(Tempe, AZ) Seven hours and 35 minutes of game time. This is the amount of time it took the Park University Gilbert and The Master’s baseball teams to complete it series ending double header this morning, afternoon and evening at Tempe Diablo Field 1 in Tempe, Ariz., today. When it was all said and done the two teams split the final two games in the series with the Master’s winning game one 20-13 and Park taking the series finale 10-9 in an extra innings walk off.
If you included the time between the end of game one and the start of game two, the two squads spent a total of eight hours and 15 minutes to complete the whole day from first pitch to walk off.
Game 1 – The Master’s 20, Park Gilbert 13
The Master’s jumped out to an early lead and despite some fireworks from the Bucs late, were able to hold on for a seven run win.
The Mustangs took a 9-1 lead after four and half innings and it looked as though this could be a rout. But the Bucs slowly clawed its way back into the game.
Park added three runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth, but every Park Gilbert response was met with an equal answer from the opposition from Santa Clarita, Calif. TMU added three of its own in the sixth and then six in the seventh inning to take an 18-6 lead. In a non-conference contest, the game would have been halted by the 10-run rule. In conference play, the games are played out and Park made a comeback after placing many of its backups in the game adding six runs in the eighth to cut the lead to six. The game ended with TMU adding two more runs and Park one more in the ninth to reach the final total.
Offensively, Eric Rojo, Diego Bejarano and Christian LaPierre each had two hits. Bejarano had three RBI. Off the bench, Ty Matz had a two-run knock as did Mike Short and Xander Orozco. Orozco was just starting his spectacular Sunday with this RBI producing hit in game one.
Isaiah Csader (1-2) took the loss, but threw well over 4.0 innings, allowing eight hits and five runs against a potent TMU squad. Trey Langan threw two innings and Ethan Osness closed things out hurling the final three innings.
Game 2 0 Park Gilbert 10, The Master’s 9 (9 innings)
After a three hour and 53 minute game one where 33 runs were scored, a seven inning second contest looked to be a welcome relief to both teams who were starting to fall short on pitching.
The Bucs started Joel Holguin who was making his first start of the season, but was touted before the season as an arm the Bucs would count on for high leverage innings this season.
Holguin didn’t disappoint in his debut, throwing four plus innings allowing three runs and striking out three. Unfortunately, Holguin felt something which didn’t feel right in his arm in the fifth and was removed from the game. Holguin was also the team’s DH and was not able to continue in this role as well.
After TMU scored a run in the top of the first, the Bucs responded with two runs in the first and second innings to take a 4-1 lead. Josh Leckey came on to throw 1.2 innings and allowed two runs in the sixth to give the Mustangs the lead.
The Bucs had not scored since the second and would need some magic in the bottom of the seventh to tie or win the game.
With one out back-to-back singles by Caleb Rozier and Diego Bejarano put runners on the corners. Gino Caperon, who led the Bucs last year in RBI’s came up big with a two strike single left on a breaking pitch to bring home Rozier to tie the game and send it to extra innings.
After a scoreless eight for both teams, The Master’s looked as though they were going to put the game away as they hit three home runs in ninth. Two solo shots and a two-run blast. The momentum was clearly in the Mustangs corner and after the first two hitters in the bottom of the ninth struck out, the “Battlin’ Bucs” would need to dig deep if they wanted to avoid the sweep.
The last three outs in a game are the hardest to get at times in the game of baseball and tonight was no exception. While TMU gouged the Bucs with homers in the top half of the inning, the Bucs cut the Mustangs with small cuts in the bottom half. With two outs, TMU reliever Evan Schmidt walked the next three hitters to load the bases and was lifted for another reliever who promptly walked in the first run of the inning to cut the lead to three. Orozco
After making another pitching change, catcher Enrique Figueroa took a 3-1 elevated fastball and drilled it to center field for a two-run single to narrow the margin to one. With the tying run at third, the pressure to make a play was building on the Mustangs. Nick Miller hit a routine ground ball towards second baseman Cason Brownell who bobbled the ball, everyone was safe and the tying run came home.
This set the stage for Orozco who replaced Holguin at the DH position when he came out of the game. Orozco drilled a single to center which brought home the winning run and the Bucs corralled their first GSAC victory and second walk off win of the season.
Sunny Patel (4-0) picked up the win after entering the game in the ninth inning in relief of Xavier Merrit.
The Bucs do not have a lot of time to relax as they make the sojourn down to Tucson, Ariz., tomorrow to continue playing in the Tucson Invitational Games. They face Southwest Minnesota State in game one at 1:30 p.m. and Dakota Wesleyan at 5 p.m.
Press Release courtesy of Park University Athletics – Preston English
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