AZUSA, CA — The #5 seed University of La Verne baseball team's season ended on Saturday in Azusa, falling to the #1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags 15 -2 in the 2026 SCIAC Tournament must-win elimination game.
The Leopards conclude their 2026 campaign going 24-18-1 overall and 14-0 in regular season conference play. Four time First-Team ALL-SCIAC catcher
Nathan Perry caps his collegiate career with a .984 fielding percentage behind the plate, a .375 career average, 218 hits, 148 RBIs, 39 doubles, 12 home runs and 153 runs scored.
Aidan Salcedo finished his career being named to the All-SCIAC Second Team for his .367 average, 58 hits, 44 RBIs and 47 runs scored in his senior year. Third-Team Preseason All-American pick
Ryan Vosika wrapped up his time as a Leopard with a .350 average, 227 total hits and 101 RBIs. SCIAC Pitcher and Newcomer of the Year
Jack Holguin concludes his stellar freshman year with an 8-1 record, a 2.69 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 60.1 innings thrown.
RJ Libby and Vosika led the game off with back-to-back singles off CMS starter Andrew Blackett. Libby crossed the plate when
Nathan Perry hit a sacrifice fly to left field to give the Leopards an early 1-0 lead, but the Stags answered quickly, regaining a 2-1 lead in their half thanks to a two-run home run off the bat of Alex Henderson.
The Leopards tied it back up when
Thomas Villanueva singled and brought in
Aaron Whobrey, who had placed a bunt down the third base line.
CMS extended their lead to 7-2 in the bottom of third, scoring five runs off six hits and knocking starter
Andrew Wente out of the game.
The rest of the game was all Stags, powered by a combined five home runs, they rode their way to the 15-2 win.
The Stags are taking on the No. 2-seeded Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens in the SCIAC Championship game immediately following the conclusion of La Verne's match up. With a win, the Sagehens would be crowned SCIAC Tournament Champions and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Regionals. CMS, meanwhile, must defeat Pomona-Pitzer today to force an if-necessary game tomorrow at 11 a.m. in Azusa.
Despite the loss, The Leopards' winning mindset continues, and they look towards a bright future.
