Monte Brooks has done something very few in the coaching profession have achieved.

On Friday he won his 800th career victory as The Master’s University’s head baseball coach. He is 13th among all active baseball coaches in the NAIA.

The Mustangs are in Fort Worth, Texas, playing the Texas Wesleyan Rams. TMU won the first game of the doubleheader 12-7, giving their head coach his 800th win.

Brooks is in his 27th season as the head coach at The Master’s. In his career, Brooks has led the Mustangs to four NAIA World Series and three Golden State Athletic Conference championships. More importantly, he has consistently demonstrated an unwavering commitment to Christ and Scripture and to discipling the hundreds of players God has blessed him with.

“Monte is exactly the coach we want to have here at TMU,” said Chris Beck, The Master’s athletic director . “His love for the Lord comes out in all he does and especially in the way he serves our athletes. Congratulations on number 800!”

Brooks’ 800th win started off on the perfect note. For the second time this season,Will Batz led off the game with a home run to get the party started. The Mustangs would tack on two more runs in the second inning when back-to-back walks with the bases loaded made the score 3-0.

In the fourth inning and the score now 3-1, TMU would score on an error and two wild pitches. That was followed by an Austin Young single that drove in two to give the Mustangs an 8-1 lead.  The Master’s would add four more runs before the seven-inning game was over, getting the 12-7 win.

Batz, Austin Young, Tyler Grodell and Cason Brownelleach had two hits in the game, with Batz scoring three runs and driving in two. Young and Ty Beck also had two RBIs in the game.

Aren Gustafson got the win, pitching 4.0 innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits and striking out four. Ethan Schmidt pitched the final 3.0 innings, giving up four earned runs on five hits.

Game 2

The road to the next 800 wins for Coach Brooks began 30 minutes after the first game completed, with the Mustangs beating the Rams 10-5 for the two-game sweep.

TMU fell behind 1-0 after the first, scored three in the top of the second but gave up four in the bottom half to trail 5-3 going into the third.

That all changed in the top of the third.

After Ryan Mathiesen got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to get the first Mustang run, Tyler Grodell cleared the bases with a triple. That was followed by a Cason Brownell RBI single and a Will Batz RBI double to put six on the board in the inning and take a 9-5 lead. An Austin Young RBI double in the sixth completed the scoring for The Master’s.

Once again, Batz, Grodell and Brownell each had two hits in the game, with Grodell knocking in three and scoring two himself.

Ian Mortensen started on the bump but only went 1.1 innings, giving up five earned runs on five hits and walked three. He gave way to J.T. Friesen who pitched 4.2 innings, allowing no one to score and striking out two. Ryan Mathiesen pitched a perfect final inning to secure the win.

The Master’s will play Baker University (KS) Saturday in a doubleheader in Fort Worth, Texas.