Game 1
IRVINE, Calif. - As day two of the Golden Eagles second PacWest series of the year commenced versus the Menlo Oaks, the CUI baseball team sought to keep their bats hot and ace pitching consistent.
In game one, the Golden Eagles had
Josh Pugh starting on the mound, heading into the competition with a 1-1 record and an ERA of 6.0. Having a rough last outing, Pugh looked past that game and came into this game focused and throwing CHEESE on the mound.
Josh Pugh threw a very impressive 6 IP with only 6 hits, 0 ER, and 6 SO.
On the offensive side of the ball, the bats started to ring in the bottom of the 2nd.
Haku Dudoit got the first RBI for the Golden Eagles, followed by
Tank Espalin doubling to left-center field, making it a 2-0 score.
A crucial moment in the game was when the Oaks had two runners on base, with one in scoring position. Senior
Cameron Slessor called time to bring his fellow Golden Eagles in the infield to get on the same page and talk to
Richie Kingsborough on the mound, and they got out of that inning with no runs allowed. That inning showed true leadership and how much head coach Joe Turgeon trusts his players to weather the storm.
The bottom of the seventh is when the Golden Eagles really took advantage of the Oaks having their starting pitcher retire from the mound. Scoring seven runs in the bottom of the 7th inning, Swoyer Voortman got the rally going off a moon shot to left-center field and headed to the warning track to score 2 runners. The cherry on top was when
Wyatt Madison singled to right center field to walk it off for game three of the Oaks versus Golden Eagles series. This would be CUI's second mercy rule game against the Oaks, winning with a final score of 10-0.
Game 2
Trying to keep the momentum from the last three games, the Golden Eagles unfortunately did not throw the first punch in game four of the series. The Oaks gained some momentum after the 1st inning, scoring two runners.
The Golden Eagles countered those two runs with one run themselves in the bottom of the 1s,t making it 2-1 heading into the 2nd inning.
CUI put some at-bats together, scoring one run in each of the first three innings, leading 3-2 after the third inning. After scoring two, the Oaks were kept at bay by starting pitcher
Evan Langer throwing 6.0 IP, allowing 2 runs, with six SO's.
The top of the seventh is where the Golden Eagles had some slight miscommunication errors that allowed the Oaks to take advantage of gaining the lead back 4-3. CUI took the series with three wins to the Oaks one and gained the first PacWest series win for the Golden Eagles this season.
To follow for more men's baseball, their next series is March 1st on the road in Hawaii against Chaminade University.
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