Mustangs fall to British Columbia in rain-shortened game

For the second day in a row, British Columbia capitalized on Mustang miscues, and this time the game didn't get past the sixth inning. 

Master's fell 8-2 in a game shortened by rain. 
 
"We need to take care of the baseball," said TMU coach Monte Brooks.  "Play catch. We need to have better plate discipline."
 
The nonconference loss dropped the Mustangs to 5-3-1.
 
For the second time in as many days, the Mustang offense got on track early, scoring twice in the last of the first frame.
 
Senior center fielder Max Maitland led off with a single, swiped second base, and scored on Aaron Shackelford's double to left field.
 
It was the senior shortstop's team-leading sixth double of the season and 12th RBI.  He eventually scored the frame's second run when Nick Tuttle worked a bases-loaded walk off Thunderbird starter Adam McKillican.
 
However, they left the bases loaded and that would come back to haunt them.
 
McKillican was gone when the Mustangs came to the plate in the second inning and their offense went with him.
 
They never scored again off two UBC hurlers although they tallied three more hits and drew a like number of walks.
 
On the other hand, the Thunderbirds used a Ben Mitchell three-run homer in the top of the second off Mustang starter Aidan Stout (1-1) to take the lead for good.
 
Then in the fifth, UBC put the game away, capitalizing on a trio of Mustang errors to score two unearned runs in a four-run frame for a 7-2 lead.
 
The Thunderbirds scored another unearned run in the top of the sixth to complete the scoring.
 
In the rain-shortened game, the Mustangs managed just five hits, two of those off Maitland's bat.
 
The clubs wrap up their four-game series on Saturday with a doubleheader that starts at 11:00 a.m. at Herwaldt Stadium.