LANCASTER, Calif. — Cal Lutheran baseball found themselves in an early hole and couldn't overcome the deficit as the Kingsmen fell to the Antelope Valley Pioneers 9-4 on Friday afternoon.

CLU played the non-conference opponent before jumping back into conference play. 

Brendan Durfee led the with two RBI and Daniel Parr and Joseph Scalzo each added one. Kyle Reuser went 3-for-5 from the plate and scored twice. Durfee added two hits and had two walks.

Alexander Rivas was on the mound as took his first loss of the season. Rivas went six innings, giving up five earned runs, while also striking out six pioneers. Clay Rickerman came in for relief and pitched two innings as the Kingsmen tried to get back in the game. 

The Kingsmen got on the board first as Reuser singled in his first at-bat. After a stolen base, Reuser scored off a Durfee to shallow left-center. 

Antelope Valley took over in the bottom of the first, as they got to Rivas for four runs. The Pioneers added one more in the second and coasted until the sixth.

CLU cut the lead to one with a two-run top-of-the-sixth, but UAV fought right back. The Pioneers scored two runs in the seventh and eighth and went on to win 9-4. 

The Kingsmen and Pioneers have a rematch on Saturday as Antelope Valley travels to Cal Lutheran for a game at 12 p.m.

Box Score: UVA 9, CLU 4
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director