LINCOLN, Calif. – Jessup baseball was back in action Friday, as the Warriors played host to the Hawks of San Diego Christian for day one of two doubleheaders scheduled for the weekend. The Warriors picked up a much-needed win in game one to snap a nine-game losing skid but were haunted by some late mistakes in game two that allowed the Hawks to steal the split.
 
Jessup found itself in a back and forth contest in the first game of the day. The Hawks struck first in the second inning, plating two runs with the help of an error in the outfield by the Warriors. Jessup's bats responded well, tying things up thanks to a pair of RBI singles by Dylan Cole and Rhys De Highden.
 
San Diego Christian retook a two-run lead in the fourth, this time from a two-run homer off the bat of Ryan Lystlund. In a case of Deja Vu, the Warriors put up two runs in the bottom frame once again with another set of RBIs from De Highden and Dustin McElwain. 
 
Jessup took its first lead of the day when Kawaiola Takemura came home on an error to make the game 5-4. The Hawks tied it up at five again, but Jaisten Cabatbat scored the eventual winning run in the bottom of the eighth for the boys in black on a passed ball.
 
On the mound, Danny Chavez battled in his six innings of work, surrendering five runs, four earned, on seven hits and retiring four batters on strikes. Marlin Brucato earned the win in relief, entering the game in the seventh inning and finishing the final three innings. Brucato allowed just one hit in three shutout innings to preserve the 6-5 victory.
 
"Chavez threw well and gave us a chance to win; Brucato was really good behind him to slam the door," said head coach Trevor Paine. "We were able to scratch across enough runs to ultimately come out on top, and that's always positive."
 
Jessup picked up right where it left off to start game number two, as it jumped out to a 6-1 lead after three innings with the help of a towering three-run homer by Dylan Cole that cleared the batter's eye in center field. 
 
Dirk Ryan helped extend the lead to 8-1 in the fourth when a two-RBI single brought home his fourth and fifth runs of the afternoon. 
 
That is where the trouble started, however, as the Hawks scored five runs in the fifth inning to cut Jessup's lead to two. Jorge Perez doubled the lead with a two-run shot in the bottom of the sixth, but the Hawks scored four runs in the seventh inning to send the game into extra innings. San Diego Christian put up another four spot in the ninth to take a 14-10 victory and split the day.
 
"Getting out to a big lead was big but not being able to hold the lead hurt," added Paine. "When the game got tight, we just didn't do a good enough job making plays and executing pitches and kind of just let them chip away, come back into it."
 
The two schools will be back in action tomorrow at The Bean to wrap up the weekend series with another set of doubleheaders. The first game is scheduled to begin at 11 am.
 
"It's a new opportunity tomorrow with two more games and the chance to win a series in conference play. So we've just got to flush Game Two today and come out ready to play tomorrow, "said Paine.  
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).