Jaime leads Master's to double-header split with No. 15 Westmont

It was not the first time this weekend that Master's received a pitching performance from one of its starters that positioned the Mustangs for a win over No. 15 Westmont College.

But Saturday's late game was the first time in two days of tantalizing opportunities that the Mustangs built a lead — and then built on. 

Caleb Jaime produced an impressive complete-game effort in which he allowed one run, struck out nine and did not walk a batter. But the story was that Master's turned a one-run lead into a three-run advantage in the late innings behind Will Batz's opposite-field home run and Roy Verdejo's RBI triple.

The insurance took some of the pressure off Jaime in the bottom of seventh inning, allowing the Mustangs to absorb another clutch home run by Devin Perez on the way to a 3-1 win.

Master's — which lost Saturday's early game 5-4 — is now 14-9 overall and 5-7 in Golden State Athletic Conference play. Westmont is 14-9 and 8-2. 

"Our whole emphasis is to get ahead and don't be satisfied with just a few runs," Batz said. "You have to put the game away."

That was an aspect of this weekend's series the Mustangs would like to do over. Starter Aidan Stout provided Master's with six scoreless frames in a game slated for seven innings Friday, but TMU's offense manufactured just one run and Perez hit a game-winning, two-run homer in the top of the seventh. 

In Saturday's finale, the Mustangs took a 1-0 lead when Kaleyl Anderson stole third and scored on a throwing error. 

Master's finally extended the advantage in the fifth. 

That's when Batz put a smooth swing on a high fastball and belted it over the fence in left center. 

One inning later, Verdejo crushed a fly ball into the gap, the ball crashing into the right-center fence. Verdejo scampered around the bases for his second triple of the year, with Nick Tuttle wheeling around to score from first. 

It was more than enough for Jaime, who needed only 84 pitches to record the first complete game of his Mustang career. The junior's nine strikeouts matched a career high. 

"Oh my goodness, he was pumping everyone up," Batz said. "He was impressive today."

Jaime executed his game plan of pitching aggressively by mixing fastballs, curveballs and changeups, most of them low in the strike zone. 

"I just wanted to fill up the zone," he said, "and give our team a shot and put up a zero every inning and be a bulldog out there." 

In Game 1, the Mustangs took a 3-1 lead in the second inning on Ryan Bricker's two-run single. But Westmont answered as it did for most of the weekend, going ahead in the fourth inning on Brady Renck's two-run double. 

Verdejo tied the score 4-4 in the eighth with an RBI groundout. But a Mustang error in the ninth allowed the winning run to score. The run, unearned, was charged to Kyle Adkins, who was strong in relief. He allowed just the one run on four hits. He struck out five.

Brock Bell had three hits in the game.