Jason Karkenny's senior season appeared to be over. A bone spur on his throwing arm was giving him fits, and a cortisone shot failed to ease the pain.
So he went on the shelf, where he watched The Master's begin to turn around what had been a disappointing season.
About five weeks and another cortisone shot later, Karkenny was back on the mound, helping his Santa Clarita, Calif.-based ballclub qualify for its third appearance at the Avista NAIA World Series since 2013.
Karkenny's quest continued Friday, when he allowed just four hits and fanned nine batters over seven innings to lead the 10th-seeded Mustangs past seventh-seeded Science and Arts 7-3 in Game 1 of the Series at Harris Field, in front of a crowd of 1,530.
"He's been phenomenal in the (postseason)," Mustangs coach Monte Brooks said of Karkenny, the winningest pitcher in his program's history. "We didn't know what our rotation would be until the beginning of the week. We just wanted to make sure he was feeling strong and healthy."
Jonah Jarrard led The Master's offensively with two hits and two RBI. His second hit was his 83rd of the year, setting a new single-season record for the Mustangs.
The Master's (40-21) got all the offense it would ultimately need in the bottom of the second inning. David Sheaffer led off with a double and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Caleb Menez. Dalton deVries was subsequently hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and third and setting the table for a suicide bunt that was perfectly placed by Pearson Good. Ryan Bricker followed with a single to score deVries, then scored from first when Science and Arts starter Francis Ventura one-hopped a pickoff attempt that eluded first baseman Hayden Sloane's glove. By the time Sloane recovered the ball, Bricker had rounded second and was well on his way to third. Sloane tried to gun him down, but overthrew a leaping Kenniel Rivera at third, allowing Bricker safe passage home.
The final run would come via Jarrard, who painted the left-field foul line with a 3-1 offering and coasted into second standing up, plating Max Maitland, who had been hit by a pitch.
Bases on balls were a rarity for Ventura (10-2) coming into the Series. The Science and Arts ace had hit only three batters all season, and matched that amount in the first two innings. He also far exceeded his season ERA, yielding all of The Master's earned runs despite entering the Series with a 1.64 ERA in 762/3 innings pitched.
Conversely, Karkenny provided a steady presence on the mound for The Master's with the exception of the third stanza, when Science and Arts scored all of its runs on three hits and two errors.
"It was an extremely well-played game with the exception of one inning," Brooks said. "We executed on the offensive end and threw extremely well ... against an extremely potent offensive team."
The Mustangs added insurance runs in the fourth, seventh and eighth innings. Science and Arts (44-16), which made its second consecutive trip from Chickasha, Okla., to the Series, mounted comeback attempts against Mustangs reliever Danny Lutz in the eighth and ninth innings. But Lutz induced a double play after giving up a leadoff hit, and then struck out designated hitter Wyatt Hull to end the inning after yielding a two-out single.
Science and Arts put two runners on base with no outs in the top of the ninth, but Henry Rodriguez's deep fly to center was snared by Maitland, and Alexander Cortes and Frankely Gonzalez went down swinging against Lutz.
Lutz was awarded a save, his second of the season after having missed several weeks with a concussion, and the win moved Karkenny to 6-2 for the year.
"It felt great to come out and compete and give my team a chance to win," said Karkenny, who praised assistant coach Nick Jorgensen, who calls pitches for the Mustangs. "I felt like I had good stuff, just trusting what the coach calls. I have faith in him. It gives you so much confidence when you're on the same page."
Science and Arts will face Oklahoma Wesleyan in a loser-out game today at 8:30 a.m., while The Master's will meet Faulkner today at 3 p.m.
"It's a big win; I'm just excited that we get to play Faulkner," Jarrard said. "They're (seeded second). It's always nice to play against the best. Competition is what we live for."
"We're thankful we've got a shot tomorrow," added Brooks. "We'll see if our guys can get ready."
SCIENCE AND ARTS the master's
ab r h bi ab r h bi
Gonzalez ss 5 0 0 0 Maitland cf 1 2 1 1
Perez 3b 4 1 2 0 Jarrard c 4 0 2 2
Ventura rf 3 0 0 0 Sexton 3b 4 0 0 0
White c 4 0 2 0 Shacklfrd ss 4 1 1 0
Hull dh 3 1 1 2 Sheafer 1b 4 1 2 0
Rivera 2b 2 0 1 1 Menez rf 2 0 1 1
Sloane 1b 4 0 1 0 DeVries dh 3 2 1 0
Rodriguez cf 4 0 0 0 Good lf 2 0 0 1
Cortes lf 4 0 0 0 Bricker 2b 4 1 2 1
Totals 33 3 7 3 Totals 28 7 10 6
Science and Arts 000 300 000-3 7 2
The Master's 040 100 11x-7 10 2
Science and Arts ip h r er bb so
Ventura (L,10-2) 7 9 7 7 1 4
Pimental 1 0 0 0 0 2
The Master's ip h r er bb so
Karkenny (W,6-2) 7 4 3 1 2 9
Lutz (S,2) 2 3 0 0 1 3
Attendance - 1530
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Bauer is managing editor of the Tribune. He may be contacted at dbauer@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2269.
Science and Arts 3
The Master’s 7
STARS OF THE GAME
The Master’s starter JASON KARKENNY gave up four hits and struck out nine Science and Arts batters in a 125-pitch performance, and JONAH JARRARD went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI. DILLON WHITE and CHRISTIAN PEREZ led Science and Arts with two hits apiece.
TURNING POINT
Back-to-back throwing errors in the bottom of the third may have only led to one run for The Master’s, but it put added pressure on Science and Arts and its starting pitcher, FRANCIS VENTURA.
QUOTE OF NOTE
“I’m just happy to be here, surrounded by a great group of guys. I’m totally blessed.”
— The Master’s catcher JONAH JARRARD, whose second hit was his 83rd of the season — a single-season record for the program.
