FULLERTON, Calif. – The Warriors picked up two more wins on Saturday with a doubleheader sweep of the No. 16 Hope International University Royals.
Eric Chavarria gave LC State a strong start and the offense did its job to earn the 5-4 win in game one. Clutch hitting and a solid bullpen performance aided LC in the 2-1 game two victory.
"We had two great starts today from Eric and Drake (Borschowa)," Head Coach
Jake Taylor said. "Both competed and were sharp from the start. Offensively, we weren't consistent but had timely hitting that pushed us over the top."
GAME ONE: No. 4 LC State def. No. 16 Hope International 5-4
The first game of the day came down to the wire in the bottom of the ninth inning. After a pair of LC State home runs to give the Warriors an edge, the Royals threatened until the final out.
Hope International struck for a run in the third after a pair of hits put runners on with one out. A ball hit in the infield resulted in an out, but allowed the game's first run to score.
The Warriors responded shortly after with a three-run blast from
Matt James.
A.J. Davis led off the inning with a single up the middle and
Nick Seamons drew a walk before James sent a ball over the fence to give LC the lead.
Aidan Nagle powered the advantage to 5-1 with home run in the top of the fifth. Davis was hit by a pitch in the previous at bat to make it a two-run shot. The Royals put a runner on in the home half of the inning, but Chavarria struck out a batter to close out the frame.
HIU rallied for chip into the LC lead in the bottom of the eighth.
Eli Shubert relieved
Alec Holmes after an RBI-single, and
Sam Linscott cut down a runner at the plate with a throw from left to limit the damage. The Royals scored on a passed ball to make it 5-3 heading into the ninth.
The Royals threatened again the in bottom of the ninth with back-to-back base hits and cut the LC lead to one with a sacrifice fly, but the game ended when an HIU runner did not tag up on the fly ball. The Warriors hung on to win 5-4.
Davis and Linscott each tallied a pair of hits, while James knocked in three and Nagle drove in two.
Chavarria earned his first win of the season after striking out six through seven innings. He walked a batter and allowed a run. Shubert earned his second save of the season by closing out the last two innings.
GAME TWO: No. 4 LC State def. No. 16 Hope International 2-1 (7 inn.)
Newcome
Drake Borschowa got the start in the second half of the twin bill and struck out a batter in his debut inning. He struck out another in the second before working out of a jam to keep the game scoreless.
HIU scored the game's first run in the bottom of the fifth after a leadoff double came around to score.
Joe Ball was called to the mound with a runner on second and two outs and some solid glove work by Davis held the Royals to just a run in the inning.
The Warriors took the lead in the second thanks to a big blast and timely hitting. James drilled his second big fly of the day, this one to tie game two in the top of the seventh.
Dominic Signorelli drove in the go-ahead with a base hit up the middle to plate courtesy runner
Alex Light and make it a 2-1 LC advantage.
Bryson Spagnuolo took the mound in the home half of the seventh and sat down the Royals in order to close out the seven-inning game and earn the save and give Ball the first win of his career.
LC State tallied four hits in the game with the two most important coming from James and Signorelli. Borschowa put together a strong Warrior debut with four strikeouts in 4.2 innings. Ball did not allow a run in his 1.1 innings of relief, and Spagnuolo struck out one in his 1-2-3 inning.
The Warriors head to Arizona for three games next week. LC State will take on No. 23 Benedictine Mesa on Feb. 1 before facing Arizona Christian on Feb. 2 and 3.
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