The Golden Eagles baseball team opened their 2019 season this weekend, going 2-2 in the four games played, against the University of St. Katherine. On Friday, the Golden Eagles hosted the Firebirds and swept the doubleheader to open the season. La Sierra traveled to St. Katherine's on Sunday where they narrowly dropped both games of the doubleheader, to even their record.
Friday, January 25,
Game 1: La Sierra def. USK, 11-4
La Sierra's bats came alive in the final innings, as the Golden Eagles pushed across nine of their 11 total runs in the final three innings to run away with the victory. The Golden Eagles scored the first run of the game in the bottom half of the fourth inning, only to be answered by two Firebirds runs to take a temporary 2-1 lead. La Sierra tied the score at 2-2 in the bottom half of the inning before scoring nine unanswered runs.
Andrew Lundstrom led the team, going 3-for-3, with one run batted in. Josh Jubile and Jason Larson also each finished with two hits and two runs batted in, while Nick Salinas also added two runs batted in on a double, for his lone hit of the game.
Justin Wren picked up his first win of the season, after pitching five complete innings, giving up two runs on just three hits, with four strikeouts and three walks.
Game 2: La Sierra def. USK, 4-3
The Golden Eagles survived a late comeback by the Firebirds to hang on for the victory in Game 2 of the doubleheader. With the score tied at 1-1, in the bottom of the third inning, La Sierra scored three runs to take a commanding 4-1 lead in the game. The Firebirds quickly cut the lead to 4-3, with two runs in the top of the fourth inning, but those runs proved to be the final runs of the game.
Jacob Holguin came into the game in relief, giving up no runs in his 3 1/3 innings of work, to pick up the victory. Jacob Bretsch started Game 2, going 3 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on five hits, and picking up three strikeouts along the way.
Kash Mattson finished the game, 2-for-4, as the only Golden Eagles multi-hit player. First basemen Tim Mendonca finished the game going 1-for-2, with a team-leading two runs batted in.
Sunday, Janaury 27
Game 1: USK def. La Sierra, 9-8
The same two teams squared off on Sunday, this time in Escondido, California, home of the Firebirds. A late inning comeback by the Golden Eagles fell short, as the team suffered their first loss of the season. Trailing 6-0, heading into the seventh inning, La Sierra was able to cut the lead in half by scoring three runs in their half of the seventh. But the Firebirds got two of the runs back in the bottom half of the inning, pushing the lead back to 8-3. Undeterred, the Golden Eagles put up five runs in the eighth, tying the score at 8-8, only to fall in walk-off fashion on an unearned run by St. Katherine in the bottom of the ninth.
The offensive leaders for the Golden Eagles were Lundstrom and Art Felix who each tallied one hit and two runs batted in. No player had more than one hit in the game, but seven different players each picked up a hit, accounting for the team's seven hits.
Game 2: USK def. La Sierra, 5-4
The second game of the day proved to be another tight finish, with the Firebirds escaping with another one run decision. It was the Golden Eagles who jumped out to the early 3-0 lead with a run in the second inning, in addition to two runs in the third inning. After St. Katherine tied the game at 3-3, with three runs in the fourth inning, La Sierra regained the lead with a run in the top half of the fifth. Yet not to be denied, the Firebird pushed across two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to secure the victory.
The Golden Eagles spread the offense around, for the second straight game, with a total of six players collecting a hit in the game. Jake Taylor and Mattson each tallied a double that brought in a run. Tim Mendonca accounted for one of the four runs batted in, in addition to catcher Rafael Segovia, who finished the game 1-for-2.
La Sierra used a total of four pitchers, in the seven-inning game, with Andrew Gonzalez being charged with the Game 2 loss.
The baseball team will be back in action next weekend starting with Friday's doubleheader, at home, versus Ottawa University (AZ). Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 10am. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools, in the sport of baseball.
