MARSHALL, Texas — Cal Lutheran baseball finished the 2023 season one game shy of a regional championship on Saturday afternoon. The Kingsmen started the day by eliminating Pacific (Ore.), 8-1, before being eliminated by Trinity (Tex.), 11-2.

It was the Kingsmen's second straight time in the NCAA tournament, and the second straight time falling one game short of playing for a regional championship. 

Cal Lutheran vs. Pacific (Ore.)
Jalen Parks hit a two-run homerun, Josh Quinn added a solo shot, and Luke Wechsler got the win to lead the Kingsmen past the Boxers 8-1 in the first elimination game of the day. 

Wechsler picked up his eighth win of the year as he struck out eight. He went 5.1 innings and gave up just three hits and one earned run. Clay Rickerman came on in relief and finished off the game. He went 3.2 innings with two hits and zero earned runs. He added one strikeout. 

Quinn led the offense with three RBI, Parks had two, and Sean Blandino added one. Blandino, Brendan Durfee, Quinn, and Gordon Richardson helped the Kingsmen rack up 12 hits as they had two each. On top of the homeruns, Sebastian Smith had a double. 

The Kingsmen took the early lead as Quinn hit his solo shot in the second. They scored five more runs in the fifth. Parks started the scoring with his two-run bomb. Blandino added his RBI with a single to right center and the last two runs of the inning came from an error. After the Boxers scored one in the sixth, Quinn hit a 2-RBI single in the bottom of the inning. The Kingsmen pitching staff did the rest and they survived and advanced to a second elimination game. 

Cal Lutheran vs. Trinity (Tex.)
Smith homered and drove in two runs to lead the Kingsmen. Quinn had three hits and Max Heverly and Zach Lafata matched Smith with a hit. 

The Tigers for the Kingsmen bats as six pitchers were used. Trinity racked up their hits and runs over the first 6.0 innings with 15 and 10, respectively.

Trinity got the early start and scored four runs in the bottom of the first. The next four innings went fast as the score remained the same after five. The Tigers added two runs in the sixth and five in the seventh. The Kingsmen got their two in the eighth, but it was too late as their season came to a close. 

The Kingsmen look to rebuild, reload, and be ready for another run in 2024. 

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