ATHERTON, CA – Menlo Baseball pulls off the home field victory over The Master's University on Friday thanks to a Jake Koeper walk-off homerun. Bats were hot on both sides as the Oaks and Mustangs ended with 12 runs after 9 innings, sending the game to extra innings. It was a true testament to how the Oaks perform under pressure against a high-level team. Fans hope to have another exciting day of baseball for Saturday's doubleheader!

Koeper Walk-Off Homer Wins Game

The Oaks were back on their home field after a couple weeks of travel and you could feel the energy! The Oaks tallied 20 hits across the 10 innings of play today with 13 runs crossing home plate. Menlo created some great rallies throughout each inning giving a lot of Oaks scoring and RBI opportunities. Starting shortstop Zach Dyer (3-4, 6 RBI, 1 run) of the Oaks was one of many who took the game into his own hands and brought in almost half of Menlos runs. His first big play was a RBI-sacrifice fly in the 2nd inning to give the Oaks their first run of the day. Later on in the 5th, Dyer hit a go-ahead grand slam, his first home run of the season, to give Menlo their first lead of the game at 5-2. Then in the 6th inning, Zach continued a slug fest with a RBI-single through the left side to score Ryan Anderson who was on base. 

Another Oak who was a game-changer was catcher Jake Koeper (3-4, 2 runs, 3 RBI, 2 walks). The two Oak roommates had themselves a day! Following Dyer's grand slam, Jake earned a 2-RBI triple to left center field to score Ethan Baird and Jonathan Charboneau. Koeper also caught two Mustangs stealing while behind the dish. When Menlo was able to hold The Master's from scoring in extra innings, Jake was the one to lead off in the bottom of the 10th. After taking a ball, Jake hit an absolute missile into the tree's of the Atherton streets to walk-off. It happened in slow motion as the entire Oaks team exploded from the dugout and celebrated the well-earned victory.  

Menlo Mound Appearances
Menlo put out 4 different pitchers throughout the day who totaled 16 strikeouts together. Cody Carson started and went 5.0 innings pitched with 6 strikeouts and 3 earned runs. Frank Grant would come in for 3.0 innings and also earn 6 strikeouts. Brandon Moreno made an appearance and added a strikeout before Nicholas Liechty, who accounted for the win, closed the final 1.2 innings. Liechty added 3 clutch strikeouts ultimately leading to the Oaks opportunity to win in the 10th.    

Up Next….

Another day of Baseball against The Master's on Saturday, March 16 with a doubleheader beginning at 11am!