Last Friday (Apr. 2) and Saturday (Apr. 3), P-P took all three games against Cal Lutheran. After a blowout victory on Friday at Sparky Anderson Field, the Saturday doubleheader saw two tight victories for P-P.

“It’s tough to go over to the dreaded ‘valley’ and win games but Ben Cohen [PI ’12], having somehow lived there his whole life, did an excellent job of preparing us mentally to be ready to play,” said Travis Rooke-Ley PI ‘12. “ We were able to come out strong after some defensive lapses and get the job done.”

Friday hostedan extraordinary display of Sagehen offense as P-P put up 11 runs, but it was the pitching that carried the day. David Colvin PI ’11 held CLU to only three runs in eight innings pitched. His stuff was nearly untouchable, as he tallied 10 strikeouts on the day.

The Sagehen offense was led by first-years Mike Moyer PO, Nick Gentili PO, and Erik Munzer PI, who combined for 7-11 at the dish, scoring 6 runs.

Saturday morning’s win was tougher for the Sagehens, requiring a late-inning burst. P-P squeezed it out by a score of 6-5, winning it in the bottom of the 9th.

P-P came back from a 4-1 deficit in the 8th to tie it 4-4 behind Teddy Bingham’s PO ’11 bases loaded single.

The score was tied 5-5 entering the bottom half of the inning. With two out and the bases loaded, Moyer slapped a ground ball to the CLU second baseman who botched the routine play after colliding with baserunner Rook-Ley, allowing the winning run to score.

“There was certainly contact on the play,” CLU Head Coach Marty Slimak said. “However, we had control the entire game, had several chances earlier to win it and weren’t able to do so...although it was the deciding play, there were many that led up to the situation we faced.”

The final game was taken by P-P 8-4. The offensive half of the second inning was the deciding factor as the Sagehens scored seven runs on only six hits. Cal Lu’s sloppy defense made for a merry-go-round inning for the Sagehens.

James Kang PI ’10 capitalized on the errors by putting up a home run to earn two RBI. Leo Rosetti PO ‘12 got the win for P-P, throwing seven innings and giving up only four hits.

This coming weekend holds the biggest series of the season for the Sagehens as they take on Redlands to decide first place in SCIAC. The Sagehens are currently one game ahead of Redlands in league standings and would nearly solidify a trip to the Western Regional with a sweep. The Apr. 10 doubleheader is here at Alumni Field - come support the squad.