THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – After an extra innings thriller on Friday night, the Linfield Wildcats fell twice to the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen Saturday afternoon at Sparky Anderson Field. 
 
GAME 1: Cal Lutheran 13, Linfield 5
Wildcats starter Cason Cunningham found himself in a bases-loaded jam in the first inning. He managed to escape without allowing a run all while striking out the side.
 
The Kingsmen scored first in the third inning when Weston Clark doubled to score Alec Iniguez. Linfield answered and tied the game in the top of the fourth after Brady Rediger singled and scored after Joey Cassano stole second giving Rediger time to race home from third.
 
The Wildcats were held scoreless over the next four innings. Cal Lutheran pulled away by scoring six runs in the seventh and later added two more in the eighth. Linfield rallied with four runs in the ninth.
 
Ryan Ross hit a two-run home run to score Cassano who singled to start the inning. Cameron Fox scored on a pass ball and Alex Hendra-Brown scored on a RBI single from Ayden Allen for final run of the game.
 
Linfield at the plate
Cassano went 2-for-3 and scored a run. He also reached on a walk to lead the club with three times reached safely. Ross hit the first home run of the season for the 'Cats. He totaled two RBIs to lead the team. Linfield struggled at the plate against Kingsmen starter Troy Frazier, who held the Wildcats to just two hits over the first seven innings.
 
Wildcats on the mound
Cunningham spun four innings and struck out six but was credited with the loss. He allowed six hits and three earned runs. Taylor Boos made is 2018 debut, tossing two innings of one-hit ball. He struck out four and gave up one earned run. Matt McDonald threw the final two innings, allowing five earned runs on six hits and striking out three Kingsmen.
 
Cal Lutheran hitters
Four Kingsmen had multi-hit games: Wright, Iniguez, Daniel Parr and Trevor Egan. Iniguez led the charge by knocking in two runs and picking up two walks. The Kingsmen equaled their run total with 13 hits.
 
Kingsmen pitching
Fraizer dominated on the mound. He allowed two hits over seven innings, struck out five and allowed just one earned run to earn the win. Sal Johnson finished the game, tossing the final two frames. He allowed four hits and struck out three, allowing four runs two of them earned.
 
GAME 2: Cal Lutheran 8, Linfield 5
After 2½ scoreless innings, Cal Lutheran struck first after a two-run single by Jeff Wilson scored Iniguez and Wright. Linfield starter Carter Buuck struggled in his season debut. He exited early before recording an out in the third inning. Kameron Walker finished the frame and allowed three runs across to bring the score to 3-0, CLU.
 
The 'Cats answered with another homer from Ross in the top of the third. In the same inning, Daniel Zavala scored from third on a fielder's choice from Jared Evans and Allen brought home Fox on a base hit to tie the game, 3-3. In the bottom of the fourth, the Kingsmen regained the lead with a pair of runs. An RBI single from Wright scored Chris Spohr. Wright later scored on a RBI single from Ryan Yamashiro. Linfield committed four errors in the game, two resulted in unearned runs.
 
The Kingsmen added to their 5-3 lead in the sixth when Clark drove in Iniguez on a sacrifice fly to right field. Linfield rallied again in the seventh when Ross doubled to score Cassano and Allen to bring the 'Cats within one 5-5. Jeff Wilson led off the bottom of the frame with a single. He later scored on a passed ball, giving the Kingsmen a 7-5 lead. Anthony Sidley reached third and stole home to push the lead to 8-5.
 
Cal Lutheran held on to its three-run lead over the final two innings. Christian Slattery earned the six-out-save and helped the Kingsmen take the series, 2-1.
 
Linfield leaders
Ryan Ross homered for the second consecutive game. He went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, including the long shot. Allen was the only other Wildcat to collect multiple hits. Allen hit 2-for-4 with an RBI and a scored a run. Evans knocked in an RBI after a sacrifice fly.
 
Wildcat pitching staff
Buuck threw two innings and did not allow a run but walked six. Walker tossed three innings where he gave up two earned runs on four hits while striking out four Kingsmen in his varsity debut. Mitch Grove entered the game in the sixth. He threw 1.1 innings allowing one earned run on one hit. Jake Gellos, a three-year starter at catcher, made his collegiate pitching debut. Gellos allowed just one hit over 1.2 innings and struck out one batter.
 
Cal Lutheran bats
Five Kingsmen accounted for RBIs including Wright, Clark, Iniguez, Wilson and Jeff Coast. Coast walked a game-high three times to earn a perfect on-base percentage in four plate appearances. 
 
Kingsmen arms
Giles threw four innings where he gave up three runs on five hits. He struck out six and walked two to earn his first victory of the season. The Kingsmen inserted five different relievers into action. Rebello, Maldonado, Scott Roberts, Justin Fong and Slattery finished the last five innings. The group allowed just three hits and two runs combined while striking out eight Wildcats.
 
By the numbers
Cunningham entered the 2018 season with 170 career strikeouts. With Saturday's appearance, he surpassed Riley Newman (172) and Alex Justus (173) to move to 15th on the Linfield career strikeouts leaders list. Chris Haddeland owns the all-time record of 275 strikeouts from 2012-15.
 
Next
The Wildcats' early season road trip comes to a close Sunday when they to visit Occidental for a single game starting at 10 a.m.