Escalante Grand Slam Pulls Oxy Close but Tigers Drop a Pair to Cal Lutheran

THOUSAND OAKS, CALIF.  (April 4, 2009) – A seventh inning rally gave the Tigers hope as Alyssa Escalante connected for a two-out grand-slam to pull Occidental within a pair at Cal Lutheran on Saturday afternoon, but in the end the black and orange came up just short, falling 8-7 in game two after being shut out in the opener.

Occidental opened up an early 1-0 lead in the second when Nicole Hannasch drove in Lindsay Gross who reached on an error and moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt by Stephanie Egan.

Starting pitcher Shanna Yackel got into trouble in the fifth inning as the Regals connected for four hits, highlighted by a three-RBI double by their catcher Emily Robertson. Kimi Elguea came on in relief to get a line-drive to first base where Alyssa Smith dove back to the bag completing the double play. Elguea got out of the inning on a ground ball back to the mound.

Oxy shortstop Gabriela Chavez tripled to right field to lead off the sixth inning, cutting the Tigers’ deficit to 4-2.

CLU again looked to Robertson in the bottom of the sixth as she connected for a three-run homerun to centerfield, setting a Cal Lutheran career record for homeruns in a career, to give the Regals an 8-2 advantage.

The young Tigers continued to battle, clawing their way back into the game. Britt Karp reached on an error before Hannasch and Rebecca Nashleanas each singled to left field. With two outs Escalante came up and drilled a pitch over the left centerfield fence to get the Tigers within two runs. Smith immediately singled and scored on a triple off the bat of Tasha Serna-Gallegos. A line drive ended the threat, denying the Tigers their second Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory of the season.

Cal Lutheran (18-11, 6-7 SCIAC) scored in the second inning of the first game, marking the ultimate winning run. Oxy managed just two hits against Cal Lutheran pitcher Talia Ferrari (9-6) who earned the win. The Regals added three runs in the sixth, all unearned, as Occidental fell 4-0.

Serna-Gallegos finished the day with three hits while Smith, Escalante and Chavez finished with two hits apiece. Yackel (7-9) was tagged with the loss in both games. as Occidental falls to 12-15 overall, 1-13 in SCIAC play.

Defensively the Tigers turned three double-plays in the second game

The Tigers will be back in action next Saturday, April 11, when they host Whittier College for a pair beginning at noon on Bell Field.