History says fans can generally expect two things from The Master's University baseball team on Opening Day.
For one, the Mustangs will score plenty of runs. And, two, they'll probably win as a result.
TMU beat Bethesda University, 14-3, on Thursday in Herwaldt Stadium, the program's ninth win in its last 10 season openers. The Mustangs have recorded at least nine runs in seven of those games.
The scoring started early Thursday as TMU pushed across three runs in the first inning, two on Joel Larsen's hard-hit single. Master's tagged on three more in both the third and fifth innings, before scoring four more runs in the eighth, highlighted by a Ben Johnson RBI double.
TMU's starting lineup featured plenty of familiar faces — like catcher Byron Smith, who went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and Will Batz, who scored twice and stole a base.
But it was also an opportunity for Monte Brooks, now in his 25th year as head coach, to get a look at most of his roster. Twenty-five Mustangs saw action, and 10 of them recorded at least one hit. Six players drove in at least one run.
It was all more than enough for Alec Akins. The veteran left-hander worked five innings, allowing just one run on four hits. After that, Cade Walker, Austin Ruiz, Ethan Schmidt and Tyler Clark combined to allow one earned run over the final four innings. Schmidt struck out the side in the eighth.
On offense, first baseman Brock Bell opened the scoring in the first with a double that brought home Miles Henderson. Henderson, a freshman, also scored the final run of the afternoon when he came across the plate on a balk.
The Mustangs will face Bethesda again on Friday at 2 p.m. No fans will be permitted, but live stats and video will be available at GoMustangs.com/Watch.
Interested in playing for the Mustangs? Fill out a recruiting questionnaire.
