On Friday, Jan. 31 the baseball game between The Master’s University and No. 16 Missouri Baptist was paused after eight innings due to darkness. The Spartans had a 12-10 lead.

At this writing, the game was set to continue at noon Saturday, Feb. 1, which was the originally scheduled time for the third and final game of the series. That third game was reset to begin 30 minutes after the completion of the game in progress.

On Friday, Owen Hayes hit two home runs and Ty Beck added his first of the year for the Mustangs.

After giving up a run in the first inning, the Mustangs answered when Beck hit a two-run bomb to center field to put TMU up 2-1. Hayes followed with a solo shot to left field to put TMU up by two.

However the Spartans responded in the top of the second with eight runs off six hits, including a grand slam, to go up nine to three.

But The Master’s offense, which averaged over six runs a game last season and nearly eight runs the year before, kept on working. The Mustangs scored two more in the bottom of the second, another in the third and yet another in the fourth to make it a nine to seven Missouri Baptist lead.

The bats continued to be strong in the fifth. Austin Young tripled to center to score Tommy Gwinn. Then Isaiah Morales singled to center to score Kobe Katayama, the courtesy runner for Young, to tie the game at nine to nine.

However, the Spartans didn’t take long to retake the lead, scoring in the top of the sixth to go up 10-9. They added two more in the eighth to take a 12-9 lead.

As darkness fell on the field in the bottom of the eighth, TMU kept up the fight. A Hayes single to right scored Beck, who had doubled to left center, to get the Mustangs to within two.

But three strikeouts from the next four batters ended The Master’s threat. The umpires stopped the game at that point.

Hayes went three for four on Friday with three RBI off the two home runs. Beck was sitting at two for three with a pair of RBI, and shortstop Isaiah Morales also collected two hits and two RBI.

For more, including the scores of the Saturday, Feb. 1 games, visit GoMustangs.com.