PASADENA, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps baseball team scored 30 runs in the doubleheader as it took two games from Caltech, 13-4 and 17-7, on Saturday afternoon.
The sweep gets CMS over .500 in conference play at 8-7, after standing at 2-7 just two weeks ago. The Stags also stand one game behind Cal Lutheran at 9-6 for fourth place in the standings, a key position since the top four in the league receive bids to the SCIAC Tournament. CMS and Cal Lutheran meet next weekend in a three-game series, and the Stags have a chance to move into fourth with a series win (two out of three would pull the two teams even, and give CMS the tiebreaker).
The opener was close most of the way before CMS exploded for nine runs in the ninth inning to turn a 4-2 advantage into a 13-2 lead, before settling for a 13-4 final.
Tyler Shaw started the ninth-inning outburst with a two-run single, and Kallen Mueller followed by getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Elijah Rejto walked and Jack Potter was hit by a pitch, before Carson Bridges hit a two-run single and Evan Kelly hit a two-run double to cap off the ninth inning.
Bridges was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBI for the Stags, while Sanders was 2-for-4. Jarrett Korson went seven innings to get the win and improve to 6-1 on the year.
In the nightcap, CMS scored five times in the first inning, starting with a leadoff homer from Shaw and ending with a three-run homer from Aidan Booth. Caltech came back with seven runs in the bottom of the second to briefly take a 7-5 lead.
Bridges closed the lead to 7-6 in the fourth with a solo homer, and a Kelly sacrifice fly gave CMS the lead for good at 8-7 in the fifth. Kelly added a three-run homer in the seventh, and Thanio Bright had a two-run double to key a four-run ninth.
Booth had a big effort in game two, hitting 3-for-3 with three RBI and four runs scored, and Kelly tacked on four more RBI. Henry Connell got the win, throwing 7.1 innings of shutout relief.
The Cal Lutheran series next weekend will begin with a road game in Thousand Oaks on Friday, before returning to Arce Field for a Saturday doubleheader at 11 a.m.
