The California Lutheran University Kingsmen baseball team secured their third win of the weekend and fifth of the season with a dominating 10-0 mercy victory in seven innings over the Macalester College Scots on Sunday, Feb. 25.
โThis was a long weekend for us, but I think we looked today like a team that was still, you know, focused and ready and doing the things that we need to do to win baseball games,” Head Coach Erik Scherer said. “We threw strikes, played great defense, and we had some timely hitting. So I’m proud of our effort up until this point.”
The Kingsmen started the game off strong with first-year left-handed pitcher Colten Hanson pitching two-and-two-third innings, allowing three hits and two walks, and recording two strikeouts.
โI think the nice thing today is we used a combination of different pitchers, some guys that don’t always get too many innings, and to put up all those zeros, I think that, you know, tells the rest of the team that we’ve got some other guys that can certainly contribute in the same thing,โ Scherer said.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the second inning when junior outfielder Lucas Danielewicz led off with a walk and then scored on a double by sophomore infielder Troy Anderson. Junior infielder Ryan Farr followed with a single allowing Anderson to score the second run of the game, giving the Kingsmen a 2-0 lead.
โI thought I swung the bat well today. I was seeing the ball well and not letting myself get deep into counts and doing my job early,โ Farr said.
In the top of the third inning, with two outs and two runners on base, Hanson was subbed out by junior right-handed pitcher Kyle Johnson who recorded the third out and kept the Scots scoreless.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Kingsmen scored one run thanks to a sacrifice fly by Danielewicz, scoring graduate infielder Blake Wink and extending the Kingsmenโs lead to 3-0.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Kingsmen erupted with a six-run rally.
Junior first baseman Sebastian Smith, Farr, and sophomore outfielder Ethan Dungo led off the inning with three singles with Smith scoring on Dungoโs single. Wink followed with a sacrifice fly with Farr scoring on the play with Dungo advancing to third base. Dungo then scored on a single by graduate outfielder Gordon Richardson.ย
The Kingsmen continued to hit and score in the inning as first-year infielder Kai Caranto followed with another single, and Danielewicz brought both Richardson and Caranto home on a double. Danielewicz then scored the Kingsmenโs sixth run in the inning on a single by Anderson.ย
The fourth inning ended with the Kingsmen leading 9-0 over the Scots.
For the next three innings, the Kingsmen brought in three relief pitchers who pitched one inning each. Junior left-handed pitcher Carson Stanfield took Johnsonโs place in the fifth inning and pitched a scoreless inning, despite inheriting runners at second and third base with one out.
In the sixth inning, Stanfield was subbed out by sophomore right-handed pitcher Milan Bugarin who retired all three batters he faced.
โToday I was happy to throw strikes. I was happy to put the ball where I wanted it and just get out of the inning fast…I gotta put the pedal to the metal and just keep going,โ Bugarin said.
Finally, in the seventh inning, Bugarin was lifted for first-year left-handed pitcher Frank Willius who shut out the Scots, striking out two batters and allowing just one hit.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Kingsmen loaded the bases thanks to hits by Farr and Dungo, and a walk to first-year infielder Jona Dawson. Junior outfielder Kaden Brennan followed with a ground ball in which Dawson was forced out at second but Brennan reached base on an error, allowing Farr to score and push the Kingsmenโs lead to 10-0.
The Kingsmenโs 10-run lead in the seventh inning prompted the umpires to call the game with the note of the mercy rule.
The Kingsmen are 5-1 overall on the season and 2-1 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after their loss to the Redlands Bulldogs on Friday, Feb. 23, and their two victories in their double-header at Redlands on Saturday, Feb. 24.
The Kingsmen will host the next conference game on Friday, Mar. 1st at home against the Whittier College Poets.
