After opening their season at George “Sparky” Anderson Field to a 12-4 loss to the No. 22 McMurry University War Hawks Friday afternoon, the California Lutheran University Kingsmen baseball team bounced back Saturday with a doubleheader sweep, winning the first game 4-2 and the second 17-6.
Fifth-year outfielder Lucas Danielewicz recorded three doubles in his second game of the doubleheader. Danielewicz credited his success to the regimen and environment he’s in, and said his training and mental preparation helped develop him into the threat he was at the plate this opening weekend.
“Just continuing to do what we do every week in preparation,” Danielewicz said. “A lot of visualization, just getting after it, trying to get better every day, and competing with the guys out here.”
In Saturday’s first game, a pair of Cal Lutheran runs in the sixth inning gave them a 3-2 lead. They were able to add an insurance run in the seventh, which helped secure the 4-2 win. Danielewicz was part of the rally as the Kingsmen tied the series 1-1.
With contributions coming from throughout the lineup and the confidence in the dugout, the Kingsmen were focused on their game plan to come back after their first loss of the series.
“We have a really good group of guys and really good coaching staff, so just trusting in them and trusting in the process,” Danielewicz said.
Cal Lutheran’s offense followed up in the second game of the doubleheader with 17 runs on 15 hits. Scoring five runs in the second inning, and adding onto that in the fifth, sixth, and eighth innings made it difficult for McMurry to fight their way back into the game. Danielewicz finished the game 3-5 with five RBIs, including a three-run double in the eighth.
Graduate student and pitcher Matt Campo said the team made the necessary adjustments going into their doubleheader on Saturday.
“I think yesterday we came out a little flat. We just pulled together at the end and said, ‘Guys, we need to figure it out and get together,’” Campo said. “If we come with more energy and intent, then the result’s gonna take care of itself.”
Campo was called on to close Saturday’s doubleheader with the lead intact, tasked with keeping the Kingsmen on top for three more outs. Campo said he relied on a simple approach as he took the mound, emphasizing execution and confidence in his teammates.
“Just go in, compete, throw strikes, and trust my defense,” Campo said. “If I just focus on the process, the results are gonna take care of themselves.”
Head Coach Erik Scherer said he made sure the team maintained focus throughout the doubleheader.
“You can’t look at it as, ‘Hey, it’s a doubleheader,’” Scherer said. “We got to look at it as one inning at a time.”
Although the Kingsmen faced a competitive opponent in their opening series, Scherer said the team maintained energy and focus throughout their at bats and on the field.
“We still had great energy from our dugout even in the 18th inning, the same as we did in the first inning,” Scherer said.
Opening weekend provided an early test for the Kingsmen, who will next face the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes at home in a three-game series beginning on Friday, Feb. 13 at 2 p.m.
“Hopefully we learn that we can go into a tough situation and bounce back,” Scherer said. “We just gotta win the week.”
