LOS ANGELES — Down 6-0 early in the game, the Occidental baseball team put together a huge fifth inning, scoring six runs to tie the game, on its way to an 8-7 comeback win against Spalding on Friday.

The win ends a three-game skid for the Tigers and sends them into the final two games of a busy spring break schedule.

Oxy improves to 12-6 overall and the Eagles drop to 1-1.

With a six-run deficit heading into the bottom of the fifth, Victor Munoz led off the inning with a bang, blasting a pitch to left center that bounced off the top of the wall for an easy double. Johnathan Brooks followed it up with a single to center field, moving Munoz to third.

A.J. Libunao got the Tigers on the board, singling to right field to bring in Munoz.

The Tigers kept the runs rolling. Jonathan Wong hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Brooks, and then Charlie Caccamo, who leads Oxy with twenty-five hits, singled to left field to score Jake Chambers and Libunao.

Devon DeRaad finished the inning with a two-RBI double to right center that scored Caccamo and Brady Fuller to tie the game, 6-6. Oxy recorded six of its 10 hits in the inning.

The Tigers' momentum carried into the bottom of the sixth. Spalding pitcher Chance Brinley walked Brooks and then threw a wild pitch into the dirt to put Oxy's go-ahead run in scoring position. Brinley couldn't regain control, walking Libunao and hitting Wong to load the bases.

Fuller took advantage, sending a pitch to deep center field for a two-RBI single, putting the Tigers up for good.

The Eagles added a run in the top of the ninth to bring the final score to 8-7.

Stong Relief: After giving up six runs in the first two innings, the Tigers went to their bullpen to regain control of the game and try to quiet the Eagles' bats.

"That's a good team out there. Our bullpen was absolutely lights out," Oxy head coach Luke Wetmore said. "They threw a ton of strikes and controlled the run game, so they did their job. Our bullpen gave us a chance to creep back into it, which kept the momentum and emotion on our side."

Josh Cohen stepped in for 1 1/3 third innings and helped settle Oxy's defense. Scott Ericksen pitched two innings with two strikeouts to pick up the win, and DeRaad finished the game and struck out four to get the save.

From the Coach: "Three tag words in our program are attitude, concentration, and effort, and our concentration wasn't where it needed to be. With three games in three days I kind of understand where they're coming from, so I just wanted to regroup everyone and bring back our focus," Wetmore said, referencing an offensive timeout taken early in the game.

"We have expectations for how we handle ourselves, regardless of the score or opponent," Wetmore continued. "We play a certain way. It wasn't the greatest baseball, but they played hard, played together, played with fight and determination, and that's why today down 6-0, they didn't give up."

Next Game: The Tigers continue their busy spring break schedule in a doubleheader tomorrow against Rutgers-Newark. Game 1 begins at 11:00 AM.