The Emory University Baseball Team split a doubleheader with 10^th-ranked California Lutheran University on Saturday in Thousand Oaks, California, falling 13-2 in the early game and claiming a 11-8 win in the second.

With the split, Emory moves to 2-1 on the season, while Cal Lutheran, last year's top-ranked offense in Division III, drops to 1-1.

Game 1 – The Eagles jumped out to an early lead for the second-straight game, when junior left fielder Brett Lake tripled with two outs in the top of the first, and senior designated hitter Daniel Iturrey followed with an RBI single to put Emory on top 1-0.   However, Cal Lutheran answered back with a in the bottom of the inning, when leadoff hitter Justin Cana singled to start the frame, eventually scoring from third on a caught stealing at second base.

The Kingsmen took advantage of an Emory error to start the fifth inning, scoring six unearned runs in the frame to break the game open.  Eagles' sophomore starter Paul Merolla allowed just one earned run over his four and two-thirds innings of work, but took the loss in the game to fall to 0-1 on the year.

Emory would add on a run in the top of the eighth inning on an RBI single from junior Jordan Selbach, scoring sophomore David Coble, who doubled earlier in the inning.  It would be too little too late though for the Eagles, as Cal Lutheran added a pair of runs in the sixth, one in the seventh and three more in the eighth to secure the win.

Lake finished the early game two-for-four, while Iturrey added on a two-for-three performance at the plate.

Cal Lutheran's Preseason All-American, Jake Petersen, earned the win in the first game of the doubleheader, moving to 1-0 on the season.

Game 2 – Cal Lutheran took the early advantage in the second game, scoring a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the first off Emory freshman starter Hans Hansen.  Making his collegiate debut in his home state of California, Hansen would settle in after that, retiring 12 of the next 13 batters he would face.

Emory took a 3-2 lead in the third inning, with Selbach scoring from third on a throwing error after a failed pickoff attempt at first base, and Lake doubling in a pair of runs.  In the fourth, Selbach drove in a run of his own, singling to left field to score junior center fielder Wes Peacock, extending the Eagles' lead to 4-2.

The Kingsmen responded in the fifth inning, scoring three runs in the frame to regain the lead, 5-4.  The Cal Lutheran advantaged would be short-lived, however, as Peacock doubled in Lake and Iturrey with one out in the top of the sixth to put Emory back on top.  Selbach followed with a base hit to drive in Peacock and later scored from third on a steal of second by sophomore Jack Karras to give the Eagles an 8-5 lead. 

Emory added two more in the top of the seventh when Lake and senior catcher Jared Welch scored on a throwing error with two outs.  Lake struck again in the eighth, sending a two-out single to the opposite field to score Karras from second base.

Hansen allowed five runs, three earned, on eight hits over six innings, while striking out three.  Senior Matt McMahon relieved Hansen, holding Cal Lutheran to three runs over an inning and two third, while senior Mike Bitanga closed out the game with a scoreless inning and a third, picking up his first save of the season and his program-best 18^th-career save.

Lake continued his hot start to the season, going four-for-five with two doubles, two runs scored, three RBIs and a stolen base, and is now batting .750 with six runs batted in through the first three games of the campaign.  Selbach added a three-for-four performance with two runs and two RBIs, while Coble added a pair of hits and Peacock drove in a pair runs.



The Eagles will wrap up their season-opening weekend in California on Sunday afternoon, when the squad travels to Pomona-Pitzer Colleges to face the Sagehens at 4:00 PM ET.