Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Handing the
previously-unbeaten George Fox University Bruins their first two
defeats of the season, both by one run and the second in stunning
fashion, the California Lutheran University Kingsmen won a
non-conference baseball doubleheader 8-7 and 14-13 Saturday
afternoon here at George “Sparky” Anderson Field.
Game 1 – California Lutheran 8, George Fox
7
The Bruins went deep twice as Emmett Ackerlund and Zac
Israel each hit their first round-trippers of the year,
but a five-run outburst by the Kingsmen in the fifth proved too
much for the visitors to overcome.
The Bruins got on the board in the top of the first on singles
by Jared Chase and Josh Rapacz and a sacrifice fly by Derek Dixon,
and made it 2-0 in the second as Zach Miller singled and later
scored as the Kingsmen turned a double play.
The Kingsmen took the lead with three in last of the
second. Nick Boggan led off with a double and scored on Nick
DeLorenzo's single to center, DeLorenzo scored the tying run
on a passed ball, and Mike Vinyard scored the go-ahead run on the
front end of a double steal with Garrett Smith.
The Bruins tied it in the fourth on Ackerlund's solo shot
to right, and went up 4-3 in the fifth on doubles by Matthew Zeller
and Dixon. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Kingsmen
exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fifth. Nicho
DellaValle scored the tying run on a base-loaded force out,
DeLorenzo doubled in two, and Smith lined a two-run single to cap
the rally.
Israel hit his first home run of the season to right in the
sixth to bring the Bruins within 8-5, and they added two more in
the seventh. Zeller was hit by a pitch, Rapacz doubled him
in, and Miller singled to bring in Rapacz. The Bruins got the
tying run on base in both the eighth and ninth innings, but Aaron
Roth got out of both jams with a pickoff in the eighth and a double
play in the ninth to earn a three-inning save.
Each team banged out 11 hits, with two apiece by Chase, Rapacz,
Miller and Israel for the Bruins. DellaValle and Boggan had
three hits each for the Kingsmen, while DeLorenzo had two and drove
in three.
Matt Johnston (2-0), the second of three CLU hurlers got the
win, with Roth earning his second save. Tom Zarosinksi (1-1)
started and took the loss for the Bruins, surrendering eight hits
and seven runs, six earned, with a strikeout and a walk in 4.2
innings.
Game 2 – California Lutheran 14, George Fox
13
Down to their final out with one on and trailing 13-9, the
Kingsmen collected six straight hits off Bruin closer Alex Keenan
(0-1) to score five runs and pull out an incredible 14-13
win. CLU scored nine runs off the George Fox pen in the final
two stanzas.
Cal Lutheran jumped ahead with three in the second. Smith
tripled to drive in Jake Petersen and DeLorenzo, who had singled
and been hit by a pitch respectively, and Burton tripled home
Smith. George Fox matched that three-spot in the
fourth. Zeller led off with a double, Dixon singled him home,
and Timothy Williams tripled to score Dixon. Williams scored
the tying run when Kyle Kirwan was safe in an error at short.
The Kingsmen regained the lead in the last of the fourth as
Peterson reached on an error at second, was sacrificed to second,
and scored on Vinyard's double, only to have the Bruins
retake the lead with four runs in the fifth. Zeller drew a
one-out walk and Dixon and Williams both hit singles to center to
tie the game. Dixon scored the lead run as Miller hit into a
fielder's choice, with all hands safe. Israel reached
on an error at short to keep the inning alive, and Rapacz singled
to center to score Williams and Miller.
The Bruins tagged on two more in the sixth as Zeller walked and
Williams and Miller hit back-to-back RBI doubles, and two more in
the seventh as Chase singled to score Kadyn Nannini and Rapacz,
building an 11-5 lead. George Fox starter Taylor Dunn left
with a comfortable lead after working 7.0 innings, scattering 10
hits with three strikeouts and three walks, but the Bruin relievers
could not hold it.
Matt Preston, making his first appearance of the season, was
touched for four runs, three earned, in the eighth as the Kingsmen
started their comeback. Petersen doubled, DeLorenzo reached on an
error, and Vinyard tripled them both in. Kevin Eto singled in
Vinyard, and DellaValle's single later scored Eto.
The Bruins added two insurance runs in the ninth as Williams
tied a George Fox record of which he was already a co-holder with
his second triple of the game, driving in Zeller and Dixon.
With a four-run lead and Keenan on the mound for the last of the
ninth, the Bruins appeared to have the situation well in hand.
Petersen reached second on a single to short and a throwing
error, but DeLorenzo flied out and Vinyard whiffed. The
Kingsmen then bunched together singles by Davey Casciola, Smith,
Ronnie Burton, DellaValle, Trevor Koons, and Boggan to score five
times and pull out the win.
Benefactor of the rally was Matt Shields (1-0), the fourth CLU
pitcher who had given up two runs in the ninth. The Bruins
collected 12 hits against the Kingsmen, led by Williams, who was
4-6 with two triples, a double, three runs scored and four
RBIs. Zeller and Dixon each had two hits and scored three
runs.
CLU touched four Bruin hurlers for 22 hits, with DellaValle and
Burton getting four each. Petersen and Smith had three hits
apiece, while Boggan and Vinyard each had two. Vinyard and
Smith had three RBIs each, and Petersen scored four times.
NEXT: George Fox (5-2) closes out its
California trip with a single game at Whittier College Sunday at
11:00 a.m. … California Lutheran (3-2-1) hosts the
University of British Columbia in an exhibition game Sunday at 1:00
p.m.