THE NAIA BALL BIG SERIES OF THE WEEK IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE SHO-ME LEAGUE
Columbia,MO- We head to Missouri for a deep rooted rivalry between #20 Missouri Baptist University versus #25 Columbia College. We are in for an exciting top 25 matchup that could get fiery as the two teams share a long history together.
History
These American Midwest Conference rivals are known for always having exciting matchups as the all-time record is split 15-15. Missouri Baptist won in their last matchup 15-7.
Schedules(all times local)
Thursday, March 13th at 5:00pm
Thursday, March 13th at 7:00pm
Saturday, March 15th at 1:00pm
Saturday, March 15th at 3:00pm
How to Watch
Teams
#20 Missouri Baptist(15-5/10-2) – Led by Head Coach Eddie Uschold in his 26th season, the Spartans of Missouri Baptist once again are a contender. They bring in one of the top offensive threats in the country in preseason All-NAIA Ball member Cole Robinson, who returns for his senior year and has picked up right where he left off, currently leading the country in both home runs and RBI with 18 and 48 respectively. Anyone featured in a Missouri Baptist lineup can always leave the yard at any time, and 2025 is much of the same story as they lead the country with 63 home runs so far this season. We stay in the infield for the counterpart of Robinson with third baseman Jayden Orozco, who has left the yard 13 times and driven in 35 runs, both of which are second on the team. Blayne Yarger jumped out to me at the Cajun Collision last season, and the two-way star is having another stellar year with a .379 average to go with 9 home runs to his name. While they use the talented arm of Yarger out of the bullpen, the guys who make up the starting rotation should be talked about even more. Carter Sabol currently is 3rd in the country with a 0.33 ERA in five starts while striking out 45 to just 9 walks in 27 innings so far this season. Senior right-hander Teague Robertson has been a mainstay in the rotation for the Spartans and comes in with a 2.31 ERA in five starts as he will once again look to help lead his squad to a big-time rivalry series victory. Pitching will be the key factor between these two high-powered lineups, and if the Spartans can continue to get those numbers from Sabol and the pitching staff, Coach Uschold will surely like his team’s chances.
#25 Columbia College(15-3/10-2) – Head Coach Darren Munns enters his 9th season as Head Coach, and the Cougars success has continued in each of those nine seasons as the 2025 campaign looks to be much of the same. One stat to make note of with this lineup, out of their 528 total at-bats this season, the Cougars have struck out only 89 times. Brayden McGinnis currently leads the country with a .510 average to go with 5 home runs and 27 RBI. The senior has struck out just THREE times this season and looks for another big weekend in this rivalry. Bailey Quint sits right behind him with a .464 average and also only THREE strikeouts, while the lowest average among the team’s qualified hitters is .337. On the mound, Midway transfer Owen Clark has come over and been outstanding again as he owns a 1.96 ERA with 25 strikeouts in just 18.2 innings of work. Pierce Hartmann has a small lead on Clark with an ERA of 1.93, only surrendering just 4 walks in 18.1 innings so far. The duo will need to come up big on their side of the ball in order for the Cougars to secure the rivalry weekend victory and take early control of first place in the AMC standings.
Staff Picks–
Tyler – Columbia
Taylor – Missouri Baptist
Conner – Columbia
Robby – Columbia
– Tyson Wallace & Taylor Thomas
