LOS ANGELES — La Verne's 3-0 sweep of Caltech to start the SCIAC season wasn't nearly as impressive as the Occidental College baseball team taking three from defending SCIAC champion Redlands, but the Leopards were the more impressive undefeated team on Friday.

ULV scored four runs early, then added a four-run sixth and an insurance run in the seventh, beating Oxy 9-5 at Anderson Field in the first game of a three-game stretch between the schools this weekend.

Oxy (8-4, 3-1 SCIAC), which hadn't beaten Redlands since 2010 and had won five of its last six, had its four-game win streak come to an end and surrendered first place to the Leopards (8-3, 4-0 SCIAC).

"They played better than us and they deserved to win that game," Occidental coach Luke Wetmore said. "They played catch across the diamond, and we gave them too much stuff in key situations with there big guys coming up."

La Verne jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on back-to-back doubles by Jacob Ludvik and George Hanna. Hanna, who drove in Ludvik, moved to third on a single by Jason Moralez, then scored on Albert Ramos' sacrifice fly to right field.

Oxy answered back in the bottom of the first inning that looked almost the same as the top half.

Logan Allen (Atascadero) led off the inning with a double to the gap in right center, and scored on a throwing error. Then Scott Hong (Hong) hit his 12^th extra-base hit in 12 games, a double that scored Riley Smith (Bellevue, Wash.), and Jonathan Wong (Grizzly Flats) brought in Smith on a sac fly to center two batters later, giving Oxy a 3-2 lead.

But La Verne added two more in the second, to retake the lead 4-3.

Oxy starter Tyler Eyrich (Stevenson Ranch) cruised for the next four innings until La Verne knocked him out of the game in the sixth.

With runners on first and second, Eyrich overthrew first base on Hanna's bunt down the third-base line, scoring Albert Ramos. The Leopards scored on two SAC flies, then Moralez hit solo home run off of Tigers relief pitcher Mitch Margolis (Calabasas) before Oxy finally got out of the inning.

Eyrich, who gave up four earned runs in 5.2 innings, lost his first game of the season after winning his first three decisions. Nathon Rollon picked up the win for ULV.

The Tigers loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the sixth, but managed just a pair of runs.

Hong, who went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored, extended his hitting streak to eight games.

"He's a special player," Wetmore said. "He's confident and that's why he hits. He has absolute faith in what he does and he believes that he'll get the job done."

Logan Allen was 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored for the Tigers.

Oxy and ULV continue their series at Azusa Pacific University tomorrow with a double header. First game starts at 11 a.m.

 "The Best thing is we get to play two games tomorrow," Wetmore said. "We can play better than that and we will play better than that."