LINCOLN, Calif — Back at McBean Park after a walk-off victory, the Warriors took the field twice against two opponents on Saturday. Needing a win to stay alive in the GSAC postseason picture, the Warriors battled early in both games, but big innings by their opponents sent the Warriors home empty-handed.
Jessup came into the day sitting in sixth in the GSAC standings. They remain there after losing their one GSAC game. The top five teams in the conference standings qualify for the GSAC Tournament.
The Warriors looked to lefty
Max Moreno to carry the load against Hope International. On top of that, they looked to offer him run support as
Jaisten Cabatbat sent the second pitch of the game over the fence for a solo home run. Jessup added additional run support in the fourth, plating two on an HIU error, but the elusive shutdown inning could not be found.
With each Jessup run, HIU responded with multiple of their own. The big inning came in the fifth after the Warriors cut the score 4-3. The Royals plated six, followed by an eight spot in the sixth to pull ahead 18-3.
A trio of runs came in for the Warriors in the later innings, one via Brennan Rozell's solo blast, but it was a footnote in an 18-6 conference win for the nation's sixth-ranked team.
Moreno (4-4) takes the loss after surrendering ten runs on nine hits over 4.1 innings on the bump. He was spelled by
Caleb Markwith, who lasted 0.2 innings.
Preston Brook offered the best performance out of the bullpen, holding the Royals scoreless over 3.1 innings in which he allowed just one hit. Brook also fanned four batters during that stretch.
With the conference game in the rearview mirror, on came the Sharks of Hawai'i Pacific, a team led by three Warriors on the coaching staff. It was a reunion of sorts for Jessup Baseball, as members of the 2018 GSAC Championship team were in attendance, set to watch their alma mater take on an NCAA Division II opponent.
Hawai'i Pacific was led by former Jessup assistant Dane Fujinaka. Fujinaka's coaching staff features Jessup alums Ashkhon Kuhaulua and Kreighton Tsuruda-Gaspar.
The Sharks bit first, scoring four in the first inning, but the Warriors fought back with two in the bottom half on Chris Lopez's towering shot over the batter's eye.
Nate Van Patten left the yard in the second, cutting the Warriors within one before a double play brought home the tying run.
Again, the Sharks struck in the third, but the Warriors responded to plate a pair and even the score at six.
HPU tacked on five in the fifth, pulling ahead 11-6, but Jessup just would not go away. Two runs scored on a double from Micah Andres, and then Andres flashed the wheels as he scored on a successful double steal. An RBI groundout from
Nick Kasparian then made it an 11-10 ballgame.
Momentum seemed to be on the Jessup side but then came the seventh. HPU scored seven, all unearned, with two out in the inning, making a comeback impossible as they took the game 18-10.
Only one of Saturday's contests counted towards the GSAC standings, but with just three GSAC games to go, the Warriors sit at 8-12-1. Arizona Christian holds the fifth spot with a .500 record of 9-9. The Warriors do own a tiebreaker over ACU thanks to winning the season series, but with Jessup owning a tie in their record, a tie between Jessup and ACU is unlikely.
The Warriors will play two more non-conference games, a home date with Simpson followed by a trip to Menlo, and then it's on to the final series of the year against The Master's University.
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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).
