Unearned Run in Ninth Lifts Cal Poly Over Loyola Marymount, 2-1

Friday, March 11

6 pm

5-6

Loyola Marymount

9-5

Loyola Marymount

Cal Poly

Unearned Run in Ninth Lifts Cal Poly Over Loyola Marymount, 2-1

3/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Bobby Crocker's one-out grounder to second base was mishandled for an error, allowing Matt Russell to score from second base in the ninth inning, as Cal Poly edged Loyola Marymount 2-1 in the opener of a four-game non-conference baseball series Friday night in Baggett Stadium.

The pinch-hitting Russell led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk. Evan Busby's sacrifice bunt moved Russell to second base and Denver Chavez was walked intentionally to put runners at first and second with one out.

On a 1-2 pitch, Crocker (pictured above) rolled a grounder to Lions second baseman Jonathan Johnson and the ball scooted under his glove and into shallow right-center field, allowing Russell to score the winning run.

Cal Poly (5-6), which had lost four one-run games in the first two weeks of the season, extended its winning streak to five games with its first one-run victory of the year. Loyola Marymount slipped to 9-5.

Closer Jeff Johnson (1-0), who pitched out of a bases-loaded nobody-out jam in the eighth inning, earned the win with two scoreless innings, striking out two. Mustang starter Mason Radeke pitched seven solid innings, allowing one run and four hits with five strikeouts.

Loyola Marymount lefty Jason Wheeler pitched just as effectively, giving up one run and six hits in 6 2/3 innings. The loss went to Aaron Griffin, who pitched the ninth inning for the Lions.

Each team collected seven hits. Left fielder Tim Wise singled twice for Cal Poly before leaving the game with a leg injury in the sixth inning. Left fielder Matt Lowenstein singled twice for Loyola Marymount and the lone extra-base hit of the game was a double by the Lions' Matt Koch.

Loyola Marymount scored its run in the second inning as Evan Simonitsch drew a leadoff walk and eventually came around to score on Alex Guthrie's single to right field.

Cal Poly countered with a run in the fifth. Busby reached base on an infield single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and came home on a single to right-center field by Chavez.

Loyola Marymount's best chance to break the 1-1 tie came in the eighth when the Lions loaded the bases on a double, single and hit batsman. Johnson was summoned from the bullpen and induced Joe Vierra to strike out for the first out of the inning. Zac Fujimoto's grounder to third resulted in a force play at the plate for out No. 2 and Guthrie grounded out to shortstop to end the threat.

The two teams will play a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m.

In the opener, Cal Poly will send junior southpaw Kyle Anderson (1-2, 1.15 ERA) to the mound against LMU right-hander Alex Gillingham (1-2, 3.38 ERA). The nightcap features a pair of right-handers -- Joey Wagman (1-1, 12.15 ERA) for Cal Poly and Martin Viramontes (2-0, 3.50 ERA) for the Lions.