ORANGE — If Friday's SCIAC opener was any indication of what's to come, it's going to be a long and fun season of Occidental baseball.
It took a rally in the 12th inning, but the Tigers were able to edge Chapman 3-1 in the first of a three-game series with the Panthers this weekend.
The teams play a doubleheader at Oxy's Anderson Field starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
The Tigers move to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in SCIAC. Chapman falls to 1-4 and 0-1.
For the second game in a row, Walker Marks came up with a big play late in the game to help the Tigers squeak out a victory. The freshman shortstop, who laid down a safety squeeze in the bottom of the ninth that scored the game-tying run against Whitworth, hit an RBI double in the 12th, brining inDevon DeRaad for the go-ahead run. Marks moved to second on a sacrifice from Jonathan Wong and then eventually crossed the plate for an insurance run on a fielder's choice by Johnathan Brooks.
Oxy starting pitcher Joseph Kling was dealing on the mound, nearly throwing a shutout before Mark Saatzer finally got to him with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Kling checked out after the ninth with five strikeouts and just five hits and a walk against him.
David Feasler threw the final three innings, earning the win for Oxy.
Taber Watson was charged with the loss for the Panthers.
Oxy got its first run in the fourth inning. Brooks led off with a single to right field and then scored from third two batters later when Riley Smith reached on an error.