LOS ANGELES — Occidental College (15-4, 4-2) edged past Illinois Institute of Technology (5-6) with a tense 17–16 victory on Tuesday at Anderson Field. Occidental's offensive highlight included hitting two home runs from
Jackson Short and drawing 10 walks, contributing significantly to its high scoring.
Occidental's offense ignited early, scoring six runs in the first inning.
Griffen Rogers was hit by a pitch and stole second before
Thomas Munch singled, allowing Rogers to score. A fielding error and a series of walks, including an RBI walk by
Alejandro Ducreux, further increased the lead. Rogers capped the inning with a two-RBI double to left field. The Tigers led 6–0 after the first inning.
In the second inning,
Jackson Short extended the lead with a two-run homer to right field, bringing in
Logan Rooney, who had walked earlier. This pushed Occidental's advantage to 8–0.
The Scarlet Hawks responded in the third inning, scoring nine runs on a combination of hits and errors, including a two-RBI double by Ryan Fostiak. Occidental managed to add two runs of its own in the bottom half, with
Andy Franck scoring on a wild pitch and Munch crossing home on a hit-by-pitch. The 3rd inning concluded with a tight 10–9 lead for Occidental.
Illinois Tech surged ahead in the fourth inning, scoring three more runs. Occidental's bats fell silent, keeping the score at 12–10 in favor of Illinois Tech after four innings.
The sixth inning saw both teams scoring. Short hit a solo home run, and
Antonio Longobardi scored on a throwing error. Illinois Tech added three unearned runs, maintaining its lead at 15–12.
Occidental narrowed the gap in the seventh inning. Rogers singled, advanced to third, and scored on Rooney's sacrifice fly. Short's RBI single brought in another run, closing the score to 16–14.
In a dramatic eighth inning, Occidental reclaimed the lead. Pinch hitter
Tyler Kubo was hit by a pitch, and
Anthony Sereno walked.
Evann Smith delivered a crucial two-RBI single, followed by Short's RBI single, completing the comeback and securing a 17–16 lead.
The Tigers held Illinois Tech scoreless in the ninth, clinching a 17–16 victory.
Rogers scored three runs and drove in two, contributing a double and a walk in his performance. Short tallied three runs, recorded four hits, including two home runs, and collected seven RBIs. Smith added two hits, scored twice, and drove in two runs. Rooney contributed two runs and two RBIs, reaching base with a hit and two walks.
Occidental now has a record of 15-4 and 4-2 in the conference and will resume conference play this weekend with a 3-game series against Cal Lutheran with a doubleheader at Anderson Field on Saturday, March 21st.
