Mustang rally falls short in the ninth

As left fielder Nick Tuttle tracked a flyball toward the fence, center fielder Max Maitland called out how many steps remained before a collision. There wouldn't be one.

Tuttle stopped, stretched his glove over the barrier and plucked the ball out of the air.  

The sophomore robbed Mike Fitzsimmons of a home run on the play, a rare instance Thursday when the Mustangs were able to turn Fitzsimmons and the University of British Columbia away.

Just days after scoring 47 runs in a four-game sweep of a nationally ranked opponent, Master's found itself on the wrong side of a high-scoring affair, falling 10-9 to the Thunderbirds.

The Mustangs rallied for four runs in the bottom of the ninth, bringing the winning run to the plate. But it wasn't enough on a day riddled with errors and missed opportunities.  

Master's made four errors, surrendered five unearned runs and struck out 11 times, all of which worked against what was another powerful performance.

TMU's Roy Verdejo hit his third home run in five games in the seventh to cut British Columbia's lead to 6-5. And Kameron Quitno turned on a two-strike pitch and laced it over the right field fence in the ninth. The

Mustangs recorded double digit hits for the fifth straight game, but lost for the first time in two weeks.

British Columbia totaled 12 hits, five of them for extra bases. Fitzsimmons finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and four runs scored.  

"We lacked energy early on and it showed," said Tuttle, who walked in the ninth and scored on Byron Smith's double. "We just didn't prepare well mentally. The good news is that we know we need to prepare better for tomorrow."

Said Verdejo, "We have to just move on basically."

The Mustangs will host British Columbia for game two of the four-game series Friday at 2 p.m.

Thursday, Master's struggled in the eighth.

The Thunderbirds turned three hits and two errors into four runs, transforming a 6-5 game into what could have been a lopsided victory.

But Master's wasn't ready to fold. "We'll battle through everything no matter what," Verdejo said.

TMU's Anthony Lepre, who went 10-for-18 with four home runs in last week's sweep of the University of Antelope Valley, led off the ninth with a ground-rule double to dead center, and Quitno followed with the third home run of his career.

The first four Mustangs to bat reached safely, and Max Maitland's two-out RBI single brought the Mustangs within 10-9. They came no closer.

"We made a lot of mental mistakes today," said coach Monte Brooks, "and we gave away some at bats."