THOUSAND OAKS, CA - The McMurry War Hawks faced off against Cal Lutheran on February 6, 2026, at Sparky Anderson Field for their season opener. The final score was 12-4 in favor of McMurry.

The game remained scoreless through the first two innings as both teams settled in. McMurry got on the board in the top of the 3rd inning. After Kaden Buske reached on an error and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Beckham Paul, Tatum Black reached on a fielding error that allowed Buske to score the first run of the game.

The War Hawks extended their lead in the 4th inning. Kia'i Sylvester led off with a double to right center and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Caden Roy. Jeremiah Enriquez followed with a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing Sylvester home to make it 2-0. Cal Lutheran responded in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

McMurry broke the game open in the top of the 5th inning, erupting for seven runs. Collin Bruning highlighted the inning with a two-run home run to score Beckham Paul. Jaxon Rhea added an RBI triple, followed by RBI hits from Caden Roy and Jeremiah Enriquez. Beckham Paul capped off the scoring frenzy with a two-run triple to left field. Cal Lutheran managed to score three runs in the bottom of the inning, bringing the score to 9-4.

The War Hawks continued to apply pressure in the 6th inning. Kia'i Sylvester hit an RBI double down the left field line to score Jaxon Rhea. Caden Roy then reached on an error, allowing Sylvester to cross the plate and extend the lead to 11-4.

In the top of the 7th inning, McMurry added their final run of the contest. After loading the bases, Collin Bruning hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Kaden Buske to finalize the 12-4 score. Brian Biggs took over on the mound in relief and shut down the Cal Lutheran offense for the remainder of the game, securing the victory.
 

Top War Hawk Performers

Collin Bruning: 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 Runs
Kia'i Sylvester: 3-for-3, 2 2B, 3 Runs, HBP
Beckham Paul: 3-for-4, 3B, 2 RBI, 1 Run, 1 SB
Brian Biggs: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 SO

On Deck

Baseball continues its series at Cal Lutheran with a doubleheader tomorrow, February 7th, at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.