The Mustangs gave up seven runs in the top of the fifth to lose to the Cedarville Yellow Jackets 8-5 Monday at Lou Herwaldt Stadium.
Two errors in the inning, plus a pair of home runs, a 2-run triple and two singles is what helped the Yellow Jackets put seven on the board.
And while TMU clawed back with five runs after going down 7-0, it was not enough.
"The big inning wins games and we didn't shut it down," said TMU Head Coach
Monte Brooks. "We made an error to let a kid get on and they took advantage of the error and had a big inning."
Matt Chapman took the hill for The Master's (5-3), and while he took the loss due to that fifth inning, he still struck out four and gave up no walks in 4.1 innings of work. Only three of the runs he gave up were earned.
"Matt threw good," Brooks said. "That's his best outing and he threw very well. He was down in the zone and got outs. So it was good to see him have a good outing."
After going down 7-0, the Mustangs began to work their way back.
Kobe Katayama scored on a Zach Jenkins fielder's choice in the bottom of the fifth, and an inning later, a groundout to short by
Owen Hayes scored
Isaiah Morales to make it 7-2.
The next batter was
Jack Drew who cracked the first homer of his collegiate career, a 2-run shot to left to draw TMU to within three.
Then in the bottom of the eighth, Hayes hit a solo shot to left, his third home run of the season, to make it 7-5.
An RBI single in the top of the ninth put across the final run to give Cedarville the 8-5 win.
"The kids have been very good this year about playing nine innings and playing pitch-by-pitch to try to win innings," Coach Brooks said. "We had chances there, but just came up short."
The Master's will have a 3-game series against NCAA Division II Cal Poly Pomona beginning Friday at Lou Herwaldt Stadium followed by a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 2 p.m./
