The Master’s College baseball team broke out of an offensive slump Saturday, sweeping a doubleheader from Concordia, 7-6 and 4-2.  The sweep secured the Mustangs’ second GSAC series win of the season and improved their conference record to 5-4 (9-4 overall).

James Scott (Canyon Country, CA) threw eight innings in game one, allowing one earned run, however, three unearned runs kept the junior righty from factoring in the decision.  The Mustangs trailed 4-0 in the sixth when shortstop Jon Popadics (Boise, ID) singled in two runs.  Two innings later, the Mustangs took a 5-4 lead on rbi hits by Popadics, Spencer Downs (Kelso, WA), and Chris Talley (Simi Valley, CA).

The offensive surge (10 hits) was due to the team’s mindset, said Popadics.  “We were all confident, we were just having fun…relaxing, hav(ing) fun just playing the game of baseball like we have since we’ve grown up.”

Tommy Kister (Saugus, CA) was unable to close out the ninth for the Mustangs, allowing the tying run to score on a Dillon Bryant rbi single.  The teams traded runs in the tenth and the game remained tied until the bottom of the 13th when Brett Piper (Saugus, CA) singled home Downs for the 7-6 win.  Piper’s hit ended a game that took almost three and a half hours.   TMC’s Daniel Sheaffer (Mt. Airy, NC)  picked up the win (2-0), pitching four innings of one-run ball.

Mustang coach Monte Brooks sent Tyler Elrod (Modesto, CA) to the mound for game two and the righthander didn’t disappoint.  The senior (2-1) picked up the win, throwing five and two thirds innings, allowing two runs on three hits. The Mustang hitters backed Elrod in the second as they scored four runs on three hits, highlighted by a Steven Karkenny (Chatsworth, CA) two-run double.

The sixth inning nearly ruined Elrod’s outing as he allowed two runs before Brooks pulled him with the bases loaded and two outs.  Kister redeemed himself from his game one performance, getting the third out of the inning and then shutting the Eagles down in the seventh to earn his second save of the season and seal the 4-2 Mustang victory.

The club will have just one day to enjoy the sweep before returning to the diamond on Monday to host Menlo in a non-conference game.  The first pitch will be thrown at 2:30 p.m. on Reese Field.

GAME 1

Concordia (CA) at The Master's (Game 1)
                  02/09/13 at santa Clarita, CA (Reese Field)

Concordia (CA) 6 (4-5,2-3)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
BRYANT, Dillon lf........  5  0  2  1   1  0  1  0   0
HOLM, Ty rf..............  4  1  0  0   2  0  3  0   1
OFELT, Spencer 2b........  6  0  0  0   0  3  3  4   4
GARZA, Bryan 1b..........  5  1  0  0   1  3 18  0   0
DIMASCIO, Ryan 3b........  6  2  3  0   0  1  2  4   0
SMITH, Cody cf...........  6  1  3  3   0  1  1  0   0
LEE, Chris dh............  6  0  3  0   0  2  0  0   1
 HURST, Steven pr........  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
KUBER, Chris c...........  6  0  3  1   0  0  6  0   2
 HORTON, Matt pr.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
PALMER, Matt ss..........  2  0  0  0   2  0  1  8   0
 QUINTANA, Adam ph.......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
GARRISON, Chris p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  2  1   0
 ROMERO, Danny p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 GERBER, Phil p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
Totals................... 47  6 14  5   6 10 37 19   9

The Master's 7 (8-4,4-4)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
KARKENNY, Steve lf.......  4  2  1  0   1  0  2  0   0
POPADICS, Jonathan ss....  4  1  2  3   0  0  2  3   0
DOWNS, Spencer 1b........  4  2  3  2   0  0 16  1   0
TALLEY, Chris c..........  5  0  1  1   1  1 12  3   2
 LEAL,Anthony pr.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 POLANCIC, Nalu pr.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
RIDDLE, Joe dh...........  4  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   1
 PIPER, Brett ph.........  2  0  1  1   0  0  0  0   1
SHACKELFORD, Ryan rf.....  5  0  0  0   0  2  2  0   0
HARRIS, Cody 3b..........  4  0  0  0   0  0  2  4   0
ROBISON, Sam 2b..........  5  2  2  0   0  0  2  4   0
HALVERSON, Caleb cf......  4  0  0  0   0  2  1  1   1
SCOTT, James p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  6   0
 KISTER,Tommy p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 SHEAFFER, Daniel p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 41  7 10  7   2  6 39 23   6

Score by Innings                          R  H  E
-------------------------------------------------
Concordia (CA)...... 000 013 001 100 0 -  6 14  1
The Master's........ 000 002 030 100 1 -  7 10  1
-------------------------------------------------

Note: 1 out, 1 runner LOB when the game ended.

