LINCOLN, Calif. – On a day where only one game was played, fans nearly got two games for the price of one as Friday's series finale with the Hawaii Pacific Sharks stretched to the 14th inning. After six frames in a row with neither team plating a run, the visiting Sharks finally put the scoreboard to work, forcing a 10-8 final to end the series.
The series split places the Warriors at 14-6 in conference action. HPU sits at 13-11.
It was the Sharks who scored first on Friday, doing so with back-to-back home runs off
Tyler Moore to open the contest. Jessup countered with a
Drew Andrews RBI in the bottom half, but back came the Sharks with another run in the second. Again, Jessup had an answer as back-to-back doubles from
Jack Grant and
Rudy Rodriguez in the bottom half of the inning leveled the score at three.
HPU then went on their run, scoring four unanswered to take a 7-3 lead.
Jessup broke the scoreless drought in the fifth with a two-run shot from
Cody Antone, and after an HPU run in the seventh, the Warriors again found a way to plate some runs.
The rally began with a bases-loaded walk to score Antone. Rodriguez then responded with a two-run single to level the score at eight.
With things level on the scoreboard, head coach
Trevor Paine went to the bullpen in the eighth inning, calling on his sixth pitcher of the day in the form of
Nolan Thebiay. Thebiay, now a late inning specialist who began last season in the starting rotation, logged the most innings of any pitcher on Friday as he tossed 5.1 in relief.
Thebiay struck out five batters in his time on the mound while allowing just one baserunner via base on balls. At the conclusion of the 12th inning, Paine returned to the bullpen as
Joey Miller made his second appearance of the day.
Miller tossed the final two innings, with the 14th inning being the one that woke up the Sharks. HPU did load the bases in the 13th, but Miller escaped the jam. In the 14th, he did not have the same luck as an RBI single, and a passed ball put two runners across home.
Jessup went down in order in their half of the 14th inning.
Friday's 14-inning contest is the longest in Jessup history. The previous record was a 12-inning game against Westmont in 2021.
The Warriors will get the weekend off before returning to McBean Park for a four-game series with Chaminade. Game one is scheduled for Monday at 6 p.m.
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Jessup University is a provisional member of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division II and the PacWest Conference. 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 (Instagram & X).
