HONOLULU, Hawaii — Occidental College had a successful day at Sand Island State Recreational Area, achieving two victories against Dickinson College and Kenyon College with scores of 8-0 and 13-8, respectively.
Occidental's offense was robust against Dickinson, delivering nine hits and driving in seven runs.
Lehua Acoba pitched five scoreless innings, allowing just five hits and striking out three to secure the shutout victory. The Tigers took control early in the game; in the first inning,
Riko Hibino walked and
Anna Kim was hit by a pitch, setting the stage for
Alysha Wagner's sacrifice bunt that advanced both runners.
Sophia Siu walked, loading the bases for
Jordan Lebsock, who delivered a double to left center, clearing the bases and putting three runs on the board. The Tigers led 3-0 after one inning.
In the second inning, Hibino singled and Kim brought her home with an RBI single to shallow right field, extending the Tigers' lead to 4-0. The fourth inning saw Kim stealing second base before Siu singled down the right field line, allowing Kim to score and increase the lead to 5-0. In the fifth inning,
Rachel Rotunno singled, and
Justice Tiberi, pinch running for Rotunno, advanced to second on a wild pitch. Another wild pitch brought Tiberi home, followed by Hibino's RBI single scoring
Kadence Bernard. Kim then doubled to center field, driving in Hibino for the final run. Occidental capped the scoring at 8-0 after five innings.
Final score: Occidental 8, Dickinson College 0. Kim recorded three hits and drove in two runs, contributing significantly to the offensive effort. Siu collected one hit, scored once, and drove in a run. Lebsock added a crucial hit with a double, driving in three runs. On the mound, Acoba pitched a complete game shutout, striking out three batters over five innings.
In the second game against Kenyon, Occidental emerged victorious with a 13-8 win in an extra-inning clash, fueled by two pivotal five-run innings in the sixth and eighth, capitalizing on Kenyon's four fielding errors. The game remained scoreless through the first two innings until Occidental broke through in the third, scoring their first run when
Sam Palacio was hit by a pitch, advanced on a single by
Anna Kim, and then scored on Sofia Siu's sacrifice fly to right field, putting Occidental up 1-0 after three innings.
In the fourth inning,
Jacynda Lindsay started the action with a single, followed by a single from
Kadence Bernard.
Riko Hibino drove in Lindsay with a single to right field, and Kim then brought in another run with a sacrifice fly, extending the Tigers' lead to 3-0 through four innings. After Kenyon scored in the fifth inning to make it 3-1, Occidental responded strongly in the sixth, capitalizing on two fielding errors by Kenyon to score five runs. A fielding error allowed both
Amarie Bolen and Hibino to score, while an RBI groundout by
Alysha Wagner and a subsequent throwing error added to the tally, giving the Tigers an 8-1 lead.
However, Kenyon rallied with a seven-run inning in the bottom of the sixth, tying the game at 8-8. The game remained tied through the seventh inning, forcing extra innings. In the eighth inning, Occidental's Wagner started on second base, and Siu singled, advancing Wagner.
Rachel Rotunno's sacrifice fly scored Wagner, and a fielding error allowed additional runs to score.
Molly Houtkooper capped the inning with a two-run single, sealing the victory for the Tigers with a final score of 13-8.
Wagner recorded five assists from the shortstop position, contributing a hit and an RBI. Houtkooper had a strong performance at the plate with two hits and two RBIs, including a double. Lindsay was effective on the mound, pitching 7 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs, and striking out eight batters. Bernard also contributed offensively with two hits and scored twice.
