LOS ANGELES - Zion Williams delivered a first-inning home run and
Zach DenDekker turned in the best start of his young season, but a catastrophic eighth inning doomed LMU as Utah pulled away for a 13-4 victory Monday afternoon at Page Stadium.
Williams, hitting .226 on the season coming in, launched a two-run shot to left field in the first with Jaxson Wall aboard, staking the Lions to an early 2-0 lead. It was his fourth home run of the year. The senior designated hitter has driven all 10 of his RBI this season against right-handed pitching and again showed his capability with men on base, entering the day hitting .364 in those situations.
Wall continued to be LMU's steadiest offensive presence, going 2-for-5 to lift his season average to .472, the team's best by a wide margin. The senior shortstop has reached base safely in all 11 starts this season.
LMU tacked on two more in the fourth on a clutch two-run double from Noah Malone, a sophomore who entered the day just 4-for-26 on the year. With the bases loaded and two out, Malone drilled a ball off the blue monster in left field to score
Travis Friend and
Andrew Mhoon, giving the Lions a 4-2 lead through four. It was the first extra-base hit of Malone's season, and one of four RBI the Lions collected with two outs in the game.
DenDekker was the pitching bright spot. The right-hander scattered just one hit over four innings, walking three and striking out five with a wild pitch accounting for the lone run he allowed. DenDekker's ERA for the season now stands at 2.25 across eight innings.
Matt Champion got through three innings of relief unscathed, but in the eighth inning unraveled completely. Utah sent 15 batters to the plate in the frame, scoring 11 runs. Four LMU hit batsmen, three walks, a passed ball, and a throwing error by catcher
Jordan Ortiz all contributed to the damage, turning a 4-2 game into a 13-4 final.
Despite the lopsided margin, there were reasons for encouragement beyond the box score. LMU collected nine hits, matching its second-best total of the season, and posted its fourth multi-run inning in the last five games.
Alex Gamboa added a double in the ninth and Friend singled in the eighth, both giving a glimpse of the offense's potential deeper in the lineup.
The Lions fall to 5-9 on the season. They return to action Tuesday.
