REDLANDS, CA — The University of La Verne baseball team picked up two wins at Redlands on Saturday to record their second straight SCIAC sweep.
Season Impact
The Leopards are red hot. La Verne has won nine straight games and improves to 23-8 overall and 10-5 in SCIAC play. La Verne remains in a tie in second place with Occidental.
The Bulldogs fall to 14-19-1 overall and 8-10 in the conference.
Game One: La Verne 8, Redlands 2
For the second game in a row, the Leopards starting pitcher went the distance in La Verne's win. Devon Burhans struck out four with no walks and eight hits in the win. Burhans improves to 5-1 on the season.
Adam Santa Cruz led the Leopards at the plate going 3-4 with four RBI. Tanner Browning went 4-4 at the plate in the win.
Ryan Galan added two hits, three runs, and an RBI. Christopher Peres finished with two RBI and two hits.
Shortstop Jacob Benson added two hits and two runs and Brandon Shiota finished with two hits an RBI.
The Bulldogs were led by Cal Bridges three hits.
How it Happened
The Leopards jumped on Redlands in the first two innings, taking a 1-0 in the first off an RBI single by Santa Cruz.
La Verne added three more runs in the second highlighted by a Santa Cruz single that scored Galan and Benson.
Aaron Singh added a solo home run in the third to get Redlands on the board. But La Verne pulled away with two more runs in the sixth and eight innings.
Game Two: La Verne 8, Redlands 7
The Leopards held off a late surge from the Bulldogs to complete the sweep.
Santa Cruz had another big offensive game, finishing 4-5 with two RBI and two runs. The junior hit a solo home run in the seventh to extend the Leopards' lead to 7-2 and brought in what proved to be the difference maker in the eighth when he singled in Galan. Galan finished with two hits, including a triple, two runs, and two walks
Brandon Shiota finished with three RBI, picking up them all up in the fifth when he hit a triple with the bases load to put the score at 5-0. Shiota finished with two hits
John Bike added a solo shot of his own in the fifth. Browning and Jacob Benson each added an RBI.
Brenden Bergen picked up his second win of the season, pitching five innings in his start allowing just one hit with no runs and four strikeouts.
Beyond the Box Score
Santa Cruz leads the SCIAC with 41 RBI, ranks third in both batting average at .409 and hits with 47. Peres ranks second with 38 RBI and fifth with a .391 batting average and 43 hits.
Next Game
The Leopards have an important series coming up against Occidental. La Verne will start on the road in Eagle Rock with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. at Anderson Field.
Watch Live Follow ULV Athletics on Twitter Like us on Facebook Watch on Youtube Follow us on Instagram