Feb. 26, 2011

Box Score | Photo Gallery

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -

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LMU (6-1) scored four times in the first inning and held on to defeat Nevada (0-5), 7-3, on Saturday in game two of a three-game series being played at LMU's Page Stadium over the weekend. The Lions are 6-1 or better to start a season for just the fifth time since 1976, and the first time since going 6-1 to start the 2001 season.

Junior Alex Gillingham got the start for LMU, tossing a career-high tying eight strong innings and allowing three runs on four hits and a walk while striking out eight batters. The right-hander, who tossed eight innings in a complete-game loss to UC Riverside last weekend, matched a career-high in that category for the fourth time in his career. The native of Thousand Oaks, Calif., who retired nine straight from the end of the fourth inning through two down in the seventh, tossed 104 pitches en route to earning his first win of the season. Junior John Lally pitched the ninth inning, striking out a pair in a non-save situation. With the nine innings of three-run work, LMU as a team now sports a 1.89 ERA.

Zac Fujimoto led the Lion charge offensively, going 4-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI out of the eighth spot in the order. Jonathan Johnson and Evan Simonitsch each had two hits on Saturday, with Johnson collecting a double and driving in a pair of runs. Shon Roe made the most of his one hit, collecting a two-RBI triple and a run scored. For Roe, the triple was the second of the season.

Nevada managed just four hits over the nine innings, including a home run off the bat of Michael Turay. The homer was the first of the season for Turay and the first in a LMU baseball game this year. Troy Marks got the start and lasted just two innings, allowing five runs on five hits and three walks en route to taking the loss. Tyler Rogstad allowed two more Lion runs over three and a third frames before Jeremy Cole tossed the final two and two-thirds scoreless in relief.

LMU got off to a good start in the first, scoring four times all with two out to take an early 4-0 advantage. Matt Koch reached with a hit by pitch before a Simonitsch walk put two runners aboard for Roe. The junior came up clutch on the ensuing play, lining a two-RBI triple down the right field line to put the Lions on the board. Ryan Hawthorne pushed the third Lion run across with an infield single to second base to bring home Roe. Alex Guthrie kept the inning alive with a second hit by pitch, allowing Fujimoto to collect his first RBI-single of the afternoon to cap the frame.

Nevada struck for two runs in the top of the second, highlighted by a two-out two-RBI single into centerfield off the bat of Braden Shipley to plate Brock Stassi and Garrett Yrigoyen.

The Lions answered for a run of their own in the bottom of the third, as a pair of walks set the table for Fujimoto's second RBI-single of the afternoon. After a pair of quick outs to start the fourth, Gillingham had a 3-1 pitch driven over the wall by Turay just fair down the left field line and over the Mikos Blue Monster for a home run, running the score to 5-3 in favor of the Lions.

LMU posted a pair of insurance runs in the sixth inning, running the score to its eventual final at 7-3. Fujimoto singled to start the frame before a sacrifice bunt and a walk put runners at first and second with one out. Johnson contributed the big blow on the ensuing play, doubling-home both runs with a ground ball past the first baseman down the right field line.

The Lions and Wolf Pack will conclude the three-game series tomorrow, as LMU will look for its first sweep of the year at 12 p.m.