Baseball learns lesson against CMS
Campus Times
March 5, 1999
An easy win does not guarantee complete dominance over a given team.
That was basically the lesson the baseball team learned last weekend
when it faced the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags in a three-game series.
The Leopards (6-4, 6-3) hosted the Stags (6-4, 6-3) last Friday and
showed how powerful they are at the plate by winning the game 14-3.
However, the Stags did not have to wait long for their revenge, and
Saturday they received La Verne, at Claremont, for a doubleheader that ended
up with two losses for the Leopards, 14-13 and 7-5.
"If we do things that we are capable of doing, we are going to
be OK, but if we don't, we are going to have outcomes like Saturday's,"
said La Verne head coach Bobby Lee.
The Leopards got themselves in trouble in Saturday's first game allowing
the Stags to take a 7-2 lead after three innings.
Things got worse for La Verne, and at the end of the fourth inning,
Claremont held a wide 10-3 lead.
But La Verne would not let the Stags beat them that easily.
Junior left fielder Brett Kalcevich led-off the top of the fifth inning
with a double to center field. Then, senior first baseman Russell Riehl
hit a home run to left field that was the beginning of the Leopards' comeback.
The Leopards managed to score four runs in that inning to put the score
at 10-7.
The Leopards continued to fight in the sixth inning and both Kalcevich
and Riehl scored again as part of a six-run rally.
Suddenly, La Verne possessed the lead, 13-10.
"They're a really good hitting team. They have excellent hitters,"
said the Stag's junior catcher Alby Salsa.
With one man out and the bases loaded, the Stags were in position to
take the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, but all they could do
was tie the game at 13.
In the ninth, once again with the bases loaded and only one man out,
Salsa stepped up to the plate and hit a sacrifice fly to right field to
get the game-winning RBI.
"We just played good defense and didn't make a lot of errors as
we did yesterday [Friday]," said Salsa.
In fact, the Stags finished the game with no errors, while the Leopards
committed six.
"That was a must win game. We had to win it," said the Stags'
sophomore center fielder Brian Bower who scored two runs, including the
game-winner.
"We battled, our kids are unbelievably competitive," said
Lee. "But we have to play catch and play better defense."
In Saturday's second game, La Verne took the lead early in the game
and the scoreboard indicated three runs for the Leopard and none for the
Stags in the seventh inning.
But the Stags scored two runs in the seventh and rallied in the eighth,
scoring five more.
La Verne could not get back in the game and although it scored two runs
in the ninth, fell short, losing the game, 7-5.
Riehl finished the game with three hits in four at bats and scored two
runs.
"Saturday, we just didn't play very good defense and gave Claremont
too many extra opportunities," said Lee.
Friday, the Leopards' junior designated hitter Garren Injijian led the
way hitting 4-of-5, including a home run and two doubles. He scored three
of the Leopards' 14 runs and had 6 RBI.
Junior pitcher Ryan Christoph allowed five hits and only two runs in
seven innings to earn his second victory of the season.
"They were a little bit flat on Friday, and they got beat up but
came back a little more hostile on Saturday, " said Lee, who is in
his first season as the Leopards' head coach.
Despite the two losses, Lee said, "I've seen a lot of improvement
on the players. It's been a learning and exciting experience."
