By Cyanna Rosa

LA VERNE, CA- In the Leopards second game against Linfield, the University of La Verne crept close to the victorious finish line but fell short defensively at the top of the ninth inning. 

Similar to the first game of the series, the Leopards had a spectacular batting streak in the eighth inning. Jack Janes singled through the left side to leave Anthony Salcedo heading to home plate with ease. This filled up second and third base for the Luke Garcia double, tying up the game 8-8 with one inning left. 

Noah Garcia, the VIP at-bat helped the Leos gain 3 runs throughout the afternoon, with the help of Luke Garcia's strategic RBIs against the Wildcats. Unfortunately, the Linfield line-up sacrificed a fly ball to center field to gain an RBI to seal the deal heading into the bottom of the ninth, 8-9. Anthony Salcedo had the Leopards on their feet advancing to third with two outs left in the game. Noah Garcia, as the last at-bat earned the third and final out at second shortstop and the advancement was made slightly too late to close out the game 8-9. 

Leopard Pitcher Vicente Molina also played strike-heavy at the pitcher's mound with 25 strikes to his total 29 pitches, a definite leading force that Linfield will be challenged within the upcoming third game of the series, to play tomorrow, Sat Feb 11th, at 11:00 AM at Ben Hines field.