LA VERNE, CA — The Leopards jumped out to an early lead, Christopher Peres had an outstanding all-around game, and the University of La Verne baseball team closed out their series with Pomona-Pitzer with a 9-4 home win.
Peres could not be stopped in the backend of the doubleheader. The senior from Burbank thrived in his first start of the year, striking out eight in five innings of work off just four hits with no runs or walks.
The pitcher helped his own cause at the plate. Following an RBI single by catcher Adam Santa Cruz in the first inning, Peres hit a shot to right field that drove in freshman Tanner Siffert and Santa Cruz. Peres added another RBI in the sixth to extend the Leopards' lead to 7-1.
Santa Cruz was perfect at the dish going 4-4 with a double. The junior drove in the first run of the game in the first inning when he singled through the left side to score Brandon Shiota.
Siffert also had a great offensive game for La Verne. The center fielder went 3-4 at the plate and added a pair of RBI in the sixth when he sent Shiota and Jacob Benson home.
Benson added RBI singles in back-to-back innings, scoring senior Ryan Galan with a shot up the middle in the sixth, and bringing in Tanner Browning the next inning with an infield hit.
Christopher Ligot finished with one RBI, Shiota scored twice and notched a double, and Browning added a double of his own.
The Leopards drove in four runs their first time up and blanked the Sagehens through the first five innings.
After Jack Hanley finally got Pomona-Pitzer on the board in the sixth with an RBI single, the Leopards quickly responded with four runs in the bottom half of the inning. Brett Super took the loss for the Sagehens, giving up four earned runs in four and two-thirds innings of work.
La Verne dropped the first two games of the series to the Sagehens, falling in Saturday's opener 9-3 and losing Friday's game in Claremont 12-10.
Hot Offense
The Leopards have not had trouble rallying together hits or runs through the first quarter of the season. La Verne leads the conference with 101 runs and 94 RBI and ranks second with 138 hits.
Season Impact
La Verne moves to 8-5 overall and 2-4 in SCIAC play. Pomona-Pitzer now stands at 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the conference.
Next Game
The Leopards are back in action on Tuesday when the hose Greensboro in a 2:30 p.m. game.
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