THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Cal Lutheran baseball threatened late, but fell to Middlebury 4-3 in the series opener on Friday afternoon. 

Chris Torres took to the mound for the Kingsmen as he pitched for 5.1 innings. He faced 23 batters, allowing three runs with five strikeouts. 

The Panthers started strong and took the lead at the top of the second inning, 2-0. The Kingsmen tied the game in the bottom of the fourth. Kyle Reuser singled in a run and Jalen Parks' double did the same. 

The pitching staffs and defenses continued to cruise through the game until the sixth inning. Middlebury added one run in the sixth and got one more in the seventh. 

Bryan Tierney was next to pitch for the Kingsmen as he took the mound for 0.2 innings. He faced four batters, allowing one run and had one strikeout. He was followed by Clay Rickerman with 3.0 innings. Rickerman faced 10 batters and got an impressive five strikeouts. 

The Kingsmen tried to make a late comeback in the bottom of the ninth. Reuser was hit by pitch and Parks reached due to an error. A double play had the Kingsmen down to their final out, but Reuser moved over to third. He would inch the Kingsmen closer as he scored on a passed ball. It was as close as the Kingsmen would get as the Panthers picked up a nice win. 

The Kingsmen's continue the series against Middlebury on Saturday with the doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.

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