FULLERTON – Franky Lopez pitched a solid 7.0 innings, and Royce Clayton and Isaiah Lane homered in Hope International's 11-4 victory over The Master's in the Great Southwest Athletic Conference baseball opener on Thursday at Amerige Park.
Lopez pounded the strike zone in his longest outing of the season, scattering five hits and allowing three runs (two earned). He did not walk a batter and struck out seven. Sixty-two of his 98 pitches were thrown for strikes.
Clayton hit his team-best fourth home run of the season, while Lane – a transfer from San Diego – clubbed his first as a Royal. The HIU offense pounded out 15 hits – Lane and Eric Valdivia contributing three each – and the Royals also benefited from five Mustang errors.
David Shackelford, Matias Nolasco and Clayton also posted two hits. Both Lane and Valdivia finished 3-for-4 with two RBI's.
The Royals struck for two runs in the first as Shackelford scored on Colby Moran's RBI single. Nolasco also brought in Moran with an RBI base hit to center field.
HIU (10-6, 1-0 GSAC) made it 3-0 in the second on Hunter Essang's RBI groundout.
The Mustangs (10-9, 0-1 GSAC) scored a run in both the third and fourth innings to cut HIU's lead to 3-2. Scotty Pieper doubled with one out in the third and eventually came home on Matt Lloyd's grounder to first. With pinch runner Owen Payn on first, Ryder Frith-Smith dumped an RBI triple to right field.
Clayton led off the fourth with a towering solo shot to left field to put the Royals up 4-2.
The Royals broke it open in the fifth as they took advantage of TMU defensive breakdowns. With two outs and runners on first and second, Clayton struck out to apparently end the inning. But the catcher dropped the ball, and his throw sailed over the first baseman's head for an error. The throw back into the infield landed at the backstop for a second error, allowing Lane to score for a 5-2 HIU lead.
Valdivia followed with a two-RBI single to score Clayton and pinch runner Nathan Estrada, and Hunter Essang's single plated Valdivia. All four runs were charged as unearned to TMU reliever Elijah McInturf.
Lane began the sixth with a solo shot over the wall in the left center. Moran, who followed with a walk, eventually scored on a Henry Borjas sacrifice fly as the Royals led 10-2.
TMU scored its third run on Lloyd's RBI base hit in the seventh.
Lopez finished his outing by getting a 6-3 double play to end the seventh.
TMU committed its fifth error of the afternoon in the eighth after Shackelford's leadoff single. A failed pickoff attempt allowed Shackelford to advance to second, and Lane brought him in with an RBI single.
Nic Cortez tossed a clean eighth for the Royals, and the Mustangs scored one run in the ninth to complete the scoring.
Lopez improved to 2-2 on the season.
The two teams play a doubleheader on Friday consisting of two seven-inning games. Game one first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
