THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — In the battle of top-25 opponents, it was No. 23 Cal Lutheran baseball that started the series with a win as they defeated No. 21 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 8-3 on Friday afternoon. 

Cal Lutheran fans will get extra baseball at home on Saturday. Due to CMS' field under construction, tomorrow's doubleheader will be hosted by the Stags at Ullman Stadium.  

The Kingsmen and Stags were both tied with La Verne at the top of the SCIAC standings. The Kingsmen improved to 6-1 in conference and 11-3 overall. 

Chris Torres opened the game and pitched for six innings. He got the win as he only allowed two hits and one run. He also had four strikeouts. 

The Kingsmen started the game strong as they opened in the first inning with three runs. Both teams then hit a deadlock as neither team scored before Cal Lutheran broke through in the third inning with one more. 

The Stags managed to score one run at the top of the sixth inning, but the Kingsmen returned the favor with four of their own in the bottom of the inning. Clay Rickerman then took mound for the Kingsmen as he pitched for the final three innings. He faced a total of 13 batters, allowing five hits and two runs, with two strikeouts. 

The Stags attempted a final comeback in the top of the ninth inning as they scored two more runs, but the Kingsmen held them back and took the win. 

Gordon Richardson had two RBI and Zach Lafata, Joseph Scalzo, Kyle Reuser, and Josh Quinn had one each. Lafata had two doubles. 

The Kingsmen's next game will be Saturday, March 18, at 11 a.m. continuing their series with the Stags. 

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