Freshman Schutte shines in Master's baseball debut

Saturday marked the pitching debut of freshman Nelson Schutte for The Master's University.

"Entering my first college start I knew I needed to attack hitters and execute pitches," Schutte said. "I've worked my whole life to get this opportunity and I wanted to showcase my talent."

And showcase he did, allowing no hits over 5 ⅔ innings during the first game of Saturday's double-header split against the Marymount California Mariners at Lou Herwaldt Stadium.

Schutte struck out five and walked three, and Caleb Jaime, who relieved his freshman teammate on the mound, carried the no-hit bid into the ninth inning before Marymount broke through. The Mustangs ultimately hung on for a 4-2 win. 

"Most importantly, I wanted to make sure that in failure or success, win or loss, that I praised God," Schutte said. "But I was hoping to give my team a chance to win. Keep hitters off balance and win the game."

While Schutte's exceptional debut helped lead the Mustangs to a victory in game one, their second contest for the day ended with a heartbreaking 6-5 loss in extra innings. 

With Master's down one in the eighth inning of what was scheduled to be a seven-inning affair, Jeremiah Farris singled to center, sending Roy Verdejo sprinting around third base. 

Verdejo was thrown out at home on a pinpoint throw from Mariners center fielder John Muratore for the game's final out. 

The defensive gem kept the Mustangs from repeating what they'd accomplished in the bottom of the seventh inning, when they'd also been trailing by a run. In that inning, Kaleyl Anderson lined a two-out home run over the left field wall to force the game to extras. 

"(Marymount) played really good baseball," said Mustangs head coach Monte Brooks. "We played good baseball, so it was a good opening series for us."

Will Batz's two-run shot in the first inning of game two helped propel the Mustangs into an early 3-0 lead. The Mariners responded in kind the next inning, with a home run from junior Ryan Seibert bringing in three runs to tie the score at 3-3.

After each team responded with another run, Seibert hit another one over the fence to give the Mariners their first lead all day going into the bottom of the seventh inning.

That's when Anderson provided his heroics. But Mariners senior Nicholas Jacobson answered with a double in the eighth that brought in one more run for Marymount, giving them back the lead and denying TMU a sweep. 

The Mustangs made sure they'd win the series by winning Friday's season opener 10-1 and breaking a scoreless tie with a three-run seventh inning in Saturday's early game. 

After Schutte departed, giving way to Jaime, Ryan Bricker doubled in two runs for the Mustangs, and Nick Tuttle provided a sacrifice fly. Byron Smith gave TMU an insurance run with an RBI single in the eighth.

The Mustangs will look to build off this performance when they host Avila University at home Friday in a double-header that starts at 11 a.m.