LOS ANGELES — Scott Hong (Los Angeles) threw a 128-pitch gem with some help from shortstopLogan Allen (Atascadero), and the Occidental College baseball team took sole possession of third place in the SCIAC standings with a 2-1 win over Pomona-Pitzer at Anderson Field.
Oxy (25-12, 16-10 SCIAC), which has two games left to play, can clinch the No. 3 seed in the SCIAC postseason tournament with a win at Redlands tomorrow, after beating the Sagehens (25-12, 18-8 SCIAC) and Caltech in a home doubleheader on Saturday.
Hong didn't allow an earned run in a complete-game effort, striking out eight batters while surrendering just four hits. He improves to 5-1 with his ERA now at 1.50, second best among SCIAC starting pitchers.
With runners on first and second and one out in the top of the sixth, he struck out E.J. Lopez and Kevin Brice to end the inning, then added a third strikeout in a row to open a 1-2-3 seventh. Earlier, in the fourth, he stranded Erik Munzer at third base after a one-out triple, striking out Lopez and then getting Brice to pop out.
Oxy's senior utility star did it with his bat too.
Hong drove in the game-winning run with two outs in the seventh. He sprayed a shot to right field that one-hopped Brice, who made a solid effort to charge and catch the low line drive, but trapped the ball on a sliding attempt, allowing Victor Munoz (La Verne) to cross the plate for the Tigers' second run.
He might not be the best hitter, pitcher, fielder or base runner in the league, but he's probably at least the second or third best in each category, and maybe the best all-around player in the conference.
"You just grind it out. That's what's expected of me and our coaching staff has trusted me enough to put me in those positions to be successful," Hong said, adding that pitching nine innings in a game where he's hitting for himself is pretty challenging. "The body pain comes in later. I'm a senior and I can't do this much long so I might as well enjoy it while I can."
He would have enjoyed it a lot less and the Tigers wouldn't have been smiling without a great defensive performance by Allen. Oxy's all-time hits leader who is now just three shy of 200 for his career, showed off his glove and poise under pressure, making play-after-play to keep the Sagehens from crossing the plate.
In the top of the third, playing two steps in, Allen made a nice glove stab on a ball hit sharply at him and fired a strike to the plate to put out Jackson Badger and prevent a run.
With no outs in the fifth, Hong threw low and towards the basepath on a sacrifice bunt attempt, but Allen made the catch for the force out despite colliding with the runner. In the next at bat, Allen showed off his lateral agility, back-handing a ball hit to his right and throwing off his right leg, on the run, to get Sam Fox out at first. Hong followed it up by striking out Mike Moyer to get out of the inning unscathed.
"He's an unbelievable shortstop. I can't say enough about him," Hong said. "He's the backbone of this team. … We have a backup at every position except shortstop."
Allen wasn't perfect, but certainly close to it. He did make one throwing error on a routine ground ball that led to Pomona-Pitzer's only run in the eighth. But even though his mistake had the Sagehens threatening a big inning, with first and third and no outs, he led the Tigers out of danger, making the turn on a 4-6-3 double play and then a second spectacular play in the hole to end the inning with just the one blemish.
Pomona-Pitzer threatened late. Brice got to second base with one out in the ninth, after being hit by a pitch and advancing on a wild pitch, but Hong refocused, striking out Mark Okuma and getting Coleman Lukas to foul out to end the inning.
Riley Smith (Bellevue, Wash.) went 2 for 4 with an RBI-single through the left side in the first.
The Tigers face the Bulldogs at 11 a.m.