THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - In a rematch of the season opener that saw the Cal Lutheran baseball team drop a narrow 2-1 game to Linfield (Ore.), the Kingsmen earned redemption over the Wildcats on Monday afternoon with a wild 13-9 victory at Ullman Stadium.
Linfield (14-9) jumped out to a quick lead after bringing three runs across in the top of the first, but CLU wasted no time to issue a response.
Max Weinstein crushed a homerun to right-center field to lead off the inning and a two-RBI single from Trey Saito with the bases loaded highlighted a six run outburst from the Kingsmen to take a 6-3 lead.
In the top of the second, Brady Rediger launched a two-run homerun for the Wildcats to cut the CLU lead to one, 6-5.
The Kingsmen continued their offensive ways in the bottom of the second, exploding for four more runs to take a 10-5 advantage. With the bases loaded and one out, Brad Fullerton was hit by a pitch to bring home a run and a Wildcats error allowed two more runs to score. Saito drove in another run in the inning with a sacrifice fly. Another Wildcats error allowed for two more Kingsmen runs in the third and CLU took a 12-5 lead after the third inning.
On the mound for the Violet and Gold, Jeff Rebello (2-0)was exceptional in a relief appearance that quieted the Linfield offense. The junior utility infielder has showcased his ability to pitch this season and logged three strikeouts in three innings while allowing no earned runs.
Cheynne Giles added another run to the scoreboard for the Kingsmen with an RBI double to the wall in right field and CLU held off a late Linfield rally to secure the 13-9 win.
Weston Clark made his first career appearance on the mound for the Violet and Gold and the pitch-by-committee effort saw six pitchers take the mound. After Rebello, Jaden Stromire tossed two innings while Marshall Pautsch, Nate Wehner and Miguel Salud all pitched one each.
Saito led CLU at the plate with a 3-for-3 and three RBI performance while Gabe Gunter went 2-for-3 with four runs scored and Giles went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Fullerton added two runs and two RBIs.
Cal Lutheran (15-6) returns to Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play this Friday, Mar. 31 in a pivotal matchup between first-place Chapman inside Ullman Stadium at 3:00 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 13, LC 9
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