The California Lutheran University Kingsmen Baseball team won both games during its doubleheader on Monday, April 15 against the University of La Verne Leopards. The Kingsmen won the first game 5-1 and walked off the second game 7-6.ย
โI am really proud of our team yesterday, La Verne is a very very good program, and it takes a team effort to defeat a team like that, and to beat them twice in the same day,โ Head Coach Erik Scherer said. โIt was a great job by the players.โ
During the first game, the Kingsmen scored five runs in the first four innings. Graduate infielder Blake Wink hit a home run in the bottom of the first inning, giving the Kingsmen an early 1-0 lead, according to CLU Sports.
โYesterday we had a really good vibe in the dugout. Everyone was engaged and supporting and focused on the task and so that’s why I think that when guys who weren’t initially in there did have to go into the game, they were ready,โ Scherer said.
In the bottom of the second inning, sophomore outfielder Ethan Dungo hit a two-out single, and sophomore catcher Griffin Ziko brought Dungo home with a double to right-center field making the score 2-0.
The Kingsmen went on to score two runs in the third inning and one in the fourth inning.
โJust the energy from all of us throughout both games, the energy we brought was just so so awesome to see as a team. To come together as a team, as a family, was for me the best part,โ first-year infielder Kai Caranto said.
The Leopards scored one run in the top of the eighth inning, but the Kingsmen held the Leopards there and secured the win 5-1 win. Senior pitcher John Frazier pitched a complete game allowing just one run on six hits and recording two strikeouts.
โThis is a group that works hard, we started to practice back in September, these are individuals that show up every day to everything that we ask them to do and they give a great effort,โ Scherer said.
During the second game, the game was tied 2-2 until the seventh inning when the Leopards scored four runs to take a 6-2 lead, according to CLU Sports. However, the Kingsmen scored five runs in the last two innings- three in the eighth and two in the ninth ending on a walk-off walk by first-year infielder Kai Caranto.
โJust getting that win against a very good pitcher was very exciting for usโฆ we are all very proud of ourselves, we came together as a team and persevered through both those games,โ Caranto said.ย
Junior infielder Josh Quinn said he felt good about the two games, especially as the Kingsmen move forward and look ahead to the rest of the season.ย
โI feel great, it was huge huge two wins for the team there, really gonna propel us forward going into these next two series in the next few weeks,โ Quinn said.
Caranto said the team supports each other on and off the field, which has created good energy amongst the team and is thought to have contributed to both wins during the game, and in general.ย
โThis group is very welcoming, very genuine to each other and we all care for each other and we all want the best for each other, we just want to see everyone succeed,โ Caranto said.
On Tuesday, April 16 the Kingsmen beat the Bethesda Flames for the second time this season with a 15-3 win.
โI just love playing with the guys, itโs a fantastic group of guys and I would spend even more time off the field than on the field together, itโs honestly just a blast. Iโm so fortunate to be able to play with each and every one of these guys,โ Quinn said.
The Kingsmen have a 24-9 overall record along with a 13-8 conference record.
They also played the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens from April 19-20, dropping the three-game series 1-3. The Kingsmen will face the George Fox University Bruins at George Fox on Friday, April 28 at 3 p.m.
