Two Time National Champions!
Its takes great determination and dedication
to battle for a championship in collegiate
baseball. Add some inspiration and you
will be guaranteed the “W” in the bracket.
Tennessee Wesleyan University became a
two-time baseball national champion with
a 6-2 win over St. Thomas in the final game
of the 2019 Avista NAIA World Series in
Lewiston, Idaho.
As they had throughout the season, the
Bulldogs drew inspiration from 8-yearold
Neyland Picke of Athens. He threw
the ceremonial first pitch before the
championship game. Neyland is attempting
to beat cancer for a third time, the 8-year-old
second grader at City Park Elementary is the
star player of the team. “We played for each
other. We played for everybody in the stands.
We played for our coaching staff. Most
importantly, we played for Neyland,” Junior
Outfielder Bryce Giles said in a release on
the NAIA website. “That was the
biggest thing.”
Bryce Giles was named the Most Valuable
Player of the World Series. For the
tournament, Tennessee Wesleyan (56-10)
led in a number of offensive categories
including batting average (.332), slugging
percentage (.526), runs scored (41), hits (63)
and RBIs (37). The pitching staff for the
Bulldogs had the second-best ERA (3.48) of
the tournament. The 56 wins on the season
are the most in the program’s history dating
back to at least the 2004 season. The second
most wins in a season dating back to the
same time period is 53...the amount the 2012
national championship team had.
The best description for the TWU Bulldogs
attitude can be found in the words of John
Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church,
“Do all the good you can, by all the means
you can, in all the ways you can, in all the
places you can, at all the times you can, to all
the people you can, at all the time you can.”
GOOD JOB BULLDOGS!
SUMMER 2019 McMINN LIFE 17