Spirit rally to spoil TMU Baseball's opener in the desert

TMU baseball held a four-run lead after the top of the eighth inning, but Ottawa University Arizona scored five runs in the bottom half of the eighth to defeat the Mustangs, 10-9, in Surprise, Arizona on Thursday night.
 
"It was an extremely disappointing loss," Master's head coach Monte Brooks said. "Nelson Schutte threw a pretty good game and the top of the order had some big hits, but we beat ourselves."
 
Schutte was in line for the win after pitching seven innings, while giving up five runs (four earned) and striking out six batters. Two Mustang errors, which resulted in three unearned runs, proved costly.
 
Despite outhitting the Spirit 15-14, Master's left four more runners on base (12) than OUAZ did (eight).
 
"It was one of our biggest hitting days of the year, but we still stranded too many baserunners," Brooks said.
 
The top of TMU's lineup produced two runs in the first inning, as Will Batz scored on a wild pitch and Roy Verdejo hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Brock Bell from third. The Mustangs tacked on two more in the third when Ryan Bricker scored on a passed ball and Nolan Inouye hit an RBI-single to plate Jackson Beck.
 
OUAZ (5-6 overall) got two back before Bricker's bunt single scored Batz in the sixth. After the Spirit matched the Mustangs with a run of its own in the bottom half of the inning, Beck scored on a wild pitch after a Joshua Lee walk in the top of the seventh.
 
The home side then scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to get to within one. The Mustangs added three insurance runs in the top of the eighth, off RBI-singles from Bricker and Verdejo, along with an RBI-fielder's choice by Kameron Quitno.
 
However, the Spirit were not done yet. OUAZ scored five times in the bottom of the eighth, including two runs that were unearned, to take the first game of the four-game set.
 
Batz finished a home run short of the cycle, hitting 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Bricker also recorded three hits, batting 3-for-4 with two walks, two runs and two RBIs. Verdejo (2-for-4, one run, two RBIs), Byron Smith (2-for-3, two walks, one double) and Bell (2-for-5, one run, one triple) also posted multi-hit outings.
 
Thursday night's game was TMU's first away contest of the season after playing 14 straight at Lou Herwaldt Stadium to open up the 2021 campaign. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday, beginning at 3:00 p.m. PST, before completing their series with a single game on Saturday.