Mesa, Ariz. - A five-run fifth inning and 17 total hits for the Benedictine Mesa Redhawks was too much for the Firestorm to overcome, as they fell 10-5 on Monday night. All five ACU pitchers allowed at least one run to score, an indication that small mistakes snowballed. 

Sean Garcia was the Firestorm's offensive MVP, posting a season-high three hits in the contest, including a run-scoring double in the seventh. Tanner Vielguth and Trey Tarver each went yard in the ball game, the first being a solo shot and ladder being a three-run blast. 

Andrew Ivy cooled down a bit offensively (1-for-5), but extended his hitting streak to six games with a double in the third inning.

Eli Elliott worked 4.0 innings while conceding two runs and five hits. With tonight's performance, he has racked up six strikeouts in each of his three starts this season.

Arizona Christian takes the series 2-1, but remains winless on the road (0-9) in their all-time series with Ben Mesa. 

GAME INFO

Score: RV Arizona Christian 5 | #19 Benedictine Mesa 10
Records: RV ACU 5-5 (0-0 GSAC) | #19 Ben Mesa 4-4 (0-0 Cal Pac)
Location: Arizona Athletic Grounds - Mesa, AZ

STAT TRACKER 

Sean Garcia - 3 hits, 1 RBI, 1 double
Kane Kiaunis - 2 hits
Trey Tarver- 1 hit, 3 RBIs, 1 home run
Tanner Vielguth - 1 hit, 1 RBI, 1 home run
Andrew Ivy - 1 hit, 1 double
Eli Elliott - 4.0 IP, 2 RA, 6 strikeouts

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

The Arizona Athletic Ground's scoreboard read 0-0 after one complete inning, as the Firestorm stranded two base-runners and Elliott forced three straight flyouts from the Redhawks.

Arizona Christian could not pay off another base-hit in the second, as Garcia singled with two outs already recorded. Despite two hits by Ben Mesa (double, single), ACU was set to escape the inning with no damage done to the score. An error by Vielguth, however, enabled the first run of the ball game to get home in the form of Joseph Consenza, who had doubled his way on base.

The third inning was promising yet again for the Firestorm, as Ivy led it off with a double and Tarver was walked. Titialii, the newly anointed home run king of ACU Baseball, struck out and Kiaunis hit in a double play and just like that, another opportunity was gone. 

After Elliott blanked the Redhawks in the bottom half of the third (two strikeouts), Vielguth remedied his earlier mistake with one swing of the bat, hitting a solo home run. The Redhawks would quickly retake the lead, as Ivan Santos singled to center field and sent Jacob Bauler in to score.

Offensive inefficiency continued in the fifth, this time only three ACU batters seeing the plate. The game got out of hand when Sean Wiese came in to relieve Elliott. He surrendered three singles, a three-run home run and a walk to the five batters he would face. The outlook would not be much better for Riley Quinton, who allowed two more fifth-inning runs including Santos' second RBI of the night.

Now down 7-1, the Firestorm still had no response in the sixth in which the Redhawks added another run to their increasing tally. Dylan Bangs made his first of two hits a triple to right field and brought Ryan Curran home.

Ben Mesa's first pitching change of the night (Matt Dinkel) breathed life into ACU's bats. Garcia doubled to score Vielguth after he was walked and Tarver capitalized on a second walk (Matthew Beckworth) with a three-run home run. Suddenly the game was in reach at 8-5 with two innings in the Firestorm's back pocket.

Jackson Van Eyk made his Firestorm debut in the bottom of the seventh, and allowed one run with two outs on the board. Jude Sullivan, pinch hitting for Kyle Fenner, hit a blooper to center and scored Santos. Garcia's third and final hit of the night was for naught, as Beckworth grounded into a double play.

Chay Esqueda filled the closer's role for ACU and would see three Ben Mesa hits and a single run next to his name. Titialii was able to extend his hitting streak to seven games with a single in the ninth, but would also be picked off and be the final out of the ball game.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH JOE MCDONALD

"We just made too many little mistakes that allowed them to chip away at the scoreboard too often," Coach McDonald said. "We will get back to work and (be) ready for the GSAC Opener."

NEXT FOR THE FIRESTORM

The Arizona Christian Firestorm get their first GSAC matchup of the 2024 season with Jessup (10-1) coming to town. A three-game series at Greenway High School begins this Friday with first pitch at 7:00 PM. Catch all the action with live stats at https://acufirestorm.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary and the broadcast at https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/azchristian/.  
    
                          
Roll Storm!