CLAREMONT, Calif. — The University of La Verne baseball overcame a five-run deficit with the help of five errors by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to beat the Stags 7-6 Saturday afternoon.
Season Impact: The Leopards improve to 7-5 overall and 7-2 in SCIAC play. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps drops to 10-7 overall and 4-2 in the conference.
After the Leopards spotted the Stags four runs in the first inning and another in the fifth, Jakob Thomas hit a two-out single to center in the top of the sixth and advanced to second on a wild pitch to get into scoring position. Stags pitcher Konnor Kwok hit the next two Leopards batters, Nicholas Michaels and Adam Santa Cruz to load the bases.
La Verne then caught a big break when Christopher Peres hit a grounder to the shortstop who flipped the ball to second base, but the throw was off the mark allowing Santa Cruz to slide in safely and letting Thomas and Michaels cross the plate.
The following inning, Lukas Granado and Brandon Vogel each singled to reach base safely before another big error by the Stags put more Leopards' runs on the board.
With Thomas at the plate and two out in the inning, the designated hitter hit a line drive that was misplayed by the shortstop, sending Granado barrelling around third towards home. The throw to the plate was off the mark and Stags's catcher Carson Bridges airmailed a throw to third attempting to put out Vogel. The ball rolled into the outfield, clearing the base to tie the game 5-5.
La Verne took the lead two batters later when Santa Cruz singled in Michaels.
The Stags tied the game back up in the bottom half of the inning, but La Verne took the lead for good in the ninth when Christopher Ligot reached on a fielders choice with the bases loaded and Michaels crossed the plate after another error by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
Hayden Firth earned the win on the mound pitching two innings of relief.
The Leopards dropped the opening game of the 7-1. Thomas went 3-4 at the plate in the first game with an RBI.
Next Game: La Verne takes a break from conference play and will host Centenary (La.) on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
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