Riverside, Calif. - Marymount University completed a three-game sweep of the Golden Eagles in this weekend's Cal Pac opening series. After defeating La Sierra, 7-4 in Friday's opener, the Mariners returned on Sunday, to take both games of a doubleheader. Marymount won Game 1 by a final of 19-8, then backed that win up with a 13-11 victory in the second game of the twin-bill. The losses drop the team's record to 0-3 in Cal Pac play and 4-8 overall.
Game 1: Marymount def. La Sierra, 19-8 (8 innings)
Despite scoring five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Golden Eagles were unable to extend the game further, after the Mariners erupted for eight runs in the top half of the inning, to take a 19-3 lead. It was three big innings for the Mariners who scored five runs in the second inning and another four runs in the seventh. Marymount picked up 22 hits along the way, and capitalized on five Golden Eagles errors.
La Sierra tallied 10 hits in the loss Andrew Lundstrom, Jake Taylor, and Kash Mattson each picking up two hits in the game. Mattson led the team with two RBI's in the game, including a homerun.
Kyle Cringan pitched six innings to pick up the victory, with Nicholas Drew pitching the final two innings to notch the save, for the Mariners. Andrew Gonzales was charged with the loss, and was one of five pitchers used by La Sierra.
Game 2: Marymount def. La Sierra, 13-11
The Golden Eagles mounted a late rally but it wasn't enough to overcome an early deficit. The Mariners quickly took a 6-0 lead with three runs in each of the first two innings. The lead held until the Golden Eagles cut the lead to 6-4, with four runs in the fourth inning. The Mariners answered right back with three runs in the top half of the fifth inning, pushing the advantage back to 9-4, but despite scoring seven runs over the final three innings, the Golden Eagles were unable to close the gap, due in part by the Mariners scoring four runs of their own over the final two innings.
The two teams combined for 25 hits, with the Mariners holding a 14-11 advantage. Four different Golden Eagles players (Josh Jubile, Justin Wear, Nick Salinas, and Lundstrom) had two hits in the game. Salinas and Jubile each tallied three RBI's to lead the team, while Lundstrom and Wear notched two RBI's apiece. Wear's RBI's were the result of two solo homeruns, his first two of the season.
Kris Keach picked up the victory, after pitching the first five innings, giving up four runs on three hits. La Sierra's Justin Wren gets charged with the loss.
The baseball team will now hit the road for their first Cal Pac road games, this weekend, at Simpson University, weather permitting. The two teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader this coming Friday, followed by a single game on Sunday.