E - HOLM; ROBISON. DP - Concordia 2; The Master's 1. LOB - Concordia 9; The
Master's 6. 2B - DIMASCIO 2; SMITH 2; KARKENNY; POPADICS; DOWNS 2. 3B -
ROBISON. HBP - KARKENNY; POPADICS; DOWNS; HARRIS. SH - PALMER; POPADICS;
HALVERSON. SF - DOWNS. SB - KARKENNY; POPADICS; DOWNS; ROBISON. CS - HOLM;
DIMASCIO; LEE; HORTON.

Concordia (CA)         IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
GARRISON, Chris.....  7.2  5  4  4  1  5 25 29
ROMERO, Danny.......  0.1  2  1  1  0  0  3  3
GERBER, Phil........  4.1  3  2  2  1  1 13 18

The Master's           IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
SCOTT, James........  8.0  8  4  1  2  5 29 32
KISTER,Tommy........  1.0  2  1  1  2  1  5  7
SHEAFFER, Daniel....  4.0  4  1  1  2  4 13 15

Win - SHEAFFER (2-0).  Loss - GERBER (0-2).  Save - None.
HBP - by GARRISON (DOWNS); by GERBER (HARRIS); by GERBER (KARKENNY); by GERBER
(POPADICS).
Umpires -
Start: 11:00am   Time: 3:35   Attendance:
Game: B209TMC1

GAME 2

 Concordia (CA) at The Master's (Game 2)
                  02/09/13 at Santa Clarita, CA (Reese Field)

Concordia (CA) 2 (4-6,2-4)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
BRYANT, Dillon lf........  3  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   0
HOLM, Ty rf..............  3  1  0  0   1  0  3  2   0
OFELT, Spencer 2b........  2  1  1  0   1  1  0  0   1
LEE, Chris 1b............  2  0  0  0   1  0  7  0   0
SMITH, Cody cf...........  3  0  1  1   0  1  1  0   2
DIMASCIO, Ryan 3b........  3  0  1  1   0  1  1  1   1
QUINTANA, Adam dh........  2  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
 GARZA, Bryan ph.........  0  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
KUBER, Chris c...........  3  0  0  0   0  0  4  3   3
PALMER, Matt ss..........  2  0  0  0   0  0  2  2   0
BROOKS, Andrew p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 23  2  3  2   4  6 18  9   7

The Master's 4 (9-4,5-4)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
KARKENNY, Steve lf.......  3  0  1  2   0  1  2  0   0
POPADICS, Jonathan ss....  2  0  1  0   1  0  1  4   0
DOWNS, Spencer 1b........  3  0  2  0   0  0  8  0   1
TALLEY, Chris rf.........  3  0  0  0   0  2  1  0   2
RIDDLE, Joe dh...........  2  1  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
TOTH, Spencer c..........  2  0  0  0   0  0  6  1   0
HARRIS, Cody 3b..........  3  1  1  0   0  0  1  1   0
ROBISON, Sam 2b..........  2  1  1  1   0  1  0  2   0
HALVERSON, Caleb cf......  2  1  1  1   0  0  2  0   0
ELROD, Tyler p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 KISTER,Tommy p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 22  4  7  4   2  4 21  8   3

Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Concordia (CA)...... 000 002 0 -  2  3  1
The Master's........ 040 000 X -  4  7  0
-----------------------------------------

E - PALMER. DP - Concordia 2. LOB - Concordia 7; The Master's 3. 2B -
KARKENNY; HALVERSON. HBP - OFELT; PALMER. SH - BRYANT; TOTH. SB - DOWNS.

Concordia (CA)         IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
BROOKS, Andrew......  6.0  7  4  4  2  4 22 25

The Master's           IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
ELROD, Tyler........  5.2  3  2  2  4  5 20 25
KISTER,Tommy........  1.1  0  0  0  0  1  3  5

Win - ELROD (2-1).  Loss - BROOKS (0-2).  Save - KISTER (1).
HBP - by ELROD (OFELT); by KISTER (PALMER).
Umpires -
Start: 3:05pm   Time: 1:45   Attendance:
Game: B209TMC2