THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Cal Lutheran used a three-run eighth inning to propel themselves over Redlands in a rare nonconference matchup with their Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opponents, grabbing an 8-5 win at George "Sparky" Anderson Field.
The Kingsmen (14-1, 8-1 SCIAC) racked up 14 hits on the day as the offense continued to produce late runs. Austin Carrillo notched his fourth three-hit game of the season, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Tanner Wright, Zach Bullard and Harrison Dunkel each enjoyed a two-hit day as eight of the nine Kingsmen starters recorded a hit against the Bulldogs.
Alexander Rivas delivered another quality start, tossing six innings while allowing three earned runs. The sophomore posted five scoreless innings before he appeared to fatigue in the later innings. Despite the uneasy departure, Rivas punched out five hitters and allowed just six hits.
Cal Lutheran thrusted themselves into the lead in their first turn at the plate, scoring three times to take an early lead. Carrillo started things off with a base hit through the right side and Ryan Probst followed with a groundball that snuck inside the left-field line for a double.
Ryne Yamashiro scored Carrillo with a sacrifice fly before Bullard laced a two-out base hit up the middle to bring another run across. Jalen Parks stepped to the plate and kept the two-out rally alive with a solid line drive to left field, scoring Daniel Parr, to cap off the three-run inning.
The Kingsmen tacked on another run in the third as Yamashiro led off the inning with a walk and Bullard came through with another RBI base hit to extend the lead to 4-0.
The bats would go silent for the next two frames before the Bulldogs finally got on the board in the top of the sixth. A two-run homer from Redlands' Jonah Advincula cut the lead in half as Rivas' shutout was spoiled.
CLU managed to get a run back in the bottom half of the inning as a walk from Kyle Reuser and a perfectly executed hit-and-run by Harrison Dunkel set the table with runners at first and second. Carrillo rolled one through the right side to plate Reuser to make the score 5-2 after six full innings.
The visitors would not go away easily, however, scoring once in the seventh before pushing two more runs across in the eighth to tie the game at 5-5.
In the home half of the eighth, the Kingsmen got back to work, posting another three-spot to regain their advantage. Daniel Stauffer entered the game as a pinch-hitter and got the inning started with a frozen rope to right field. Back-to-back hits from Wright and Carrillo put the Kingsmen up by two runs before a third run was added by Yamashiro who reached on an error.
Christian Slattery assumed his closer role in the ninth inning. The Bulldogs loaded the bases in the final frame, but the senior hunkered down and stuck out two hitters to end the threat and earn his sixth save of the season. Slattery still leads the nation in saves with six on the year.
Clay Rickerman earned the win after helping CLU get out of a jam eighth inning, striking out the only hitter he faced.
The Kingsmen continue non-conference competition on Mar. 7 beginning at 11 a.m. as they host the University of Dallas for a doubleheader at George "Sparky" Anderson Field.
Box Score: CLU 8, UR 5
CLU Instagram: http://instagram.com/clusports#
BB Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kingsmen_baseball/
CLU Twitter: https://twitter.com/clusports
BB Twitter: https://twitter.com/CLUBaseball
CLU Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports
Hashtags: #clusports #ownthethrone #goregals #gokingsmen #theSCIAC #ncaad3
Release by Jeff Rebello, Assistant Sports Information Director
