LOS ANGELES — DJ Ghiorso drove a walk-off single off the left field wall Wednesday night at Page Stadium, capping a two-out ninth-inning rally as LMU defeated Cal Poly 8-7 to snap a six-game losing streak. 
 

Zach DenDekker gutted through three innings to open, allowing two runs, one earned, while striking out six. Caleb Sweeney followed with three solid frames, surrendering just one run while keeping Cal Poly off-balance through the middle of the game. 
 

The offensive turning point came in the fourth, when LMU erased a 2-0 deficit in a hurry. With Ghiorso and Win Gurney on base, freshman Richie Klosek drove a three-run homer down the left field line to put the Lions in front 3-2. Travis Friend immediately followed with a solo shot to right, making it 4-2 before Cal Poly could record another out. 
 

With LMU clinging to a 4-3 lead in the eighth, Max Schneider couldn't escape the frame. After hitting Tayman, who was immediately thrown out trying to steal, Schneider allowed a walk and two singles to load the bases with one out. A Casey Murray Jr. single plated the tying run, and a wild pitch scored the go-ahead run to make it 5-4. Vachini then lined a two-run single up the middle to push it to 7-4. Fried came on to record the final out of the inning, which the Mustangs ran into when Vachini was caught stealing by Jordan Ortiz. 
 

The Lions answered in the bottom of the eighth. Zion Williams led off with a triple to right-center, and Ghiorso followed with a walk. Gurney then doubled down the left field line to score Williams and move Ghiorso to third, cutting the deficit to 7-5. Noah Malone pinch ran for Gurney and Cooper Whitton followed with a single to left that scored Ghiorso to make it 7-6. Zach Wadas then lofted a sacrifice fly to right, and while Whitton was thrown out trying to advance, Malone tagged and scored to tie the game at seven.  
 

Jacob Fried, in his fifth year at LMU, came on and retired the side in order in the top of the ninth on nine pitches, handing the Lions a clean slate. 
 

JD Dunn opened the ninth pinch-hitting but popped out, and Nate Stiveson grounded out to second. The Lions were down to their last out when Jaxson Wall singled to third, and Williams followed with a single to center, putting runners at the corners. Ghiorso then drove a first-pitch single into left that caromed off the wall, scoring Wall to end it and sending the Lions into a frenzied celebration on the field. 
 

Ghiorso finished 3-for-3 with two walks and the game-winning hit, as complete a performance as the Lions have seen in 2026. Klosek drove in three on one swing. Williams went 2-for-4 with a triple and scored twice. Wall scored the run that won it. 
 

Fried earned his first win of the season, improving to 1-2, in circumstances that fit the night. A fifth-year Lion delivering when it mattered most.  

 

The Lions will head to Santa Clara for the weekend series against the Broncos. Both teams are currently winless in West Coast Conference play, and a series win will have major postseason implications either way.