TMU baseball swept Oregon Tech in Friday's doubleheader by scores of 6-5 and 3-1, as the Mustangs positioned themselves to win the four-game series in Klamath Falls, Oregon with just a single victory on Saturday.
"We pitched the ball well today," Master's head coach
Monte Brooks said. "I'm encouraged by winning on the road. That was big for us."
In the opening game of the day, Oregon Tech took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning with a bases-clearing double.
Ryan Bricker's RBI sacrifice bunt got the Mustangs on the board, but a two-RBI double in the bottom of the third put the Owls up by four, 5-1.
However, the Mustangs shut out the home side the remainder of the game, as TMU chipped away at its deficit before taking the lead for good in the ninth.
"We kicked the ball early, which opened it up for them," Brooks said. "They had one big hit to take the lead, but I really like how we kept pecking away and had the chance to come through."
Solo home runs from
Roy Verdejo and
Will Batz in the fourth and fifth respectively cut Oregon Tech's lead in half. Verdejo then scored on a wild pitch in the top of the sixth, before Master's capitalized on an error in the eighth to tie the game.
Then in the top of the ninth, a
Byron Smith walk with the bases loaded gave the Mustangs their first lead of the game. TMU stranded three runners on base, but
Benjamin Johnson closed the door on the Owls to preserve the victory for Master's. Johnson pitched five scoreless innings of relief with seven strikeouts to earn the win.
"Ben came in and did an excellent job for a long time," Brooks said. "He threw a lot of pitches, but hung in there."
The Mustangs' strong pitching carried over into the second game of the day, with
Nelson Schutte pitching five innings of one-run ball with five strikeouts.
"After the first inning, Schutte really settled in and had a good outing," Brooks said.
TMU (12-8 overall) faced another early deficit in the second game, trailing 1-0 after one, but shut down the Oregon Tech (6-10) for the remaining six innings of the seven-inning game. A bases-loaded walk from
Brock Bell tied the game in the fifth, before
Joel Larsen's pinch-hit two-RBI single in the sixth scored the winning runs.
"
Joel Larsen had a great day in the clutch in both games," Brooks said.
Ethan Schmidt pitched 1.1 scoreless innings to earn the win, while
JoJo Penberthy recorded the final two outs to earn the save.
The two teams are scheduled to return to Kiger Stadium on Saturday for a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m.
