THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- The George Fox baseball team came out strong in their season opener against a tough Cal Lutheran team, but despite a fast start and a hard-fought battle, they were unable to come away with the win, falling, 7-4.

How It Happened
George Fox, who came into the game after being voted sixth in the NWC coaches preseason poll, wasted no time getting on the board, as Evan Balingit singled down the left side, stole second and came home on a Carson Coulter RBI. The Bruins tacked on another run in the top of the second, when Andre Butler doubled and senior Shane McClendon immediately followed up with an RBI double of his own.

Cal Lutheran, who received votes in the preseason D3baseball.com poll, responded in the bottom of the inning, stringing together five hits to put four runs on the board and jump out to a 4-2 lead.

Fox refused to go down without a fight, though, tying the game up in the very next inning. Carson Coulter doubled to left field, before Austin Stalwick drew a walk to put two Bruins on base. Garrett Strube then came up clutch, ripping a two-run double to even the scores, 4-4.

Starting pitcher Caleb Debban settled in to hold the Kingsmen to no runs and just one hit through the next two innings, before they found a way through in the bottom of the fifth to retake the lead, 5-4. 

Balingit singled again in the seventh inning but Fox couldn't convert, and Cal Lutheran took advantage in the bottom half, homering to widen the gap to two runs.

The Bruins had one last shot in the ninth inning when Butler crushed a triple to move into scoring position, but Fox was unable to find the breakthrough, eventually dropping the game, 4-7. 

Top Performances
Andre Butler impressed in his debut for the Bruins, going 2-4 on the day with a triple, a double and one RBI. Evan Balingit also recorded multiple hits, finishing 2-5 on the day. Garrett Strube led the way in RBIs, driving home two runners in the game. 

Caleb Debban pitched five innings, giving up eight hits but just one earned run, while recording four strikeouts, seven flyouts and four groundouts. 

Coach's Thoughts
"1 of 40," Bruin head coach Kevin Kopple said, "Lots of good to take away and a lot of room to grow.  Much like a horror movie, we have to stop running into the cornfield and make it harder on ourselves then it needs to be."

What It Means
The Bruins dropped their season opener to move to 0-1 on the year.

What Comes Next
The Bruins will look to bounce back in the series, with a doubleheader against Cal Lutheran tomorrow. The first pitch is scheduled for 11:00 am.