The Lakeland baseball team played host to the Owens Express and dropped both ends of a doubleheader by the scores of 7-2 and 9-5. For the weary Lakers, this was their 4th doubleheader in 5 days. In game 1, the Lakers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning as James LaVigne, Dominic Sintic, Adrian Cuadrado, and Lorenzo Malcolm all walked to start the game. Lakeland would leave the bases loaded though and that would come back to haunt them. In the top of the 3rd inniing, Owens would take advantage of four walks and a couple wild pitches to score 4 runs for a 4-1 lead. The Lakers would make the score 4-2 in the home half of the inning. Adrian Cuadrado started things with a lead-off single. Cuadrado advanced to second on a Lorenzo Malcolm single before scoring on a Josiah Cuesta RBI-single. That's as close as the Lakers would get as they were unable to take advantage of their scoring opportunities. Lakeland also left the bases loaded in the 5th inning and runners on in both the 6th and 7th inning as they dropped game 1.
Adrian Cuadrado went 2-2 with 2 walks while Josiah Cuesta picked up a hit and RBI. Lorenzo Malcolm added a hit in the loss. Casen Smith started on the mound and took the loss as he pitched 3 innings allowing 4 earned runs on 3 hits while striking out 3 batters. Jack Argie relieved and pitched 3 innings allowing 2 earned runs on 3 hits while striking out 3 batters. Anthony Barbosa pitched the final inning allowing a run while striking out 2 batters.
In game 2, the Express took a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning as they took advantage of a walk and a couple of stolen bases. The Lakers tied it in the bottom of the first inning. James LaVigne was hit by a pitch to start the game. Sam Tetley would walk before Adrian Cuadrado had an infield single to load the bases.Josiah Cuesta would then work an RBI-walk. After a strikeout, the Lakers would fail to add on as they hit into an inning ending double play. Lakeland would take the lead in the bottom of the 2nd inning by scoring another run. Will Mijares got things going with a leadoff double. Mijares later scored on an RBI-single from James LaVigne. The Express would tie the score in the top of the 3rd inning before the Lakers regained the lead in the home half. Josiah Cuesta would single and steal second base. Cuesta later scored on an RBI-single from Ryan Thomson to put the Lakers back on top, 3-2. The Lakers would then go ahead 4-2 in the bottom of the 4th inning as Parker LaGreca hit a solo blast. The Express would then take a 6-4 lead in the top of the 5th inning as they paired a couple of hits with a walk and wild pitch. The Express added 3 more runs in the top of the 6th inning as they took advantage of a couple walks and an error. Trailing 9-4, the Lakers scored their final run in the bottom of the 6th inning. Tim Pozsgai started the inning with a 1-out walk. Pozsgai advanced to 2nd base on a wild pitch before scoring on an RBI-single from James LaVigne. The Lakers would again be unable to tack runs on as they left a runner on in both the 6th and 7th innings.
Thomas Vokic started on the mound and allowed 6 earned runs over 4.2 innings of work while striking out 4 batters. Lorenzo Malcolm relieved and pitched 1.2 innings allowing 3 earned runs before Cameron Huang-Ince relieved and pitched .2 innings while not allowing a run. Offensively, James LaVigne collected 2 hits and 2 RBI's while Josiah Cuesta added 2 hits and an RBI. Adrian Cuadrado finished with 2 hits while Brooks Baker and Parker LaGreca each added a hit and RBI. Ryan Thomson and Will Mijares also both added a hit in the loss.
Next Up: On Thursday (4/30), the Lakers will travel to Edison State to face the Chargers in OCCAC action.
