LA VERNE, CA — Tanner Siffert and Christopher Ligot each totaled three hits and the University of La Verne baseball team opened SCIAC play with a huge 5-3 win over No. 20 Chapman at Ben Hines Field.

Season Impact

The Leopards win their seventh game in a row and improve their overall record to 7-1. Chapman drops to 6-2.

Stat Leaders

Ligot went 3-4 at the plate with including a triple in the seventh inning and a pair of RBI. 

Siffert added a 3-5 performance at the plate with one RBI and one run scored. Jacob Benson added two hits and a run.

Cody Norman picked up his third win of the season going five innings in his start with two strikeouts and just one walk and one earned run. Adam Santa Cruz was solid behind the plate, throwing out a pair of runners in the first inning.

Devon Burhans threw three innings of relief with four strikeouts. Christopher Peres stepped onto the mound in the ninth to pick up his second save.

How it Happened

Down 1-0 in the bottom of the third inning, Benson got the Leopards offense going with a leadoff single to right field. Two batters later Siffert evened the game with a double down the left field line that scored Benson.

The Leopards took the lead the next inning after a Panthers' miscue. After Lukas Granado laid down a sacrifice bunt that put John Bike on second and Ligot on third, Benson reached on a fielding error by Chapman's second baseman that sent both Bike and Ligot across the plate.

La Verne added a pair of runs in the fifth to go up 5-1 when Ligot singled to right field to score Peres and Siffert.

Next Game

The Leopards continue the series at Chapman tomorrow in a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m.