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Baseball defeated by Cal Lutheran

Cal Lutheran's second baseman, Frank Maldonado, misses the tag on Leopard freshman center fielder Andrew Woolsey, who successfully stole second base. La Verne ended the game with a 10-1 loss. / photo by Andrew Woolsey
Cal Lutheran’s second baseman, Frank Maldonado, misses the tag on Leopard freshman center fielder Andrew Woolsey, who successfully stole second base. La Verne ended the game with a 10-1 loss. / photo by Andrew Woolsey

by Greg MacDonald
Staff Writer

Losing three straight games to the fifth ranked Division III Cal Lutheran Kingsmen was not the plan for the University of La Verne baseball team last weekend.

But the Leopards could not find the offensive stroke at the plate and were defeated in all three games by Cal Lutheran, 10-1, 12-1 and 6-1.

“We didn’t battle them as tough as we should have,” said head coach Owen Wright.

The three losses dropped ULV to 9-12 in SCIAC with this weekend’s games remaining.

“This is the first losing season that I’ve coached in 14 years,” said Wright, who was referring to his team’s overall record, (12-23). The Leopards now have a sub-.500 conference record.

The Leopards managed 11 hits in the opening game against the Kingsmen, but only one of those hits produced a run.

The Kingsmen scored one run in the first, third and fourth innings before scoring four runs in the sixth to take a commanding 7-0 lead. Junior third baseman Robert Perea singled to lead off the seventh inning. Freshman center fielder Andrew Woolsey and senior shortstop Lyle Miller each followed with a single to score Perea.

But that was the extent of the ULV offense, as Cal Lutheran scored three more runs in the seventh and eighth innings to cap the 10-1 victory over ULV.

Saturday’s games were much of the same for the Leopards. The Kingsmen would score early and late in the game while ULV scored a lone run late in the game.

In the first game on Saturday, Cal Lutheran scored nine runs in the first three innings against Leopard senior starting pitcher Sean Caldwell. ULV scored its run in the eighth inning. Woolsey singled with one out and Miller scored Woolsey with a triple.

Caldwell pitched the complete game but was on the losing end of the 12-1 score and dropped to 4-5 on the year.

Before the end of the fourth inning of the second game, the Kingsmen held a 4-0 advantage over ULV.

La Verne made Cal Lutheran sweat in the seventh with two outs when Woolsey singled and sophomore left fielder Gary Griffith doubled to put Leopards on second and third base.

Miller singled to cut the lead to 4-1 but Perea struck out to end the rally. The Kingsmen went on to add two runs in the eighth inning and edge junior pitcher Maynard McClarrinon (4-6) and the Leopards.

“(Cal Lutheran) is a potential national champion team,” said Wright. “They returned a lot of players from last year and have a lot of depth.

“On Friday they played us with one team; Saturday with a second team and then again on Saturday with the original team,” he said. “Their two teams are better than what we have.”

The Leopards finish their season tomorrow and Sunday at Ben Hines Field.

Freshman center fielder Andrew Woolsey dives for a fly ball in the fifth inning against Cal Lutheran last Friday. He was unable to catch the ball and Cal Lutheran scored three runs on the play. / photo by Summer Herndon
Freshman center fielder Andrew Woolsey dives for a fly ball in the fifth inning against Cal Lutheran last Friday. He was unable to catch the ball and Cal Lutheran scored three runs on the play. / photo by Summer Herndon
Greg MacDonald, Editor in Chief
Greg MacDonald
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"I broke my thumb," said junior receiver Andrew Woolsey about his injury. Woolsey became the defender after a Menlo interception jamming his thumb while making a tackle. He is a history major and political science minor and plans to use his degree to teach and coach high school. Woolsey is looking forward to the La Verne's baseball season. / photo by Michael P. Bailey
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