LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Occidental College earned a 4-3 victory in the opening game of a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference double-header with Whittier College, but the Poets returned the feat in game two, earning a 6-0 victory for a Sunday split on the diamond.

Senior shortstop Gabriela Chavez was 5-for-5 in her first five at-bats of the day, scoring the ultimate winning run of game one while posting a perfect fielding percentage with six putouts and seven assists today. Meghan Luera and Jacqueline Shimamoto each has multi-hit days as well.

In the bottom of the second inning of game one Lindsay Gross was hit by a pitch and Jerika Barron drew a walk to get the Tigers back to the top of the order. Shimamoto went with the Heather Dady offering, lining a double down the left field line to clear the bases and put a crooked number on the board. Chavez fouled off pitches left and right, down both lines and when she squared up on the ball, connected for an RBI single to the left side, pushing the lead to 3-0.

Courtney DeLano moved from the designated player spot to the circle in the second and to lead off the fourth she helped her own cause. A homerun soared to straight-away center field, hitting the top of the fence and bouncing over despite a defensive effort by Shimamoto at the wall.

In the fifth, with two outs, Ashley Noone nearly threw out a base stealer from her knees, but Ashley Perez got in just under the tag by Chavez. A walk and a pass ball put runners at second and third. DeLano lined a single to right, scoring both to knot things at 3-3.

Occidental quickly regained the lead in the bottom of the frame when Chavez came sliding home a Patricia Phillimeano RBI, reaching on a fielders choice. The Tigers threatened for more when Tasha Serna-Gallegos singled to the right side, but an aggressive Meghan Luera, who singled earlier in the inning advancing to second on Phillimeano's hit, was thrown out at the plate for the final out of the inning.

Brittany Vacura (6-2) was credited with the win as she scattered four hits while striking out three.

Whittier controlled the momentum of the second game, scoring with an unearned run in the first on early Tigers' jitters before adding five in the fifth for the 6-0 win. Each team collected five hits in the second game.

Occidental threatened in the second and third, leaving five runners on base.

It was the fourth inning when the that energy shifted. A fly ball to centerfield initially looked as if though it would fall for a Poets' hit, but Shimamoto covered a lot of ground making a shoe-string catch and fired the ball to the plate where Whittier center fielder Cindy Loza tagged up and tried to score, avoiding the tag at home, but neglecting to touch the plate and returning to the dugout. The Tigers won the appeal and the third out of the inning was called.

In the fifth, Amber Garland sat down her counterpart, DeLano, looking at strike three for the first out of the inning but a trio of walks to load the bases. Janea Townsend promptly singled to center field, scoring a pair. After a line drive to center for the second out of the inning, Nikki Mendoza followed Townend's lead with a solid hit up the middle, scoring two more and opening the game up.

Although the Tigers put two men on in the bottom of the seventh, they were held without a run.

Whittier (9-5, 3-5 SCIAC) was led in the second game by Townsend who was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run. DeLano earned the victory for the Poets while Garland (1-2) was tagged with the loss.

Occidental (7-4, 3-4) will be back on the diamond Tuesday, March 8 at noon when they host Swarthmore College in a non-conference double-header on Bell Field.

Article by Tracy Maple, Sports Information Director