The Master's University baseball team didn't lack for runs in its season-opening win over Bethesda University earlier this week.
What was absent from a double-digit scoring effort was a home run.
That wasn't the case Friday as the Mustangs won by an identical 14-3 score — this time with the benefit of two round-trippers.
Both home runs were significant, if for different reasons.
Senior Roy Verdejo's three-run shot in the fourth inning was the longest home run of his decorated career. Verdejo has put a charge into the ball at every stop along his baseball journey — whether at Saugus High School, College of the Canyons or TMU.
But he'd never gotten into one quite like Friday's towering blast which carried high into the tree outside left field.
"It was one of the farthest balls I've seen hit," said TMU junior Chandler Smith. "A few guys sitting next to me called it. We had a feeling he was going to hit one."
Smith wasn't sitting for long.
In the fifth inning, head coach Monte Brooks called on the junior to pinch hit, and Smith made the most of the opportunity. He drove a curveball over the wall in left-center for his first collegiate home run.
"It was a great feeling and so fun to celebrate with my teammates," Smith said.
The Mustangs recorded 11 hits in all, three of them from Ryan Bricker, who also had a pair of RBIs. Will Batz was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two stolen bases.
Verdejo finished the day with a pair of hits and four RBIs, three of them coming on the 11th home run of his Mustang career.
Cameron Jones earned the win on the mound during a prescribed bullpen day. Jones went two innings, as did Nelson Schutte and Ben Johnson. JoJo Penberthy and Miles Henderson each contributed a scoreless inning of relief.
The Mustangs will host Bethesda again on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. No fans will be admitted, but live stats and videos will be available at GoMustangs.com/Watch.
