Box Score By Michael Wells
Sports Information Director
CLAREMONT — Check off another milestone for Oxy shortstop Logan Allen (Atascadero).
The senior broke 200 hits for his career and the Occidental College baseball team finished in a tie for third in the regular season SCIAC standings, beating Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 9-8 in their regular season finale at Arce Field on Tuesday.
Allen, who earlier this year became Oxy's all-time hits leader, bounced an RBI-single through the left side in the top of the fourth for No. 200, scoring Scott Hong (Los Angeles) from third to break a 3-3 tie. In his next at bat, he added to his Oxy career doubles record, sending his 39th two-bagger into left center before checking out of the game with a hug from coach Luke Wetmore and fist pounds from his teammates.
"He's a special player and we are lucky to have him for at least two more games," Wetmore said. "It's great to see his hard work paying off and that he and our other seniors are finally getting a chance to play for a SCIAC Championship."
Allen also extended his hitting streak to 12 games and has now hit safely in 31 of 37 games played this year.
The Tigers end the season 26-13 overall and 17-11 in SCIAC play. Oxy has a rich tradition with 23 SCIAC championships, but has had mostly losing seasons in the last 30 years, with a handful of exceptions. Since the Tigers' last SCIAC Championship in 1982, only the 2012, 1990, 1987, 1985, 1984 and 1983 squads have finished with winning records. The 2013 team's winning percentage is the best.
It was quite a finish, but Oxy isn't done. The Tigers clinched the No. 4 seed in the inaugural SCIAC Postseason baseball tournament last Saturday and will face top-seeded and national No. 11 Cal Lutheran to open the double elimination tournament in Thousand Oaks on Friday.
The Tigers jumped out in front of the Stags twice, but each time CMS made it a game. Three of Oxy's seniors — Allen, Hong and Pedro Aldape (Sherman Oaks) — were hit by a pitch in the first inning and then Johnathan Brooks (Huntington Beach) drove in Allen and Hong, giving Oxy a 2-0 lead in the first. Hong hit a sacrifice fly in the second, scoring Jacob Lee (Olympia, Wash.) from third.
Hong swiped three bases in the game, putting him at 32 for the season, just three shy of Oxy's single season record.
CMS got back to even in the third. A.J. Libunao (Huntington Beach) helped Oxy starter C.J. Maruyama (Danville) put an end to the big inning with an unassisted out at third on a grounder and then a good start to a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Lee, Libunao and Van Fudge (Corvallis, Ore.) singled in runs and Alex Strain (Sacramento) brought in another with a sacrifice fly, putting Oxy up 8-3 at the end of the top of the seventh.
CMS rallied again, putting up four runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull within one, 8-7.
In the eighth, Oxy catcher Victor Munoz (La Verne) hit a sacrifice fly that brought home Trevor Lecka (Newbury Park) to give Oxy a two-run cushion that proved necessary when CMS added one more in the bottom of half.
Mitch Margolis (Calabasas) earned the win for Oxy, pitching a pair of scoreless innings in relief. Lecka earned his first career save.
"It's great to play a close game to get ready for what's going to be a tight, hard-fought conference tournament," Wetmore said. "Now we set our sights on preparing for Cal Lu on Friday."
