THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Cal Lutheran starting pitcher Peter Ciaramitaro provided the team's first complete game shutout of the season during a 9-0 conference win over Redlands at "Sparky" Anderson Field on Sunday afternoon.

Box Score: CLU 9, UR 0 - F

Early on it was not looking like Ciaramitaro would go the distance after walking three batters in the second inning and in need of 63 pitches through three frames. However he held the Bulldogs to just one hit from innings four through eight, forced a double play in the ninth, and tossed a light comebacker to first baseman Nick Boggan following pitch number 134 to seal the deal.

The Kingsmen hurler did not do it alone as solid defense through a majority of the game aided the shutout effort. A first inning diving stab from third baseman Nicho DellaValle to save an extra base hit, plus an inning ending double play turned by Trevor Koons and Garrett Smith was a sign of things to come.

Redlands starting pitcher Kyle Hart struggled to find the strike zone walking three of the first four batters he faced. Nick DeLorenzo's first inning bases clearing double gave the Kingsmen a 3-0 lead and a much needed boost following its recent struggles at the plate.

Cal Lutheran made the most on its chances to score with runners on base. By the end of three innings the Kingsmen had combined for six sacrifices including scoring fly balls from Koons and Kevin Leonard. Following a Mike Vinyard RBI-double in the third, Cal Lutheran had built a comfortable seven-run lead and forced the Bulldogs into their bullpen.

Hart allowed just two hits in his 2.1 innings but walked four batters and hit another. All five Kingsmen to reach courtesy of free passes scored eventually for Hart out of the game.

The Kingsmen tacked on two more runs in the seventh with the first coming courtesy of Nick Boggan's team leading fifth homer this season. The question most were asking was how long Ciaramitaro would last before giving way to the bullpen.

The first two Redlands hitters in the top of the ninth reached base and Ciaramiatro was nearing the 130-pitch mark. The Kingsmen hurler was determined to finish what he started, but knew that the margin for error was slim.

"We wanted him to finish it, but if he didn't get an out on the next batter that would have been it," said Head Coach Marty Slimak. "After the double play ball we were hoping he could get the final out."

With a runner on third base and two outs Ciaramitaro gloved the one hopper and underhanded it to Boggan to finish the game. He improved to 6-2 on the season and lowered his earned run average to 2.16. Sunday's effort was the second complete game and first shutout during his two seasons with the Kingsmen.

In his last four conference home starts he has given up a total of two runs (both unearned) in 29.2 innings of work. During that stretch he has held opponents to just 16 hits (all singles) while striking out 22 batters.

Five of Cal Lutheran's six base hits on the day went for extra bases. DeLorenzo finished with a pair of doubles, and John Leal provided a third inning RBI-triple.

Ciaramitaro held the Bulldogs to just five singles on the day. Marcus Himelhoch led the team reaching base three times going 2-for-3 at the plate and drawing a walk.

Cal Lutheran (21-14, 16-10 SCIAC) pulled even with Occidental for third place in the conference standings with three games remaining. The Kingsmen return to action for their final road game of the regular season on Friday, April 27, at Caltech (0-31, 0-26 SCIAC).