LOS ANGELES — It looked good through seven innings, then the game quickly turned the wrong way for the Occidental College baseball team.

Oxy's Pedro Aldape (Sherman Oaks) nailed his seventh hit in three games over the left field wall, Tigers ace Tyler Eyrich (Stevenson Ranch) added a solid effort from the bump and the Tigers (2-1) led 2-1 into the eighth.

But when Eyrich ran out of gas, reliever Mitch Margolis (Calabasas) gave up back-to-back homers to Tyler Pfeffer, then JR Jarrell and Oxy fell to Whitworth University 4-2 at Anderson Field in the first game of a three-game series with the Pirates this weekend.

"We played well the entire game. We were really just one pitch away," Occidental college baseball coach Luke Wetmore said. "Eighth inning, runner on third, we bring in our guy and he just misses his spot."

Logan Allen (Atascadero), Oxy's All-West Region shortstop, was three feet away from a game-tying home run in the bottom half of the eighth, but Pfeffer tracked it down for an out at the warning track in left field.

"I was hoping, but I didn't think he got it as well as he did those two last week," Wetmore said, referring to Allen's two home runs on opening day against La Sierra. "We hit some balls hard that they caught and they hit some balls hard they we couldn't catch."

Aldape, who had six hits last weekend in a pair of opening day wins over La Sierra University, tattooed a fast ball from Spencer Ansett for his second solo shot of the season and the game's first run in the second.

Oxy manufactured a second run following the right-handed first baseman's bomb. Brent Wunner bunted over Jonathan Wong, who reached on a double. Then A.J. Libunao's fielder's choice to the right side of the infield brought home Wong, giving Oxy a 2-0 lead.

Pfeffer hit his first home run of the game in the sixth inning, cutting the Tigers lead in half.

Eyrich went 7.1 innings, allowing just eight hits and two earned runs in the no decision.

The Tigers ace had to pitch out of self-imposed jams throughout the game, particularly in the first and second innings.

The Pirates strung together back-to-back singles in the first, but Scott Hong (Los Angeles) gunned out Whitworth's Gerhard Muelheims from right field, catching the leadoff hitter trying to advance to third. Eyrich struck out JR Jarrell two batters later to end the inning.

In the second, after sitting down Whitworth's first two batters, Eyrich gave up a single to Joshua Davis, and then hit Nick Motsinger. But again the lefty got himself out of trouble, getting Muelheims swinging.

From there he put away six consecutive hitters in the third and fourth.

David Feasler (Park City, Utah) finished off the game from the rubber with 1.2 shut out innings for Oxy.

"Feasler came in and threw strikes," Wetmore said. "He went up against a string of three lefties and he absolutely dominated his two innings."

Pfeffer was 2 for 3 with two home runs and three RBIs for the Pirates. Wong and Riley Smith (Bellevue, Wash.) each had a pair of hits for the Tigers.

Ansett earned the win for Whitworth and Margolis the loss for Oxy.

The series continues tomorrow with a double header, starting at 10 a.m. at Anderson Field.

"The best thing about baseball is we get two more tomorrow," Wetmore said.