ROCKLIN, Calif. – Albert Jennings hit a pair of home runs, including a grand slam on his way to six RBI, a single-game Beacon record, as Bushnell University claimed a 10-4 season-opening victory over Jessup University on Friday.
Jennings, who set the record in his Bushnell debut, said, “It was a great overall team win. I felt like everyone was playing for one another. Today showed what we are capable of.”
Bushnell (1-0) hands Jessup (4-1) their first loss of the season. The Warriors swept the defending Cascade Collegiate Conference regular season champion, Oregon Tech, in their prior outing.
Head Coach Tommy Richards said, “I was proud of the presence our hitters competed with tonight and thought our infield played clean defense for the most part. On the mound, the guys competed with what they had and the circumstances they found themselves in.”
Ethan Stacy kicked off the season with a leadoff home run in the first at-bat of the game. A lightning delay followed, pausing the game for the next hour.
Jessup got a run on the board in the bottom of the second to tie the game at 1-1 before Jennings got his first homer of the game, a solo shot to left field. Jennings brought another run across in the fourth thanks to a bases-loaded hit by pitch to make it a 3-2 lead.
Bushnell broke the game open with a five-run fifth inning. Brendan Frazier crossed the plate on a groundout and the Beacons went on to load the bases. Jennings sent a two-out grand slam over the center field fence to extend the lead to 8-2.
The Warriors got two runs back in the bottom of the fifth before being held scoreless the rest of the way. Garrett Vohs threw a scoreless seventh before Colby Knutzen finished off the final two frames. Neither Vohs nor Knutzen gave up a hit.
Ethan Sachs got the start for Bushnell, striking out the side in the bottom of the first. Sachs allowed one earned run on three hits in three innings of work and finished with six strikeouts. Trevor Hammond came in for the next three innings before Vohs and Knutzen finished off the win.
Stacy and Jordan Wilson finished with three hits apiece and a combined five runs scored. Reece Carganilla and Isaiah Hart tallied two hits each, while Frazier brought in a pair of late runs.
“It was a great team win,” said Carganilla. “We did all the little things right and played great defense. When you start playing for something other than yourself, you can play free with no pressure and that’s what we did today.”
The Warriors were led by two RBIs from Connor Culp.
Up Next: Bushnell and Jessup will finish the three-game series with two seven-inning games tomorrow, starting at 10 a.m.