Baseball beats No. 2 Cal Lutheran, wins series

Baseball beats No. 2 Cal Lutheran, wins series

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The University of La Verne baseball team finished with 11 hits and took down No. 2 Cal Lutheran for the second day in a row, beating the Kingsmen in a shortened game due to darkness 8-3. The Leopards took two of three games against the defending NCAA Champions.

Season Impact: The Leopards improve to 2-3 overall and 2-1 in the SCIAC. Cal Lutheran drops to 5-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play.

Brandon Vogel and Christopher Ligot each finished with a pair of hits and a pair of RBI.

Jakob Thomas added two hits and a walk. Mauricio Guadarrama finished with two hits and an RBI.

Hayden Firth stepped in for three and a third innings of work, striking out four and earning the win.

Already leading 3-2 heading into the seventh inning, the Leopards extended their lead with a four run inning. 

Ligot opened the scoring with a double, one of his two in the game, down the left field line that scored Guadarrama. Grant Thompson brought Ligot on a fielder's choice. 

Jacob Benson crossed the plate after a Kingsmen error. Vogel finished off the inning with an RBI single to score Thompson.

Ben Rodriguez went three innings in his start.

Third basemen Adam Santa Cruz opened the scoring in the first inning with an RBI single. 

La Verne dropped the first game of the doubleheader 10-5.

Vogel led La Verne with three hits and two RBI. Guadarrama and Christopher Peres each added two hits.  Jacob Benson finished with an RBI and a pair of walks. 

Cody Norman went five innings in his start, striking out two but taking the loss. 

Derek Galvin picked up the win for Cal Lutheran.

Next Game: The Leopards next head to Pasadena to take on the Caltech Beavers Friday, February 23 at 2:30 p.m.