Mustangs get mid-week win over Firebirds

Austin Young and Conor Christiansen banged home runs to lead The Master's to a 12-8 non-conference win over the Saint Katherine Firebirds Tuesday at Lou Herwaldt Stadium.

The Mustangs (21-16, 7-14) collected 14 hits, with five of those being for extra bases, as they re-discovered their offense.

"It was really exciting to see us string some hits together and put a crooked number up early in the game," said TMU Head Coach Monte Brooks. "That was really a blessing. It was a thrill to see it. We got [five] extra base hits, which we haven't had for a while. 

The crooked number TMU put up early came in the bottom of the first when five runs were pushed across the plate, highlighted by Austin Young's sixth home run of the season.

The Firebirds answered in the top of the third with an RBI single and a 2-run double to cut the difference to 5-3. 

But Conor Christiansen's solo shot to left-center in the bottom of the third made it a 3-run difference.

The middle innings were filled with scoring from both teams. USK scored two in the top of the fifth to cut the lead to 6-5, only to have the Mustangs answer when Gage Webster stroked a pinch-hit single up the middle to score both Owen Payn and Matt Lloyd.

An RBI single for the Firebirds in the top of the sixth cut the lead to 8-6. But in the bottom half of the inning, Ty Beck's single scored Cason Brownell, Miles Henderson's sacrifice fly plated Young, and Christiansen's fielder's choice brought Beck home to push the Mustangs' lead to 11-6.

Saint Katherine kept up the pressure though, scoring two in the top of the seventh to get back to within three. But Young's double to right in the bottom of the seventh brought in Payn to make it 12-8.

Robby Schardt got the start, going 2.2 innings, giving up three unearned runs on two hits with two strikeouts. Ryan Shalkevich came on for 1.1 IP to get the win, followed by 1.0 from Nolan Inouye, 2.0 from Ethan Schmidt and 2.0 from Michael Chung.

"I thought [Shalkevich] did a really good job shutting the door," Brooks said. "And then I really liked Michael [Chung] at the end. Knowing that he wanted to seal the deal and he did it. It's fun to see him healthy. He hasn't been healthy in two years. So just blessed that he has recovered and gets a chance to be with us."

Young finished 3 for 5 at the plate with the home run and two RBI. Christiansen was 2 for 4 with his homer and four RBI. Beck and Davis Beavers each had two hits apiece.

"These mid-week games are big because you're in game-like situations to prep you for the weekend, and this is a big weekend coming up," Brooks said.

The Master's will close out their conference schedule hosting Arizona Christian for a 3-game series beginning Friday at 2 p.m. The Mustangs are in sixth place in league, but the top five teams go to the GSAC Baseball Championship Tournament. So TMU must win and see Vanguard, which has just a one-game lead over the Mustangs in fifth place, lose.