Glendale, Ariz. - The second playing of the East West Challenge began with a bang, as Arizona Christian battled #7 Bellevue in a 13-10 loss to open the prestigious tournament. Trailing by as many as six runs (10-4 through the top of the six inning), the Firestorm slugged their way to a 10-10 tie before conceding three late scores to the visiting Bruins. While ACU out-hit Bellevue 14-9, they piled up five errors in the first half of the contest and could not make up the difference.

Marques Titialii hammered a ball over the left-center fence in the Firestorm's third at-bat of the game to equal the program's all-time career home run mark of 25 (Jonathan Nunnally, 2017-18). Junior Jaylen Edmonds did not miss a beat from last weekend, as he recorded two hits in his fourth consecutive game, featuring a single that resulted in two critical RBIs.

The Firestorm utilized seven pitchers in the ball game. Payton Robertson started on the mound, working 2.0 innings and allowing five runs in 55 pitches.  

GAME INFO

Score: Arizona Christian 10 | #7 Bellevue 13
Records: ACU 2-2 (0-0 GSAC) | #7 BU 1-0 (0-0 NSAA)
Location: Greenway High School - Glendale, AZ

STAT TRACKER 

Marques Titialii - 2 hits, 1 home run, 2 RBIs
Jaylen Edmonds - 2 hits, 2 RBIs, 1 run
Kane Kiaunis - 2 hits, 1 RBI
Deshon Thomas - 2 hits, 1 RBI, 2 runs
Jared Anderson - 2 hits, 1 double, 2 runs
Eastyn Culp - 2.0 IP, 1 RA, 5 strikeouts (1st reliever)

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

The Firestorm defense got out of the first inning with no damage on the scoreboard despite a throwing error from Robertson. Titialii sent a shot of electricity through the ACU lineup in the third at-bat of the game, as he launched a ball over the left-center fence and lifted his team to an early 1-0 lead. 

Bellevue would respond in a big way the very next inning, racking up five runs on three hits. A fielding error by second baseman Sean Garcia allowed the Bruins' Bryce Zimmerer to reach first instead of being the second out. This mistake proved costly, as the Bruins proceeded to reel off back-to-back singles and a three-run shot courtesy of Brendan Luther. After four additional batters saw the plate, Bellevue had taken a 5-1 lead.

The next two half innings proved to be the only instance where neither team scored a run. Through the fifth, ACU was consistently setting themselves up for success on the offensive side of things, but two errors between the fourth and fifth inning left the deficit at four (8-4). 

Eli Elliott was placed into a sticky situation in the sixth, two outs on the board but bases loaded as he relieved Harrison Howell. He walked the first two batters he faced and suddenly Bellevue's lead was the largest it had been all night (10-4). The Firestorm added a run in the sixth but failed to convert with two runners aboard on one out. 

Riley Quinton scratched out three fly outs in his first inning of relief in the seventh, paving the way for ACU to potentially cut the deficit further. And cut it they did. The bottom of the seventh was a reverse of the second, for the Firestorm spotted Bellevue five runs on five hits to pull even (10-10). Five different players singled, Thomas, Garcia, Kiaunis and Edmonds earning RBIs. It was Edmonds' single through to left field that brought two runs home.

The tie was short-lived, however, as the Bruins registered a solo home run (Nick Grade) and two doubles (Jake Lacey and Nick Gravel) to mount a 12-10 advantage. 

Trey Tarver provided the Firestorm with life in the eighth, smacking a double down the left-field line with two outs. This would be the final ACU hit of the night, however. Logan Grant added a solo home run for the Bruins in the ninth to put the finishing touches on a 13-10 final score.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH JOE MCDONALD

"I love the fight in this team," Coach McDonald said.

NEXT FOR THE FIRESTORM

The Firestorm quickly put this loss in the rearview mirror, as they have two games against two different opponents tomorrow afternoon. ACU's run through the second-ever East West Challenge continues with #15 Ave Maria at 12:30 PM and #6 Tennessee Wesleyan set to follow at 3:45 PM. Don't miss any of the action with live stats at https://acufirestorm.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary and watch the game at https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/azchristian. 
    
                          
Roll Storm!