Top of the mountain: Jessup softball, baseball win NCCAA national championships

Jessup University continued its dominant spring season last week, as the softball and baseball teams won National Christian College Athletic Association national championships less than 24 hours apart. It was the 14th and 15th national championships in school history. Softball Jessup's softball team was on the edge of winning the NAIA national title last season, falling to Our Lady of the Lake University. The Warriors left no room for doubt at the NCCAA Softball World Series in Grapevine, Texas, winning five games in three days and outscoring their opponents 24-11. Jessup secured its first two wins on May 19, downing Dallas Christian and University of Fort Lauderdale 4-1 and 4-0. The next day, the Warriors secured a 3-2 victory over Sterling College in an eight-inning thriller in which they scored three runs in the final three innings to complete a comeback. Jessup eliminated Fort Lauderdale 10-6 on Wednesday to advance to the national championship against Mid-America Christian. A two-run homer by Sarah Giles and solo shot by Kylie Nunes elevated the offense, as the Warriors locked up a 3-2 victory for the first national title in program history. The Warriors rode the pitching of Bella MacFarlane and Jazlyn Villavicencio. The duo threw complete games in each contest, with MacFarlane handling three starts and racking up seven strikeouts while allowing five earned runs in 22 innings. Villavicencio was the winning pitcher of the championship game, holding Mid-America Christian to four hits. She snagged a comebacker and tossed it to first base to close the door. Giles was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, going 6 for 13 with five RBIs and three home runs. Ybarra was named to the all-tournament team. Jessup wraps up its first season at the NCAA Division II level at 37-21 and with a nine-game winning streak. Baseball Less than 24 hours after softball's first national championship, the baseball team did the same in Kansas City with an 11-5 victory over Mission University for the NCCAA national title. The Warriors went 5-1 in the tournament, winning three consecutive elimination games to claim the title. Jessup fell to Mission 6-0 earlier in the tournament but was aided by a five-run eighth inning to defeat the Pioneers for the championship. Cody Antone and Rudy Rodriguez each drove in three runs for Jessup, while Nick Poss and Dominic Ott brought home two. Poss and Ott combined for seven of Jessup's 13 hits. Tyler Lamperti earned the win in relief, allowing one hit in 2⅓ shutout innings while striking out three. With Thursday's championship being Jessup's sixth game in five days, the Warriors relied heavily on the bullpen with no pitcher throwing more than four innings. Jessup landed two on the NCCAA all-tournament team, as Evan Williams hurled 6⅔ dominant relief innings and Hailama Swartman went 2-0 on the mound, earning Most Outstanding Player. The Warriors finish the season at 36-20.