WHITTIER, Calif. - Playing for the fourth time in six days, Cal Lutheran got six shut-out innings from its bullpen and three hits from Collin Crowl including the eventual game-winning RBI as it beat Whittier 5-1 Wednesday afternoon. The game between the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) schools didn't count for league play but rather for positioning in the West Region standings. Since falling in game two of last weekend's series, Cal Lutheran has outscored Whittier 17-1 over the last 11 innings.
Trailing 1-0 in the top of the fifth, Justin Cana slapped a one-out single and then Nicho DellaValle gave CLU runners on first and second when he reached following a Poets' error. After Jake Petersen walked to load the bases, Davey Casciola drove in CLU's first run of the game following a fielder's choice. One pitcher later, Crowl laced a base hit back up the middle and scored DellaValle, giving CLU the 2-1 lead.
Whittier threatened in the bottom half of the inning when Corey Jensen led off with a double and moved to third following a sacrifice bunt. CLU reliever Trey Saito would then walk Division III's leading homerun hitter Julian Barzilli, giving Whittier runners at first and third but the freshman would bear down and get the next batter to ground into a crucial inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Riding the momentum, CLU second baseman Craig Jacobsen led off the top of the sixth with his first double of the season. Two batters later, DellaValle punched a single through the left-side and put CLU up 3-1.
The Cal Lutheran bullpen would take over from there as Saito and Aaron Roth combined to throw the final four innings without allowing a run, striking out four and walking just two.
The Kingsmen tacked on two more runs in the top of the ninth when Cana singled and DellaValle and Petersen had back-to-back doubles. After Casciola was hit by a pitch, Crowl collected his second RBI-single of the day.
Leading CLU at the plate was Crowl, who went 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Cana and DellaValle each had two hits and scored twice.
On the mound, Scott Peters got the start and threw 3.0 innings, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out two. Tyler Hebda (5-1) earned the win after throwing a scoreless fourth inning in relief. Roth (3-2) threw the final three innings and picked up his SCIAC leading eighth save of the season.
Jensen led the Poets at the plate going 2-for-4 with two doubles.
Cal Lutheran (24-8) will now play its final SCIAC series before beginning Round-Robin play the following week. The Kingsmen host La Verne on Friday, April 18 before closing out the series on Saturday with a doubleheader in San Dimas.
Box Score: CLU 5 WC 1
CLU Twitter: https://twitter.com/clusports
Follow Nicho: @CLUBaseball
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports
CLU Instagram: http://instagram.com/clusports#
