CLAREMONT, Calif. —
Kai Gonzaga's go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth inning lifted Pomona-Pitzer baseball to a 6-5 win over La Verne Friday and a SCIAC Tournament Championship Game berth.
The Sagehens will take on the winner of La Verne and CMS tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. PT on the campus of Azusa Pacific University for a chance to win their first conference tournament championship since 2024.
Gonzaga posted a game-high four RBI, going 2-of-4 from the plate with a pair of two-run homers.
Landon Hu notched the Sagehens' other two RBI with a two-run shot of his own in the fourth.
Eli Della Bitta earned the win from the mound, pitching the game's final 2.0 innings with just one hit and no runs.
Wade Lawson shined in 7.0 innings of relief, striking out five with no runs.
La Verne scored all five of its runs in the opening frame to take an early 5-0 lead. Hu put Pomona-Pitzer on the board in the fourth, blasting a two-run bomb to center field that scored
Jack Gold. Gonzaga then hit his first two-run shot later in the inning, scoring
Will Parker and bringing the Sagehens within a run, 5-4.
With two outs, facing a 1-1 count and Parker again on base, Gonzaga belted a no-doubter to right field, giving Pomona-Pitzer the 6-5 lead. Della Bitta and the Sagehen defense stranded a Leopard runner in the top of the ninth, as Gold collected a ground ball and tossed it to
Greg Pierantoni at second for the force and final out to give Pomona-Pitzer the 6-5 win.
Up Next: The Sagehens will face the winner of La Verne and CMS tomorrow, Saturday, May 9, at 2:00 p.m. PT at Azusa Pacific University in the SCIAC Tournament Championship Game.
