THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The Kingsmen won their tenth-consecutive series over the weekend against the Whittier Poets. Cal Lutheran took the first and third games of the series but dropped game two. With the two victories, the Kingsmen remain in joint-first place with the La Verne Leopards.

Cal Lutheran 8, Whittier 2
Cal Lutheran sent a message to the Poets in game one with an 8-2 win. Luke Wechsler picked up another win to improve to 7-0 on the season. He pitched seven innings, recorded five strikeouts, and allowed just two runs. Alec Garcia knocked in three runs on two hits, while Lucas Danielewicz had three hits and scored two runs. 

Garcia drove in Josh Quinn in the third inning to get the Kingsmen on the board with an RBI single. Cal Lutheran exploded and added five more runs in the fourth to increase its lead to 6-0. Garcia added two more RBIs in the inning with another knock to right field. 

In the seventh inning, Danielewicz and Jona Dawson scored on a single up the middle from Eric Gonzalez for the game's final two runs. Whittier got its two runs in the sixth and seventh innings, but Joshua Kim came in for Wechsler to shut the Poets down.

Cal Lutheran 5, Whittier 7
In the second game of the series, the Kingsmen found themselves down 5-0 after Whittier put up a five-spot in the sixth inning. In the bottom half of the inning, one swing of the bat from Quinn brought the Kingsmen within one. Quinn launched a grand-slam over the wall to put Cal Lutheran right back in it. 

The Poets added some late insurance with two runs in the seventh to take a 7-4 lead. Gonzalez laced an RBI single to center field in the eighth, but the Kingsmen's late rally was cut short.

Quinn's grand-slam was the highlight of the game, and Danielewicz continued to produce offensively with three hits and two runs scored.

Cal Lutheran 14, Whittier 12
The series finale featured a combined 26 runs from both teams and a comeback victory for the Kingsmen. A massive eight-run outburst in the seventh inning was the difference for Cal Lutheran. The offense was on fire as Noah Matsumoto tallied three hits, three RBIs, and a run scored. Quinn also continued his monster day with two hits, two RBIs, and two runs scored.

Whittier carried some momentum over from the first game of the day and jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. An RBI single from Dawson and a sac-fly from Danielewicz cut the Cal Lutheran deficit to 3-2. Over the next four innings, the Poets took a 7-2 advantage and put the Kingsmen in a hole. 
In the seventh, Cal Lutheran's bats came alive as the Purple & Gold rallied to take a 10-7 lead. Kai Caranto kicked things off with a two-RBI single and Quinn followed up with an RBI single. Back-to-back extra base hits from Matsumoto and Daniel Orozco put the Kingsmen in the driver's seat, 8-7. Garcia capped off the scoring with a single that drove in Orozco and Phillip Jeong. 

Four more runs in the eighth inning would seal the deal for Cal Lutheran. Quinn found a gap in center field for an RBI triple and Matsumoto allowed Quinn to score with a single. Ryan Farr chimed in with a single down the line to drive in the last two runs for the Kingsmen. Some bottom-of-the-ninth drama and a three-run home run from Whittier brought it within two. But it was not enough, as the game ended with a Kingsmen victory, 14-12.

The resilience of Cal Lutheran was on full display throughout the series as it proved no lead is ever safe. The Kingsmen will look to reclaim solo first place as they start a three-game set against the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens. The first pitch of the series will start at 3:00 p.m. at home on April 25.