THOUSAND OAKS, CA - It was a challenging day on the diamond for our McMurry War Hawks as they faced Cal Lutheran in a doubleheader on February 7th at "Sparky" Anderson Field. Despite holding early leads in both contests and showing offensive promise, the War Hawks dropped both games of the twin bill, falling 4-2 in a tight defensive battle in game one and 17-6 in a high-scoring affair in game two.

Game 1: McMurry 2, Cal Lutheran 4
In the opener, the War Hawks struck first in the top of the first inning. After Tatum Black singled to right field and stole second, Collin Bruning delivered a clutch single to left-center, driving in Black to give McMurry an early 1-0 advantage. Pitcher Braydon Durst started strong for the War Hawks, keeping the Kingsmen offense in check through the early frames. Cal Lutheran managed to tie the game in the bottom of the third, capitalizing on a groundout to plate a run.

McMurry responded immediately in the top of the fourth inning. Kaden Buske singled and promptly stole second, setting the table for Beckham Paul, who singled to right field to bring Buske home and reclaim the lead at 2-1. However, the War Hawks' defense faltered in the sixth inning. Cal Lutheran took advantage of defensive miscues, scoring two unearned runs to flip the score to 3-2. The Kingsmen added an insurance run in the seventh inning on a passed ball. Despite putting runners on in the late innings, McMurry couldn't push across the equalizer, falling 4-2. Braydon Durst was solid on the mound, going 5.1 innings and allowing just one earned run.

Game 2: McMurry 6, Cal Lutheran 17
The offense came out firing in game two, jumping out to a quick lead in the first inning. Scout Smith crushed a ground-rule double to left field, scoring Collin Bruning and Tatum Black to put the War Hawks up 2-0. After Cal Lutheran answered with a run in the bottom half, McMurry extended their lead in the second. Kaden Buske reached on an error to score Caden Roy, and Tatum Black followed with an RBI single up the middle to make it a 4-1 game.

However, the momentum shifted in the bottom of the second inning as Cal Lutheran's offense exploded for five runs to take a 6-4 lead. McMurry battled back in the top of the fifth when Caden Roy lifted a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Scout Smith to cut the deficit to 6-5. Unfortunately, the Kingsmen offense proved too much to contain, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth and continuing to add to their lead in the sixth and eighth innings. McMurry scored their final run in the seventh on a fielder's choice but ultimately fell 17-6.

Top War Hawk Performers

Tatum Black: Black was a consistent spark at the top of the lineup, going a combined 5-for-9 on the day with 3 runs scored, a triple, and a stolen base.

Scout Smith: Smith provided the power in Game 2, finishing the day 4-for-9 overall with two doubles, 2 RBIs, and 2 runs scored.

Beckham Paul: Paul was steady at the plate, going a combined 3-for-9 across the doubleheader, including a key RBI single in Game 1 and a double in Game 2.

Braydon Durst: Durst delivered a quality start in Game 1, pitching 5.1 innings and allowing only one earned run while striking out two, keeping the War Hawks in contention throughout the opener.
 

On Deck

Baseball wraps up its west coast swing with a game against the University of Redlands on Sunday, February 8th at 1:00 p.m.