Madonna Claims 2026 Baseball Tournament Title
ROCKFORD, Mich. - For the eighth time in program history and the first time since 2023, Madonna University has claimed the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference baseball tournament title. The Crusaders were pushed to the brink by Indiana Tech who used a dramatic ninth-inning rally to force the 'if necessary' game two of the series. Madonna was able to get off the mat in the second game and outslug the Warriors to secure the victory and the tournament title. Madonna earns the WHAC's second automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament, joining UNOH who earned the first bid as the regular season champion. This marks the third consecutive season that the number three seed has won the championship. All seeding, matchups and at-large bids will be announced by the NAIA on the Selection Show, which is set to take place on May 6 at 5 p.m. est.
#2 Indiana Tech def. #3 Madonna, 10-9 | Box Score
Indiana Tech erased a three-run deficit in the ninth inning and beat Madonna 10-9 on Sunday in Rockford, Mich., with Brycen Hannah delivering the decisive swing. After Derek Ruiz's RBI single pulled Indiana Tech within two, Hannah followed with a three-run homer that turned a 9-6 deficit into a 10-9 lead and completed the comeback.
The game swung repeatedly late. Madonna carried a 9-6 advantage into the ninth after a four-run eighth inning, highlighted by Ty Stepek's second home run of the day and a two-run single from Gus Simon. Indiana Tech had taken a 6-5 lead in the top of the eighth, but Madonna answered immediately and appeared in control before the Warriors' final rally.
Indiana Tech finished with 14 hits, two walks and 10 RBIs while stranding six runners. Keelan Dunkle set the tone offensively, going 3 for 3 with three runs, a double and a triple. Garrett Rainey added two hits, including a double, and drove in two runs. Hannah scored twice and supplied the biggest hit of the afternoon with his three-run homer.
The Warriors chipped away throughout the game after Madonna took a 1-0 lead in the first on Stepek's solo shot. Indiana Tech answered with two runs in the third, when Dunkle tripled and later scored on a groundout before Rainey doubled in a run. Jorge Santana helped extend the lead to 3-1 in the fifth, stealing third and then scoring on a single. Indiana Tech added two more runs in the seventh on an RBI single by Ben Morrison and another run-scoring hit from Rainey, helping produce a 5-5 tie after seven innings.
Madonna stayed within reach all day and got a standout performance from Stepek, who went 4 for 5 with two home runs, three RBIs and two runs scored. Simon added three hits and two RBIs. Even so, Indiana Tech's lineup kept producing key at-bats. The Warriors recorded two extra-base hits from Dunkle, stole two bases, and took advantage of Madonna's three errors in a game that featured 25 total hits.
Indiana Tech's pitching staff allowed 11 hits, nine runs and three walks while striking out eight over nine innings. Madonna pitchers also worked through constant pressure, giving up 14 hits and 10 runs with four strikeouts. In the end, the game was defined by Indiana Tech's response in the final inning, capped by Hannah's go-ahead home run that held up as the final margin.
#3 Madonna def. #2 Indiana Tech, 9-6 | Box Score
Madonna erased an early five-run hole and took control in the middle innings Sunday, beating Indiana Tech 9-6 in Rockford, Mich. The decisive swing came in the top of the fifth, when Luke Spicer lined a two-run double to give Madonna its first lead of the afternoon before Ty Stepek added a sacrifice fly to make it 7-5.
Indiana Tech looked in command early. Ben Morrison doubled to left-center and Jack Ferguson added an RBI single during a two-run first inning, then the home team struck for three more in the second. Keelan Dunkle singled in a run, Morrison delivered another RBI double, and Indiana Tech built a 5-0 advantage through two innings.
Madonna turned the game in the fourth. After being quiet through the first three innings, the team broke through for four runs, highlighted by Donovan Thompson's three-run homer that cut the deficit to 5-4. That rally set up an even bigger fifth inning. Spicer's two-run double pushed Madonna in front, and Stepek's sacrifice fly extended the margin to two runs as the comeback went from possibility to lead change.
Indiana Tech answered once in the sixth when Noah McEldowney singled home Jeremy Pudlik to trim the lead to 7-6, but Madonna came back with needed insurance in the seventh. Stepek doubled as part of the rally, and Thompson followed with an RBI single as Madonna added two more runs for the final 9-6 margin.
Thompson finished with two hits, a home run, four RBIs and a walk to lead Madonna's offense. Spicer scored three times, collected three hits and drove in two runs, while Stepek produced three RBIs, two doubles and a sacrifice fly. Carson Noon also had three hits, helping Madonna pile up 10 hits overall. Madonna finished with nine runs, 10 hits and one error, while Indiana Tech had six runs on nine hits and did not commit an error.
The game summary reflected a sharp momentum shift after Indiana Tech's fast start. Madonna did most of its damage across the fourth, fifth and seventh innings, scoring all nine of its runs in those frames. Indiana Tech got as close as one run in the sixth, but Madonna's late execution and production from Thompson, Spicer and Stepek carried the team through the final innings.
All-Time Tournament Champions
1993 No Tournament Held
1994 No Tournament Held
1995 Spring Arbor
1996 Aquinas
1997 Aquinas
1998 Tri-State
1999 Madonna
2000 (3) Madonna
2001 (1) Indiana Tech
2002 None
2003 None
2004 None
2005 (3) Aquinas
2006 (1) Madonna
2007 Indiana Tech
2008 (1) Madonna
2009 (2) Indiana Tech
2010 (2) Indiana Tech
2011 (3) Indiana Tech
2012 (5) Siena Heights
2013 (3) Indiana Tech
2014 (1) Davenport
2015 (2) Davenport
2016 (1) Madonna
2017 (1) UNOH
2018 (3) Madonna
2019 (1) Indiana Tech
2020 No Tournament Held
2021 (3) UNOH
2022 (1) UNOH
2023 (2) Madonna
2024 (3) Indiana Tech
2025 (3) Indiana Tech
2026 (3) Madonna