According to the NAIA baseball preseason poll, Missouri Baptist University is the No. 16 ranked team in the nation. But The Master's claimed a 5-3 win over the Spartans in their season opener at Lou Herwaldt Stadium in Santa Clarita, Calif. Thursday afternoon.
The Mustangs had to adapt early as their starting pitcher, graduate student Carson Ohl, left at the end of the first inning due to injury, forcing junior pitcher Carson Knapp to come on in relief.
Knapp would only allow two runs in the five innings he pitched as the batting lineup went to work, something TMU Head Coach Monte Brooks said was important to their win.
"For [Knapp] to come in there and dominate like that was very impressive." Coach Brooks said. "He kept it to solos. No multiple home runs."
The Mustangs could only muster five hits in the game, but two Spartans errors in the fifth inning spawned a pair of RBI base hits by Austin Young and Isaiah Morales as the Mustangs recorded four runs to claim a 4-1 lead.
Senior right fielder Kobe Katayama led the team with two runs while senior third baseman Tommy Gwinn, junior left fielder Zachary Jenkins and sophomore center fielder Scotty Pieper each recorded a run. Junior shortstop Morales led the team with five assists, including a pair of back-handed plays deep in the hole to get a pair of outs.
"We played some real good baseball, very fundamental baseball." Coach Brooks said after the game. "Most games are won in the big inning and we scored a bunch of runs and took advantage of their errors."
The two teams will play the second game of their 3-game series Friday beginning at 2 p.m. The game on Saturday is set for a noon start.
"We've got them two more times and we're thankful and it's gonna be a war." Coach Brooks said about the upcoming games. "But praise the Lord for allowing our guys to experience a game like this, a really tight game and they came through."
