KOKOMO, Ind. – No. 2 seed Transylvania advanced all the way through the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Baseball Tournament winner’s bracket to claim the 2026 Tournament Championship.

The Pioneers concluded their championship journey with a dominant showing on Sunday, defeating No. 3 seed Rose-Hulman, 11-2.

Transylvania got the bats out early, scoring one run in the second, three runs in the third, and three runs in the fourth. All three runs in the third came on home runs, including a solo shot from HCAC Tournament MVP Chris Hedinger (Jasper, Ind.).

The Fightin’ Engineers were able to push a run across in the top of the fifth, but Transy reestablished its cushion in the sixth with two more runs to make the lead, 9-1.

The Pios tacked on two more in the eighth, including Hedinger’s second solo home run of the game, extending the lead to 11-1.

Rose-Hulman got one more run in the ninth, but Transylvania was triumphant by an 11-2 final.

As the HCAC Tournament Champion, Transylvania earns the league's automatic qualifier into the 2026 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship. The championship field will be announced on Monday, May 11 at noon during the NCAA.com Selection Show.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM (In alphabetical order)
Chris Hedinger, Transylvania - MVP

Brenton Alcorn, Transylvania
Drew Bowles, Transylvania
John Girard, Hanover
Jackson McFarland, Earlham
Tyler Orr, Rose-Hulman
Mitchell Roether, Earlham
Jackson Summers, Rose-Hulman
Chase Wagner, Franklin
Griffin Wolf, Anderson


For more information on HCAC Baseball, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the HCAC's home on the internet at www.heartlandconf.org. Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference news by following @HCACDIII on Twitter and by liking the "HCAC DIII" Facebook page.