Box Score CLAREMONT, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Baseball team fell late to Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opponent Cal Lutheran 9-8 on Friday afternoon at Alumni Field.
Season Impact: With the loss, the Sagehens drop to 10-12 overall and 2-5 in SCIAC play and snap their four game winning streak while Cal Lutheran improves to 11-6 overall and 4-5 in SCIAC play.
The Sagehens were led by senior Kevin Jordan who went 3-5 with one run scored. Senior Tanner Nishioka, junior Bryce Rogan and freshman Nolan McCafferty each chipped in with two hits.
The Kingsmen were led by Gabe Gunter who went 3-5 with three RBI and one run scored.
The Kingsmen had the advantage early on as they plated the first runner of the afternoon as Giles singled home Jauregui to take a 1-0 lead over the Sagehens.
Cal Lutheran's offense got rolling as they scored three runs in back to back innings on RBI's from Todd, Giles and Jauregui in the third and RBI's from Weinstein and Gunter in the fourth as the Kingsmen held a commanding 7-0 lead over the Sagehens.
Pomona-Pitzer's bats woke up in the bottom of the sixth as the Sagehens exploded for seven runs in the inning. The Sagehens collected seven hits in the inning and RBI's from McCafferty, junior Matt Omori, Nishioka, Rogan, Hulse and McCafferty again to even the score up at 7-7 heading into the seventh.
The Sagehens took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the eighth as Nishioka blasted his 10th home run of the season to give Pomona-Pitzer an 8-7 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.
With Cal Lutheran needing a run, the Kingsmen answered as they brought home the tying run as a bad hop in the infield brought in the tying run and Cal Lutheran scored the go-ahead run a bloop single by Jauregui to take a 9-8 lead.
The Kingsmen sent the Sagehens down in order in the bottom of the ninth as Cal Lutheran stole a win on the road against the Sagehens.
Up Next: The Sagehens will next travel to Cal Lutheran to finish off the three game series with a double header on Saturday, March 25th at 11:00 a.m.
