GAME 5: Keep Hope alive: Royals answer the call

May 26—Hope International's JJ Cruz went 2-for-5 at the plate with three runs and an RBI to lead the Royals to an 11-5 win against the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes on Saturday at Harris Field in Lewiston.

It's the Royals' first Avista NAIA World Series win in program history.

"It was a complete team effort," Hope International coach Larry Mahoney said. "Offensively, we responded when we needed to. I though (starting pitcher) David Rudd-Grow did enough to keep us in the game, and (relief pitcher Josh) Landry was outstanding."

The Royals (41-16) dug themselves a hole early but quickly decided to quit digging and got themselves out of the deficit.

In only the second at-bat of the game, Kansas Wesleyan senior outfielder Kendall Foster knocked a two-run home run straight toward the American flag behind the center-field wall that was the focus of the national anthem presentation in front of the 495-person crowd just a few minutes earlier.

Hope International swiftly responded in the bottom of the first. With two outs and the bases loaded, senior right fielder Derek Sims hit a line drive down the third-base line for a double, bringing home two runs to tie the game. Later in the inning, an error by Kansas Wesleyan first baseman Zack Beatty allowed two runs to put the Royals ahead 4-2.

"Getting the lead early is going to build our confidence and momentum and get us going through the game," Sims said. "(I was) just trying to find a way to put the ball in play."

Senior infielder JJ Cruz hit a solo home run in the bottom of the second to give the Royals a 5-2 advantage. A ground-out RBI from Kansas Wesleyan sophomore infielder Cruz Oxford and a solo home run by junior catcher Tyler Favretto in the bottom of the third gave the Coyotes some life.

But the Royals would not let up and answered back with vigor. Junior outfielder Amari Bartee hit an RBI single to center field in the bottom of the third and Hope International scored three runs in the fourth to extend its lead, 9-2.

"It's always important to answer when someone jumps on you early," Mahoney said. "It continues to give the team confidence throughout the game that they can respond at any time. It was huge for our team to respond right away."

The Coyotes (48-12) tried to gnaw their way back in the top of the sixth when senior third baseman Reece Bishop hit a solo home run on the first pitch of the inning over the left-field fence (his 14th home run on the season). The Royals again hastily countered in the bottom of the same inning, utilizing a pair of sacrifice plays.

Ryan Lamastra tapped a sacrifice bunt to put Sims and Ryan Maciel on second and third base, respectively. On the next at-bat, Amari Bartee lifted a sac fly to center field, bringing Sims home, and senior infielder David Rivera hit a line drive to right field on a full count to allow Maciel to score for the game's final 11-5 margin.

"It's part of our game — we preach it all year — play the situation, execute what we need to execute," Mahoney said. "I thought our guys did exactly what we needed. We didn't get that last night, but we were successful in this game."

Rudd-Grow earned the win for the Royals. He allowed five runs on six hits, walking two batters and striking out six through 5 1/3 innings pitched. Landry got the save with two strikeouts, one walk and allowing one hit in 3ž innings.

Kansas Wesleyan starter Brett Maddock took the loss for the Coyotes. He allowed six runs on seven hits, walking one batter with no strikeouts. KT Gearlds took over on the mound in the fourth inning for the Coyotes. He allowed two runs on three hits, walking two batters and tallied two strikeouts.

The Coyotes fall out with an 0-2 record in their first trip to the Series.

Hope International will move on to play at 11:05 a.m. Monday in another elimination game against Indiana Southeast.

"We're just going to take it game by game," Mahoney said. "We're not going to plan it too far ahead. We're going to find out who's feeling good and attack every game with a winning mentality."

KAN. WESLEYAN HOPE INT.

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Williamson rf 4 1 0 0 Rivera ss 5 0 2 1

Foster cf 4 2 2 2 Moreno 3b 3 0 0 0

Gable ss 3 0 2 0 Cruz 2b 5 3 2 1

Oxford dh 5 0 0 1 Arnone c 4 0 2 0

Favretto c 4 1 1 1 Jones pr 0 2 0 0

Riggs pr 0 0 0 0 Toigo lf 5 2 2 2

Bishop 3b 4 1 1 1 Sims rf 5 2 2 2

Beatty 1b 4 0 0 0 Maciel 1b 3 2 2 1

Villalobos 2b 3 0 0 0 Lamastra dh 3 0 1 0

Garcia lf 3 0 1 0 Bartee cf 3 0 1 2

Totals 34 5 7 5 Totals 36 11 14 9

Kan. Wesleyan 202 001 000— 5 7 1

Hope Int. 411 302 00x—11 14 1

Kansas Wesleyan ip h r er bb so

Maddock (L, 9-3) 2.2 7 6 4 1 0

Steinmann 0.2 4 3 3 2 2

Gearlds 4.2 3 2 2 2 2

Hope International ip h r er bb so

Rudd-Grow (W, 2-2) 5.1 6 5 5 2 6

Landry 3.2 1 0 0 1 2

Attendance — 495.

AT A GLANCE

Kansas Wesleyan 5

Hope International 11

STARS OF THE GAME

Hope International's JJ Cruz had three runs, two hits and an RBI from five at-bats. Teammate Derek Sims knocked a two-RBI double in the bottom of the first to tie the game.

QUOTE OF NOTE

"The guys know how important it is. They're a bunch of winners and they want to win. It's not going to matter how many games it takes us; they're going to show up on the day to win baseball games."

— Hope International coach Larry Mahoney