LCSC Sweeps in Final Day of So Cal Road Trip
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – After dropping both games in their first leg of the So Cal road trip, the Warriors won 3-straight from there on out, including both games on Wednesday against NAIA Top 25-ranked opponents.
LCSC defeated No. 20 Vanguard 9-3 in the morning game and came from behind against No. 11 The Master’s, 4-2 to improve to 3-2 on the season.
Anthony Balderas was the winner in Game 1 in relief. He tossed 2.2 innings of 1-hit ball and struck out three. Starter Rian Bassett was touched on for three runs in 3.1 innings and was relieved by Balderas.
The Warriors scored in the opening frame against Vanguard. Evan Douglas reached on a throwing error by the second baseman that scored Micah Brown. The Lions responded with a run in the bottom of the inning to knot the game at 1-1.
J.J. Robinson led the team in homers last year and he hit his first two of the season in Game 1, including a 2-run shot in the third to give the Warriors the 3-1 lead. But then again, the Lions answered with a 2-run homer in the bottom of the inning to tie the game once more.
The Warriors would later score six unanswered runs. Robinson hit an RBI double in the fifth and hit his second homer in the game in the seventh. He led the team with 4 RBIs and three hits. Cooper Goldby hit his first homer of the season in the eighth. Logan Griffin finished all scoring in the game with an RBI triple.
LCSC tallied 10 hits for their nine runs.
In the nightcap, the Warriors were down early. The Mustangs scored two runs in the bottom of the first to take the 2-0 lead off of Matt Fish, the Warriors starter. Fish last four innings giving up two runs but struck out six in the no-decision.
LCSC was shutout for the first four innings but got on the board in the fifth. Chase Hafer hit an RBI single scoring Emilio Alcantar. Three innings later, Raymond Pedrina tied the game with an RBI single up the middle, plating Hafer as the Warriors tied the game at 2-2.
After shutting down the Mustangs in the bottom of the eighth, LCSC was able to take the lead for the first time of the game in the top of the ninth. Douglas singled to right field as Hafer and DePaul Blunt scored for the third and fourth runs of the game for the Warriors.
Gage Burland shut down TMU again, this time in the ninth, earning his first win of the season. He threw two innings allowing just a walk with one strikeout.
The Warriors will return home and play in the friendly confines of Harris Field in their home-opener against Central Washington on Feb. 18. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.