Game Recap By Mason Nesbitt, TMU Sports Information Director

It was cold enough Saturday that coach Monte Brooks held the Mustangs’ postgame debrief inside a dugout at The Hangar in Lancaster, instead of in the outfield.

There, Brooks regaled a week that included 11 home runs and a four-game sweep of the University of Antelope Valley, capped off by 17-15 and 9-0 wins over the NAIA’s No. 7-ranked squad on Saturday.

Then Brooks reached into his jacket pocket and revealed a surprise: the baseball senior Aaron Shackelford had knocked over the fence in the day’s second game, breaking the program’s all-time home run record with his 35th longball.

Shackelford’s father, Rod, had retrieved the baseball and presented it to Brooks.

Aaron Shackelford ultimately gifted the ball back to his dad as part of the weekend’s best storyline – but not its only one.

In Saturday’s early game, Anthony Lepre belted a home run his first time up, giving him homers in three straight at-bats dating to Friday’s seventh and eighth innings. But even that wouldn’t prove to be enough in a wild back-and-forth affair that ended with a football score.

Lepre and Co. were up to the challenge.

The senior deposited the ball over the fence again in the sixth inning. And after Roy Verdejo‘s ninth-inning sacrifice fly pushed the Mustangs in front, 16-15, Lepre provided some insurance.

He drilled the ball into the outfield and sprinted around to third, knocking in his fourth run of the game. Caleb Jaime struck out two in the bottom of the ninth to close it out and earn the win. Master’s finished with 19 hits, its most since May 16, 2017.

Lepre finished a single short of the cycle.

In the series, the transfer catcher from UC Riverside went 10-for-18 with four home runs and eight RBIs.

“The past two days he’s been pretty insane,” said senior Robert Winslow, who tossed a complete-game three-hitter in Saturday’s second game.

Said Shackelford, “Anthony’s locked in. He barrels everything. I thought he was going to hit a home run every time he stepped in the box today.”

Shackelford whacked a homer in the first inning of game one, giving the Mustangs a 2-0 lead and tying Michael Sexton’s mark of 34 career home runs.

Master’s led 6-4, 11-7 and 15-10. But Antelope Valley answered each time, tying the score at 15-all heading to the top of the ninth.

Maitland led off the decisive frame with a walk. Shackelford singled to right, and Maitland wheeled around to third.

That’s when Verdejo lifted the game-winning sacrifice fly to the outfield, bolstering the case that the Mustangs had received Brooks’ early-season message. Last week, in a series against Marymount California, Master’s struggled to put good at-bats together in clutch situations.

This week, that changed. “They adjusted their mindset,” Brooks said.

Winslow was excellent in the day’s second game, shutting Antelope Valley down in what was expected to be a seven-inning game. It only went six.

Winslow struck out six and walked three, facing three over the minimum. He said the keys to his 2-0 start have been locating down in the zone and relying on his defense for support – not trying to overpower every hitter.

“Without those guys (on defense) I wouldn’t be doing as well as I am,” he said.

Nick Tuttle went 3-for-5 in the first game with two RBIs, while Byron Smith was 3-for-6 with two RBIs. Verdejo was 2-for-4, connecting on his second home run of the season in the top of the fifth.

Here are the box scores for game 1 and game 1.