RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Zion Williams notched three RBI, the Lions bullpen put up six zeroes, and the LMU baseball team held on to beat UC Riverside 7-6 on the road at the Riverside Sportsplex on Wednesday evening.  

 

The Highlanders scored one in the first and two more in the before the Lions' offense woke up.  

 

James Bose led off the fifth with a single to left and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Cam Hassert followed with a single that ricocheted off the pitcher to put runners at the corners. Beau Ankeney followed with a double to center to score Bose easily and chase Hassert to third. Williams followed with a thumping single up the middle to score the pair easily and tie the affair at three.  

 

The Lions added the remainder of their scoring in the following inning and they did it all with two outs. Hassert was hit by a pitch with one out. It was his fifth time so far in 2025. After the second out was made, Ankeney was also hit by a pitch to move Hassert up to second. DJ Ghiorso followed up with a single up the middle of the diamond to plate Hassert easily and move Ankeney to third. Head coach Donegal Fergus put on one of his favorite plays as the Lions executed the first-and-third double steal easily as the throw got away from the second baseman and Ankeney could trot home without a play. Williams would immediately follow with his second RBI single of the day.  

 

The bullpen was put to work early as Jacob Hughes could only muster one out, leaving the bases loaded in the first. Johnny Casale was the first pitcher called on and he came out firing. The freshman struck out a pair in the bottom of the first to limit the damage to a single run. He then loaded the bases in the second and tightroped his way out of it with two more punchouts.  

 

Adam Behrens followed with a scoreless inning before handing the ball to Matt Moreno. Moreno gave up a pair before handing the ball to the eventual winning pitcher of the evening, Avery Laine. Laine worked for five outs and struck out a pair in another scoreless outing.  

 

After Tanner Warady gave up three runs, Zack Mack came in and stopped the bleeding with five outs of shutout ball. The big right-hander also struck out a pair.  

 

Gabe Maya came in for the eighth and got a pair of outs before handing the ball off to Jake Geis for the save. Geis dominated the Highlanders for four outs in his first save of the season, getting a pair of ground balls to go along with his two strikeouts.  

 

The Lions return to action on Friday, March 28 to face Saint Louis in a three-game set at Page Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. (PT) with tickets available at LMULions.com.