CMS Baseball Drops Series Opener at Cal Lutheran

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Brandon Rho and Julian Sanders each went 3-for-4, but the Cal Lutheran baseball team was able to break open a close game late and take a 10-1 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Friday afternoon in the first of a three-game series at Ullman Stadium.

With the loss, CMS slips to 18-13 overall and 8-8 in the SCIAC, snapping a six-game conference winning streak, while Cal Lutheran improves to 10-6 in league play to maintain its hold on fourth place and the final spot in the SCIAC playoffs. The Stags can still pull even with the Kingsmen (and earn the tiebreaker in the process) if they can sweep a home doubleheader tomorrow.

Cal Lutheran took a 3-0 lead in the early going after a two-run homer from Sean Blandin in the second and an RBI double from Zach Lafata in the fourth. CMS was able to get a run back in the top of the sixth inning to close to within 3-1, and was unlucky it didn't come closer. Rho led off with a double and went to third on the third hit from Sanders to put runners on the corners with nobody out. One out later, Jack Potter singled home Rho to make it a 3-1 game and put two on with one out, but Evan Kelly's subsequent line drive went right at the shortstop and turned into an inning-ending double play. 

Cal Lutheran then had a four-run seventh inning to stretch the lead to 7-1, scoring all four runs with two outs. Zach Bullard pushed the first one across with an RBI double, Joseph Scalz added a two-run double, and then came home on a Blandin RBI single. The Kingsmen tacked on three more in the eighth to put it away. 

Rho and Sanders accounted for six of the eight CMS hits, with Potter and Carson Bridges each adding singles as well. Jarrett Korson had a strong effort on the mound over 6.2 innings, but suffered just his second loss of the season (6-2), and first in conference games (3-1). 

The two teams will return to Claremont tomorrow for a doubleheader at Arce Field, beginning at 11 a.m.