CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Cal Lutheran baseball team captured their Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opening series for the sixth straight season as they split with Pomona-Pitzer in a doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field. Cal Lutheran used a six-run eighth inning to blow open game one as they defeated the Sagehens 11-5. Pomona-Pitzer rebounded in game three, holding CLU to a season-low six hits avoiding the sweep with a 7-4 win.
For the second game in a row, Pomona-Pitzer gained an early lead but Cal Lutheran erased the deficit with a big inning and cruised to a victory in game one. The Sagehens struck first when Jake Bruml and Simon Rosenbaum had back-to-back doubles to lead off the bottom of the second. After Rosenbaum drove in Bruml for the first run of the game, Mark Okuma followed with an RBI single and put Pomona-Pitzer in front 2-0.
With one out in the top of the fourth, Nicho DellaValle got things started with a single through the right side. Trevor Koons was hit by a pitch in the next at-bat and a batter later Jake Petersen singled in DellaValle and Koons to draw CLU even with the Sagehens.
Cal Lutheran starting pitcher Tyler Hedba (1-1) would give up a leadoff homerun to Rosenbaum to start the fourth but then settled in, retiring the next 10 Sagehens batters.
With Hedba cruising, the Kingsmen offense gained their first lead of the game in the top of the sixth when Nick Boggan hit a homerun for the third straight game. Boggan's two-run shot over the right field fence put CLU up for good at 4-3.
The Kingsmen offense would deliver the knockout blow in the top of the eighth when they scored six runs on four hits. DellaValle and Koons led off with walks to start the inning. Boggan then singled to plate DellaValle and Petersen cleared the bases with a two-run double to left center. Spencer Dubois would later single and drive in Petersen to put CLU up 8-3. Following the RBI single from Dubois, Garrett Smith was hit by a pitch and Ronnie Burton walked as Cal Lutheran batted through the order in the inning and loaded the bases. DellaValle then stepped in and made the Sagehens pay in his second at-bat of the inning when he lined a two-run double into the right field gap, scoring Dubois and Smith and giving Cal Lutheran 10-3 lead.
Pomona-Pitzer scored run in the bottom of the eighth but Cal Lutheran responded in the ninth when Boggan led off with a double was brought in a batter later when Petersen his third hit of the game.
CLU closer Aaron Roth came in and pitched the final 2.2 innings, fanning five Sagehens batters and securing the game two win for the Kingsmen.
A day after leading CLU on the mound, Petersen paced the Kingsmen offensively going 3-for-5 five four RBIs and double. Boggan matched by also going 3-for-5 with two RBIs, including a double and homerun. DellaValle was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and double. Game one also marked the fourth straight game that both Boggan and DellaValle had at least two hits apiece.
Game two saw Pomona-Pitzer race out to an early lead as they scored one run in the first inning, two in the second, and three runs in the third.
Cal Lutheran got three runs back in the top of the fourth when Koons was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Boggan sliced a single into left field. After Vinyard was intentionally walked, CJ Picerni stepped in a hit a hard groundball to the Pomona-Pitzer shortstop who was unable to come up with and Koons and Boggan both came in to score. Smith followed with his first hit of the day, driving in Vinyard and cutting the Sagehens lead to 6-3.
Unfortunately, Cal Lutheran was unable to come any closer as Rosenbaum, the game three starting pitcher, threw three more scoreless innings and Robert Weller came on for the two inning save.
CLU starting pitcher Matt Burden (0-1) took the loss, giving up six runs in 2.1 innings of work.
With Boggan's single in the fourth, the senior kept his nine-game hitting streak alive. Smith was 2-for-4 with RBI in the loss.
Cal Lutheran (5-3-1, 2-1 SCIAC) resumes action Friday, March 1, when they host Chapman in the series opener at Ullman Field. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m.
Game 1: CLU 11 PP 5
Game 2: PP 7 CLU 4
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