Photo credit: Midland College

What happened: Midland College baseball wrapped up one of the best seasons in program history with a third-place finish at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Baseball World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado.

The Chaparrals finished 53-12 overall, won the Western Junior College Athletic Conference championship, captured the Region V title, and made their first World Series appearance since 2014. Midland College advanced through multiple elimination games at the national tournament before finishing third nationally in a 10-9 loss to Johnson County Community College on Thursday, May 28.

The big picture: One of the biggest storylines throughout the season was the impact of local Midland talent on Midland College’s national semifinal run, including Midland Legacy products Drew Martin, Cole Neatherlin, Jaden Rogers, and Caiden Olivas, Midland High graduate Jake Nava, Midland Christian’s AJ Velarde, and Greenwood pitcher Dylan Dominguez.

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Go deeper: Midland College scored 756 runs throughout the season while finishing with a .367 team batting average, a .488 on-base percentage, a .714 slugging percentage, and 154 home runs. The Chaps also dominated conference play with a 30-6 league record while going 29-6 at home and 17-3 on the road.

Offensively, the Chaps finished with 745 hits, 162 doubles, 40 triples, and 116 stolen bases while scoring double-digit runs in 37 games and reaching at least 15 runs 13 different times.