LOS ANGELES — Zion Williams hit two home runs, collected three hits and drove in three runs, and a shutdown pitching effort from
Jonah Johnson and
Adam Behrens lifted LMU to a 7-1 victory over Washington on Saturday at Page Stadium, splitting the first two of the series.
Williams wasted no time. He led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run to left field off Washington starter Gunnar Nichols. He struck again in the fifth, greeting reliever Carson Boesel on his very first pitch of the game with another solo shot to left-center. Williams capped his day with an RBI single to center in a five-run eighth inning to finish 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored.
Johnson was brilliant in his five innings of work. The senior right-hander scattered two hits, walked two and struck out eight while keeping Washington off the board entirely. Behrens came on in the sixth and delivered four more innings of steady relief pitching to earn the save, allowing just one earned run on four hits and striking out four. Together, the two held the Huskies to one run on six hits for the game.
Washington's lone run came in the eighth when Ethan Swidler singled up the middle to score Sam DeCarlo, briefly cutting the deficit to one before LMU answered with a five-run inning to put the game away.
Andrew Mhoon continued a strong start to his freshman season, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI. He drove in
DJ Ghiorso with a double to right in the eighth, then scored on a wild pitch as LMU's big inning unfolded. Mhoon is slashing .409/.458/.545 over his first six appearances.
Jake Lyall added an RBI single that was extended into a two-run play on a left field misplay, and Williams capped the frame with his third RBI of the afternoon.
The two teams will meet in a rubber match on Sunday to determine the series winner with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. (PT).
