O'FALLON, Mo. – As the tenth-ranked team in the country, the Missouri Baptist Spartans knew they were on pretty solid ground when it came to hearing their name called next week on the NAIA Baseball National Tournament Selection Show. But thanks to splendid pitching and the almost-always reliable vaunted Spartans offense, they removed all doubt on Friday. The Spartans are heading back to the national tournament following a 10-1 victory over Central Baptist College (Ark.) in the AMC Baseball Championship Game at Carshield Field in O'Fallon, Mo.
 
On Friday, much of the credit belonged to a couple of hurlers that came up huge for their club when they needed them the most. With the Spartans playing their fourth game in four days, Spartans skipper Eddie Uschold turned to former starter and now middle reliever Greg Ryun to at the very least eat some innings. The senior from Victoria, Minn. did way better than that. Making his fourteenth appearance and seventh start of the season, Ryun pitched six innings while giving up only one run on five hits and striking out a season-high seven Mustangs. Maybe more importantly for Ryun, he walked no one while delivering 85 pitches. He came in with 22 walks and 22 strikeouts on the year. While gaining the victory, Ryun saw has ERA fall below 10.00 for the first time since his second start of the season against Texas Wesleyan University in the Cajun Collision in Louisiana back on February 8. Wil Casel pitched the final three innings for the Spartans and was equally as impressive. The senior from Ankeny, Iowa, gave up no runs, one hit, while striking out two. Even though he came into a lopsided game, he earned his first save of the season by pitching three innings.
 
The lopsided nature of the contest was also due in great part the Spartans big bats. After CBC took a brief lead in the top of the first, Blayne Yarger walked with one out in the bottom of the inning then came home on an Alex Adams double to tie the game at one.
 
The game remained tied until the bottom of the third when Cole Robinson changed it all for good. Blane Besse walked, and Alex Adams was hit by a pitch before the junior from St. Louis came to the plate. The big first baseman stepped into a pitch that he sent high into the cloudy skies of O'Fallon, Mo. that didn't come down until it had cleared the outfield bleachers and collided violently with the wall of a little white shed at least 40 feet beyond the wall. The prodigious blast was the nineteenth of the season for Robinson and pushed him out of a tie with Yarger for the team lead in RBIs, giving him 72. Not only did the home run put the Spartans in the lead for good, it also appeared to take some of the wind out of the sails of the upset-minded Mustangs. It was as if a message had been sent. The Spartans weren't going to lose today.
 
In the fourth, Jayden Orozco reached on a fielder's choice then scored on a Cesar Soto single through the left side of the infield to give the Spartans a 5-1 advantage.
 
The Spartans padded the lead in the fifth as they powered up for two more home runs. First it was Yarger's turn. His drive to right center field might have matched the distance of Robinson's as it cleared the wall and landed near the top of the roof of a storage shed and batting cages. The blast was the twenty-third of the season for Yarger, tying him for the single-season record in MBU baseball history. Later in the inning, Robinson doubled, then Jakob Kouneski followed with a single and advanced to second on a throw to third base. Left-handed hitting Cameron Roll connected on his second home run of the season by launching a high drive over the 40-foot fence in right field. The four-run fifth pushed the lead to 9-1 for the Spartans.
 
The Spartans got their final run of the game via an RBI ground out by Alex Adams in the eighth that scored pinch-runner Kevin Watkins.
 
The Spartans' record now sits at 39-10-1. Despite winning the AMC Regular Season crown 21 times including this year, it's just the seventh AMC tournament title for the Spartans, and their first since 2016.
 
The NAIA Baseball Selection Show is Thursday, May 9, at 4:00 p.m. That is when the Spartans will find out at which of the ten opening round sites they will start play in the NAIA Baseball National Championship Tournament. They will also find out who their opponents will be, in either four or five-team pods.