Glendale, Ariz. - The Firestorm's first non-tournament game of 2024 demanded six pitchers and an Andrew Ivy grand slam to ensure a 4-2 win over the 19th-ranked Benedictine Mesa Redhawks. Down 2-0 through four and a half innings, Arizona Christian tightened up its defense and only allowed two hits in Ben Mesa's final 18 at-bats. 

Ivy was certainly a hero when the ball left his bat in the bottom of the fifth, sending three runners home (Sean Garcia, Justin Colon, Jaylen Edmonds) as it sailed over the left-center fence. 

Since the Firestorm were unable to string together any further offensive momentum, the bullpen had its time to shine. Evan Hieb came in first to relieve Eastyn Culp and eventually Trey Tarver put the nail in a save effort, five total relievers combining for 10 strikeouts and zero allowed runs.

ACU picks up its second win over a NAIA Coaches' Top-25 opponent and takes a 1-0 lead in this three-game series with Ben Mesa.

GAME INFO

Score: RV Arizona Christian 4 | #19 Benedictine Mesa 2
Records: RV ACU 4-4 (0-0 GSAC) | #19 Ben Mesa 3-3 (0-0 Cal Pac)
Location: Greenway High School - Glendale, AZ

STAT TRACKER 

Andrew Ivy - 2 hits, 4 RBIs, 1 home run
Marques Titialii - 1 hit, 1 stolen base
Sean Garcia- 1 hit, 1 run
Ryan Eastham - 1 hit
Trey Tarver - 1 hit
Kane Kiaunis - 1 hit
Eastyn Culp - 4.0 IP, 2 RA, 4 strikeouts
Harrison Howell - 1.0 IP, 0 HA, 2 strikeouts

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

The first two complete innings were re-runs of "three up, three down" for each team. Culp was rolling early, racking up three strikeouts through six of the Redhawks' lineup.

Ben Mesa's Ivan Santos recorded the first hit of the ball game as the lead-off man in the top of the third. Back-to-back groundouts sent Santos to third base. The first run was scored in the following at-bat, as Preston Vine-Close rapped a single to right center. Two walks and two wild pitches from Culp allowed Vine-Close to get home safely. Culp put an end to the damage with a strikeout of Dylan Bangs.

Ivy, in the nine hole of the Firestorm lineup, broke the glass and singled to left field. Nothing would come of this, however, as Jared Anderson struck out swinging (0-for-3 when the night came to a close).

Culp forced three groundouts in the fourth, breathing a sigh of relief as a throwing error to first base did not come back to bite him. Titialii smacked a ball past the Redhawks' shortstop, Carlos Parra, with one out in the fourth. A sequence of strikeout, groundout shut the door on the Firestorm once again.

Hieb replaced Culp on the mound in the fifth and quickly secured two outs via strikeout and fly out to center. Two straight singles and a walk put Hieb in a precarious situation. It was exactly this adversity that Hieb relished, as he struck out the next batter (Jack Fitzgerald) and sent the ACU dugout into a frenzy.

Redhawk's starting pitcher, Connor Coerper, gave the struggling Firestorm life by giving Edmonds and Eastham bases via hit by pitch and walk. Second baseman Garcia dribbled a ball to third and got aboard to place three ducks on the pond. Then arrived the game-defining moment. Ivy confidently struck a ball to left center and watched it carry just far enough to eclipse the back fence. With one swing of the bat, ACU had taken a 4-2 lead.

The Firestorm would register three more hits in the game, but none would be converted into runs. This put the pressure squarely on pitching and defense. Harrison Howell, who would be credited with the win, cruised through the sixth (fly out, strikeout, strikeout). Christian Lucero and Chay Esqueda piggybacked each other in the seventh and eighth innings, each surviving close-calls with two outs on the board.

Tarver was given the ball in a closer's role in the ninth. Alec Larson, pinch hitting for Ben Mesa's Vine-Close, kept the fate of the game in question with a base-hit. It was Tarver who would get the last laugh, however, punching out two batters to emphatically signal for a curtain call.  

THOUGHTS FROM COACH JOE MCDONALD

"Our pitchers really did a good job tonight getting ahead of hitters and making big pitches in big moments," Coach McDonald said. "It was a great team victory. Andrew Ivy really came up big tonight with the grand slam, which was the difference in the ball game."

NEXT FOR THE FIRESTORM

The Arizona Christian Firestorm gear up for the second of three games against #19 Benedictine Mesa on Saturday night at Greenway High School. First pitch will come at 6:00 PM, ACU possessing a 1-0 lead in the series. Don't miss any action this 2024 season with live stats at https://acufirestorm.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary and watch the game at https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/azchristian. 
    
                          
Roll Storm!