Mustangs work extra to beat Menlo twice

The second game of GSAC double-headers consist of seven innings.
 
It's supposed to bring the day to a more expedient close than its nine-inning counterpart.
 
Unless, it lasts 11 innings and four hours and 14 minutes like Saturday's second game between The Master's and Menlo.
 
Even that didn't stop the Mustangs from winning when Roy Verdejo's bloop single in the top of the 11^th plated Jeremiah Farris with the winning run in a 7-6 victory.
 
Coupled with a 16-8 win in the opener, the Mustangs (23-9-1, 16-6 GSAC) won their 10^th and 11^th games in a row and swept their fifth consecutive doubleheader to stay even with Vanguard at the top of the conference.
 
"An incredible weekend," said Mustang head coach Monte Brooks.  "To be on the road and play with such tenacity and heart.  I'm so happy for the team!"
 
Game one featured another offensive explosion by the Mustangs, who recorded their 10^th double-digit, run-scoring outing of the 2019 campaign.
 
As they had done in eight of their nine previous games, the Mustangs scored in their initial at-bat, recording two runs on an Aaron Shackelford triple and a Verdejo groundout.
 
The Oaks countered in the last half of the frame, taking advantage of two Mustang errors to score three unearned runs.
 
Mustang starter Eric Williams (3-3) made it through that frame and wound up going six innings, allowing just one earned run, scattering four hits, and striking out five.
 
That 3-2 lead lasted all of half an inning as the Mustangs capitalized on a trio of Menlo miscues and rapped out four hits to score six runs in the top of the second for an 8-3 lead.
 
Highlighting the outburst were a trio of doubles, all producing runs, from Farris, Verdejo, and Will Batz.  Anthony Lepre's two-run single snapped a three-all tie.
 
The Mustangs were never threatened after that and extended their lead with an offense that produced 16 hits.
 
In a three-run fifth, Kameron Quitno singled in one run and Ryan Bricker hit a two-run double to right-center field.
 
Three innings later, Quitno capped a five-run eighth with a three-run homer to right field.  It was the sophomore first baseman's second shot of the season.
 
Quitno was 2-5 with a season-high four RBI.
 
Earlier in the frame, Lepre singled in a run and Verdejo added a sacrifice fly.
 
Lepre went 4-5 with three RBI and Verdejo was 2-4 with four RBI.
 
The nightcap wasn't as prolific.  It was just more tense.
 
It started in typical fashion when Lepre's sacrifice fly in the top of the first inning plated Aaron Shackelford for a 1-0 lead.
 
The Oaks tied it in their initial at-bat, then added four more runs in the third inning to jump ahead 5-1.
 
However, no opponent's lead is safe against this Mustang offense that leads the GSAC with 52 home runs.
 
The Master's carved into the lead with an unearned run in the top of the fourth and then tied the game with three more in the fifth on two swings of the bat.
 
The first homer came off Shackelford's bat, a two-run blast to right field.  It was his 18^th of the season.
 
Then Lepre tied it at 5-5 with a solo blast to left field, his 19^th of the year.
 
That homer tied the program's single-season record set by Eric Blackwell in 2009.
 
"I really don't talk about the home runs much," said Lepre.  "It's more about winning and helping the team every way I can."
 
And, help he did.  His bases-loaded walk in the seventh eventually forced extra innings, four to be exact.
 
That RBI was his club-leading 55^th of the year to go along with a sparkling .463 batting average and a jaw-dropping 1.531 OPS.
 
When questioned about putting up those type of numbers, the senior said, "I never really thought about it.  I just wanted to do as well as I can.  I try not to think about my numbers and just play the game."
 
In the top of the 11^th, Farris walked and was sacrificed to second base by Max Maitland.  He raced to third on a wild pitch and then came home on Verdejo's game-winning base hit.
 
Mustang reliever Aidan Stout, one day after notching a save with 2 2/3 innings of work in Friday's opening-game win, made that run stand up.  He picked up his fourth victory (4-1) in Saturday's nightcap with five innings of gutsy, shutout ball.