THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Cal Lutheran baseball ran into a tough start on Friday afternoon, surrendering a barrage of early runs in a 15-6 loss to No. 19 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the opening game of the weekend series.
The Stags put the game out of reach almost immediately, scoring 13 runs over the first three innings despite recording just two extra-base hits in that stretch. CMS consistently strung together base hits, drew walks, and capitalized on defensive miscues to build a commanding advantage.
Cal Lutheran (23-15, 11-11 SCIAC) answered with a pair of runs in the first inning, as
Kai Caranto and
Jacob Blickenderfer each drew RBI walks to cut into an early deficit. However, CMS continued to apply pressure, plating four runs in the first, two more in the second, and erupting for seven runs in the third to extend the lead to 13-2.
The Kingsmen showed fight in the bottom half of the third, putting together their best offensive inning of the day. Blickenderfer delivered an RBI single,
Brady Werther followed with a run-scoring base hit, and
Philip Jeong added another RBI knock to trim the margin to 13-5.
CLU continued to chip away, adding a run on a sacrifice fly from
Lucas Danielewicz in the fifth, but could not get closer as the Stags added two insurance runs in the eighth.
Despite the early deficit, the Kingsmen finished with 11 hits and drew eight walks, with Jeong leading the way with three hits. Blickenderfer added two hits and two RBIs, while Danielewicz drove in a run.
On the mound,
Max McGrady was charged with the loss after allowing four runs in the opening inning.
Aidan Buntich and
Ryan Jung were also tagged during the early surge, as CMS took advantage of nearly every opportunity at the plate.
With the loss, Cal Lutheran's postseason path becomes significantly more challenging. The Kingsmen will need to sweep Saturday's doubleheader at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps while also needing La Verne to drop both games against Redlands to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The doubleheader is set to begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
