THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Cal Lutheran earned a convincing 15-5 win in its conference opener Friday afternoon over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Trevor Koons went 5-for-5 at the plate with five runs batted in to lead the Kingsmen lineup at "Sparky" Anderson Field.
Box Score: CLU 15, CMS 5 - F/7
A first inning six-run rally put Cal Lutheran ahead, and CLU starting pitcher Byron Minnich at ease. A bases clearing double by Tyler Kem scored half of team's runs in the frame, and he finished 2-for-5 with four RBI on the day.
In the seventh inning, Koons became the first Kingsmen to go 5-for-5 since K.C. Judge late in the 2010 season. Koons collected four run-scoring hits and bumped his batting average up over 350 points to an even .500 on the year.
Cal Lutheran's bats made solid contact throughout the game, and five different Kingsmen collected multiple base hits. Garrett Smith reached base in four of his five plate appearances and went 2-for-3 with three RBI in the game.
Minnich was the beneficiary of a 6-0 lead upon returning to the mound in the second inning. Three Stags touched home plate in the third inning, but CMS came no closer the rest of the way Minnich went 5.2 innings and allowed five runs (two earned) to pick up his first win of the season.
Counterpart David Ulrich needed 100 pitches to complete four full innings, including over 30 in the first inning. He allowed nine runs and 11 hits while striking out three in the loss.
All nine of CMS' base hits were singles, with six coming from the first two hitters in the lineup. William Knowles and Brian Gose combined to go 6-for-7 (.857) at the plate, while the rest of the squad went 3-for-24 (.125).
The game was called after seven innings due to looming darkness and coach's agreement on the margin of victory. Cal Lutheran has won eight straight against CMS dating back to 2010, and picked up its 50th win against the Stags since joining the SCIAC in 1992.
Cal Lutheran (3-0, 1-0 SCIAC) will play a road doubleheader with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (0-3, 0-1 SCIAC) on Saturday, Feb. 11, starting at 11 a.m.