La Verne, Calif. - After having the opening game of their California trip canceled because of weather, Willamette Baseball was able to play their doubleheader against the University of La Verne on Saturday but dropped both games to the Leopards, 10-1 and 10-5.
In game one, the hosts threatened in the bottom of the first inning, but a good play by third baseman Tassos Foster cut down the runner trying to score and ended the threat. Neither team was able to get much else going in the opening few innings until La Verne broke through in the bottom of the fourth. After an opening walk, the Leopards had two doubles, sandwiched around an out, that led to two runs and a 2-0 lead after four innings.
La Verne was able to get another run in the fifth before the Bearcats broke through in their half of the sixth. A Foster single was followed by consecutive outs, but Drew Baskin and Preston Lau came through with two-out hits to score Foster and cut the deficit to 3-1.
Unfortunately for the Bearcats, the Leopards were able to score four runs of their own in the bottom of the sixth, helped by two Willamette errors, and another three runs in the seventh to make the final score 10-1. Drew Baskin and Nate Hamburger each had two hits to lead the Bearcats. Lau had the lone Willamette RBI and Foster scored the only run.
Willamette opened the scoring in game two thanks to a home run by Luke Piazza in the top of the first, but La Verne responded by getting three runs in the bottom of the second. Again it was a combination of Leopard hits and Bearcat errors that helped the home team take a 3-1 lead after two innings of play.
Neither team threatened over the next two innings before the Bearcats scored again in the fifth. After Hamburger doubled to lead off the inning, Foster walked and Rocco Granucci singled to center to score the first run of the inning for Willamette. Piazza and Baskin each followed with sacrifice flies to center field to give the Bearcats a 4-3 lead headed to the bottom of the inning, where the Leopards would get a sac fly of their own to tie the game 4-4 after five.
Like they did in the opening game, La Verne was able to score runs off the Bearcat bullpen and put three runs across in both the seventh and eighth to win the game 10-5. Piazza and Hamburger led Willamette with two hits each, while Piazza and Granucci each batted in two runs. Foster, who led off the eighth with a triple, scored two runs to lead the Bearcats.
The Bearcats conclude their road trip on Sunday, March 9th, when they face Chapman University. The first pitch is scheduled for 11:00 am.