ORANGE, Calif. — Survive and advance! The Cal Lutheran Kingsmen knock out No. 3 Occidental from the SCIAC Postseason Tournament with a 1-0 victory Saturday morning. The team now returns to W.O. Hart Park for game three at 6 p.m. against the loser of No. 1 Chapman and No. 2 La Verne.
Coming out victorious in the pitchers dual, senior Chris Kovach tossed three scoreless innings of two-hit ball to open the ballgame before handing the ball over to sophomore Zach Hardman who kept the clean sheet. The reliever went on to allow just one hit across his six frames while punching out five.
Offensively, the team finally found their breakthrough in the seventh. Junior Cortez Espinoza led off the inning with a hard single to short and junior Ryne Yamashiro moved him into scoring position with a grounder to short. Then with two outs, he advanced another 90 feet on a wild pitch and just two pitches later, he scored on a passed ball.
Still just a one-run ball game, Hardman went on to slam the door with consecutive perfect innings to close the 1-0 victory in his longest outing of the season.
Championship Central
Game Three: Winner No. 1 Chapman/No. 2 La Verne vs. No. 4 Cal Lutehran
Saturday, May 11, 2019 | 6 p.m. PT
W.O. Hart Park | Orange, California
Watch
Box Score: CLU 1, OXY 0
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Release by Christy Effendie, Assistant Sports Information Director
