WHITTIER – There is an old baseball saying, "The ball will find you."

Jared Hovsepian had just checked into a 6-6 game defensively at third base to start the top of the 9^th, but before he even had a chance to settle in, Kean (N.J.) University's Salvatore Taormina laced a liner straight at Hovsepian and the junior could not come up with the play.

Brock Pogurski, who pinch ran for Taormina, eventually came around to score the game-winning run and the University of La Verne baseball team lost, 7-6, to No. 5 Kean on Friday afternoon at the Rio Hondo College Field.

Nolan Henley, Mark Jebbia and Pedro Espinoza all had three-hit games and the Leopards kept it tight against one of the best teams in the nation.

After the Cougars drew the first blood with Taormina's RBI single in the 1^st, the Leopards answered right back in their half of the inning when Ben White flied out to deep right field to sacrifice in George Hanna and in the 2^nd, Jebbia hit an RBI single in to give La Verne a 2-1 lead.

Kean responded with five runs from innings three through five, but La Verne's offense kept pace. Espinoza hit a two-RBI single in the 4^th, Henley smacked an RBI double and Espinoza drove in another in the 6^th when he legged out a bunt single on what was supposed to be a sacrifice attempt to tie the game at 6-6.

Five Leopard relievers combined for 4.2 innings and gave up just one unearned run. Phil Schick came into a tough one-out, bases loaded situation in the 5^th and got out of the inning with limited damage. Brett Early tossed two innings with two strikeouts.

Espinoza finished the three RBIs. Hanna and Henley each scored two runs.

The Leopards return to action tomorrow at noon at Rio Hondo College for Game 2 against Kean.