The win improves the Lancers to 4-6 overall. The Coyotes fall to 7-3.
Bengard went the distance for the second straight outing and was virtually untouchable, working rapidly and pounding the zone with strikes. Of his 113 pitches, 81 of them were strikes. It took all of one hour and 49 minutes to finish this one.
Bengard's only trouble came in the fifth when the Coyotes got two on with one out and after a wild pitch, they had runners in scoring position. Bengard, though, struck out Aaron Beckley, the Coyotes' leadoff hitter, looking for the second time to end the threat. His only blemish was a solo homer by Remington Miller in the ninth. Remington had two of the Coyotes' four hits.
As much as Bengard was dominating, the Lancer offense sputtered-until the seventh. Matt Daugherty was hit by a pitch to lead it off, and Zach Esquerra delivered a one-out single through the left side. Pinch-hitter Ryan Cathers flied out to the gap in right center for the second out before Chavarria hit a two-out, two-run double on a 1-1 pitch to put the Lancers on the board.
Two batters later, Luke Esquerra singled him in to make it 3-0.
Zach Esquerra popped his third homer of the season in the eighth to make it 4-0 before Miller's solo shot in the ninth ended the shutout.
The Lancers finished with seven hits, four of them coming in the last two innings. Bengard (2-0) finished with eight strikeouts and now has 17 in his past two outings. Kerry Kelley (1-1) took the loss for the Coyotes, working six innings of relief and scattering five hits and allowing three runs.
Both Zach Esquerra and Chavarria had two hits apiece.
The teams will continue their three-game series Friday in Riverside. First pitch at 2 p.m.
