Box Score March 28, 2010
Box Score
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - LMU (13-11) earned its first weekend-series sweep of the year when it defeated visiting Albany (1-16) by a count of 7-4 in the final game of a four-game series being played at LMU's Page Stadium. With the victory, LMU has now won 10 of its last 11 games, including five straight.
Nick Devian paced the Lion offense, which finished with seven runs on 11 hits. Devian batted 3-for-5 with a RBI. Sophomore Ryan Hawthorne went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles, a run scored and a RBI to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. He is now batting .377 (20-for-53) with seven runs scored, five doubles, a home run, three walks and nine RBI over the streak. With the three hits, Devian has now hit safely in 10 straight games. He is 13-for-35 (.371) with six runs scored, two doubles, two home runs, three stolen bases and seven RBI. Sophomore Matt Koch hit his eighth home run of the year in the game. For Koch, the homer was his fifth in the last nine games.
Sophomore Alex Gillingham got the start and lasted six innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits and three walks while striking out six. With the victory, he improved to 1-1 on the year. Jason Wheeler dealt two scoreless frames before Chris Eusebio pitched the final inning, surrendering a run on three hits before sealing the victory. Zach Kraham lasted four innings as the Albany starter, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks en route to being tagged with his first loss of the year.
The Lions got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning, scoring once in the frame. A Matt Lowenstein walk preceded a single from Devian to put runners at first and second. The single also extended Devian's hitting streak to 10 games. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, allowing Alex Guthrie to collect the RBI with a groundout to shortstop on the ensuing play.
LMU added two more runs in the third to run the tally to 3-0. Jonathan Johnson singled and stole second base before a walk and a fielder's choice in which no out was recorded loaded the bases. After a strikeout for the second out, Devian contributed the clutch two-out RBI-single. An important second run came home on the rundown when Koch was caught between second and third on the play.
The Great Danes cut the deficit to one run at 3-2 on one swing of the bat from Mike Tirri in the fourth. Brendan Rowland singled to shortstop to start the inning before Tirri belted his third home run of the year over the wall in right field on a 1-0 pitch from Gillingham.
After Albany knotted the score at three runs in the top of the fifth with a two-out unearned run, LMU responded for two of its own in the home-half of the frame to quickly regain the advantage at 5-3. Koch did all the damage in the inning, belting a two-run home run over the wall in left field with a man on second base. Hawthorne started the inning with a double into right field to extend his hitting streak to 13 games.
The Lions added an insurance run in the sixth as a Brad Bauer single and a Johnson walk put runners at first and second. After a double-steal put runners at second and third with one out, Hawthorne contributed a RBI-groundout to shortstop to push the tally to 6-3.
LMU pushed one final run across in the home-half of the eighth, extending the lead to 7-3 headed into the ninth. Nick Truhan drew a one-out walk before a second Hawthorne double and an intentional walk to Koch loaded the bases. Lowenstein recorded the RBI on the ensuing play, grounding a ball to second base to reach on the fielder's choice and push home Truhan.
Although the Great Danes did plate a run in the ninth, the cushion proved large enough, as Eusebio recorded the final three outs to secure the Lion victory at 7-4. LMU returns to action on Tuesday when it hosts USC at 3 p.m. at Page Stadium.
