TMU Insider: Mustangs taking it to the next level

The TMU men's golf team finished 11th in the 66th Annual Men's Golf National Championships. Courtesy TMU Athletics
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Last week, The Master’s University golf team earned an 11th-place finish at the NAIA National Championships, while TMU baseball punched its ticket to the NAIA World Series after cruising through the NAIA Baseball Opening Round Lawrenceville Bracket. This week, TMU’s track & field teams will toe the line in a variety of events at the NAIA National Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama…

Golf

Last Friday, The Masters University golf team concluded its time at the 66th Annual Men’s Golf National Championships at the TPC Deere Run Golf Club in Silvis, Illinois with a collective score of 1232 (305-316-294-317) and an 11th-place finish.

The Mustangs, who made their third straight (ninth overall) appearance at the national tournament, were led by Samuel Eisenhuth’s consistent play as the junior carded a final score of 303 (77-78-70-78) and a 19th-place individual finish.

Right behind Eisenhuth was senior Joseph Downey who capped off his brilliant collegiate career by finishing in 26th place with a final score of 305 (76-75-75-79). Josh Delo earned a final score of 311 (79-80-74-78), while Robert Penalber shot an overall score of 322 (82-83-75-82). Finally, Karsten Briley finished with a score of 330 (73-92-81-84).

Baseball

Last week, The Master’s University baseball team punched its ticket to the 61st Annual AVISTA-NAIA Baseball World Series on the campus of Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho after cruising through the NAIA Baseball Opening Round Lawrenceville Bracket.

Last Monday, Michael Sexton homered and doubled in the go-ahead run as No. 4 seed TMU rallied past No. 5 seed LSU-Shreveport 8-4.

The come-from-behind win pitted TMU against No. 1 seed and tournament host Georgia Gwinnett College 4-3 later that day. After facing a 3-1 deficit, TMU rallied past the Grizzlies by scoring two runs in the seventh and one run in the eighth when Aaron Shackelford’s squeeze bunt scored Rick Sottile from third base.

The Mustangs then played against No. 2 seed Webber International on Tuesday and scored early and often beating the Warriors 14-12.

Finally, on Wednesday, a gutsy pitching performance by senior Jason Karkenny led the Mustangs past the Georgia Gwinnett Grizzlies with a 9-1 victory, sending TMU to the NAIA World Series for the second consecutive year.

In his finest outing of the season, Karkenny scattered nine hits in a complete-game performance that featured six strikeouts. Already the winningest pitcher in program history, Karkenny now has 35 career wins.

Karkenny got plenty of help from his offensive teammates as the Mustangs collected 15 more against the Grizzlies. Max Maitland and Shackelford each went 4-for-5 while Jonah Jarrard and Sexton had two hits apiece. Over the three games in the Opening Round, the Mustangs hit at a remarkable .389 clip.

Now, the Mustangs (39-21), who earned the 10th seed in the national tournament, look forward to Friday morning when they open up the World Series at 8:30 a.m. against the University of Science & Arts (Okla.) (44-15).

Track & field

From Thursday to Saturday, nine student-athletes from The Master’s University will compete at the NAIA National Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

On Thursday, Skyler Miskesell will kick things off by competing in the men’s 1,500m trials at 3:40 p.m. (EST). Should Mikesell advance from the 1,500m trials, he will compete on Saturday in the finals at 3:10 p.m. (EST) where he will undoubtedly look to earn NAIA All-American honors by finishing among the top-8 competitors.

At 5:40 p.m. (EST), Morgan Pedrick, Mikala Fairchild, Ariana Sciarra, Rylee Bishop will compete in the women’s 4×800 relay trials. The Mustangs enter the 4x800m trials aiming to set a new school record, and should they advance, they will compete on Friday in the finals at 5:30 p.m. (EST).

TMU will also be represented in the 3,000m steeplechase on Thursday with Rachael Ingoldsby competing in the women’s trials at 6:50 p.m. (EST), and Alec Franco competing in the men’s trials at 7:10 p.m. (EST).

TMU head coach Zach Schroeder anticipates both athletes advancing to their respective steeplechase finals on Saturday with the women competing at 2:00 p.m. (EST) and the men racing at 2:20 p.m. (EST). Schroder also believes both athletes have excellent chances of achieving NAIA All-American honors.

On Friday at 6:10 p.m. (EST), TMU’s Abigail Frankian will compete in the women’s 5,000m trials and is expected to advance to Saturday’s 5,000m final at 5:30 p.m. (EST).

Frankian anticipates earning NAIA All-American honors in the 5,000m, a feat only accomplished once before in TMU women’s track and field program history. Last year at the NAIA National Championships, older sister Karis Frankian won the individual title at the NAIA Championships in 17:16.51.

Lastly, on Saturday at 6:00 a.m. (EST), TMU’s Josh Sherfey will compete in the marathon where he looks to become the second Mustang in program history to win the NAIA title and follow in the footsteps of Jeff Jackson, who won the event in 2010.

For more information about The Master’s University Athletics, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @TMUAthletics.

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