LOS ANGELES, Calif. – In the Tigers' return to Anderson Field, the homecoming was a happy one as the Occidental College baseball team scored 10 in the seventh, capped off by a two-run walk-off homerun off the bat of freshman Van Fudge as Occidental defeated Caltech 16-5 in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play today under sunny skies in warm temperatures.
It was a day when a number of underclassmen took advantage of their opportunities on the diamond. Eight of the Tigers' 18 hits came from the six through nine spots in the order, occupied by freshman and sophomores who went on to score seven runs.
Caltech got out to an early 4-0 lead in the second when 10 men went to the plate, but after that Tyler Eyrich, who retired the side in order in the first, regained his composure and surrendered just two more hits the rest of the way. The junior southpaw earned his first win of the spring, tossing a 7.0 innings complete game, striking out eight while scattering five hits and allowing five runs with just one earned.
Occidental mimicked the CIT second in the bottom of the third with 10 Tigers digging into the box, scoring six runs on six hits. Sophomore left fielder Jacob Coleman led off with a double to left center and freshman catcher Josh White singled and stole second. That was when things got a little unusual. On a pick-off attempt at second, obstruction was called on the fielder, sending White to third, scoring Coleman for the first Oxy run of the afternoon. Anthony Salsedo, Logan Allen and Stephen Hilliard followed up with a pair of RBI singles and an RBI double, respectively. Pedro Aldape was hit by a pitch and the duo went on to successfully complete a double steal. Freshman third baseman David Feasler then doubled in the final two runs of the inning, ultimately, the winning one.
The flood gates opened in the seventh as Oxy scored 10 times on seven hits and one Caltech error. Aldape and second baseman Mitch Margolis connected for back-to-back singles to knock CIT starting pitcher, Rob Rosenberg, off the hill. Fudge pinch hit and reached on a fielders choice, driving in a Aldape. Freshman pinch hitter Joey Massari singled and White was hit by a pitch to load the bags. Salsedo drew a walk and another fielders choice, by Kevin Ozaki, pushed another run across the plate. An error allowed Allen to reach and then Hilliard connected for a two-RBI double. Aldape added an RBI hit of his own before Kevin Spaulding stepped up to the plate as a pinch hitter, getting the largest ovation of the day. The sophomore quickly singled and stole second before Fudge ended the contest with a line-drive homerun to left field, ending the game with respect to the 10-run rule implemented this spring.
Every batter who dug into the box recorded at least one hit and six players had two hits in the game including Salsedo, Ozaki, Allen, Hilliard, Aldape and White. Aldape scored a trio of times while Hilliard and Fudge each drove in a team-high three runs.
Occidental (11-22, 7-15 SCIAC) will host Cal Lutheran University tomorrow. Earlier this season the Tigers and Kingsmen got halted due to rain in the fourth inning. The teams will complete that game, beginning at 11:00 a.m. before playing their regularly scheduled single game at 1:00 p.m. Live stats of the game will be available and live video will be available for game two.
Article by Tracy Maple, Sports Information Director
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – In the Tigers' return to Anderson Field, the homecoming was a happy one as the Occidental College baseball team scored 10 in the seventh, capped off by a two-run walk-off homerun off the bat of freshman Van Fudge as Occidental defeated Caltech 16-5 in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play today under sunny skies in warm temperatures.
It was a day when a number of underclassmen took advantage of their opportunities on the diamond. Eight of the Tigers' 18 hits came from the six through nine spots in the order, occupied by freshman and sophomores who went on to score seven runs.
Caltech got out to an early 4-0 lead in the second when 10 men went to the plate, but after that Tyler Eyrich, who retired the side in order in the first, regained his composure and surrendered just two more hits the rest of the way. The junior southpaw earned his first win of the spring, tossing a 7.0 innings complete game, striking out eight while scattering five hits and allowing five runs with just one earned.
Occidental mimicked the CIT second in the bottom of the third with 10 Tigers digging into the box, scoring six runs on six hits. Sophomore left fielder Jacob Coleman led off with a double to left center and freshman catcher Josh White singled and stole second. That was when things got a little unusual. On a pick-off attempt at second, obstruction was called on the fielder, sending White to third, scoring Coleman for the first Oxy run of the afternoon. Anthony Salsedo, Logan Allen and Stephen Hilliard followed up with a pair of RBI singles and an RBI double, respectively. Pedro Aldape was hit by a pitch and the duo went on to successfully complete a double steal. Freshman third baseman David Feasler then doubled in the final two runs of the inning, ultimately, the winning one.
