Smith opened the inning with a double, and Torres singled him home to make it 3-2. After Calvin Scott singled and a throwing error moved both runners into scoring position, Louis Rodriquez delivered a two-run single up the middle to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead. Luis Nunez and Joseph Di Cesare kept the inning moving with singles before tournament MVP Andres Carraciolo added an RBI single to stretch the lead to 5-3.
The Tigers added insurance in the seventh when Angelo Prieto singled, stole second and scored on another RBI single from Torres. That run proved important, because Spring Hill made one final push in the ninth. Eli Benoit was hit by a pitch, Jatnier Torres singled and Jordan Black was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jones drew a walk to bring Spring Hill within 6-4, but Edward Waters reliever Ty Mitzel got Webb to fly out to right field to end the game.
Mitzel earned the win with 4.2 innings of relief, allowing two hits and one run after entering in the fifth. Torres led Edward Waters offensively, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Carraciolo went 2-for-3 with an RBI and earned Tournament MVP honors. Spring Hill finished with 10 hits, led by Jones, who went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, and Moran, who went 2-for-2 with two RBIs.
All-Tournament Team
Morehouse: Vernon Clay; Robert Robinson Jr.
Spring Hill: Ray Ochoa; John Webb; Jaylin Jones; Gavin Moran
Edward Waters: Ty Mitzel; Bobby Torres; Jordan Smith; Luis Nunez; Andres Carraciolo
Tournament MVP: Andres Carraciolo, Edward Waters