Detroit Tigers Softball Caps Historic Run at Nike RBI World Series

Credit: MLB

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON www.si.com/onsi/softball

For the first time in Nike RBI Softball history, Detroit has taken the title of World Series Champions.

After being eliminated from the 2024 Nike RBI World Series early on, the Detroit Tigers RBI Softball 18U team entered the 2025 season with new priorities. 

“Last year was our first year coming down here,” head coach Ron Goss told MLB. “It was kind of a shock to see how good everybody was, and then had to deal with the heat. We kind of had a better idea of what we were dealing with.”  

Doing a complete 180, the undefeated team swept through regional play, pool play, and the double-elimination bracket to move on to the World Series championship. The team put up a combined nine runs against its first two opponents during the double-elimination play and held both scoreless. 

“We got stronger,” Goss told MLB. [We] came down here with depth, speed, youth. It means a lot, because Detroit hadn’t done anything like this in a long time.”

In the championship game, the Tigers faced Roberto Clemente for the second time after beating the team in pool play, where two-way player Kaylin Evans led in the circle and at the plate; she only allowed three runs and drove in four. 

They played no differently in the final do-or-die game. Sasha Walker was dominant on the mound and at the plate, recording an RBI. Autumn McSawsby put the Tigers up first with an RBI, and Walker and Sheyle Urena-Jordan added runs in the fourth inning. 

Holding Roberto Clemente to just one run, Detroit silenced the bats and was able to pull off the historic 3-1 victory, becoming the 2025 Nike RBI Softball World Series Champs.

In this Major League Baseball youth outreach program, which provides resources and support for organizations that provide baseball and softball programming with a focus on underserved kids and communities across the globe, Nike RBI has grown from a local program to an international campaign. 

This championship win was a long time coming for Detroit and has the potential to kickstart popularity not just within softball, but also other girls' and women’s sports within the city as well. 

“I feel like Detroit’s very underrated, and the people don’t really see all the talent that’s in it,” infielderSydney Evans told MLB. “So I feel like this could inspire young Black girls to be like, ‘I can do this too,’ and it can put more light on Detroit and the sports that are in it.” 

You can watch Detroit’s historic win on MLB's YouTube account.