THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Cal Lutheran baseball rode a dominant outing from
Max McGrady and a late offensive surge to defeat Whittier 6-4 on Friday afternoon at "Sparky" Anderson Field.
The Kingsmen (22-10, 10-6 SCIAC) leaned on McGrady from start to finish, as the right-hander delivered a complete game with eight strikeouts, allowing just one earned run on six hits across 126 pitches in a gritty, tone-setting performance.
Cal Lu struck first in the opening inning, as
Philip Jeong reached and came around to score on an RBI single from
Lucas Danielewicz to take an early 1-0 lead.
Whittier then answered in the third, capitalizing on a Kingsmen error before Matthew Mecate launched a three-run home run to right center, all unearned, to swing the momentum in favor of the Poets. Whittier added another run in the fifth to extend its lead to 4-1.
McGrady settled in from there. After allowing the RBI single in the fifth, the Kingsmen ace shut the door, keeping the Poets off balance and holding them scoreless over the final four innings.
The Cal Lutheran offense began to chip away in the sixth inning, as
Wyatt Crosby led off with a double and later scored on a
Daniel Orozco RBI double.
Kai Caranto followed with another two-bagger down the line, trimming the deficit to 4-3.
The breakthrough came in the seventh. After
Liam Keithley scored on a Jeong double to tie the game, Danielewicz delivered again with a go-ahead RBI single to right. Moments later,
Wes Lynch lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home an insurance run, giving the Kingsmen a 6-4 advantage.
With the lead in hand, McGrady took care of the rest. He worked through the final two innings without allowing a run, capping off his complete game effort and securing his third win of the season.
Danielewicz led the Kingsmen at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Jeong added two hits of his own and scored twice in the comeback effort.
Cal Lutheran wraps up the SCIAC series against Whittier on Saturday, April 18, with a doubleheader on the road beginning at 11 a.m.
