March 26, 2010

Box Score | Photo Gallery

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - LMU (10-11) earned a 4-1 victory over Albany (1-13) on Friday in the first game of a four-game series that is being played over the weekend at LMU's Page Stadium. The Lions posted a run in the first, one in the second and two more in the sixth en route to the victory.

Sophomores Shon Roe and Alex Guthrie each collected a pair of hits in the victory, with Roe finishing 2-for-3 with two runs scored, a double and a walk. Guthrie went 2-for-3 with a run scored, two RBI, a double, a sacrifice bunt and his fifth home run of the year. With one hit apiece on Friday, Ryan Hawthorne (10 games), Nick Devian (eight games) and Colton Plaia (seven games) each extended their respective hitting streaks. Jason Barmasse, who entered with a seven-game hitting streak, saw his streak snapped after finishing 0-for-2 with two sacrifice bunts.

Sophomore Martin Viramontes earned his second victory of the year after tossing five and two-thirds innings, allowing one unearned run on six hits and three walks while striking out six. He left the bases loaded in the sixth for reliever Matt Florer, but Florer got out of the jam without incident. The lefty dealt the final three and a third scoreless frames for LMU, surrendering just one hit and two walks while punching-out three to earn his second save of the season.

Brian Bullard contributed the lone Albany RBI, driving-in leadoff man Nolan Gaige in the fifth with a double. Ralph Keppler collected a pair of hits out of the ninth spot in the order for Albany in the loss. Dave Kubiak got the start and lasted seven and a third innings, allowing all four Lion runs on nine hits and three walks while striking out three. The right-hander, who took his third loss of the year, handed the ball over to left-hander Greg Lutton who finishing the game on the hill for the Great Danes.

The Lions got on the board early in the game, scoring once in the home-half of the first inning. Jonathan Johnson walked on five pitches to start the inning before moving to second on a Barmasse sacrifice bunt. Hawthorne extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single to put runners at the corners, followed two batters later by a two-out clutch RBI-single from Plaia into centerfield to score the run.

LMU utilized a second bunt in the second inning, running the tally to 2-0. Roe singled past the shortstop before moving to second on Guthrie's first sacrifice bunt of the year. After falling behind 1-2 in the count, Brad Bauer contributed the RBI-single into shallow left centerfield to chase home Roe.

After a pair of scoreless frames in the third and fourth, Albany broke through with an unearned run in the top of the fifth. A one-out Keppler single got the ball rolling before a wild throw to first on a possible double-play ball by Roe put a runner at second with two out. Bullard, the hottest hitter in the Great Dane lineup, stayed hot on the ensuing play, lining a RBI-double into left centerfield to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Florer entered with two out and the bases loaded in the sixth inning before striking out Keppler on a 3-2 pitch to keep Albany off the board in the frame. Viramontes allowed one-out singles to Kyle Crean and Mike Tirri before a foul-out to third base resulted in the second out of the inning. After Viramontes issued his third walk of the game to load the bases, Florer took over and ended the threat, keeping the tally at 2-1 in favor of LMU.

Guthrie took it upon himself to extend the Lion lead to 4-1 after six, belting his fifth home run well over Mikos Blue Monster in left field. Roe won a good battle with two out in the inning to set the table, drawing a walk to precede Guthrie's homer that cleared the netting behind the wall in left.

The Lions stranded a pair of runners in scoring position in the bottom of the eighth, but Florer needed no more run support in the game. The left-hander dealt a scoreless ninth en route to the save.

The Lions and Great Danes continue the four-game series tomorrow with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.