Fulton, MO–The Westminster Blue Jays continued their home stand against the Mississippi University for Women Owls this weekend. MUW entered the series 9-4 in conference play, the Blue Jays, 3-9, losers of ten straight.
Game 1: W, 8-7
Recap:
The Blue Jays went with an opener in game one. Brayden Knittel threw the first inning and a third, giving up four runs, two of which came from a first-inning two-run homer. The next handful of pitchers did not fare much better. Aydn Barrett was unable to record an out, balking in a run while facing his first batter. Tayden Harlow was able to complete one inning, but gave up two runs in the process, and Ryan Vigil, normally a catcher for the Jays, was rudely welcomed, giving up a leadoff homer before settling in and finishing the inning.
Meanwhile, the offense was in battle mode. Their first four batters of the game reached base, leading to a three-run first inning. In the second, following MUW's two-run inning, a bases-loaded hit by pitch tied things up. In the fourth inning, the game changed. Jack Page came out of relief to pitch. The sophomore righty took the mound and didn't look back, slicing through MUW's lineup, finishing the last six innings, giving up no runs, seven K's, and only three baserunners, one from a catcher's interference. Brett Montgommery hit a two-run homer in the same inning Page came in to bring the game to one, and in the seventh Domenic Nordman drove in a run with a single and later came around to score to give the Jays the lead that would last the rest of the game. The Jays took the first game of the series 8-7, snapping their ten-game skid, off the backs of Jack Page's brilliance and Brett Montgomery's four RBI.
Game 2: L, 4-5
Recap:
The second game of the day, the Jays brought the start upon Colyn Wright. The righty was killed by the long ball early. In the first inning, a two-run homer put the Jays behind, and a solo shot to start the third inning ran him. It took three more relievers to get out of the third, as MUW rallied another homer and two more baserunners before Maddox Christenberry got out of the inning. On offense, the Jays once again battled in the first inning. Troy Romero led off with a double, moved to third on a sacrifice fly, and was driven in by a Brett Montgomery groundout. In the second, Romero was responsible for causing damage a second time. After two walks and a bunt single, Romero hit a two-run double to give the Jays a 3-2 lead. Paralleling the first game of the series, the Jays went to a dominant long reliever out of the pen. Derek Archer pitched the last six innings of the game, giving up only one run and striking out five. The lone run came in the fifth inning from an RBI single. That run would end up being the game's deciding blow. Beno Ballard homered in the seventh, but the solo shot was not enough. The Jays lost this one 4-5.
Game 3: L, 8-11
Recap:
In the Sunday rubber match, the Blue Jays went to big Blake Althuisuis trying to secure a series win. Althuisuis' start didn't go the way he planned; the lefty surrendered three earned runs in the first, putting the Jays behind in the third straight game of the series from yet another home run. Following an RBI single later in the inning, another two-run homer in the second, and a fifth run scored from a single, the Jays had given up five early. The offense, seemingly comfortable working from behind, fought back. Three hits and a hit batter led to two runs in the second, and RBIs from Beno Ballard and Joshua Ramos brought the score to 5-4. Both teams traded multiple blows in the fourth, Troy Romero in the middle of things once again, leading to an 8-7 Blue Jay lead. That would be the end of the Blue Jay scoring, though; the Owl's bullpen shut them out the rest of the way, and a three-run sixth inning gave MUW all they needed to secure the series win by a final score of 8-11.
While the Jays were able to snap their losing streak and play very competitive baseball against a top conference matchup, they were unable to get the series win. Next weekend, they will look to do just that, continuing their homestand against Blackburn (3-9 in conference). Top performers on the weekend included Caleb Warren (5-13), Brett Montgomery (4-10, 6 RBI), and Troy Romero (6-12, 3 SB), who also set the record for hits in a Blue Jay career with 187.
