GLENDALE, Ariz. – If there is one thing for certain, Jessup's bats are not broken. After an 11-12 loss to start the series yesterday, the Warriors got back to work on Saturday as they added pitching to the offensive onslaught, outscoring Arizona Christian 31-8 to win their first series of the season.
Head coach
Trevor Paine spoke on his team's performance, noting, "I'm really proud of how we competed all weekend and especially how we responded after facing some adversity yesterday. I thought our offensive approach and quality of at bats was the best through a whole series we've had in years."
Home runs were the story of the day. Jessup hit five home runs in game one, four of which actually left the ballpark.
Rhys De Highden, Chris Cook, Chris Lopez, and
Dirk Ryan all gave the ball a ride, sending one over the fence in a 22-6 victory.
Drew Andrews came off the bench and added his third home run of the season in the ninth inning, doing so by flashing his speed as he legged out a three-run inside-the-park home run.
Jessup scored in six of nine innings, but their biggest number came in the ninth when they pushed across 11 runs. The inning saw the Warriors register 16 plate appearances, leading to 11 runs on six hits.
Left-hander
Max Moreno started game one Saturday. Coming off a shutout a week ago, Moreno lasted 7.1 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits, walking five, and striking out six.
Jason Riviello tossed the final 1.2 innings in relief.
On to the series finale, and there was no slowing down from the Jessup offense. The Warriors struck first on Lopez's second homer of the day, a two-run shot in the second inning. Sacrifice flies from
Kevin Gutierrez and Brennan Rozell added to a four-run inning for the Warriors.
Rozell added another RBI with a triple in the fourth, plating Gutierrez. Cook drove him in one batter later as he sent his second home run of the day over the wall.
"Offensively, Chris Lopez started to get going, Chris Cook had some big swings, and Brennan Rozell set the tone at the top of the order," added Paine. "
Brandon Springer had competitive at bats all weekend and
Rhys De Highden had some very big swings. We need to carry this momentum into next weekend."
A significant storyline leading into Saturday was that of Springer. Springer entered the day on a 12-game hit streak, driving in 19 RBI during that stretch. The sophomore continued his hot streak on Saturday, finishing 6-for-10 at the dish with three RBI and five runs scored.
Springer is now riding a 14-game hit streak in which he has driven in 22 runs during the stretch.
Starting the series finale on the mound was right-hander
Caleb Markwith. After getting tagged with the loss yesterday, Markwith went five innings, allowing two runs on eight hits with one strikeout. He improves to 2-3 on the season.
Charlie Perkins put his rocky outing from 24 hours ago in the rearview mirror after two shutout innings in which he allowed just one baserunner.
Paine spoke on the day of his pitchers, adding, "I was very happy with how we pitched.
Max Moreno was great again,
Caleb Markwith was great in game two, and
Charlie Perkins responded from yesterday by giving us two good innings to finish it out."
Jessup, now 10-10-1 on the season, moves to 4-4-1 within the GSAC. They currently hold fifth place in the conference standings. The top five teams will qualify for the GSAC Tournament in 2023.
Next on the schedule is Jessup's toughest test yet, the No. 10 ranked Royals of Hope International. HIU has won six straight in this series, including last season's GSAC Championship game at OC Great Park.
The action begins from McBean Park at 11 a.m. next Friday. Tickets are on sale
HERE.
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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).
