THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Cal Lutheran baseball scored nine runs in the first game and 13 in the second of its doubleheader against Occidental to secure the three-game sweep over the Tigers on Friday afternoon.
GAME ONE: Kingsmen 9, Tigers 8
John Frazier (W) struck out nine Tigers (8-19, 4-8 SCIAC) across 7.0 innings while allowing no runs, improving his ERA to 2.09 across 47.1 innings of work on the season.
After Frazier struck out the side in the top of the second, the Kingsmen got on the board in the bottom half of the inning after Kai Caranto drove in Lucas Danielewicz with an RBI single.
The Kingsmen manufactured three more runs in the third and another in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead, with Josh Quinn, Danielewicz, Sebastian Smith, and Blake Wink recording RBIs. As Frazier dealt on the defensive end, the Kingsmen kept the pressure on with a four-spot in the bottom of the seventh. Gordon Richardson walked and eventually scored off of an error, Danielewicz doubled, and Caranto capped off the inning with a sacrifice fly.
Up 9-0, the Tigers gave the Kingsmen a scare in the ninth, rallying for eight runs in the inning. The Kingsmen used three pitchers in the inning, with Kyle Johnson getting the last two outs with the tying and go-ahead runners on base for the Tigers.
THE NUMBERS
- Frazier (5-1): 7.0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 HBP, 0 ER, 9 K
- Cameron Cooper: 1.0 IP, H, 3 K
- Johnson (S, 1): 0.2 IP, 2 H, BB, ER
- Wink: 3-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI,
- Quinn: 2-5, 2 R, RBI
- Alec Garcia: 2-4, R
- Danielewicz: 1-2, 2B, BB, R, 2 RBI
GAME TWO: Kingsmen 13, Tigers 5
Josh Kim (W) picked up the decision win in his first start of the season for the Kingsmen after having 11 appearances out of the bullpen. He allowed five runs while striking out three in 6.0 innings of work. Frank Willius had another impressive outing, going 3.0 scoreless innings while striking out five to earn a save.
The Tigers picked up five runs in the first two innings, but the Kingsmen never wavered and would take the lead in the middle innings.
Troy Anderson hit a sacrifice fly to score Richardson in the first after Richardson reached via hit-by-pitch. Carlos Vega and Richardson hit back-to-back doubles in the second for two runs as the Kingsmen chipped away at their deficit.
The Kingsmen tied the game up at 5-5 in the third inning thanks to a Caranto two-run homer, the first of his collegiate career. Carnto joined Anderson (4), Danielewicz (1), and Wink (1) on the list of Kingsmen with a big fly so far this season.
Kim settled in after the second inning, pitching four scoreless innings to finish his outing strong. The Kingsmen put up a big inning in the fourth to take a 9-5 lead. Quinn singled with the bases loaded to score Eric Gonzalez, Anderson doubled to push across two more, and Danielewicz drove in Anderson with a single.
THE NUMBERS
- Kim (1-0): 6.0 IP, 10 H, BB, HBP, 5 ER, 3 K
- Willius (S, 1): 3.0 IP, H, 4 BB, 5 K
- Caranto: 2-5, HR, R, 3 RBI
- Anderson: 2-4, 2B, 2 R, 5 RBI
- Richardson: 2-3, 2 2B, BB, 3 R, RBI
- Vega: 2-3, 2B, R, RBI
- Quinn: 1-3, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB
UP NEXT
The Kingsmen will face Providence Christian (5-19) at home on Tuesday, April 2 at 3 p.m. before resuming conference play with a three-game series against Caltech.
