THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Handing the previously-unbeaten George Fox University Bruins their first two defeats of the season, both by one run and the second in stunning fashion, the California Lutheran University Kingsmen won a non-conference baseball doubleheader 8-7 and 14-13 Saturday afternoon here at George "Sparky" Anderson Field.
Game 1 – California Lutheran 8, George Fox 7
The Bruins went deep twice as Emmett Ackerlund and Zac Israel each hit their first round-trippers of the year, but a five-run outburst by the Kingsmen in the fifth proved too much for the visitors to overcome.
The Bruins got on the board in the top of the first on singles by Jared Chase and Josh Rapacz and a sacrifice fly by Derek Dixon, and made it 2-0 in the second as Zach Miller singled and later scored as the Kingsmen turned a double play.
The Kingsmen took the lead with three in last of the second. Nick Boggan led off with a double and scored on Nick DeLorenzo's single to center, DeLorenzo scored the tying run on a passed ball, and Mike Vinyard scored the go-ahead run on the front end of a double steal with Garrett Smith.
The Bruins tied it in the fourth on Ackerlund's solo shot to right, and went up 4-3 in the fifth on doubles by Matthew Zeller and Dixon. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Kingsmen exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fifth. Nicho DellaValle scored the tying run on a base-loaded force out, DeLorenzo doubled in two, and Smith lined a two-run single to cap the rally.
Israel hit his first home run of the season to right in the sixth to bring the Bruins within 8-5, and they added two more in the seventh. Zeller was hit by a pitch, Rapacz doubled him in, and Miller singled to bring in Rapacz. The Bruins got the tying run on base in both the eighth and ninth innings, but Aaron Roth got out of both jams with a pickoff in the eighth and a double play in the ninth to earn a three-inning save.
Each team banged out 11 hits, with two apiece by Chase, Rapacz, Miller and Israel for the Bruins. DellaValle and Boggan had three hits each for the Kingsmen, while DeLorenzo had two and drove in three.
Matt Johnston (2-0), the second of three CLU hurlers got the win, with Roth earning his second save. Tom Zarosinksi (1-1) started and took the loss for the Bruins, surrendering eight hits and seven runs, six earned, with a strikeout and a walk in 4.2 innings.
Game 2 – California Lutheran 14, George Fox 13
Down to their final out with one on and trailing 13-9, the Kingsmen collected six straight hits off Bruin closer Alex Keenan (0-1) to score five runs and pull out an incredible 14-13 win. CLU scored nine runs off the George Fox pen in the final two stanzas.
Cal Lutheran jumped ahead with three in the second. Smith tripled to drive in Jake Petersen and DeLorenzo, who had singled and been hit by a pitch respectively, and Burton tripled home Smith. George Fox matched that three-spot in the fourth. Zeller led off with a double, Dixon singled him home, and Timothy Williams tripled to score Dixon. Williams scored the tying run when Kyle Kirwan was safe in an error at short.
The Kingsmen regained the lead in the last of the fourth as Peterson reached on an error at second, was sacrificed to second, and scored on Vinyard's double, only to have the Bruins retake the lead with four runs in the fifth. Zeller drew a one-out walk and Dixon and Williams both hit singles to center to tie the game. Dixon scored the lead run as Miller hit into a fielder's choice, with all hands safe. Israel reached on an error at short to keep the inning alive, and Rapacz singled to center to score Williams and Miller.
The Bruins tagged on two more in the sixth as Zeller walked and Williams and Miller hit back-to-back RBI doubles, and two more in the seventh as Chase singled to score Kadyn Nannini and Rapacz, building an 11-5 lead. George Fox starter Taylor Dunn left with a comfortable lead after working 7.0 innings, scattering 10 hits with three strikeouts and three walks, but the Bruin relievers could not hold it.
Matt Preston, making his first appearance of the season, was touched for four runs, three earned, in the eighth as the Kingsmen started their comeback. Petersen doubled, DeLorenzo reached on an error, and Vinyard tripled them both in. Kevin Eto singled in Vinyard, and DellaValle's single later scored Eto.
The Bruins added two insurance runs in the ninth as Williams tied a George Fox record of which he was already a co-holder with his second triple of the game, driving in Zeller and Dixon. With a four-run lead and Keenan on the mound for the last of the ninth, the Bruins appeared to have the situation well in hand.
Petersen reached second on a single to short and a throwing error, but DeLorenzo flied out and Vinyard whiffed. The Kingsmen then bunched together singles by Davey Casciola, Smith, Ronnie Burton, DellaValle, Trevor Koons, and Boggan to score five times and pull out the win.
Benefactor of the rally was Matt Shields (1-0), the fourth CLU pitcher who had given up two runs in the ninth. The Bruins collected 12 hits against the Kingsmen, led by Williams, who was 4-6 with two triples, a double, three runs scored and four RBIs. Zeller and Dixon each had two hits and scored three runs.
CLU touched four Bruin hurlers for 22 hits, with DellaValle and Burton getting four each. Petersen and Smith had three hits apiece, while Boggan and Vinyard each had two. Vinyard and Smith had three RBIs each, and Petersen scored four times.
NEXT: George Fox (5-2) closes out its California trip with a single game at Whittier College Sunday at 11:00 a.m. … California Lutheran (3-2-1) hosts the University of British Columbia in an exhibition game Sunday at 1:00 p.m.