William Carey opened pool play in the 2026 SSAC Baseball Championship with a dominant 15-1 victory over UT Southern on Wednesday afternoon at Rockabillys Stadium in Jackson, Tennessee, according to the school.
The Crusaders quickly set the tone in the bottom of the first inning. After a leadoff walk and stolen base by DeeJay Booth, Jayden Mark drove in the first run with a single down the left-field line. Tyler Ducksworth added an RBI single later in the inning, giving Carey an early 2-0 lead.
Carey capitalized on a UT Southern error in the second inning to score an unearned run and extend the lead to 3-0. The Crusaders then broke the game open in the third, tallying four runs on four hits. Barron Frazer, Booth and Taylor Walters each drove in runs, with Walters highlighting the inning with a two-run single.
The Crusaders kept the momentum going in the fourth inning. Hays Carley tripled to bring home Gage Hinnant, and Ducksworth added a sacrifice fly. Walters continued his offensive surge with another two-run single, pushing the score to 11-0.
UT Southern scored its only run in the fifth on an RBI single from Evan Nelson, which scored Reagan Tomlin. However, Carey responded immediately, scoring two runs in the bottom of the fifth and adding two more in the sixth. RBI singles from Roth John and Walters, along with a bases-loaded walk from Weston Wales, capped the scoring at 15-1.
On the mound, SSAC Pitcher of the Year Matthew Davis pitched six innings, allowing one run on six hits with six strikeouts to earn the win, according to the school.
Carey is scheduled to continue pool play against Loyola University on Thursday at 4 p.m., the school said.
