THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The Cal Lutheran baseball team returned to Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) on Friday with a 15-2 victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at George "Sparky" Anderson Field inside Ullman Stadium.
The Kingsmen wasted no time putting runs on the board as leadoff hitter Davey Casciola lined a single to left and came around to score on a double down the left field line by Chad Clark in the first inning.
The Stags answered back with a run of their own in the top of the second, but starter Trey Saito got out of a bases loaded jam with a comebacker for a double play.
Once the Violet and Gold returned to the plate in the bottom half of the second, they piled up four runs on four hits to take a 5-1 lead. Designated hitter Jimmy Jauregui got things started with a leadoff single through the left side and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Justin Caña. After an Eddie Villegas single, Austin Kay bunted in Jauregui from third. Casciola then stepped up to the plate and continued his hot hitting with a double to left center and later scored on a CMS error. Another error extended the inning and Gabe Gunter came through with an RBI single up the middle.
CLU continued the damage in the bottom of the third with three more runs to blow the game open and take an 8-1 lead. With two outs, Villegas singled, followed by a walk to Kay, and Casciola and C. Clark hit back-to-back doubles to drive in the runs.
The Kingsmen added another run in the fourth and scored six in the sixth to secure the 15-2 mercy rule victory. In the big sixth inning, Caña and Kay each added two-RBI extra base hits while Casciola and C. Clark came through with RBI hits of their own.
Casciola finished the day 4-for-5 with four runs scored and four RBI's in the leadoff spot and C. Clark went 3-for-5 with three RBI's right behind him in the lineup. Villegas and Jauregui also had multi-hit games and Kay produced three RBI's.
On the bump, Saito (5-2) earned the complete game victory with seven innings pitched, just four hits allowed and one earned run while tallying three strikeouts.
Cal Lutheran (12-8, 7-3 SCIAC) will head to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps tomorrow, Mar. 26 for a doubleheader beginning at 11:00 a.m. to close out the series with the Stags.
Box Score: CLU 15, CMS 2
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