This is a news release from Wayland Baptist athletics.

BRYAN – Wayland Baptist slugger Luis Vargas was the hero for Team Independence in the Collegiate Summer Baseball Invitational on Friday night.

When the game between Team Independence and Team Unity, both of whom lost their openers in the three-day, four-team event on Thursday, was tied 5-5 after nine innings, rather than play it out the teams went to a home run derby to decide the winner.

Each team picked two players to participate, with each player getting five outs. Team Unity was represented by Texas Tech teammates Hunter Dobbins, a sophomore pitcher who was born in Bryan, and Nate Rombach, a freshman catcher from Mansfield. Dobbins and Rombach combined to hit two home runs, while Vargas, a 6-foot-5, 235-pound senior outfielder from Boston (born in the Dominican Republic), belted three by himself to give Team Independence the victory.

“Luis was interviewed after the game with L.J. (WBU teammate L.J. Diaz) in the background taking video. The smiles were priceless,” Wayland coach Brad Bass said.

The Collegiate Summer Baseball Invitational is an invitation-only regional formatted tournament featuring rosters composed of 100 top players from universities throughout the country, hand-picked by the CSBI coaching staffs.

Vargas, the Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Year after hitting 20 home runs in 30 games, and Diaz both are members of Team Independence and are two of only three NAIA players competing in the event, along with USAO pitcher Colton Williams.

Vargas and Diaz’s Team Independence lost their first game Thursday to Team Freedom, which advanced to face Team Liberty on Friday. Team Independence will play the winner between Team Liberty and Team Freedom at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. The winner of that game advances to the final at 7:30 Saturday.

Thursday’s games were broadcast on ESPN2, with the rest of the event being shown pay-per-view. More information on the CSBI, including how to watch, is available at www.cbsi2020.com.

“Both days I heard (broadcasters say) ‘Wayland Baptist’ a lot,” Bass said.

The event has been coordinated with local health officials and includes the full quarantining of everyone involved, including players, coaches, umpires and broadcast team. Everyone is being secured in a local hotel for the entirety of the week. All participants were tested for COVID-19 upon their arrival, and are being checked daily for any medical conditions.

This is a news release from Wayland Baptist athletics.