Edward Waters Beats Kentucky State in 2022 Black College World Series Championship

Rob Tringali/SportsChrome/Getty Images

The Edward Waters Tigers defeated the Kentucky State Thorobreds 3-2 in the second annual Black College World Series on Saturday at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama, to cap off the four-day double-elimination tournament.

The tournament featured eight teams from historically Black colleges and universities, four from NCAA Division II schools and four from NAIA schools.

The championship game was a low-scoring affair, and Edward Waters jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning thanks to momentum from the middle and bottom of the batting order.

Sophomore catcher Anthony Roman got things started with a double down the right-field line. Junior second baseman John Nobles singled to center field to score Roman before senior right fielder Keilin Washington tripled to drive him in.

Kentucky State responded with a run in the bottom of the third inning on a sacrifice RBI from sophomore outfielder Collier Higgs, but that was about as much momentum as they got offensively as they went without another run until the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Tigers added their third run of the night on an RBI single from freshman outfielder Nelsido Nunez and held off the Thorobreds in the bottom of the ninth inning by forcing three quick outs.

Edward Waters reached the championship game after defeating Rust College 9-6 in the first round of the NAIA bracket. After falling 14-1 to Florida Memorial, the Tigers moved into the NAIA losers’ bracket, where they defeated Rust again 8-5. Edward Waters and Florida Memorial met again in the final round of the NAIA bracket, with the Tigers coming out on top 9-8.

Meanwhile, Kentucky State reached the championship game after sliding into the NCAA Division II losers bracket with a 12-2 opening-round loss to Albany State. They made up for the loss with wins over Bluefield State and Albany State in the first and second round of the losers’ bracket to reach the NCAA Division II final, where they defeated Miles 12-7.