No. 12 Cal Lu snaps Chapman win streak thanks to Peterson's arm, bat

ORANGE, Calif. – Once the weekend rains cleared and the Chapman University and Cal Lutheran University baseball teams got to start their three-game SCIAC series on Monday afternoon, the curtains rose for the Jake Petersen show. Cal Lu's senior pitcher went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI and tossed seven innings for the win to lead the No. 12-ranked Kingsmen to a 7-4 win over the Panthers at Hart Park.

Chapman (6-5 overall, 5-2 SCIAC) roughed Peterson up for three runs and three hits in the first inning, but he settled after that, allowing just four hits and one run over the next six innings. The senior retired nine consecutive Panthers at one point and improved to 3-0 this season.

The three-run first was about all the noise the Chapman offense would make. Fifth-inning singles by sophomore IFs Tim Alhanati and Tyler Cook accounted for the Panthers' fourth run – a big one that knotted the game at 4-4 after Cal Lu rallied with three runs in the top of the inning. Senior OF Andrew Carbajal, Alhanati and Cook all collected base hits and scored runs as part of the three-run first for the Panthers and each finished with a pair of hits.

Petersen had the big blow for Cal Lu in the fifth, doubling in a pair of runs and then scoring on an RBI single by junior IF Collin Crowl. The Kingsmen scored the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth on a two-out RBI single by pinch hitter Craig Jacobs which plated Crowl, putting Cal Lu on top 5-4. They would strike for two more runs in the top of the ninth, as well.

Chapman threatened in both the eighth and ninth, bringing the tying and go-ahead runs to the plate, but couldn't come up with the big hit off Cal Lutheran closer Aaron Roth who earned his second save of the year.

Panthers' senior RHP Kevin Osaki struck out six batters over five innings and left with a no-decision. Sophomore RHP Braden Riddle (2-2) was tagged with the loss in relief.

The two teams will travel north for a series-ending doubleheader in Thousand Oaks tomorrow beginning at 11 a.m. The loss snapped Chapman's five-game winning streak and ran its record to 1-3 versus nationally-ranked teams this season.

Boxscore: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/bsb/2013-14/boxscores/20140303_mkv5.xml

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Become a fan of Chapman Athletics on Facebook
Follow Chapman Athletics on Twitter @ChapmanSports
Post your #PantherPic to Instagram @ChapmanSports
#CUPanthers