Michael Brueser rounded third base, victoriously trotting to home plate as he was greeted by teammates and coaches alike jumping and cheering in admiration for his late-game heroics.

After trailing Mesquite by three runs in the sixth inning, Hamilton was able to salvage their season opener by forcing the game to go to extra innings with five unanswered runs, capped by Michael Brueser's walk-off homer in the ninth inning.

Brueser, hitless in his first four at-bats, elected to swing on a 3-1 count and drove the ball over the center-field wall to bring in the two winning runs for a 5-3 victory.

“I was struggling in my plate appearances all day. I figured I’d take a big swing on a 3-1 count and I’m glad it paid off,” Brueser said. “Hats off to Mesquite. They played a great game and their pitching staff had my timing off all day."

Plate discipline was key for Hamilton throughout the game. Third baseman Will Maxey was a testament to this success, going 3-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

“I was seeing the fastball really well today," Maxey said. "I just hope going forward I can continue to hit the ball and help my team win every game possible."

For head coach Mike Woods, his team’s win over Mesquite was not to his complete satisfaction. Woods would like to see more aggression in future at-bats from his players, in addition to their mature plate discipline.

“We took too many fastballs in the zone," Woods said. "Some of our better hitters were also quite passive in big situations."

Critical errors hurt both teams. While Mesquite scored the game’s first two runs via errors by Hamilton, however, Woods admired the team’s defensive urgency.

“Those were aggressive errors and that’s how we play,” Woods said.

From a defensive standpoint, Woods would like to see his team play at a “more controlled tempo” moving forward.

Woods and Hamilton seek to improve upon their success in the season opener as they look ahead to their Feb. 22 matchup at Basha High.