The California Lutheran University Kingsmen baseball team took on the California Institute of Technology in the home opener at George “Sparky” Anderson field, surging to victory with a 21-0 win over the Beavers.
“Honestly we knew the [Cal Tech] starting pitchers would throw a lot of strikes. The first two innings we came close to scoring on them, but then it felt good to really open it up in the third and we just kept pouring it on and they eventually lost hope,” senior outfielder Ryan Probst said.
The game took place on Friday, Feb. 14 lasting a quick six and a half innings, as the Kingsmen took the win early on, taking advantage of the 10-run mercy rule, sending the Beavers home early.
The score was tied 0-0 in the first three innings until the first run was scored off a double to left field by Probst, as first-year outfielder Austin Carillo reached home plate at the bottom of the third.
In the fourth inning the Kingsmen scored 4 runs, followed by 5 runs in the fifth. The Kingsmen had a huge sixth inning at-bat, with a total of 9 runs scored off of 6 hits.
“We came in knowing their pitcher was going to be good because they shut us down last year,” Carillo said.
Carillo was among other players who made their debut in the game.
“It’s great when you score some runs, you get a chance to play a lot of players and we got a chance to dump the bench a little bit and get a lot of guys that needed to get some playing time in. So, this was a good team effort,” Head Coach Marty Slimak said.
The team had a return rate of 100%, with 21 hits and 21 runs. Carillo was a vital player in the match-up, hitting 3 doubles in each of his 3 at-bats. He scored 3 runs himself and had 2 RBIs.
As a first-year breaking into the starting lineup, Carillo said, “it feels good, but I have to give credit to my coaches and seniors like Ryan [Probst], Schimmy [Matt Sciumbatto], and Cortez [Espinoza] for helping me out every day in practice.”
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Alexander Rivas had a huge contribution on defense. Rivas was the starting pitcher, and pitched six innings. He gave up only 2 hits and had 8 strikeouts. This was Rivas’ second game appearance and second time as a winning pitcher in the 2020 season.
Senior third baseman Ryne Yamashiro also played a major part in the huge win over Cal Tech. He finished with 3 at-bats, 2 hits, 3 runs and 3 RBI’s as he dominated the Beavers pitching rotation.
Cal Lutheran held Cal Tech to only 2 hits, while not giving up a single error.
“Rivas did a good job holding them to no runs,” Slimak said.
The win put the Kingsmen at 6 wins and 0 losses in the season, placing them at number one in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Cal Lutheran faced Cal Tech again in a double-header in Pasadena on Saturday, Feb. 15 winning both games.
“Last year we ran them and then in the second game they kicked our butts. So we really just have to take our pitches and stay with them,” Probst said.
The Kingsmen defeated Claremont-Mudd-Scripps twice on Friday, Feb. 21 and Saturday, Feb. 22 and tied in their third game.
The Kingsmen are now 9-0-1 overall.