The California Lutheran University Kingsmen baseball team (5-1, 3-0) mercy-ruled the California Institute of Technology Beavers (3-6, 0-3) 11-1 in seven innings in their first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game of the season on Friday, Feb. 21.
The game, held at George “Sparky” Anderson Field, was tied 0-0 until the Beavers scored the team’s only run of the game, unearned, in the top of the fourth inning. The Kingsmen answered back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the sixth inning, sophomore left fielder Wyatt Crosby hit a three RBI double to left field to clear the bases, extending the Kingsmen’s lead from 3-1 to 6-1.
“The game was 3-1, the game was definitely in the balance and, you know, the bases loaded, but we had one out,” Head Coach Erik Scherer said. “And Wyatt, to his credit, you know, drives the ball, you know, to deep left field and cleared the bases and that gave us that cushion and also, you know, allowed them to continue to go further into their bullpen.”
Sophomore catcher Eric Gonzalez tied Crosby for the most RBIs (3), and led the team in hits, going 3-3. Gonzalez and seniors, first baseman Troy Anderson, designated hitter Sebastian Smith, and third baseman Carlos Vega respectively scored two runs for the Kingsmen. Senior right fielder Lucas Danielewicz tied Anderson and Smith for the second-most hits of the game at two a piece.
With the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Gonzalez doubled, bringing in two runs for the Kingsmen.
“I felt very good, you know, a lot of preparation throughout the week helped me have success today,” Gonzalez said. “I was just trying to hit the ball to right field and just trying to stay inside the baseball.”
The Kingsmen extended the Beavers’ losing streak to four games. However, Gonzalez said the Beavers’ losing streak did not change his mindset as a competitor.
“It doesn’t matter what team we play, we’re always gonna go out there and give 100%,” Gonzalez said.
Sophomore utility player Jona Dawson, who pinch-hit for senior shortstop Josh Quinn in the bottom of the seventh inning, hit a triple. With this hit, Dawson brought in two runs and then scored on a wild pitch to end the game by mercy rule.
“Jona Dawson at the end, you know, we talked to guys about staying ready and being ready, and he comes off the bench and he hits the big triple and then scores the, I guess the winning run, you know, to end the game,” Scherer said. “He was mentally prepared and he was ready to play baseball, which made a difference there at the end.”
Senior pitcher Luke Wechsler was on the mound for the Kingsmen in his first SCIAC outing of the season. In seven innings, Wechsler held the Beavers to just five hits and had no earned runs scored against him.
“I felt good. I felt like I had every pitch working. I felt fine-tuned and ready for the SCIAC,” Wechsler said. “Just some mistakes but overall, I’m just trying to give the team a chance to win.”
Gonzalez said the outcome of this game sets a “high tone” for the rest of the season in the SCIAC.
“You know, there’s always some mistakes we can fix up and we’re just gonna keep on getting better,” Gonzalez said.
Scherer said Wechsler fought hard to give the Kingsmen a chance at winning the game.
“It took us a really long time to get going offensively, so to his [Wechsler’s] credit, you know, he kept attacking, stayed in the strike zone, and finally gave us a chance to, to separate,” Scherer said.
Scherer also said that the game’s score was not necessarily reflective of how much the Kingsmen had to work for the win.
“You know, you gotta work for each and every win, and nobody gives you anything, so you’ve gotta earn it,” Scherer said. “And I think, you know, you can look at that score and say it’s 11-1 and there wasn’t much of a game, but I feel like we had to earn that win today.”
The Kingsmen ended up sweeping the series as they traveled to Caltech on Saturday for a doubleheader in which the team took both games from the Beavers. The first game ended in another mercy rule win for the Kingsmen with a final score of 18-3. The Kingsmen topped the Beavers in the second game as well with a final score of 7-1.
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Wechsler said he could work on the location of some of his pitches, as well as playing with more “intensity.”
“We’re a good team. We’re looking to get first in the SCIAC and we just build off these wins,” Wechsler said. “Overall, we just want to, we want to succeed and we know we can, so I’m glad I can help the team succeed.”
Following their series against the Beavers, the Kingsmen will take on the Whitman College Blues at home on Friday, Feb. 28 at 2 p.m.
“It’s definitely a good first one, winning by that much and scoring that many runs, showing that we can, we can put up runs and shut teams down,” Wechsler said. “We just gotta build off of it, work on some things and we’ll be alright. It feels good to win like this and, yeah, we’ll be ready for what comes.”
