Kingsmen Rally To Stay Alive

MOORPARK — Down two games to none in a best-of-five West regional. Down by eight runs in the seventh inning of the third game.

How low can you go?

Low enough that the opposing team begins filling containers with ice water to dump on their coach to celebrate advancing to the NCAA Division III national championships.

Lo and behold.

Cal Lutheran put a serious chill on Chapman’s celebration by clawing back with seven runs in the seventh and two in the bottom of the ninth to win the second game of a doubleheader, 10-9, Friday at Moorpark College.

A bases-loaded double with none out by Anthony Olden against reliever Cale Shepherd scored Tom McGee and pinch-runner Adam Rauch with the tying and winning runs.

Olden, a junior first baseman-designated hitter, hit a two-run homer in the seventh and had three hits in the first game, which Cal Lutheran lost, 14-7.

The Kingsmen (34-9) will play Chapman (30-13) again today at noon and a Cal Lutheran victory would force a second game.

“We wouldn’t let our guys get down,” Kingsmen Coach Marty Slimak said. “We kept saying that all we needed to do was bring the tying run to the plate.”

That seemed like wishful thinking against Chapman right-hander Josh LaRocca, who struck out eight and allowed one hit through six innings. But LaRocca, who has had shoulder problems recently, tired quickly in the seventh.

Mike Young and Scott Foli opened the inning with singles, Rich Hernandez walked and Young scored on a wild pitch. Joseph Jauregui walked, but the rally seemed to die when McGee hit a sacrifice fly and David Cruz hit into a force play for the second out.

Eric Buben hit a two-run single, however, and Olden and Donny Churchman hit back-to-back home runs to pull Cal Lutheran to within 9-8.

“This whole series we never had any breaks,” Slimak said. “We never put a string of hits together. Finally we did it.”

Scott Poletto (3-1), who relieved Marco Marquez after Chapman scored eight unearned runs in the sixth, struck out seven and allowed one hit over the last 3 1/3 innings. Poletto was scheduled to start the first game today, but he was needed after Cal Lutheran used four pitchers in Friday’s opener.

“I should be fine (today),” said Poletto, who threw 43 pitches. “Our whole staff will be running on adrenalin.”

Cal Lutheran squandered numerous opportunities in the opener, leaving the bases loaded in the first, second, fifth and seventh innings. The Kingsmen had 12 hits and received 10 walks, but stranded 10 runners.

Chapman jumped on sophomore right-hander Eric Kiszczak (10-3) for five runs in the second to erase a 1-0 Cal Lutheran lead and seize control of the game. The bottom five batters in the Panthers’ lineup all reached base and scored.

After the Kingsmen rallied for two in the fifth, Chapman again responded quickly, scoring four in the bottom of the inning to take a 9-3 lead. A bunt single by Dusty Martin was followed by an opposite-field home run by Shepherd, and a single by Robert O’Brien was followed by Luis Garcia’s homer over the scoreboard in right.

Garcia, who hit a grand slam off Kiszczak during the regular season, also homered in the eighth against Ryan Glass for Chapman’s final run.