SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - In today's doubleheader against the Westmont Warriors, Jessup baseball battled back from a three-run deficit to tie it up in the final inning, but the home team would push the winning run across in the last chance frame to take it 4-3 and in game two an early lead would diminish for Jessup with a four-run inning by Westmont to take game two (4-2) and the series.
Head coach
Jake McKinley commented that Westmont deserves a lot of credit in today's games, "They came out and played well and were deserving of those wins. I thought our guys played hard and competed well. Sometimes you come up on the wrong end of games despite that. That's baseball."
The home Warriors would be the first to strike against the starter for Jessup,
Ashkhon Kuhaulua taking the 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third with a solo home run and tack on another pair of runs in the sixth. Kuhaulua would retire after his 5.2 inning outing with 5 strikeouts as
Danny Vietti would take the mound for the Warriors with Westmont leading 3-0.
The final two innings the Warriors would break through with
Cal Koga starting things off with a shot over the left field wall to bring in two runs as
Will Law singled to lead off the top of the eighth. The tying run would come in the following inning as
Joe Starick enter the box with a runner on second finding a gap through the right side to even the ball game.
Curtis would relieve Vietti but a lead-off single and a pair of walks would favor Westmont in game two for the win, 4-3.
An early lead would be in the Warriors' favor as the first inning as
Kawai Takemura had a lead-off single and Law would hit his 14th home run of the season for the 2-0 lead to get game two on the day started.
Between both teams, 5 runners would be left on base with a scoreless three innings until Westmont came alive in the bottom of the fifth. Westmont would take the 4-2 lead scoring those four runs on three hits with an error by Jessup.
Despite a pair of singles in the top of the sixth, the Warriors were unable to rally back in the 4-2 loss and series loss 2-1.
"I'm extremely confident in our group moving forward and believe we will finish the season strong," McKinley concluded.
The Warriors will host their final home series this coming week kicking things off on Friday at 3 pm against Arizona Christian and Saturday concluding the series with a doubleheader starting at 11 am and senior ceremonies taking place between games.
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William Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on William Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: William Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat).
