THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Sophomores Tanner Wright and Daniel Parr led the Cal Lutheran offense with a pair of extra-base hits each, Sunday morning, lifting the Kingsmen to a 6-2 victory over the Whitworth Pirates.
Wright led the lineup, going 3-for-4 at the plate with three runs and finishing just a homer shy of the cycle. Alongside him, Parr notched a double and triple of his own, going 2-for-4 on the day. Also with a pair of hits apiece were seniors Kaden White and Trevor Egan who helped contribute to the team's 13-hit outing.
Cal Lutheran got things rolling early with back-to-back singles from Wright and junior Ryne Yamashiro in the bottom of the first. Then just as he has in his last three of four games, White came through with an RBI single to put the Kinsgmen up 1-0.
Getting the nod, junior Troy Frazier allowed just one-hit through his first three innings, in-part to a diving catch by junior Cortez Espinoza in centerfield to rob Nicholas Nerud of a base hit in the third. However, the starting pitcher and junior catcher Cole Cooper struggled to close out the fourth, allowing the Pirates to put up two unearned runs on the board on a passed ball and wild pitch.
Rest assured, the Kingsmen quickly responded in the bottom of the fourth. On a hard-hit ball to the right field wall, Parr got a rally going and slid easily into third to put a man in scoring position. Next up, Cooper redeemed himself with a double to left to score the tying run.
Back on the mound in the fifth, Frazier left a man stranded on second and set his offense up to go-ahead in the next half. Wright caught on and led off with a triple to left center, before touching home on a groudout by Yamashiro in the next at-bat.
Up 3-2 after five, Frazier claims his first win of the season. His final line reads two runs, both unearned, on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts in five innings of work. Head coach Marty Slimak turned to bullpen from there, which gave him four more shutout innings between sophomore Mason Snodgrass, sophomore Zach Hardman and junior Christian Slattery.
Offensively, the hits kept coming. After his walk-up song blared through the stadium, Parr responded with a bullet to left center on his first pitch and brought home junior Nick Pico from first on an RBI-double that sent the dugout into a frenzy in the seventh. Then in the eight, Wright doubled and Pico singled to cap off the final two runs of the game.
The 6-2 victory moves the Kingsmen to 7-2 overall to start the year. The team returns to Ullman Stadium on Friday, March 1, against the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs at 2:30 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 6, WHT 2
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Release by Christy Effendie, Assistant Sports Information Director
