Author: Alex Nieves
Fueled by solid hitting performances and bullpen relief, the Occidental College baseball team was able to pick up two big wins over conference foe Redlands University this past weekend, overcoming the Bulldogs 2-1 in the series. With the victories, the Tigers hit the 20-win mark and now sit just four wins away from eclipsing last year’s record-setting win total. The team has also placed itself in prime position to move upward in the SCIAC standings.
Game one of the series was a hard fought match-up, but the Tigers clawed out a 5-3 victory. Third baseman A.J. Libunao (sophomore) led the charge for Occidental’s offense, notching his third home run of the season. The bomb soared over the left field fence in the bottom of the sixth inning and gave Libunao his 21st RBI on the season, placing him in second on the team in RBI.
Six other Tigers contributed to the team’s 12 hits in the contest. Alec Strain (junior) went 3 for 4 with a run while Logan Allen (senior) and sophomores Victor Munoz, Jonathan Brooks and Chris Strain all tallied at least one RBI. Scott Hong (senior) added two more hits and three steals.
Starting pitcher Joseph Kling (sophomore) notched another solid outing, throwing 4.1 scoreless innings and striking out five batters. Four other pitchers combined for two earned runs and John Ugai (junior) earned the win with one inning of scoreless relief.
“I felt pretty sharp against Redlands,” Kling said. “All of my pitches seemed to be working and I was able to keep guys off balance. The team knows that each series is really important if we’re going to make a run, so everyone has cranked the focus up a notch.”
Elliot Smith got tagged with the loss for Redlands, marking the first time that the Bulldogs’ ace has dropped a decision all season.
In the second game of the series, Occidental held a one-run lead through 6.5 innings, but could not hold off the Bulldogs, losing 4-2.
Scott Hong started the game for the Tigers, pitching six innings with one earned run and five strikeouts. Occidental’s relief pitching could not hold on to the narrow 2-1 lead as the Bulldogs plated three runners in the bottom of the seventh. The loss was credited to Josh Bendig (first-year), his first of the season.
Riley Smith (junior), who went 2 for 4 on the contest with an RBI, combined with Allen to produce five of Occidental’s seven hits, but the Bulldogs’ pitching kept the rest of the Tigers’ bats quiet.
The loss marked the first time that head coach Luke Wetmore, a Redlands graduate, lost to his alma mater.
Game three offered Occidental the opportunity to bounce back from its tough loss earlier in the day, and the team took on the challenge, pulling out an 8-7 victory.
The Tigers’ batters teed-off the Bulldogs pitching and once again posted a team 12-hit performance.
Individually, Allen stole the show. The shortstop crushed a ball over the wall in left center in the seventh inning, breaking a then 5-5 tie, and plated an RBI double in the eighth. Allen, who finished with three RBI, added three runs scored and two stolen bases to his stat line. He was pleased with his ability to step up for the black and orange.
“It’s very exciting to help contribute and get the offense going,” Allen said. “When we fire on all cylinders we’re very hard to beat.”
Brooks contributed to Occidental’s offensive production, going 3 for 4 with a triple and three RBI. He is now hitting .452 in 84 plate appearances and leads the team with 22 RBI.
With the Redlands series in the books, Occidental holds a 20-9 record with six regular season games left to play.
The Tigers currently sit in fourth place in the SCIAC and trail La Verne by just one game. Occidental’s upcoming series against La Verne will be make-or-break for the Tigers, as they attempt to clinch the third seed heading into the SCIAC playoffs.
Occidental returns to the diamond on Friday with an away game against La Verne at Mt. Sac at 7 p.m. followed by a home doubleheader against the Leopards on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
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