Lincoln, Calif. - The Firestorm fought hard to stay in the thick of things, but were overpowered by the number one offense in the GSAC as the #9 Jessup Warriors took both of a Saturday double header (11-7, 4-3) to sweep the weekend series at McBean Park. ACU held leads briefly in both contests but had difficulty closing on the mound, allowing five multi-run innings and five home runs.
Andrew Ivy was certainly a bright spot for the Firestorm, going 5-for-9 at the plate including two RBIs and a solo home run in Game 1. His 4-of-5 effort in Game 1 helped him to a season-high in hits, tying Jaylen Edmond's mark which has been set two times over.
Five ACU players reached two hits in the double header, every one of them capitalizing with an RBI. Of those five, Trey Tarver smashed the only homerun (a solo shot in Game 1's first inning) and both Marques Titialii and Jared Anderson scored two runs.
Noah DeLuca rapped his first two hits as a member of the Firestorm, both of which came in Game 2.
Game 1 starter Adrian Santa Cruz did not have his best stuff, giving up six runs in 3.0 innings on the mound while only punching out one Jessup batter. Eli Elliott was the designated Game 2 pitcher and was in line for his third win of the season (3-2, ACU) before the Warriors lit up Tarver for two runs in the sixth to steal the victory.
With the 3-0 series sweep, #9 Jessup takes the 2024 regular-season series 4-2.
GAME INFO
Score 1: RV Arizona Christian 7 | #9 Jessup 11
Score 2: RV Arizona Christian 3 | #9 Jessup 4
Records: RV ACU 14-13 (7-8 GSAC) | #9 JU 23-4 (9-3 GSAC)
Location: McBean Park - Lincoln, CA
STAT TRACKER (GAME 1 & 2)
Andrew Ivy - 5 hits, 2 RBIs, 1 home run
Jared Anderson - 2 hits, 1 RBI, 2 runs
Noah DeLuca - 2 hits, 1 RBI
Trey Tarver - 2 hits, 1 RBI, 1 home run
Marques Titialii - 2 hits, 1 RBI, 2 runs
Kane Kiaunis - 2 hits, 1 RBI
Sean Garcia - 1 hit, 1 RBI, 1 double
Adrian Santa Cruz - 3.0 IP, 6 RA, 1 K
Eli Elliott - 5.0 IP, 2 RA, 4 K
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE (GAME 1)
Tarver got the Firestorm off to a roaring start with a solo home run in the first inning. Two singles followed (Kiaunis, Anderson) but any hopes of adding on to the tally were dashed with a Garcia fly out.
Jessup did not wait to pounce on Santa Cruz in their first visit to home plate. A lead-off walk by Quinton Hall was followed by a two-run blast by Connor Culp to vault the Warriors to a quick 2-1 lead. After a lineout secured the second out, Santa Cruz surrendered back-to-back home runs (James Williams III, Bryce Petrilla). Suddenly, Jessup was the front runner up 4-1.
A scoreless second came and went, as an eventful third was to come. Ivy belted his first hit of the game to lead off and promptly stole second base. Titialii singled to left field and scored Ivy. With two outs recorded, Anderson and Garcia stacked doubles and closed the three-run gap.
Any momentum gained was halted, as Jessup's Petrilla homered for the second time and scored Williams III to lift the Warriors to a 6-4 advantage.
Riley Quinton relieved Santa Cruz in the fourth and forced two ground outs and a pop up to stall Jessup's attack. Following the Firestorm's second inning without a hit, Petrilla did the unthinkable and unleashed his third home-run ball of the game to extend the Warrior lead to 7-4 through five complete.
Quinton would give up two more in the sixth after a third straight scoreless outing by the ACU offense.
Ivy led off the Firestorm's seventh with a solo home run but ACU did not threaten any further with the next three batters going down in order. A comeback was still a possibility in the eighth, Jessup finally making a mistake in letting Anderson reach by shortstop error. Ryan Eastham and Ivy would take full advantage, batting in two runs with a single apiece.
For the third time, however, Jessup responded in their subsequent at-bat. Drew Andrews launched the Warriors fifth long ball of the contest and Harrison Howell, the third Firestorm reliever, also conceded an RBI single to Chris Lopez.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE (GAME 2)
Jessup struck first in Game 2, Petrilla still riding a hot streak with an RBI single to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead after a three-hit inning.
DeLuca got into the hit column as a Firestorm with a single in the second frame, but would be stranded at first after an Edmonds groundout.
The next three innings would end up scoreless, the Firestorm unable to capitalize on two hits. Titialii and Tarver each stole a base (third and second respectively) in the third, but their best scoring opportunity to date was foiled by a Kiaunis groundout.
Nine ACU batters saw pitches in the fifth inning, scattering in three hits that sent in three runs. Ivy led it all off with his first hit of the ball game. With two outs on the board, Kiaunis and Collins stepped up in the face of pressure and each singled to bring in the first two runs. DeLuca brought in the third with a walk.
Elliott was pulled off the mound in the top of the sixth after giving up his sixth hit of the game (Culp single). Tarver, who has been solid in a reliever's position all season, was uncharacteristically sloppy. He recorded two wild pitches, two walks and a throwing error and a double off the bat of Petrilla completed a three-run inning. Number 10 would strike out three consecutive Jessup batters but the damage was already done.
The Firestorm were neutralized in the seventh, only a Collins' walk giving them hope of flipping the script in Game 2.
NEXT FOR THE FIRESTORM
The Arizona Christian Firestorm return to Greenway High School on Tuesday for a non-conference matchup against #25 Benedictine Mesa (16-7, 5-2 Cal Pac). First pitch is slated for 7:30 PM. Don't miss a single play with live stats at https://acufirestorm.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary and watch the broadcast at
https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/azchristian/.
Roll Storm!
