WHITTIER, Calif. - Possessing the lead on three previous occasions, Iggy Wagner would take full advantage of a Poet fielding error, advancing all the way from second base to score the decisive run in Cal Lutheran's 9-8 victory at Whittier Friday afternoon.

Box Score: CLU 9, WC 8 - F/11

The Kingsmen have now won their last five straight games by a single run.

Cal Lutheran quickly jumped out to an early 2-0 lead when Nick Boggan hit his team-high seventh home run of the year, driving in Richard Michelin who drew a walk in the prior at-bat.

The Kingsmen would then witness the host Poets score the next six consecutive runs, tying the score at two apiece after driving in a runner in both the bottom of the first and second innings.

With each team hanging zeros on the scoreboard during the next two innings, it was Whittier who ended up breaking the tie by taking a sizeable lead thanks to their four-run fourth inning effort.

The Kingsmen wasted no time in building their comeback effort as they responded to Whittier's scoring spree with three runs of their own when they returned to the plate the very next inning to decrease the Poets' lead to 6-5.

With Boggan reaching base on an error, and K.C. Judge soon joining him on-base with his single to right field, John Leal soon drove in the first two runs during the CLU sixth thanks to his single down the line in left field.

Advancing to second on a balk by Poet starter Keith Hoefel, Leal then scored on a head-up baserunning play after watching Austin Straus commit an error at first base during Kevin Leonard's at-bat.

Holding Whittier scoreless during their half of the sixth, Cal Lutheran regained the lead thanks to a triple hit by Boggan that allowed Wagner and Michelin to score from second and first respectively.

Wagner initially reached base on an single, advancing to second on another Poet balk, Michelin took first when he drew his second walk of the afternoon.

But the Kingsman lead would not last long as Whittier was able to tie the game once again at 7-7 after scoring one in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Cal Lutheran as was the case throughout the day, Cal Lutheran would immediately respond to Whittier's scoring efforts, taking the lead once again when Michelin hit a double that allowed Trevor Koons to easily score from third.

Koons led-off the inning with a triple, his first of the season, before breaking the tie on Michelin's seventh double of the season.

Leading by a score of 8-7, with only three outs needed to secure the victory, Poet Darby Weppner erased CLU's visions of victory with one swing of the bat, hitting a solo home run to draw even with the Kingsmen once again.

A one-man scoring machine for the Poets, Weppner's home run in the ninth was his second of the day as the catcher was responsible for four of Whittier's seven RBI.

No stranger to competitive games, especially during the last two weeks, Cal Lutheran would create the first serious scoring opportunity during the extra inning when Danny Gallinot doubled down the left field line to place himself in scoring position.

Unfortunately for Gallinot, second base was where he would remain during the final two outs of the inning as Whittier was able to escape the Kingsmen 10th with the score still even at eight.

Holding a lead on three separate occasions during the first game of the weekend series, Cal Lutheran would earn the advantage once again in the 11th thanks to the speed and hustle of Wagner.

Initially reaching base on a fielder's choice, Wagner stole his fifth base of the season to place himself only 180 feet away from scoring the potential winning run.

That possibility would come to fruition shortly thereafter when an error committed by Weppner allowed the speedster to race home to give Cal Lutheran the lead once again by a 9-8 margin.

From there Kingsman right-hander Byron Minnich would bring a quick end to the afternoon, forcing the first two Poet batters to groundout to Boggan before striking out Poet second baseman Reed Tuttle to earn his second win of 2011.

The series will now shift to George "Sparky" Anderson Field at Ullman Stadium for the final two games of the weekend, a doubleheader that will begin at 11:00 a.m.