Sagehens Top Leopards 8-2
The University of La Verne baseball team suffered an 8-2 loss to Pomona-Pitzer in SCIAC action on Friday afternoon in Claremont.
The Leos were marred by six errors on the day as they dropped their third consecutive game as the Sagehens move within two games back in the conference standings.
La Verne struck early with a run in the first inning. George Hanna hit a lead off single through the left side and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Mason Stoltenberg. Jacob Ludvik singled up the middle to put runners on first and third. Jason Moralez followed with a single through the left side to score the Leos first run.
Stellar defense and pitching by both teams would result in four scoreless innings with La Verne still leading 1-0.
Pomona-Pitzer's offense got going in the sixth inning, scoring four runs for the Sagehens. Mike Moyer singled to right center, and then scored when James Campbell homered over the left field wall. A single and a Leopard error would put a runner on third. Jake Bruml hit a single up the middle to score the third run for the Hens. After E.J. Lopez doubled, Travis Bowers would reach on another La Verne error to score the Saghens' final run of the inning.
The Sagehens scored another run in the top of the eighth off of a sacrifice fly to give them a 5-1 advantage.
Four hits and two more La Verne errors resulted in three more Pomona-Pitzer runs for the 8-1 lead in the top of the ninth.
The Leopards rallied in the bottom of the inning when Albert Ramos singled through the right side. Bryce Roenicke then singled and advanced on a Sagehen error to put runners on second and third. Zach Canfield hit an RBI ground out to score Ramos for the Leos second run of the game. The rally was then cut short causing the Sagehens to top the Leos in an 8-2 final.
Bruml earned the win for Pomona-Pitzer with 5.1 innings of work. Guy Stevens picked up the save. The loss went to Schick.
La Verne still holds onto to first place in the conference standing with an overall record of 23-13 and a SCIAC record of 18-7. The Sagehens edge closer with a 22-12-1 overall record and a 16-9 conference record.
The Leopards continue SCIAC action on Saturday as they head back to Claremont to take on the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags. The game will begin at 1:00PM.