CMS Baseball Splits With La Verne, Takes No. 2 Seed in SCIAC Tournament

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Dominic Rolla threw six shutout innings in the opener to help the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps baseball team to a 4-2 win over La Verne, setting up a one-game battle for the top seed in the SCIAC in the nightcap, but La Verne was able to bounce back and earn a 10-4 win to take the regular season title.

With the split, CMS moves to 28-9 on the season and finishes 18-6 in the SCIAC, good for sole possession of second place and the No. 2 seed in the SCIAC Tournament, hosting an opening round game against No. 3 Chapman on Thursday. La Verne finishes 20-4 and will be the top seed and tournament host for the final two rounds on Saturday and Sunday. 

CMS honored its seven seniors between games of the doubleheader for Senior Day, after giving themselves a chance to win the regular season title with the 4-2 win in the opener. Rolla allowed just four hits and struck out seven in six innings of work to get the win. Hamilton Finefrock got the save, allowing two runs in the ninth, after a bad hop single and bloop single set up a mini-rally from the Leopards but he was able to get the final out on a lineout to Tyler Shaw at shortstop. 

Bryce Didrickson provided a two-out, two-run single in the second to put CMS ahead 3-0 and Nick Wilson had an RBI double in the fourth to make it 4-0. The lead stayed the same until the ninth, as Rolla outdueled La Verne ace Gerald Terry (9-3 on the year coming in). 

Wilson finished the game 3-for-4 as CMS was held to seven hits, but had enough offense to support Rolla's pitching efforts. 

Didrickson had another big hit in the nightcap, putting CMS ahead 2-1 in the third with a two-run homer. Paul Roche added an RBI double to make it 3-1, but La Verne scored three times in the fourth to take a 4-3 lead. Derek Seneker doubled to lead off the bottom of the fourth, and came home on a double play to tie the score, but La Verne scored twice in the fifth and three times in the sixth, the last two on a homer from Noah Garcia, to take control. 

Wilson had a second multi-hit game in the nightcap, finishing 2-for-3, while Bryant Smaaladen closed the game with 1.1 innings of shutout relief. 

CMS will be competing in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament for the first time since the tournament began in 2013. The Stags will open at home against Chapman on Thursday, facing a team it defeated twice in three meetings to open SCIAC play back in March.