Baseball strikes out against Masters
Campus Times
April 16, 1999
After making the out, junior shortstop Corey Rooper throws to first
for a double play against Master's College (27-8) on Tuesday. La Verne lost,
10-9, and its record now stands at 20-12, and 9-6 in SCIAC. The Leopards
next game is at home today against Caltech at 3 p.m. The series continues
Saturday with a doubleheader at Caltech.
With two men on and two out in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Univeristy
of La Verne was behind one run and junior Mike Guzman had the game in his
hands with a full count.
The next pitch, Guzman swung his bat, but the baseball ended up in the
catcher's glove.
Guzman entered the game as a pinch hitter with the game on the line.
He struck out, and La Verne fell short against the Master's College Mustangs,
10-9, Tuesday night. The lights of Ben Hines Field went off as the Leopards
lost their 12th game of the season, and their seventh of the last 10 games.
"The little things are getting us in trouble. It's the little things
that are making a big difference right now," said head coach Bobby
Lee.
The Leopards (20-12) committed four errors, twice as many as the visiting
team.
"Our offense is right, the pitchers are doing a good job, but our
problem is that we aren't playing catch," said junior outfielder Masaomi
Ueda.
Ueda scored the final run for the Leopards when junior shortstop Corey
Rooper hit a double with one out in the ninth.
La Verne's chances looked promising having the potential tying run 180
feet away from home plate.
Junior Kurt Fillmore was moved from center field to the mound to close
the game for the Mustangs.
He started off by walking La Verne's power hitter, junior first baseman
Russell Riehl. Then, struck out junior designated hitter Kyle Spielbuehler
with three pitches and finished his job eliminating Guzman.
Fillmore earned his fourth win while senior Matt Johnson took the loss
for the Leopards. Johnson (2-3) worked four innings and struck out four
batters.
La Verne held a 4-2 lead at the end of the fourth inning. But the Mustangs
answered immediately with a three-run blast by junior catcher Rob Avila.
Master's added four more runs to their score in the sixth.
"We need to find the ability to keep playing hard for nine innings,"
said Lee.
He also emphasized that his players are working hard and they never
give up.
"We keep trying hard and we keep getting better," he said.
"I'm very happy with the way the guys are working."
La Verne is currently in fourth place in conference play with a 9-6
record, but it has the opportunity to move up in the standings as it faces
a winless Caltech squad in a three-game series starting today at 3 p.m.
"It does not matter who we play, our goal is to make it to the
playoffs," said Ueda.
