Glendale, Ariz. - The Firestorm split a Saturday double header against the Jessup Warriors (11-3) on route to a 2-1 series victory at Greenway High School. After a whirlwind of a game (17-12, ACU) to begin the evening in which the teams combined for 31 hits and 29 runs, Arizona Christian blew a 4-2 lead in a seven-inning contest that eventually went a complete 11 frames 7-4 in favor of Jessup.

Junior Jaylen Edmonds had the hot bat for the Firestorm, going 6-for-9 at the plate including three RBIs and two triples. He was one of five ACU players to knock in at least two runs in the double header, Andrew Ivy leading the other four with four hits and a two-run home run in game one.

Christian Lucero was credited with the game one win, the third reliever after Adrian Santa Cruz (4.0 IP, 7 RA, 4 SOs) made his fourth start on the mound. 
  
Eli Elliott pitched his best game of the season in game two, working 6.0 innings while only allowing two runs and punching out a season-high nine batters. 

Arizona Christian finds themselves tied for second with The Master's (10-3, 2-1 GSAC) in the GSAC standings following their opening three conference games.

GAME INFO

Game 1 Score: RV Arizona Christian 17 | Jessup 12
Game 2 Score: RV Arizona Christian 4 | Jessup 7 (11 INN)
Records: RV ACU 7-6 (2-1 GSAC) | Jessup 11-3 (1-2 GSAC)
Location: Greenway High School - Glendale, AZ

STAT TRACKER (GAME 1 & 2)

Jaylen Edmonds - 6 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 triples
Andrew Ivy - 4 hits, 2 RBIs, 1 home run
Jared Anderson - 3 hits, 1 RBI
Ryan Eastham - 3 hits, 2 RBIs
Marques Titialii - 2 hits, 2 RBIs
Adrian Santa Cruz - 4.0 IP, 7 RA, 4 SOs
Eli Elliott - 6.0 IP, 2 RA, 9 SOs

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE (GAME 1)

The Firestorm struck first in Saturday's double header, Anderson grounding out and scoring Ivy who led the game off with a single. Thanks to a passed ball, the Warriors tied the game at 1 apiece in the top of the second, a single by Cole Hazel scoring Kayde Iranon.

A flood of six runs from ACU in the bottom half of the second inning gave them a commanding 7-1 advantage. Nine Firestorm batters saw pitches from Trevor Arntson and reeled off four hits, aided by two Jessup fielding errors. Titialii tied the program record for career RBIs (122) with a single that brought in Edmonds and Tanner Vielguth.

Following another scoreless inning by the Warriors, Arizona Christian added two more runs in the third with Trey Tarver unloading a two-run shot over the right field fence. Despite momentum being squarely on the Firestorm's side, Jessup's bats warmed up over the next three innings. The Warriors scored seven runs in the fourth and fifth on seven hits before emerging with an 11-9 lead through six complete innings. A mess consisting of two walks, two fielding errors and a passed ball saw Jessup score three runs to grab their first lead of the game.

Christian Lucero and Harrison Howell tag-teamed to blank the Warriors in the seventh. For the second inning, the Firestorm earned eleven at-bats and they regained the lead by exploding for seven runs. Edmonds and Ivy highlighted the inning, powering a triple and two-run home run to get things rolling.

Each squad would score one run in the eighth before Tarver closed the door on Jessup by going through their side in order, on the mound to finish a game for the third time in 2024.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE (GAME 2)

The nightcap lacked the same firepower as game one, with 12 fewer hits and 18 fewer combined runs. This muted action began with one and a half scoreless (Elliott struck out three Jessup batters) prior to Firestorm capitalizing on three walks thrown by Nolan Thebiay with three runs in the bottom of the second. Justin Colon converted the first run (Matthew Beckworth) via a sacrifice fly and Edmonds singled to right field to send two more (Deshon Thomas and Vielguth) home.
Elliott would keep the Warriors scoreless with two strikeouts in the third and no hits, but ACU did not add to their tally as their lineup went down in order on three swinging strikeouts.

Jessup would cut the Arizona Christian lead to one (3-2) with three hits in the fourth frame, featuring two doubles. The Firestorm would respond right away in the next at-bat, utilizing two triples (Edmonds and Thomas) and a second sacrifice fly from Colon to take a two-run lead into the fifth.

Neither team would score in the fifth or sixth, as Elliott successfully made it through six complete innings while only surrendering two runs. 

Chay Esqueda, in his seventh appearance on the mound, let Elliott's performance go to waste as he allowed two doubles and a walk. A game scheduled for seven innings was now all tied up 4-4 and required extra to be settled.

Firestorm relievers Evan Hieb and Harrison Howell did not allow a Warrior hit in the proceeding three innings, but ACU failed to convert base hits in the eighth and 10th to send the game into the 11th inning. 

Howell's clean two innings were wiped away in what would be the final frame of a marathon game, as he conceded three Jessup runs. Thomas kept ACU's hopes above water with a lead-off single but two groundouts (one being a double play) sealed a 7-4 loss.  

THOUGHTS FROM COACH JOE MCDONALD

"We did a lot of really good things today that helped us get the series win," Coach McDonald said. "We'll get back to work on Monday to continue to clean up the little things that we need to work on. There's a lot of grit and grind in this group and will continue to work hard and move forward."

NEXT FOR THE FIRESTORM

The Arizona Christian Firestorm have two days of rest before a non-conference matchup with Embry-Riddle (AZ) (5-7, 0-0 Cal Pac) on Tuesday night at Greenway High School. First pitch will come at 7:00 PM. Catch all the action with live stats at https://acufirestorm.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary and watch the broadcast at https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/azchristian/.  
    
                          
Roll Storm!