Kansas City, MO - The Eagles are off and running at the NCCAA World Series. As the number 4 seed, Judson took on the number 5 seed College of the Ozarks in the opening round. 

Judson opened tournament play with a strong 7-2 victory over University of the Ozarks behind timely hitting and a dominant outing on the mound from Owen Wanner.

The Eagles jumped ahead early in the first inning when Alijah Acevedo launched a two-run home run to right center to give the Eagles an immediate 2-0 lead. Acevedo finished the day with two hits, two RBIs, and two runs scored to pace the offense.

Judson added two more runs in the third inning, highlighted by a sacrifice fly from Kyle Schwartz and aggressive baserunning that extended the lead to 4-0.

After Ozarks cut into the deficit, the Eagles answered late with insurance runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Diego Munoz delivered an RBI single in the seventh before Alex Wickett came through with a two-run single in the eighth to put the game away.

On the mound, Owen Wanner earned the win after tossing 7.2 innings while allowing just two runs and striking out four. Jacob Skinner came on for the final four outs, and closed the door out of the bullpen to secure the victory.

Judson totaled 11 hits in the win, with Blake Stempowski and Alex Wickett each recording two-hit performances as the Eagles advanced in NCCAA World Series play.

Last year, in their opening game JU was on the wrong end of a wild 15-13 game to fall into the loser's bracket. 

However, this year, the Eagles were able to control the game and flip the script to advance into the winner's bracket. Judson will be back on the field Monday to take on the number one seed in the tournament, Fort Lauderdale.