TMU Baseball finishes season with doubleheader sweep of ACU

TMU Baseball reached the 30-win plateau on Saturday, as the Mustangs closed out their 2021 season with a Golden State Athletic Conference sweep of Arizona Christian by scores of 2-0 and 6-2 inside Lou Herwaldt Stadium.
 
"Today was a special day for us, particularly for our seniors," Master's head coach Monte Brooks said. "I just want to express gratitude to our seniors who had a wonderful fellowship throughout the year. To have 30 victories was a great accomplishment."
 
The first game remained scoreless until the bottom of the eighth inning, when the Mustangs scored the only two runs by either team. A Nick Tuttle sacrifice fly got TMU on the board before Roy Verdejo smacked a solo shot to left field.
 
Kameron Quitno pitched a complete-game shutout in game one, striking out six while only walking one.
 
The Mustangs' strong pitching carried over into the second game, with TMU limiting ACU to just two runs.
 
The Firestorm went ahead by one in the top of the second, but the Mustangs responded with four runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning.
 
Will Batz scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. Miles Henderson's RBI-triple then gave Master's the lead, before Jeremiah Farris' double plated Henderson. Ryan Bricker's groundout completed TMU's scoring in the inning.
 
In the bottom of the third, Verdejo then hit his second home run of the day and fifth of the weekend to extend the Mustangs' advantage to four. Verdejo finished the regular season leading all GSAC players with 19 home runs and 65 RBIs.
 
"Roy had an incredible weekend," Brooks said. "To see what he accomplished this year was amazing."
 
Arizona Christian got one back in the top of the fourth, but that was the final run the visitors would score in the game. Byron Smith's groundout in the bottom of the fifth completed TMU's scoring on the day.
 
Nelson Schutte earned the win after pitching five innings of two-run ball to go along with his four strikeouts. Ethan Schmidt pitched a scoreless final two innings in relief, striking out two.
 
"Our pitchers were amazing and we were clutch with our hitting," Brooks said on the two victories before complimenting his team's defense. "We probably turned six double plays on the day. There were incredible defensive plays, diving plays."
 
Master's finishes the season with a 30-17 record, including 8-8 in the Golden State Athletic Conference. The Mustangs finished just one game behind Ottawa University Arizona (20-21 overall, 9-7 GSAC) in the GSAC East standings.
 
Arizona Christian (32-23, 7-9) entered the day needing two wins to tie OUAZ atop the GSAC East standings, but TMU spoiled those hopes.