Caleb Halverson

The Master’s College baseball team began a three-game home series Friday afternoon against the San Diego Christian College Hawks with a 6-2 win. With the victory, the Mustangs improved to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the GSAC.

A.J. Work (Boise, ID) pitched a solid six innings for TMC and improved to 3-0, giving up five hits and two runs while striking out five and walking only one. Tommy Kister (Saugus, CA) picked up his first save of the season, pitching the last three innings and allowing just one hit.

Three Hawk pitchers combined in Friday afternoon’s game, giving up 10 hits to the Mustangs while striking out four and walking one. The loss went to starting pitcher Nick Greene.

In the bottom of the fifth with one out, Mustang center fielder Caleb Halverson (Temple CIty, CA) hit the team’s first home run of the season, a shot over the right field fence. Jonathan Popadics (Boise, ID) followed with a single and then first baseman Spencer Downs (Kelso, WA) slammed a roundtripper to right field, too . Not to be outdone, designated hitter Joe Riddle (Bakersfield, CA) hit yet another long ball in the bottom of the 8th, this one also to right field.

Popadics, Downs, and Halverson paced the Mustangs’ 10-hit attack with two hits apiece.

The Hawks put up single runs in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively, but solid defense and pitching from the Mustangs kept them from scoring anymore. With this loss, San Diego’s record goes to 5-3 overall and 1-3 in the GSAC.

The two teams will face off again Saturday in a doubleheader that begins at 11:00 a.m.