The Master's University baseball team erupted for 20 runs, including 14 in the first inning, in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against Oregon Tech, as the Mustangs completed a four-game sweep of the Owls. TMU won by scores of 8-4 and 20-3.
"That first inning was incredible," Master's head coach
Monte Brooks said. "It was wonderful to experience. The guys played with a lot of joy and they made that a priority, even before the first game. They were very committed to that, no matter what the outcomes were."
Master's almost batted through the order twice in the first inning, with 17 batters stepping up to the plate.
Will Batz led off with a triple, with
Brock Bell knocking him in with an RBI-single, one of four run-scoring singles that the Mustangs recorded in the inning.
Roy Verdejo and
Joe Terlizzi added RBI-doubles, before Verdejo and
Miles Henderson homered to complete TMU's scoring in the first.
The Owls got two back in the bottom half of the inning, but Master's added four more in the top of the second. Bell's third run-scoring hit of the game, this one a double, plated Batz, before a
Ryan Bricker single and another Terlizzi double further stretched out the Mustangs' sizable lead.
A two-run homer from
Nolan Inouye capped off TMU's scoring in the game, with Master's eclipsing 20 runs scored in a game for the first time since April 5, 2019.
The Mustangs' offensive onslaught in game two continued what TMU started in the ninth inning of the first game. Trailing 3-2 and down to its final three outs, Master's exploded for six runs to ultimately win by four.
"We had a big ninth inning in the first game and that just carried over," Brooks said. "I'm really pleased with the way we swung the bat the last inning of the first game and then the first inning of the second game."
Bell's two-RBI double in the ninth gave the Mustangs their first lead in Saturday's opener, before Master's tacked on four insurance runs via a
Byron Smith single, a Terlizzi hit by pitch, a Henderson walk and a Batz hit by pitch.
Alec Akins pitched five strong innings in the first game, only conceding two earned runs, while striking out four.
Adam Rubio earned the win with his three innings of one-run ball in relief.
JoJo Penberthy then struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the victory.
"It was a great road trip," Brooks said. "We had really solid pitching to keep us in games and help us get three come-from-behind wins. Then we exploded with the bats. Guys played a little more aggressively and much more relaxed."
Master's (14-8 overall) is scheduled to hit the road once again next weekend to take on Arizona Christian (23-11) in a four-game series beginning on Friday. The Firestorm took three out of four games against the Mustangs earlier this season in Santa Clarita.
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