THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. —The Cal Lutheran Kingsmen asserted their dominance Saturday, taking the series win over No. 10 Chapman. Though the Panthers took game one 4-1, the Kingsmen returned to take game two 7-4 behind a 12-hit outing. The split double-header moves the team to 11-4 overall and 4-2 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Game One:
Though the Kingsmen put a run on the board early, the Panthers tagged on four of their own to take game one of the double header 4-1 behind Chapman's Jonathan Hernandez's complete game.
Sophomore Tanner Wright opened the contest with a double down the left field line and moved 90 feet on a wild pitch with junior Ryan Probst at the plate. Probst did him justice and brought him home on a sacrifice fly for the Kingsmen's lone run in the first.
However, Chapman took one back in the fourth and went ahead on a single to center by Tristan Kevitch in the fifth. They added two more in the eighth, taking advantage of a bases no-out situation to score two.
On the bump for Cal Lutheran, senior Chris Kovach allowed two runs on three hits in 5.1 innings of work while walking four and fanning two. Following him, sophomore Clay Rickerman went 2.1 before handing the ball over to freshman Alexander Rivas who finished with 1.1 perfect innings and two punchouts to close the game.
Game Two:
On the bump in game two, sophomore Scott Roberts allowed three runs, just one earned, in six innings of work while walking two and striking out four. However, his offense picked him up, putting up seven runs on 12 hits, four for extra bases, and giving him his third win on the year.
Offensively, the team's 5-6-7 spot hitters – junior Matt Sciumbato, senior Weston Clark and sophomore Daniel Parr – led the game with two hits and two RBIs apiece.
Down 1-0 after the top of the second, senior Kaden White sparked the team's early rally with a leadoff single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Sciumbato walked and Clark sent White home with a single through the right side. They weren't done though, as Parr and junior Chris Spohr knocked back-to-back doubles to tack on two more runs and gave Cal Lutheran the 3-1 lead.
And though the Kingsmen pushed the lead to 5-2 in the fifth, the Panthers took advantage of an error in the top of the seventh to make it a one-run ballgame. Unfazed, Sciumbato and Parr collected their second RBIs on the day in their half of the inning to bring the game back to 7-4.
Holding things down from the mound, sophomore Zach Hardman held down the seventh and eighth, before junior Christian Slattery came in to close the ninth on just 11 pitches and earn his sixth save on the season, tying his total from last year.
Cal Lutheran returns to the field on Monday, March 18, in a non-conference contest against the Puget Sound Loggers. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. PST inside Ullman Stadium.
Post-Game Interview: Sophomore Daniel Parr and Junior Christian Slattery
Box Score: CU 4, CLU 1; CLU 7, CU 4
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Release by Christy Effendie, Assistant Sports Information Director