By definition,
Max Maitland knew he needed to make contact, and
Josh Robison knew he needed to sprint.
No one knew exactly how the ninth-inning hit-and-run would unfold as Robison bolted for third, Maitland flared the ball up the middle and Hope International's second baseman backhanded it deep in the hole. Â Â
In short: Robison never stopped. The throw home was wide. And No. 14 TMU beat No. 8 Hope International 5-4 at Lou Herwaldt Stadium on Friday in a matchup of two teams that made the NAIA World Series last season.
Neither squad particularly liked how it started Golden State Athletic Conference play two weeks ago (William Jessup swept Hope; San Diego Christian took two of three from TMU). But both teams were encouraged with sweeps last weekend, and Friday they found themselves in an NAIA top 25 matchup.
Maitland – who had tied the score, 4-4, with a two-run single in the seventh – made sure Master's came out on the right side. Robison didn't stop for anything.Â
"As soon I saw Max hit it, I was dead red," Robison said. "I was going the whole way. I was not stopping."
The Mustangs (10-4, 5-2 in GSAC) spilled onto the field in celebration of their second walk-off win in their last four conference games. They've won five straight, and
Aidan Stout helped slam the door on this one.
The sophomore righty tossed two no-hit innings in relief for the win, his second of the year. Â In the eighth, he got some help.
With a runner at first, third baseman
Kameron Quitno dropped to a knee, backhanded the ball and started a 5-4-3 double play that quelled a Royal charge. Then Stout struck out two Royals looking in the ninth with a pair of 12-6 hammers.
"I liked Aidan," said TMU coach
Monte Brooks. "He came in and he threw strikes against a good club. In a pressure situation, for a sophomore to come in there was huge."
Brooks, though, felt the Mustangs started flat. The scoreboard agreed.
Hope took a 1-0 lead in the first on a John Santospago home run. After another Hope run in the third, Frank Garriola made it 4-0 with a two-run homer in the fifth. Â
TMU starter
Scott Savage was otherwise electric, striking out a career-high 10 over seven innings of work.
The Mustangs got on the board in the sixth with an RBI single from
Jaiden France, who finished 2-for-3.
Ryan Bricker singled in a run in the seventh, and the rally was on in what is TMU's biggest series of the year to this point. Â
"We really just play the game not the opponent," Maitland said. " … It's about how we play."
The Mustangs will host Hope again Saturday in a double-header. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. with the second game to follow approximately 30 minutes after the first's conclusion. Â
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