IRVINE, Calif. – Joe Carter in the 1993 World Series. David Ortiz in the 2004 American League Championship Series. Freddie Freeman in the 18th inning of Game 3 of the 2025 World Series.
These are some of the iconic walkoff homers in the legendary lore of baseball.
Add Hope International's Royce Clayton to the mix.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the senior outfielder pounced on the first pitch he saw from Benedictine Mesa reliever Ben Hanson, depositing it over the center field fence to complete a thrilling 11-10 win for the Royals in Wednesday's GSAC Baseball Tournament championship game.
It was Clayton's team-leading eighth dinger of the season – and second of the tournament. He helped the Royals go 3-0 in the tournament, finishing 7-for-12 with six runs scored and three RBI.
"I knew he had to come after me with a fastball, and I was just going to do my best to put it in play, and that's what I got," said Clayton. "We worked so hard to get here, and the season has been full of ups and downs, and it was good to win both the regular season and tournament."
Both teams engaged in a slugfest from the outset with HIU leading 6-4 after two innings. The Redhawks struck first for three runs after Ben Schnurman roped a 2-RBI double, followed by a Christian Ramos run-scoring hit in the opening inning.
HIU fired back with two runs in the bottom half as Colby Moran landed a double into left center, scoring David Shackelford and Isaiah Lane. After the Redhawks scored once in the second for a 4-2 lead, the Royals rallied for four runs in the bottom half.
Shackelford, who had a huge game going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBI, drove in two on an opposite field single. His hit chased Benedictine Mesa starter Xavier Olivas from the game in favor of Eric Godinez. Moran tallied his second double in as many as at bats, bringing home Shackelford, and Eddie Cotto's RBI single handed the Royals a 6-4 lead.
HIU starter Tyler Tilton struggled in his one inning of work, and exited the game after Tyler Jackson led off the second with a walk. But HIU reliever Adan Young threw four consecutive hitless innings as he kept the high-powered Redhawk offense off the board.
Godinez did the same for Benedictine Mesa until the sixth inning when both teams ramped up their offenses again.
BENU tied the game at 6-6 on Javier Rochin's fielder's choice groundout. The Royals got the force out at second, but the relay throw was offline and two runners scored on the play.
Moran drove in his fourth run of the afternoon in the bottom half on a sacrifice fly as HIU regained the 7-6 lead.
But the Redhawks struck for four runs in the seventh off HIU closer James Williams. Schnurman knotted the score at 7-7 on a home run. The Redhawks then added a triple, a hit by pitch and two doubles to plate three more runs for a 10-7 advantage.
The Royals battled right back in the bottom half to tie the score at 10-10. Two straight singles from Matias Nolasco and David Allen brought up Clayton with one out, and the center fielder deposited a base hit into right field to score the eighth run. Clayton advanced to second on the throw in from the outfield, which was key because Shackelford followed with a single to bring home a pair.
"That game was back and forth against a really good Benedictine team," said head coach Larry Mahoney. "We knew their offense was strong. I thought that we swung the bats really well all day, and I just felt like that when our offense is going that well, we always have a chance. What a beautiful ending, and for a great kid in Royce Clayton."
Williams settled down after the tough seventh, retiring six straight Redhawks and eight of the last nine to keep HIU level. He earned the win to improve to 4-1.
Hanson took the loss to fall to 1-1.
HIU (37-13) produced a season-high 18 hits. The team has at least one home run in eight straight games.
The top-seeded Royals won their fourth GSAC Tournament title and third under Mahoney.
HIU is the GSAC's automatic qualifier for the NAIA Baseball Championship, which will be May 11-14 at various opening round sites. The NAIA Selection Show will be held on Wednesday, May 6 at 2:00 p.m. (PT) on the NAIA's YouTube page.
