Photo by samsphotoservices.com

By Kendrick Mooney

LOS ANGELES – Occidental played some of its best softball of the season on Saturday, beating first-place La Verne 3-2 in the first game of a doubleheader at Bell Field.

The Tigers fell 5-2 in Game 2

With good defense behind her, Dallas Boyce threw a complete game two-hitter, with three strikeouts and just one earned run.

"Dallas pitched an excellent game today and executed well under pressure," Oxy head coach Ali Haehnel said. "Overall it was a very good showing against a very good team."

The Tigers took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning as Mackensie Priley hit a double into center to bring home Stephanie Stamnes and Cayman Hunter.

The Leopards tied it up 2-2 in the fifth with an RBI from Alexis Schiff.

Tied 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh with runners on second and third, Alexis Funaki stepped up to the plate and hit a shot to short that was bobbled, bringing home Nyla Gatison for a walk-off vitory.

The Tigers took an early lead in Game 2 with Bailey Stevens singling in a run, but the Leopards scored three runs in the third inning and kept the advantage the rest of game.

Priley finished the day 3 for 6 with a double and two RBIs for Oxy.

Season Impact: The Tigers improve to 7-9 in conference and are still in contention for the SCIAC tournament, trailing the fourth-and-final spot by one game.

The Leopards are 12-4 in conference.

Next Game: The Tigers have a doubleheader against now first-place Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at Bell Field on Saturday.