PASADENA, Calif. (May 2, 2009) – On the final day of the
2009 baseball season, Occidental College cruised to a pair of
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference wins, 23-3 and 21-5, over the Caltech Beavers after a
close battle on senior day at Anderson Field in which Oxy won 3-1
on Friday afternoon.
The five-man senior class enjoyed a productive two days on the
diamond. Offensively the duo of first baseman and pitcher
Kieran Doherty and third baseman Richie
Veihl paced the Tigers each going 5-for-7 at the plate on
the weekend with a combined eight runs scored and 12 RBIs. Both
backstops, Cameron Yuen-Shore and Spencer
Woolwine, tripled, with Yuen-Shore collecting a pair with
six RBIs.
The pitching pair of Noel Banuelos and
Matthew Jones combined for the win and save,
respectively, on Friday afternoon. Banuelos struck out nine,
recording his 100th career K in the seventh inning as he
scattered six hits allowing one run in 7.1 innings of work. Jones
came on in relief in the seventh to get a double-play ball before
retiring the side in order in the ninth, including a strike out
looking to end his final appearance in black and orange.
Tied 1-1 in the sixth, Glenn Gray scored the
winning run on a sac fly by Veihl before Doherty added an insurance
run, by way of a homerun down the right field line, in the seventh.
In game one on Saturday Veihl and Yuen-Shore each drove in four
runs while 13 batters reached base and either scored or drove in a
run. Shortstop Jason Jebbia was 2-for-3 with four
RBIs and five runs scored as he connected for back-to-back two-run
homeruns in the fourth and fifth innings. He also swiped two bags
as he reached base in five of six plate appearances.
Brooks Belter got the start and win, tossing
3.0 innings without allowing a run, before handing the ball over to
southpaw Kris Suzuki who went on to strike out
seven in 4.0 innings of work.
The final game of the spring also turned out to be a career day
for sophomore starter Nicholas Smallman who struck
out 12 batters (five looking) in 5.0 innings. He scattered three
hits and walked one, allowing no runs. Doherty took the ball,
finishing his collegiate career with three strike outs, including
the final batter he faced.
Jebbia continued his offensive explosion reaching base six
times, going 4-for-4 with four runs and three RBIs. Anthony
Salsedo and Daniel Kelley each had
three-hit games while Veihl, Gray and Yuen-Shore were responsible
for two hits apiece.
The Tigers conclude the 2009 season with an overall record of
16-24 and posted a 6-15 SCIAC record.
Prior to the final home game at Occidental the five seniors were
recognized and thanked for their contributions to the baseball
program during the course of the last four seasons.
