THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Occidental College (5-29, 2-17) edged out California Lutheran University (14-21, 6-13) with a 5-4 victory at Hutton Field on Friday. Occidental scored all five of its runs in a decisive third inning, capitalizing on Cal Lutheran's three defensive errors.
Cal Lutheran took an early lead in the first inning with Mia Reveles hitting a solo home run. Occidental trailed 1-0 after the first.
Occidental made a significant impact in the third inning.
Amarie Bolen reached first on an error and then scored on another error after reaching third.
Alysha Wagner's single, followed by a fielder's choice involving
Anna Kim and
Riko Hibino, set the stage for the scoring.
Jordan Lebsock executed a bunt single, bringing Kim home.
Sophia Siu added a sacrifice bunt, allowing Hibino to score.
Kadence Bernard and
Rachel Rotunno each hit RBI singles, driving in Lebsock and Bernard respectively. This scoring burst gave Occidental a 5-1 lead by the end of the third inning.
In the fifth inning, Cal Lutheran narrowed the gap. Reveles tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Reyna Perez. Later, Samantha Swerdloff hit a two-RBI single, bringing the score to 5-4 in favor of Occidental.
The game concluded without further scoring, as both teams held each other scoreless in the final innings. Occidental secured the victory with a final score of 5-4.
Lebsock recorded two hits, including a double, and drove in one run. Wagner also tallied two hits, with one of those being a double. Siu contributed one hit, one RBI, and stole a base.
Sam Alfaro pitched 1 2/3 innings, allowing only one hit and securing a save.
