March 30, 2011

Box Score

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -

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LMU (16-10) earned a 6-4 victory over UC Santa Barbara (11-9) on Wednesday at LMU's Page Stadium in the only game for the Lions this week. LMU scored once in the first and second, posted a pair of runs in the third, and tacked-on two more in the sixth en route to the victory.

Sophomore Zac Fujimoto went 3-for-4 with a triple, two bunt singles and two runs scored out of the seventh spot in the order. The triple was Fujimoto's first of the year. Juniors Matt Koch and Shon Roe each finished 2-for-4 with a run scored and a RBI, with Koch collecting his team-best 14th double of the year.

Junior John Lally got the start and went four and a third innings, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out two. Right-hander Aaron Griffin, who earned the victory and improved to 4-1, tossed two and a third frames, allowing one run on two hits before giving way to Matt Florer. The lefty struck out the only batter he faced before Chris Eusebio dealt a scoreless eighth. Closer Ryan Hawthorne entered with a man on and nobody out in the ninth before inducing a double play and striking out a batter to earn his eighth save of the year. With that save, Hawthorne now ranks tied for ninth in the career record books. The LMU record for saves in a season is 13, set by Darryl Scott in 1988.

Beck Wheeler and Dan Camou had two hits for the Gauchos, as Camou finished 2-for-3 with a run scored, two doubles and two RBI. Wheeler also doubled en route to batting 2-for-4 with a run scored and a RBI. Nick Loredo got the start and fell to 3-1 with the loss, tossing two and two-thirds innings and allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk. Nick Capito entered in the third and pitched two and two-thirds, surrendering two runs on three hits before Matthew Brady, Zak Edgington and Bryce Uhrig combined for three scoreless innings of relief.

LMU struck first on Wednesday as Koch delivered a one-out double off the Mikos Blue Monster in left field to bring home Jonathan Johnson from first base. Johnson had reached with a beautiful drag bunt down the third base line earlier in the frame.

The Lions extended the lead to 2-0 in the second as Matt Lowenstein contributed LMU's 38th two-out RBI of the year. Fujimoto reached with a one-out drag bunt single before a two-out Bret Dahlson walk put runners at first and second. Lowenstein came up clutch on the ensuing play, punching a base hit back up the box for a RBI-single to bring home the speedy Fujimoto.

LMU continued to shine offensively in the third, plating two more runs to push the advantage to 4-0 after three. Koch lined a 3-1 pitch to centerfield before coming around to score all the way from first on a Roe double to left centerfield. After Roe moved to third on the throw to the plate trying to get Koch, he came in to score on a RBI-groundout from Alex Guthrie to shortstop.

The Gauchos punched back in the fourth, scoring three times in the frame to cut the deficit to one run at 4-3. UCSB utilized three doubles in the inning, including a RBI-double from Wheeler and a two-RBI double from Camou to bring home Wheeler and Trevor Whyte, who had walked earlier in the frame.

The Lions got back to business in the sixth, scoring two more runs to push the lead to 6-3. Fujimoto reached with his second bunt single before moving to second on a balk. Colton Plaia contributed a single through the left side to put runners at the corners, setting the table for a Dahlson single back up the middle to plate the first run. After a sacrifice bunt from Lowenstein put runners at second and third, LMU traded an out for a run with a groundball from Johnson to first base to plate Plaia and cap the frame.

UCSB was able to scratch a fourth run across in the top of the seventh to cut the lead to two runs at 6-4. The Lions got in a bit of trouble, allowing a leadoff double from Camou before surrendering a single to Lance Roenicke to put runners at the corners with nobody out. LMU gladly traded a run for two outs on the ensuing play as Griffin induced a 6-4-3 double play that allowed Camou to come home from third, but gave the Lions a fresh start in the inning. Florer took over on the hill for LMU from there, punching-out Brandon Trinkwon to end the frame.

The Gauchos managed to bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but Hawthorne emerged and induced a 6-4-3 double play to erase the baserunner and record the first two outs. Down to its last out, UCSB sent pinch-hitter Ryan Palermo to the plate. Palermo worked the count full, but Hawthorne punched him out on strikes to record his eighth save of the year.

The Lions are off this weekend and will return to action on Tuesday when they travel to USC for a game at 3 p.m.