LINCOLN, Calif. – For the ninth time, Jessup Baseball's season has come to an end as the Warriors wrapped up the 2023 campaign on Saturday against The Master's Mustangs. On a day centered around the seniors, Jessup left the field on a winning note, ending the season with a split.
Saturday was the annual Senior Day celebration for the Warriors as Jessup honored nine players who stepped on the field for the last time. Those seniors were Brennan Rozell,
Dylan Cole,
Jaisten Cabatbat,
Nicholas Hadd,
Dustin McElwain,
Charlie Perkins, Chris Cook,
Joseph Luevano, and
Rhys De Highden.
Jessup hoped to send their seniors out with two victories, and they started on the right foot, scoring five in the bottom of the first. Of those five runs, two came via a walk, with Luevano and
Nick Kasparian adding RBI singles as well.
But the five-run rally was not enough as an error in the fourth setup TMU to plate four, followed by three in the fifth and two in the sixth.
The Warriors went to
Kevin Gutierrez to start game one, the first collegiate start for Jessup's everyday centerfielder. Gutierrez looked shard, striking out five (four looking) over 3.2 innings of work. He allowed four runs, none earned, on two hits.
The combination of
Caleb Markwith, Keola Yim, and
Jason Riviello followed in relief as they combined for eight runs over 4.1 innings of work.
A Rozell RBI double, followed by an RBI single from McElwain, evened the score in the eighth, but the Mustangs struck big in the ninth as they plated five runs to take game one 14-9.
The season finale saw the Warriors turn to
Max Moreno, and in a vintage performance, the lefty dominated. Moreno tossed a complete game, allowing two runs (one earned) on eight hits, walking three while striking out seven.
For the second game in a row, Jessup gave their starter run support in the early going, this time on a three-run homer from
Kayde Iranon. Jessup added a fourth run on Cabatbat's RBI single.
TMU attempted a late rally when, down to their last out, they scored on an RBI double, but Moreno shut the door, sending the seniors off into the sunset one more time as winners.
Jessup caps off the 2023 season 18-22-1 overall and 9-14-1 in conference play.
The Mustangs will be off to the postseason as they clinched the four seed in the GSAC Tournament. They will square off with Vanguard. Westmont clinched the regular season championship, which comes with a first-round bye. Hope International (two) and Arizona Christian (five) will meet in the two-five meeting.
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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).
