LINCOLN, Calif. – After splitting yesterday's doubleheader, Jessup baseball entered Saturday in search of its first series win of the season as the Warriors hosted Bushnell in the rubber match of the weekend series.
Despite hitting three home runs, it was not Jessup's afternoon as the Beacons piled it on in the late innings to take the game 10-3.
Bushnell wasted no time getting on the board, as Jordan Wilson sent a two-run homer over the left-center field fence in the top of the first to put the Beacons on top 2-0. The Beacons did most of their damage in the seventh and eighth innings, putting up a four-spot and three-spot consecutively to blow the game wide open.
Brandon Springer had an impressive afternoon, sending two solo shots over the left field fence on a 3-for-4 day. Chris Lopez hit a solo home run for the Warriors in the ninth.
Jessup threatened several times but had a hard time bringing runners home, as it left a grand total of seven runners on base in the third, fourth, and fifth innings.
On the defensive end,
Joey Miller was a bright spot for the Warriors as he struck out five in 3.2 strong innings of relief work. Miller surrendered four runs, but all were unearned as the result of errors in the field.
Kimo Wilinski pitched three innings and gave up three runs, all earned, as the starter for Jessup.
The Warriors will wrap up their homestand on Tuesday as they welcome their neighbors from just up I-5, Simpson, in a Valentine's Day afternoon contest. After that, Jessup will head down to Southern California to open GSAC play at San Diego Christian.
Jessup skipper
Trevor Paine feels that the first road trip of the season could not come at a better time, as he thinks that some time away from the home field can be just what the Warriors need to get back on track after a 3-6 start.
"We just need to hit the road and get away from McBean for a little bit. It'll be good to hop on a bus and go down there and see new sights. Maybe that'll get us going a little bit," said Paine. "I'm hoping that it kind of brings the guys together a little bit."
Asked what the message is to the team after a less-than-ideal start, Paine said, "we just have to play better. We have to be better with the work we put in during the week, and we need to still play with more confidence. I think right now we have some guys pressing, some guys just playing not as confidently as they can be. Hopefully, we can get on the right track starting Tuesday."
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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 Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter & Instagram).
