Cristina Alexander
Asst. Sports Editor
After a big loss, 19-4, to Westmont College in the afternoon, the University of La Verne Men’s Baseball Team came back to beat the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, last Friday evening. The final score was 8-6.
ULV got off to a good start behind the pitching of sophomore Paul Janssen, who pitched a complete game.
Coach Owen Wright was pleased with his performance. “We got a nice pitching performance from Paul Janssen. It is his first win,” he said.
“I felt pretty good. I hadn’t pitched in a week. I think we have a good chance to do real good (in conference) with the starting pitchers and help from the bullpen.”
ULV seemed to get its momentum going after Wisconsin scored the first run of the game in the second inning.
Alan Macleod made an out-of-the-ordinary play when he bunted to left field for a triple, and Eric Smith scored in the third inning to tie the game, 1-1.
”Allen Macleod had an especially good night,” said Wright. Ron Hubel continued what Macleod started, and another run was scored. Freshman Ariel Martin showed what a little teamwork can do by hitting a single to left field, and two more runs came in.
“Ariel Martin played well for a freshman. He had three hits and drove in three runs,” Wright said.
“I went in with an attitude of ‘I have to get at least two hits.’ I expected my back to be against the wall. I have to produce a little more because I am a freshman and that gives me incentive to work harder,” Martin said.
By this time Wisconsin’s coach thought it was a good time to change pitchers, but it didn’t help. This inning set play for the rest of the game, and ULV continued to dominate the lead.
“I knew the (Wisconsin) catcher had a good arm and we (ULV) couldn’t get a lot of steals, so we went for a lot of base hits,” said Wright. The game went into the fourth inning with the score 4-1.
In the fourth inning, ULV scored another run when Macleod hit a home run. Then in the sixth, Smith hit a triple and went to third. Macleod then sacrificed to bring Smith home, making the score 6-1.
The seventh inning turned out to be a good one for both teams as far as scoring. ULV scored two runs, and by the end of the game Wisconsin had increased its score by four. La Verne continued to hold on to its lead and came away with the victory.
Macleod attributed the win to many factors including the pitching and defense of the team.
“We always got on base first and nobody got out. Our pitching staff really held and didn’t give up in the beginning. Good pitching and good defense held ’em down,” he said.
Wright praised his team and its performance. With the season halfway through he “pretty much knows who will be playing” as the conference approaches.
”The team itself played well, and this win was something we really needed as we move into conference play. Our record is 8-16, which isn’t good. This game should give us confidence,” he said.
