LOS ANGELES — The Occidental College softball team continued its SCIAC play as they hosted the Whitter College for a Saturday afternoon doubleheader at the Bell Field.

Game 1: Whittier 6, Occidental 1

Starting pitcher Brittany Vacura (Elk Grove) kept the Occidental Tigers in the game until the end, but a critical error in the 7th inning proved to be the Tigers' undoing as Oxy dropped the first game of its doubleheader against Whittier College, 6-1.

After giving up two early runs, Vacura steadied herself and gave the

Tigers a chance to win as she took the Tigers into the 7th inning with a one-run deficit. However, after Vacura gave up a leadoff single to Whittier's Xzandra Miranda-Castro, Oxy committed an error that kept the inning alive for the Poets.

Whittier took advantage of it as they scored four unearned runs in the inning.

Vacura went the distance, giving up two earned runs.

Oxy bats couldn't solve Whittier starter Courtney DeLano either, as they could only muster two hits in the game. Junior backstop Ashley Noone (Orange) sacrificed home Jerika Barron (Half Moon Bay) in the third inning for the Tigers' only run of the game.

Game 2: Whittier 13, Occidental 3

Occidental couldn't cool off Whittier's red-hot offense as they lost the second game of the doubleheader, 13-3.

The Tigers got off to a good start. In the first inning, Jacqueline Shimamoto (Santa Clarita) tripled through the right side to put herself in the scoring position. Noone brought Shimamoto home in the following at bat with a single down the right field line to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

Freshman right fielder Kristine Kocjan (Redwood City) made a pair of nice defensive plays in the middle innings to limit the early damage.

After Whittier scored two runs in the fourth inning to go up by two, Kocjan got an excellent jump on a diving fly ball to make the final putout of the inning with runners on first and second. In the very next inning, with a runner on first, Whittier's Samantha Mellano hit a sharp line drive to the gap in the right center for what looked to be a sure double. However, Kocjan made another good read and made a running catch going to her right.

Oxy fought hard until the end. With two outs in the bottom of the 7th, Shimamoto doubled to deep left center to drive in Barron and Kathleen McLain (D.C.).

Shimamoto was perfect on the day, going 2-for-2 with 2 RBI, a run scored, and drawing a pair of walks.