By Cyanna Rosa

La Verne, CA -  Game 1: On Friday, the University of La Verne Leopards faced off against the Beavers at CalTech's baseball field for the first game of a three-game series, securing an 8-4 victory.  Sophomore pitcher Ethan Galindo allowed only 7 hits throughout his complete 9-inning win against the Beavers. The impressive outing saw Galindo throw an astounding 111 pitches, with 80 strikes for the game. Offensively, Benny Vogel and Ryan Vosika were key players for the Leopards in their Friday matchup, carrying the team to their win against the Beavers. 

Game 2: The Leopards continued to come out on top against the CalTech Beavers in the first game of their doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, games two and three of the series. The Leopards, who have been off to a strong start this season, showed no signs of slowing down as they dominated the Beavers with a final score of 5-0.

The first run of the game came from Jack Janes, who hit an RBI single in the second inning. Janes, a Yorba Linda native, now has a total of six RBIs for the season, with four of them coming from February matchups. Chase Siffert also contributed to the Leopards' score with a single RBI, while a potential error at home plate left Benny Vogel debating at third whether or not to steal another run.

Noah Garcia secured another RBI for the Leopards in the third inning after a CalTech error at first base, bringing the score to 4-0. Siffert added another RBI with a single in the bottom of the fourth, with the Leopards recording a total of 12 hits in the first four innings.

Gerald Terry dominated the mound, challenging the Beavers with 10 strikeouts in the first four innings. Last season, Terry totaled 77 strikeouts. Now heading into April, the month of the conference series, he is projected to set a new personal best, totaling 75 season strikeouts after the first game of this afternoon.

Terry lost his footing in the top of the seventh inning, but still continued on the mound and recovered in the eighth inning with two strikeouts. In the ninth inning, Head Coach Scott Winterburn called Terry out of the game to give Ian Wong the chance to close the last two outs. Terry allowed only one hit in the game, making this one of his best performances of the season with a heavy 127 pitches.

Game 3: With their strong performance in the first game, the Leopards were confident in their ability to secure another win. The Leopards proved to be too much for the Beavers, as they secured a mercy win in the seventh inning with a final score of 18-0 in the second game of the day.

Freshman Aiden Salcedo led the offensive charge for the Leopards with an impressive 6 RBIs, bringing his season total to 16. Salcedo's two singles in the first inning alone brought in four runs for the Leopards, setting the tone for the rest of the game. Chase Siffert and Cameron Slessor also contributed with two RBIs each in the sixth.

On the mound, Benny Vogel started the game for the Leopards and pitched a strong outing before handing the ball to Chase Pederson to close out the seventh and final inning. A quick but talented game for the Leopards to close an undefeated series. 

With this win, the Leopards continue their strong conference play and look to carry this momentum into their next matchup against Pomona Pitzer on April 7th at Ben Hines Field. Watch online or on the bleachers at 3 PM.