After dropping the opening game of the season by what looked to be a football score, the Bruins surged back in the second and third games of the series to win their first ever opening series. Offensive fire power and timely pitching were a bit too much for the Mustangs to handle as the Bruins took game one by a score of 3-2 and the second game 10-7.

In game one of the series, Tyler Hamilton made his Bruins debut on the mound and impressed to say the least. The Bruins staked Hamilton to an early lead after a productive first inning off Mustangs’ starter Mike Weiss. Colin Bryan led the game off with a single followed by a Spencer Frantz sacrifice bunt attempt that was thrown into center field. JP Lapointe then drag bunted for a single to load the bases. This set the stage for senior David Raichart who lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to stake the Bruins to a 1-0 lead.

Hamilton got himself out of a major jam in the first with no damage done and the Bruins furthered their momentum. In the top of the second, Spencer Frantz led off with a double down the left field line that was just inside the third base bag. J.P. Lapointe then took a 2-1 Mike Weiss fastball over the Left Field wall to give the Bruins a three run lead.

Masters manufactured a couple of runs throughout the duration of the game and threatened in their final at bat. Down 3-2 in their final at bat, the Mustangs led off the inning with a lead off triple off starter Tyler Hamilton. First year head coach then elected to go to senior Dave Raichart to get the Bruins out of the mess. After walking the first batter he faced, the Bruins caught a break as a suicide squeeze attempt was botched and the lead runner was tagged out. Raichart then fanned the next two hitters to clinch the victory. Hamilton went 6+ on the hill, giving up just one earned run. He punched out six on the afternoon.

The Bruins wasted no time in game two to jump ahead and never looked back. Colin Bryan led off his second straight game with a single which was followed by Spencer Frantz reaching on a fielder’s choice. J.P. Lapointe would then reach on an error and the Bruins made the Mustangs pay for their defensive blunders. Guillame Fullum took a 2-1 Brian Reiner fastball over the right field wall to put the Bruins up 3-0 early. They would add two more in the second.

The Bruins put what appeared to be the icing on the cake in the third behind Doug McGee’s titanic homerun over the left field scoreboard to give the Bruins an 8-0 lead. Justin Burger also hit his first homerun in the fourth.

On the mound, the Bruins started a freshman for the third consecutive game. Steven Martinez made his college debut an got the win as he went 4 2/3 innings allowing one run on two hits. He was effectively wild as he did walk five hitters, but it was enough as the Bruins took game two 10-7.

The Bruins will take their momentum into Azusa Pacific this weekend as they will play a three game set in Azusa. The Bruins are 2-1 all time against the Cougars.

Quick notes:

*The Bruins took 2 of 3 against the Masters. Not only was this the first win against the Masters, it was the first time Bethany Baseball has won a three game series against a GSAC school.

*Tyler Hamilton and Steven Martinez won their first ever college starts in a Bruin uniform. They are the first pitchers in school history to get a win in their first appearance.

*The Bruins have showed a change of pace from years past as they were very offensive in the series. Saturday marked the first time the Bruins have ever hit three homeruns in one game. The Bruins averaged eight hits per game in the series.