SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The Russ Carr Field scoreboard always reflected the nature of Friday's game if not always the score.
At one point, the board flashed five runs for Westmont College in a fourth inning that hadn't happened yet. That would have put The Master's University behind by 10. The deficit was not so severe — not yet.
The Mustangs proceeded to lose 14-2 at Westmont and will now finish .500 or below in Golden State Athletic Conference play for the first time since 2012.
"They took advantage of opportunities, of errors and miscues, and that opened the door to put on some runs," said TMU coach Monte Brooks.
Master's (24-21, 16-18 in GSAC), which already qualified for the GSAC tournament, will look to avoid its first losing campaign in conference since 2011 during Saturday's double-header with Westmont (12 p.m. first pitch).
Friday centered on adversity.
Junior Preston White made his third career start since moving into the rotation from the closer role. He battled. But the Mustangs made a crucial error behind him, and a handful of reasonable plays weren't made. White allowed eight runs (four earned) in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out four and walked two.
Westmont (31-14, 23-11) scored two in the first, three in the third and, though the scoreboard operator wasn't a fortune-teller, three more in the fourth, as Tyler Roper laced a sharp ground ball that caromed off the second base bag and rolled into center, driving in two.
The game was interesting early.
Down 2-0, the Mustangs turned three Westmont errors into a run in the third, Nick Tuttle scooting home when Josh Robison's infield single was subsequently thrown into TMU's dugout.
White, sitting on the bench, had to dodge the throw. He rarely caught a break on a day he fouled a pitch off his left shin as a batter and watched a tennis-ball-sized bump form.
Brooks considered lifting his flame-throwing righty, but White wanted to continue.
"It was pretty tough landing on it, that being your plant leg," White said. "But I was just trying to get it done for the team. I didn't want to come out. I wanted to get some outs and help us win."
White, TMU's primary right fielder when he isn't pitching, said he expected to play Saturday. He also spoke to what he believes the Mustangs must do to bounce back.
"We've got to play hard, obviously. We have to play smarter. We have to be more disciplined," he said. "And especially on the pitching end, we have to locate pitches and get these guys out. These are really good hitters. Especially the middle of their order."
In the sixth, Brooks shook up his lineup, and the Mustangs responded. Kam Kilchrist hooked a double down the left field line. Ethan Brandt flared a single to right. And Kameron Quitno drove in Kilchrist with a sharp single. It was 8-2. And not for long.
Warrior Henry Hedeen promptly launched a three-run homer in the bottom of the inning.
Robison finished 2-for-2 and Eric Williams provided 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for the Mustangs, who secured a berth in the GSAC tournament last week and can finish no higher than fourth place or lower than fifth place.
However, Master's entered the weekend one game ahead of Hope International. The higher finishing of the two will be the home team when they play in the first round of the GSAC tournament later this month, Brooks said. Hope won Friday.
The Mustangs also have aesthetics to think about. Wins over Westmont, the NAIA's No. 25 team in the latest poll, would look good in a bid for an at-large berth to the national tournament, a tournament it hasn't missed since 2012.
The key to turning the tide Saturday?
"Honestly, just forget about baseball," said catcher Ryan Bricker. "Go back, take care of our bodies, get something good to eat, get some rest. Kind of forget about today."
