THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Cal Lutheran baseball took the weekend series from the Redlands Bulldogs two games to one. The three-game set featured multiple intense battles, including a Cal Lutheran walk-off in game two.
Cal Lutheran 6, Redlands 4
The Kingsmen came out on top of a back-and-forth battle with the Bulldogs.
Jona Dawson knocked in the first run of the series in the fifth inning with an RBI single to right field. The Bulldogs responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 2-1 lead. In the sixth,
Zach Gardner got the Kingsmen back in the lead instantly with a two-run bomb, which put Cal Lutheran up 3-2.
In the ninth inning,
Alec Garcia added a run to the Kingsmen's total with a sacrifice fly to increase the lead to 4-2. The Bulldogs managed to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings.
In the tenth, a costly throwing error allowed
Liam Keithley to score from third, and
Josh Quinn added an insurance run with a double to the left-center gap, allowing
Kai Caranto to score.
Gardner's home run was the highlight of the game, and Dawson had two hits and an RBI.
Luke Wechsler started the game and pitched seven innings while allowing just two runs.
Cal Lutheran 8, Redlands 7
In an extra inning thriller, the Kingsmen walked-off the Bulldogs to take the second game of the series.
Redlands took a 1-0 lead in the first, but it did not last long as Cal Lutheran put up five runs in the second inning. Dawson picked up his second RBI of the series with an infield single to tie the game 1-1. The Bulldogs' starter struggled as he hit four Kingsmen batters in a row with the bases loaded to gift Cal Lutheran four more runs. Another miscue from Redlands in the fourth gave Gardner first base on a throwing error and put the Kingsmen up 6-1.
Redlands clawed its way back into the game with six unanswered runs to tie the game at 6-6 and again send the game to extras. The Bulldogs earned their first lead since the first inning in the top of the tenth inning, 7-6. In the bottom of the tenth, Garcia laced a single to shortstop, and his throw to first was off the mark and allowed two Cal Lutheran baserunners to come around and walk it off. It was deja vu for Cal Lutheran as another Redlands error helped it win the game, 8-7.
Dawson continued his tremendous weekend, going 4/6. The hero of the game, Garcia, had three hits and three RBIs.
Leo Bristow started for the Purple & Gold and pitched six innings, recording seven strikeouts and allowing just two runs.
Cal Lutheran 9, Redlands 10
The series finale was another close one, but the Kingsmen were edged out by the Bulldogs.
Gardner continued to make noise with an early two-RBI double to left field to give Cal Lutheran a 2-0 lead in the first. Redlands got one back in the second inning, but
Josh Quinn ripped his third home run of the season to give the Kingsmen a 3-1 advantage.
The Redlands offense then scored seven consecutive runs to take an 8-3 lead. Quinn had the hot bat and sent another ball over the wall in the sixth inning for his second home run of the game to cut the lead to 8-5. The Bulldogs tacked on one more in the seventh, but in the bottom half of the inning, Cal Lutheran exploded for four runs.
Eric Gonzalez drove in
Troy Anderson with an RBI double. Gonzalez then cut the lead to 9-7 by scoring on a wild pitch. Garcia found himself in another game-saving position with two runners on base. He delivered once again with a two-RBI triple down the right field line to tie the game 9-9. The Bulldogs ultimately prevailed with the winning run in the top of the ninth.
Garcia and Quinn led the way for the Kingsmen with five combined RBIs and hits.
With another series win under its belt, Cal Lutheran remains at the top of the SCIAC standings, tied with La Verne for first place. The Kingsmen will look to take pole position as they will battle the La Verne Leopards this weekend in a three-game series. The first game will be played at home on Friday, April 11 at 3:00 p.m.
