THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Momentum met its match on Saturday afternoon as Cal Lutheran baseball dropped a hard-fought non-conference doubleheader to unbeaten Bridgewater College at George "Sparky" Anderson Field.
The Kingsmen (8-3) traded blows all day with the Eagles (10-0), but a decisive sixth inning in game one and an early avalanche in game two proved the difference in 8-6 and 10-5 setbacks.
GAME ONE: BRIDGEWATER 8, CAL LUTHERAN 6
Cal Lu struck first and appeared in control midway through the opener before Bridgewater flipped the script.
Daniel Orozco put the Kingsmen on the board in the first with an RBI single to score
Wyatt Crosby. After the Eagles evened things up in the third, the Kingsmen responded with a two-run fifth.
Jacob Blickenderfer lined an RBI single to center, and
Jona Dawson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give the Kingsmen a 3-1 edge.
Starter
Max McGrady worked five solid innings, allowing three runs while striking out six, but the game turned in the sixth. Bridgewater used a combination of walks and timely hits to plate five runs in the frame, stringing together three RBI singles and two run-scoring walks to seize a 6-3 lead.
Cal Lutheran refused to go quietly. In the eighth, Orozco delivered again with a two-run single through the right side, and
Lucas Danielewicz followed with an RBI double down the left-field line to tie the game at 6-6.
However, the momentum was short-lived as the Eagles launched a two-run homer to right field to get back in front for good. The Kingsmen brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom half, but a double play ended the threat.
Orozco finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored, while Danielewicz went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Cal Lutheran matched Bridgewater with 10 hits but left 14 runners on base.
GAME TWO: BRIDGEWATER 10, CAL LUTHERAN 5
The nightcap began with an uphill climb as Bridgewater capitalized on an error and four walks in the first inning to score six runs before the Kingsmen could settle in. A two-run double and a two-run single highlighted the early surge for the Eagles.
Cal Lu answered with a run in the bottom of the first and trimmed the deficit to 7-2 on
Kai Caranto's solo homer to left in the third. The Kingsmen continued to chip away late, using an RBI triple from
Ellias Rubio and an RBI double from Danielewicz in the seventh to make it 9-4.
The Eagles added an insurance run in the eighth, and Cal Lu scratched across one more in the bottom half on
Owen Capron's sacrifice fly before the contest concluded early due to darkness.
Despite outhitting Bridgewater 10-7, the Kingsmen were undone by 10 Eagle walks and two defensive miscues.
Justin Gottlieb provided 4.1 steady innings of relief, allowing two runs while striking out four, and
Caleb Wilson added two scoreless frames.
Danielewicz led the offense again with two hits and an RBI, while Jeong and Werther each added a pair of hits.
UP NEXT
Cal Lutheran will look to regroup next weekend when it hosts Keene State College for a three-game series beginning Friday, March 6 at 2 p.m.
