THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - A day after it was touched up for 15 runs, Cal Lutheran received a pair of pitching gems from Tyler Hebda and Aaron Roth in game one as the two combined for a four-hit shutout and CLU defeated Pomona-Pitzer 3-0 on Saturday. In the second game of the doubleheader, Davey Casciola hit a first inning grand slam and Gabe Gunter later smashed a three-run home run as the Kingsmen mercy-ruled the Sagehens, winning 15-5 and completing the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) series sweep. The three-game sweep over the Sagehens marked the first time Cal Lutheran has taken three games in a series from Pomona-Pitzer since the 2008 season.
The Kingsmen grabbed an early lead in game one when Jake Petersen ripped an RBI double in the bottom of the first, scoring Justin Cana and giving CLU a 1-0 advantage.
Cal Lutheran would get a runner on in each of the next five innings but all would be stranded as Pomona-Pitzer starting pitcher Lane Miles (1-1) settled in and got six ground-outs to halt any Kingsmen momentum.
Hebda, Miles' counterpart, was even more impressive, retiring 10 of the first 12 batters he faced. Trailing by just one run, Pomona-Pitzer threatened in the sixth inning when Jake Bruml singled and Simon Rosenbaum walked but Hebda held strong as he got the next two batters to fly out and end the scoring threat.
CLU would gain a couple insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning when Collin Crowl blooped a single into right field and scored Petersen and Nicho DellaValle.
Hebda (1-0) would finish with 7.0 innings of work as he struck out six and walked two in his longest outing of the season. Roth earned his first save of the year after not allowing a hit in the final two innings while striking out three.
Crowl and DellaValle led CLU with two hits apiece.
Tanner Nishioka had the lone extra base-hit for the Sagehens.
The Kingmen would waste little time grabbing the lead in game two, putting up a six-run inning in the bottom of the first. Cana and DellaValle both walked to open the frame and then Petersen singled to load the bases. In the following at-bat, Pomona-Pitzer tried to turn a double-play on a Ramsey Abushala ground-ball but the Sagehen second baseman threw away the throw to first base, allowing two runs to score. Two batters later, Casciola would make the Sagehens pay as he launched his first career homerun over the right-centerfield fence and cleared the bases, putting CLU up 6-0.
Cal Lutheran would tack on three more runs in the bottom of the second after Abushala sent a two-run double over the centerfielder's head and then later scored on a Gunter single.
After cruising through the first three innings, Cal Lutheran game-two starter Scott Peters (1-1) was touched up for three runs in the top of the fourth.
Peter's would get some insurance in the bottom of the inning however when Abushala scored on a ground out and Austin Kay singled in Crowl to give CLU an 11-3 lead.
After Peters pitched 6.0 innings, giving up three runs and striking out three, Mitchell Shields pitched a scoreless seventh.
Pomona-Pitzer scored two runs in the top of the eighth to make it 12-5 but after Abushala and Crowl each reached to start the bottom half of the inning, Gunter jumped a 1-0 pitch and sent it over the right-field fence for a walk-off three-run homerun.
For the game, Gunter was 4-for-5 with five RBIs. Crowl also had four hits and scored three runs. Cana and DellaValle each had two base-hits as well.
Rosenbaum led the Sagehens in game two, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.
With two losses, Pomona-Pitzer falls to 3-7 and 2-4 in the SCIAC.
Cal Lutheran (4-1, 3-0 SCIAC) will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 28, when it travels to Chapman for the opening game of the series. First pitch with the Panthers is set for 2:00 p.m.
Game 1: CLU 3 PP 0
Game 2: CLU 15 PP 5
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