Leopards drop fatal first game, 4-3

Campus Times
April 26, 2002

by R. Anthony Thurman
Staff Writer

After losing 4-3 Friday night, the University of La Verne baseball team rallied back to crush Occidental in both games in a double header Saturday afternoon to complete the three-game series.

In the first inning of game one, the Leopards took a 1-0 lead when senior catcher A.J. Garbick hit a sacrifice fly to right field to bring in senior infielder Greg Garay for the score.

In the second inning the Leos continued their lead when senior Derek King, freshman B.J. Du Barry and senior Nick Lemas scored to make it 4-0 early in the game.

Despite not scoring in the third inning, the Leos made up for it by scoring in three straight innings.

In the bottom of the fourth inning junior Joe Garcia singled to advance Garbick to second and bring in junior Ray Podesta for the score. Sophomore Pete Hanson advanced to second on an error by the shortstop, which cleared the way for the score by Garbick.

Soon after, King tripled to bring in Hanson for the score, but the inning came to an end when Du Barry struck out.

In the fifth and sixth inning the Leopards scored a combined five runs.

Batting in the bottom of the fifth, junior Justin Brown walked and advanced to second when freshman Greg Chico was called out at first. Garay singled to bring in Brown for the score. Garay and Garbick scored the next two runs of the inning for the Leopards respectively.

Instead of getting better, things got worse for Occidental when Du Barry and Brown scored the only two runs of the sixth to expand the Leos' lead, 12-0.

The only highlight of the afternoon for Occidental came in the seventh inning when their pitcher hit a line drive to left field that hit the umpire, which caught the Leos' defense by surprise. But with two strikes, two outs, three balls and bases loaded, Oxy's designated hitter popped one high into center field and with perfect position, Chico settled under the fly ball to crush Oxy's hopes of scoring.

Leo's pitcher, Alan Sarrail, pitched a seven-inning shutout before being relieved by freshman Dave Taggart in the eighth.

ULV held on to the 12-0 lead when Taggart and the Leos' defense polished off Oxy by not allowing a single run in the top of the eighth or ninth inning.

Garay capped off game one with two runs, three RBIs and three hits in five at bats. While Hanson finished with one run, two RBIs and two hits in five at bats.

"The entire team was disappointed after Friday's defeat. As a team we realized we had to come together and display our ability and show Occidental College what were all about," Garcia said. "They may have gotten lucky on Friday, but we sure weren't going to let them get lucky again on Saturday."

But in game two, Occidental began feeling lucky again when they jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. And much like game one, the Leopards' offensive and defensive combination was too much for the Tigers to handle.

The Leopards' offense ran wild when seniors Mark Chiappelli and Steve Smith scored two quick runs respectively in the bottom of the second to cut the lead in half, 4-2.

But the Leopards took the lead, 6-4, when Garay stepped to the plate with bases loaded and took the pitch over the fence into left field to bring in Lemas, Brown and junior John Doak.

While Leopard pitcher, sophomore Justin Van Duyne, was busy striking out Oxy's hitters, the offense was at work totaling runs.

Brown led the bottom of the fifth with a single, followed by Lemas with a single that allowed Brown to advance to third. Next at bat, Garay doubled, allowing Brown and Lemas to score, increasing the lead, 10-4.

The final run of the inning was scored by Garay when Chiappelli flied out into right field for the sacrificed run.

But in the sixth inning Garay was up to his old tricks when he took a pitch back to the fence for a triple and two runs. Capping off the inning, Garcia stepped up to the plate for a single allowing Garay to score the easy run.

In the top of the seventh Matt Froid came in to pitch for Van Duyne, who made four errors and gave up four runs in 29 at bats.

With a fresh Leopard defense, clicking on all cylinders, Oxy's defense was headed back on the field in no time.

Smith and Joe Scott scored the final two runs of the afternoon for the Leopards in the bottom of the seventh inning to make the final score 16-4.

Garay finished game two with three runs, nine RBIs, and five hits in six at bats. While Brown finished with three runs, three RBIs and three hits in four at bats.

"I'm real proud of the way our guys responded after Friday's loss," said head coach Scott Winterburn. "We did the things as a team that were important in order for us to win. And Garay just had an awesome day, he was definitely the spark that our team needed.Leopards

The Leopards will hit the road today to face Cal Lutheran and will head back to Ben Hines Field for a double header tomorrow to wrap up the three game series and their season.

