CLAREMONT, Calif. (May 1, 2010) – Occidental College third baseman Stephen Hilliard was a triple shy of the cycle as the Tigers put up a fight late before falling to the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 2010 Champion and NO. 11 Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens by a 7-6 margin at Alumni Stadium.
Oxy took an early 2-0 lead when Hilliard connected for his second homerun of the season but PP retaliated with a three-run homerun of their own, from Erik Munzer, in the bottom of the first, leaving the Tigers down 3-2.
Anthony Salsedo, who scored the other first inning run after singling, started a two-out rally with a single in the third. He quickly stole second and came around to score when Hilliard sent a double to right field, knotting the game at three apiece.
Munzer then helped the Sagehens add two runs in the third. The first he drove in with a triple, as he finished a single shy of the cycle, and then he scored on a wild pitch to put PP up 5-3.
The Sagehens led off both the fourth and fifth innings with doubles and scored one in each frame to take a 7-3 lead.
On the final day of the season the Tigers would not go down without a fight, pulling a run closer in the eighth when shortstop Logan Allen singled and stole a base before Salsedo knocked him in.
In the ninth, the Black and Orange led off with three consecutive singles from pinch hitters Tyler Eyrich and Dale Garrett and leadoff man Allen. Daniel Kelley and Salsedo each drove in a run, cutting the deficit to one. With men on the corners, the Oxy season came to an end, falling 7-6 to the nationally ranked Sagehens (29-9, 23-5 SCIAC).
Allen, Salsedo and Hilliard each had multi-hit games for the Tigers. In his final at-bat donning the Black and Orange of Occidental, Glenn Gray connected for a single to centerfield. He also drew a walk in the game.
Ross Pomerantz got the start on the mound and tossed 6.0 innings before turning the ball over to Brooks Belter who shut the Sagehens down in the final two innings. Belter allowed just one hit and each pitcher struck out one batter.
David Colvin earned his sixth win of the season for Pomona-Pitzer, before James Kang came on to pick up his fifth save of the year.
Occidental finished the 2010 season with an overall record of 14-25 while posting an 11-17 SCIAC mark.
Article by: Tracy Maple, Sports Information Director
