Baseball Takes Two from Cal Lutheran

Occidental took two of three games from nine-time SCIAC champion Cal Lutheran March 30-31, another step forward in the continuing improvement of the Tiger baseball program.  Cal Lutheran entered the weekend series with a 44-2 all-time record against Occidental but has now lost three of the last six meetings.  

The Tigers finished the weekend with a 14-13 overall record, 6-6 in SCIAC play.  Cal Lutheran (16-9, 8-4 SCIAC) fell to third place in the SCIAC standings, one game behind La Verne and two behind Redlands.  

Occidental came from behind in both victories, scoring five runs over the final six innings en route to a 6-3 victory in game one on Saturday.   Jayson Williams '07 allowed eight hits in eight innings and picked up his first win of the season, holding Cal Lutheran to just four hits over the last five.   Phillip Kafka '09, a transfer from UMass-Amherst, retired the Kingsmen in the ninth inning and collected his first Occidental save.

A pair of Cal Lutheran errors set the table for a three-run Occidental rally in the eighth inning.  Spencer Woolwine '09 delivered his second key hit of the series, a bases-loaded double that gave Oxy a 5-3 advantage.   Adam Franks '08 singled to lead off the ninth and scored an insurance run on an RBI base hit by Patrick Sarkissian '10. 

Franks and Glenn Gray '10 recorded three hits apiece.  Matt Andersen '08 went 2 for 3 with a double and a run scored.

On Friday at Anderson Field, Occidental held a five-run lead heading into the sixth inning but needed a three-run rally in the bottom of the eighth to pull out the 8-6 win.   The Tigers plated the tying run after a bases-loaded bobble at shortstop. Kingsmen closer Peter Birdwell plunked Woolwine and Franks walked to score the Tigers' final run.

Woolwine started a four-run rally in the fourth inning with a line drive home run down the right field line.  Gray singled to drive in two more and later scored on a base hit by Sarkissian.  Kafka shut out the Kingsmen over the final 2 2/3, recording his second win of the season.  

The Tigers left ten runners on base in the series finale, a 5-2 Cal Lutheran win.  Noel Banuelos '09 worked seven solid innings, allowing five runs on ten hits, and Marcus Stoiber '09 pitched a scoreless eighth.  Geoff Ball '10 recorded two of the Tigers' seven hits and scored an unearned run in the first inning.

The Tigers begin a five-game homestand on Wednesday with a 3pm date against San Diego Christian College.  Whitworth College (9-14, 7-7), a member of the powerful Northwest Conference, comes to Anderson Field for a three-game series April 6 & 7.  Friday's game starts at 3pm with a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 10am.