Riverside, Calif. – After dropping two of three games just days before, to Simpson University, the Golden Eagles were unable to rebound in the second 3-game series against the Red Hawks. On Friday afternoon, the Red Hawks scored a combined 30 runs on their way to a doubleheader sweep, then completed the series sweep with a shutout win on Sunday.
Friday, March 29
Game 1: Simpson def. La Sierra, 16-5
The Golden Eagles struck first, with two first inning runs, only to be answered by Simpson who scored three runs in the 2ndinning. The Red Hawks lead was also short-lived as the Golden Eagles tied the score at 3-3 with a run in the 3rdinning. Simpson broke the game wide open with a 6-run 4thinning and another five runs in the 6th. La Sierra was held to five runs on five hits, with Josh Jubile and Kash Mattson accounting for four of the team's five hits, by tallying two hits apiece. The Red Hawks scored their 16 runs on a total of 19 hits, including four homeruns in the game.
Game 2: Simpson def. La Sierra, 14-8
The second game of the doubleheader was another back and forth affair with each team holding their share of the lead. The Golden Eagles were leading 4-3 after three innings of play, when the Red Hawks scored four runs in the top half of the 5thinning to take a 7-4 lead, but La Sierra answered right back with four runs of their own, to retake the lead, 8-7. But that lead proved to be short-lived as the Red Hawks scored two of their seven unanswered runs in the top of the 6thinning. The hit total was much tighter in this game, with the Red Hawks holding a slight 14-12 advantage. La Sierra finished the game with four different players collecting multiple hits in the game, led by freshmen shortstop Art Felix who went 3-for 4 with two runs scored. Andrew Lundstrom, Josh Jubile, and Justin Wear each had two hits in the loss.
Sunday, March 31
Simpson def. La Sierra, 7-0
Sunday's single contest was dominated by starting pitcher Rey Gomez who surrendered just four hits, while giving up no runs, in a complete game shutout. The Red Hawks bats remained hot, with the team collecting another 19 hits in the game.
The losses drop the team to 5-13 in Cal Pac play (9-18 overall). The Golden Eagles baseball team is back in action this coming weekend when they host Benedictine University. La Sierra will host the Redhawks on Friday (11am/2pm) and Sunday (10am).
