ORANGE, Calif. — California Lutheran University baseball is back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017. The Kingsmen started strong in their opening game, going up 4-1 on Pomona-Pitzer, but could not hold on as the Sagehens got revenge from the SCIAC Postseason Tournament and won 14-6 on Friday afternoon. 
 
The teams played just last weekend as Cal Lutheran defeated Pomona-Pitzer for the SCIAC Tournament Championship crown. Friday's regional game went the opposite way for the Kingsmen as they dropped to the loser's bracket. 

The Kingsmen face Pacific (Ore.) Saturday morning at 11 a.m. as they look to continue their season. 

Chris Torres was on the mound for the Kingsmen. He was cruising until he ran into some trouble in the sixth. His line for the day was 5.1 innings with five strikeouts, three of which were Sagehens caught looking. He gave up 12 hits and six earned runs. 

Sean Blandino led the Kingsmen with two RBI. He hit a double and added two runs. Nick Fusari had a team-high three hits and also scored a run. 

Austin Carrillo added another RBI for the Kingsmen and had two hits. The rest of the Cal Lutheran's bats were kept in check and had 12 strikeouts. 

The Kingsmen struck first, scoring in the top of the second. Will Watson doubled to get a man on base and Fusari singled to put runners at the corners. Blandino got the first RBI as a sacrifice fly brought home Watson.

The Saghens answered with one run in the bottom and both teams were kept quiet in the third. Cal Lutheran broke through with three in the fourth. 

With runners at the corners and no outs, Blandino added a second RBI with a double to right field. Cal Lutheran converted on two more runs, with Blandino and Fusari scoring, as the Sagehen second baseman committed an error. 

Pomona-Pitzer score their third run in the fifth. Torres punched out the final batter of the inning as Cal Lutheran led 4-3 after five innings. 

In the sixth inning, the Sagehens took their first lead of the game. They scored six runs and led 9-4 with three innings to play. Pomona-Pitzer scored five more runs in the seventh and opened their lead to 14-4 after seven innings.

Looking to make a comeback, the Kingsmen got two runs in the top of the eighth. Carrillo singled to right scoring Blandino and Kyle Reuser scored off an error.  

The lead was too much to overcome as Pomona-Pitzer won and stayed in the winner's bracket. 

Box Score: PP 14, CLU 6
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director