LA VERNE, Calif. — The Pomona-Pitzer baseball team defeated Whitworth 10-9 and La Verne 2-1 Saturday at Ben Hines Field to advance to the championship round at NCAA Regionals.
The Sagehens will take on McMurry University tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. PT with a chance to compete against the War Hawks for an NCAA Super Regionals berth at 2:30 p.m. PT.
Sagehens 10, Whitworth 9
JC Ng proved to be the difference against the Pirates with a career-high eight RBIs off of three homers and a double. Ng went 4-for-5 in the game while
Jack Gold and
Carson Evans each added RBI.
Wade Lawson earned the win from the mound after going 2.0 innings while
Eamonn Woods secured the save in 1.0 innings of work.
Whitworth got out to a 1-0 lead in the third before Ng blasted his first two-run homer of the game in the bottom of the frame. Evans posted an RBI single in the fourth then Ng hit another two-run shot in the fifth, putting the Sagehens up 5-1.
The Pirates responded with a five-run sixth inning to take a 6-5 lead. But Pomona-Pitzer answered quickly in the bottom of the inning, as Ng hit his third homer of the game, this time a three-run bomb to right center, to give the Sagehens an 8-6 lead. Whitworth, though, scored two unanswered to tie the game at 8-8 in the eighth.
Ng put the Sagehens back ahead in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI double before Gold hit a sac fly to put Pomona-Pitzer up 10-8. Whitworth got a run back in the ninth but it wasn't enough, as Woods struck out the final batter and the Sagehens held on for the 10-9 win.
Sagehens 2, La Verne 1 (10 innings)
In the two teams' seventh meeting this season, Pomona-Pitzer prevailed when it mattered most in a 2-1 pitchers' duel, 10-inning victory to eliminate the Leopards and move on to the NCAA Regionals championship round. Woods pitched 6.2 innings and gave up just two hits and no runs, while Collins earned the win after going 1.1 IP with a strikeout.
Cooper Berry posted the Sagehens' lone two RBI after going 3-for-5 from the plate.
Neither team managed to reach home plate through the first seven innings, despite the Sagehens leaving the bases loaded in the third and seventh frames. Pomona-Pitzer finally broke through in the eighth inning as Berry singled up the middle with two outs to score
Jimmy Legg. La Verne, though, managed to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings.
Berry again came through in the 10th frame for the Sagehens, blasting another single up the middle to score Ng. Collins and the Pomona-Pitzer defense came through in the bottom of the inning, recording a pair of flyouts and a strikeout to seal the 2-1 victory.
Up Next: The Sagehens will take on McMurry University tomorrow, Sunday, May 18, at 11:00 a.m. PT with a chance to play again for a Regional Championship and Super Regionals berth at 2:30 p.m. PT.