Leopards drop fatal first game, 4-3

by R. Anthony Thurman Staff Writer

After losing 4-3 Friday night, the University of La Verne baseball team rallied back to crush Occidental in both games in a double header Saturday afternoon to complete the three-game series.

In the first inning of game one, the Leopards took a 1-0 lead when senior catcher A.J. Garbick hit a sacrifice fly to right field to bring in senior infielder Greg Garay for the score.

In the second inning the Leos continued their lead when senior Derek King, freshman B.J. Du Barry and senior Nick Lemas scored to make it 4-0 early in the game.

Despite not scoring in the third inning, the Leos made up for it by scoring in three straight innings.

In the bottom of the fourth inning junior Joe Garcia singled to advance Garbick to second and bring in junior Ray Podesta for the score. Sophomore Pete Hanson advanced to second on an error by the shortstop, which cleared the way for the score by Garbick.

Soon after, King tripled to bring in Hanson for the score, but the inning came to an end when Du Barry struck out.

In the fifth and sixth inning the Leopards scored a combined five runs.

Batting in the bottom of the fifth, junior Justin Brown walked and advanced to second when freshman Greg Chico was called out at first. Garay singled to bring in Brown for the score. Garay and Garbick scored the next two runs of the inning for the Leopards respectively.

Instead of getting better, things got worse for Occidental when Du Barry and Brown scored the only two runs of the sixth to expand the Leos' lead, 12-0.

Leo's pitcher, Alan Sarrail, pitched a seven-inning shutout before being relieved by freshman Dave Taggart in the eighth.

ULV held on to the 12-0 lead when Taggart and the Leos' defense polished off Oxy by not allowing a single run in the top of the eighth or ninth inning.

Garay capped off game one with two runs, three RBIs and three hits in five at bats. While Hanson finished with one run, two RBIs and two hits in five at bats.

"The entire team was disappointed after Friday's defeat. As a team we realized we had to come together and display our ability and show Occidental College what were all about," Garcia said. "They may have gotten lucky on Friday, but we sure weren't going to let them get lucky again on Saturday."

But in game two, Occidental began feeling lucky again when they jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. And much like game one, the Leopards' offensive and defensive combination was too much for the Tigers to handle.

The Leopards' offense ran wild when seniors Mark Chiappelli and Steve Smith scored two quick runs respectively in the bottom of the second to cut the lead in half, 4-2.

But the Leopards took the lead, 6-4, when Garay stepped to the plate with bases loaded and took the pitch over the fence into left field to bring in Lemas, Brown and junior John Doak.

While Leopard pitcher, sophomore Justin Van Duyne, was busy striking out Oxy's hitters, the offense was at work totaling runs.

Brown led the bottom of the fifth with a single, followed by Lemas with a single that allowed Brown to advance to third. Next at bat, Garay doubled, allowing Brown and Lemas to score, increasing the lead, 10-4.

The final run of the inning was scored by Garay when Chiappelli flied out into right field for the sacrificed run.

But in the sixth inning Garay was up to his old tricks when he took a pitch back to the fence for a triple and two runs. Capping off the inning, Garcia stepped up to the plate for a single allowing Garay to score the easy run.

In the top of the seventh Matt Froid came in to pitch for Van Duyne, who made four errors and gave up four runs in 29 at bats.

With a fresh Leopard defense, clicking on all cylinders, Oxy's defense was headed back on the field in no time.

Smith and Joe Scott scored the final two runs of the afternoon for the Leopards in the bottom of the seventh inning to make the final score 16-4.

Garay finished game two with three runs, nine RBIs, and five hits in six at bats. While Brown finished with three runs, three RBIs and three hits in four at bats.

"I'm real proud of the way our guys responded after Friday's loss," said head coach Scott Winterburn. "We did the things as a team that were important in order for us to win. And Garay just had an awesome day, he was definitely the spark that our team needed.Leopards

The Leopards will hit the road today to face Cal Lutheran and will head back to Ben Hines Field for a double header tomorrow to wrap up the three game series and their season.

by R. Anthony Thurman
Staff Writer