Lewiston, Idaho — On a TMC club blessed with a trio of top-of-the-line starters, it’s hard to determine who the ace is.

Brad Lohse made a case for that role Saturday afternoon when he spun a complete-game six-hitter, propelling The Master’s College to a 6-1 elimination-game win over Science & Arts of Oklahoma on the second day of the 2016 Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series.

The victory sends the Mustangs (42-18) into another must-win game on Monday when they’ll play Sterling of Kansas, which lost to second-seeded Tennessee Wesleyan later on Saturday.

Following the win, Mustang head coach Monte Brooks said, “This was a timely victory for us. Brad (Lohse) threw a fabulous game. He did a really good job of getting ahead of hitters and keeping the ball down in the zone.”

Lohse (10-3) continued his workhorse-style of pitching in the postseason, hurling his second complete game in a row and his third of the season while winning his fifth straight decision. He walked no one and struck out three.

His dominance showed early when he retired the side in order in the first and fourth innings, respectively, and allowed just two runners to reach second base until the sixth when the Drovers scored their lone run on a double and a single. He closed with a flourish, setting down the final nine batters he faced.

Meanwhile, his teammates gave him runs to work with. A day after managing just four hits in a 7-1 loss to Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), the Mustangs rapped out 13 hits. Three of those, paired with a Drover error, gave the Mustangs a 2-0 lead in the second inning.

Consecutive one-out singles by David Sheaffer and Collin Nyenhuis, and a Jonah Jarrad fielder’s choice plated the game’s first run. Following an error that allowed Nyenhuis to reach second base, Aaron Shackelford capitalized with a two-out base hit through the right side that plated the Mustang first baseman.

Four innings later, the Mustangs extended their advantage to 3-0 and Sheaffer was the instigator again. He opened the sixth inning with a single through the left side and raced around the bases to score on Nyenhuis’ double down the left-field line.

After the Drovers sliced the deficit to 3-1 in the sixth inning, the Mustangs answered back with single runs in each of the final three frames to put the game away.

In the seventh, Max Maitland led off with a single, moved to second base on Brandon Van Horn’s sacrifice bunt and kept on going to third after Drover pitcher Alsis Hererra threw Van Horn’s bunt away. Moments later, Michael Sexton brought Maitland home with a sacrifice fly to center field.

The Mustangs made it a 5-1 game in the eighth, employing small ball to forge a four-run lead. With one out, Jarrard reached on an infield single, courtesy runner Danny Lutz stole second base, moved to third on a Pearson Good single, and sprinted home on Shackelford’s sacrifice fly to left field.

They tacked on the game’s final run in the ninth, using two singles and the last of four Drover errors to get the job done. Van Horn and Sexton opened the frame with consecutive base hits and when Drover centerfielder Chris Musick’s throw to nail Van Horn at third base went awry, the senior shortstop scored for a 6-1 lead.

Van Horn and Sexton were two of five Mustangs to collect two hits apiece. Sheaffer, Nyenhuis, and Shackelford (two rbi) joined that duo.

Brooks was thrilled with his club’s production at the plate, saying, “Offensively, our guys had a lot of timely hits and they displayed good base running to get runs across.”

The Mustangs get a much-anticipated day off on Sunday before rising early on Monday morning to play their 9:00am game against Sterling..