ORANGE, Calif. – On Saturday, the Kingsmen squeaked out two wins by one run each to complete the weekend series sweep against the Chapman Panthers.

Cal Lutheran 9, Chapman 8
The Kingsmen blew the game wide open with an 8-2 lead by the end of the seventh inning. The Cal Lutheran bats were on fire with seven different Kingsmen recording RBIs featuring two from Zach Gardner. With the Kingsmen up by six runs, it seemed they would walk out of the game comfortably.

The Panthers mounted a six-run bottom of the eighth inning to tie the game 8-8. A lead-off home run got things started for Chapman. Jona Dawson led off the top of the ninth for the Kingsmen with an RBI single, and due to a couple of miscues from the Panthers, Dawson advanced to third. Alec Garcia brought Dawson home with a sacrifice fly to right field to take the lead and eventually win the game.

Leo Bristow started the game for the Kingsmen and allowed just two runs and recorded six punchouts through six innings of work. Lucas Danielewicz was seemingly unstoppable at the plate, going 4/6 with an RBI and two runs. Dawson, Gardner, and Eric Gonzalez each had two hits, while Gardner and Garcia had two RBIs.

Cal Lutheran 6, Chapman 5
In the final game of the series, the Kingsmen sent three balls over the wall for home runs. Josh Quinn scorched two to left field and Noah Matsumoto knocked one out in extra innings to win the game.

Quinn's first bomb tied the game at 1-1 in the fifth inning. In the sixth, Dawson picked up where he left off with a two-RBI single with the bases loaded. Chapman knotted up the game at 3-3, but similarly to the earlier game, the Kingsmen did not roll over. Quinn smoked his second home run of the day, a two-run shot, to give Cal Lutheran a 5-3 advantage.

The Kingsmen had a bit of deja vu as the Panthers managed to claw back and tie the game in the bottom of the ninth, 5-5. Matsumoto's game-sealing shot over the left field fence in the eleventh inning won the game for the Kingsmen and completed the series sweep.

Reigning SCIAC Pitcher of the Week Frank Willius was lights out on the bump for the second week in a row. His final line was seven strikeouts and no runs allowed through four innings. Quinn's and Matsumoto's three combined home runs were the highlight of the game as well as Dawson's 3/6 game with two RBIs.

The Kingsmen are now 18-5 overall and 8-1 in the SCIAC, which earns them the first-place spot in the conference standings. This is Cal Lutheran's seventh consecutive series win, as the Kingsmen are playing their hottest baseball about halfway through the season.

Cal Lutheran will kick off a three game series against the Redlands Bulldogs in Redlands on Friday, April 4 at 3:00 p.m.