The flood gates opened in the seventh as Oxy scored 10 times on seven hits and one Caltech error. Aldape and second baseman Mitch Margolis connected for back-to-back singles to knock CIT starting pitcher, Rob Rosenberg, off the hill. Fudge pinch hit and reached on a fielders choice, driving in a Aldape. Freshman pinch hitter Joey Massari singled and White was hit by a pitch to load the bags. Salsedo drew a walk and another fielders choice, by Kevin Ozaki, pushed another run across the plate. An error allowed Allen to reach and then Hilliard connected for a two-RBI double. Aldape added an RBI hit of his own before Kevin Spaulding stepped up to the plate as a pinch hitter, getting the largest ovation of the day. The sophomore quickly singled and stole second before Fudge ended the contest with a line-drive homerun to left field, ending the game with respect to the 10-run rule implemented this spring.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – In the Tigers' return to Anderson Field, the homecoming was a happy one as the Occidental College baseball team scored 10 in the seventh, capped off by a two-run walk-off homerun off the bat of freshman Van Fudge as Occidental defeated Caltech 16-5 in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play today under sunny skies in warm temperatures.
It was a day when a number of underclassmen took advantage of their opportunities on the diamond. Eight of the Tigers' 18 hits came from the six through nine spots in the order, occupied by freshman and sophomores who went on to score seven runs.
Caltech got out to an early 4-0 lead in the second when 10 men went to the plate, but after that Tyler Eyrich, who retired the side in order in the first, regained his composure and surrendered just two more hits the rest of the way. The junior southpaw earned his first win of the spring, tossing a 7.0 innings complete game, striking out eight while scattering five hits and allowing five runs with just one earned.
Occidental mimicked the CIT second in the bottom of the third with 10 Tigers digging into the box, scoring six runs on six hits. Sophomore left fielder Jacob Coleman led off with a double to left center and freshman catcher Josh White singled and stole second. That was when things got a little unusual. On a pick-off attempt at second, obstruction was called on the fielder, sending White to third, scoring Coleman for the first Oxy run of the afternoon. Anthony Salsedo, Logan Allen and Stephen Hilliard followed up with a pair of RBI singles and an RBI double, respectively. Pedro Aldape was hit by a pitch and the duo went on to successfully complete a double steal. Freshman third baseman David Feasler then doubled in the final two runs of the inning, ultimately, the winning one.
The flood gates opened in the seventh as Oxy scored 10 times on seven hits and one Caltech error. Aldape and second baseman Mitch Margolis connected for back-to-back singles to knock CIT starting pitcher, Rob Rosenberg, off the hill. Fudge pinch hit and reached on a fielders choice, driving in a Aldape. Freshman pinch hitter Joey Massari singled and White was hit by a pitch to load the bags. Salsedo drew a walk and another fielders choice, by Kevin Ozaki, pushed another run across the plate. An error allowed Allen to reach and then Hilliard connected for a two-RBI double. Aldape added an RBI hit of his own before Kevin Spaulding stepped up to the plate as a pinch hitter, getting the largest ovation of the day. The sophomore quickly singled and stole second before Fudge ended the contest with a line-drive homerun to left field, ending the game with respect to the 10-run rule implemented this spring.
Every batter who dug into the box recorded at least one hit and six players had two hits in the game including Salsedo, Ozaki, Allen, Hilliard, Aldape and White. Aldape scored a trio of times while Hilliard and Fudge each drove in a team-high three runs.
Occidental (11-22, 7-15 SCIAC) will host Cal Lutheran University tomorrow. Earlier this season the Tigers and Kingsmen got halted due to rain in the fourth inning. The teams will complete that game, beginning at 11:00 a.m. before playing their regularly scheduled single game at 1:00 p.m. Live stats of the game will be available and live video will be available for game two.
Article by Tracy Maple, Sports Information Director
Every batter who dug into the box recorded at least one hit and six players had two hits in the game including Salsedo, Ozaki, Allen, Hilliard, Aldape and White. Aldape scored a trio of times while Hilliard and Fudge each drove in a team-high three runs.
Occidental (11-22, 7-15 SCIAC) will host Cal Lutheran University tomorrow. Earlier this season the Tigers and Kingsmen got halted due to rain in the fourth inning. The teams will complete that game, beginning at 11:00 a.m. before playing their regularly scheduled single game at 1:00 p.m. Live stats of the game will be available and live video will be available for game two.
Article by Tracy Maple, Sports Information Director
