by Nate Rodriguez, Sports Information Intern
La Verne, CA – For the second straight weekend, the Leopards have swept a tough SCIAC opponent to remain first in the Conference standings. In a battle for the lone spot atop the mountain, La Verne beat the California Lutheran University Kingsmen 7-1 and 7-3 on Saturday.
Game One. Jerry Terry continued his dominating season on the mound in the first leg of Saturday's double header, refusing to allow a single base runner until the sixth inning. The Leopards' right-hander pitched into the ninth inning, surrendering the lone Kingsmen run in the eighth. The SCIAC wins (8) and strikeouts (91) leader keeps zeroing in on the conference's best ERA (1.61).
Malachi Francois broke out in a big way as a member of the starting lineup, mashing two hits including a solo home run for his first of the season. He also singled home a run in the sixth inning.
Three Leopards had multi-hit games in the first leg; Francois and Chase Siffert had two hits, while Noah Garcia led the team with three. Garcia started La Verne's scoring with an RBI single in the third inning.
With the game one victory, La Verne moved the Kingsmen into third place in the SCIAC standings and collected their 20th victory of the season.
Game Two. The Leopards were treated to more outstanding starting pitching in game two. Right-hander Austin Klopfenstein filled up the strike zone for five innings, striking out six along the way and limiting the Kingsmen to just one run.
Following Klopfenstein's exit, the Kingsmen picked up two runs to tie the game 3-3 in the seventh inning. With the 8-9-1 hitters due up in the bottom half of the inning, opportunities were limited for the Leopards with momentum in California Lutheran's favor.
With one out, shortstop Ryan Vosika reached on a hit-by-pitch. Vosika stole second and Chase Siffert walked with two outs. Enter the Leopards' RBI leader Noah Garcia, who delivered his third game-winning RBI over the past two weekends with a line-drive single into center field. Next batter, third baseman Cam Slessor lined one just fair down the left field line for a two-RBI double, adding insurance runs to make the score 6-3 Leopards. Slessor came around to score on Logan Reese's RBI single, and the backend of the La Verne bullpen shut the door.
The Leos are 21-10 on the season with nine games remaining on the schedule. They look to improve a 14-1 SCIAC record with a three-game series against the Chapman Panthers next weekend, beginning with a home Friday 3 PM matchup at Ben Hines Field.
(photo by Joseph Ceniceros)
