LOS ANGELES — Riley Smith sparked a four-run rally and threw out two runners —one of them the tying run at the plate — as the Occidental baseball team held off Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 4-3 at Anderson Field on Monday.
The senior second baseman and leadoff man got the Oxy bats going when he drove in Walker Markswith an RBI-single and then stole second and third in the bottom of the third inning. Jonathan Wongand Johnathan Brooks followed his lead with back-to-back RBI-doubles and Victor Munoz brought home Brooks with a single, giving Oxy a 4-1 lead.
But Smith's biggest contribution was playing middleman during two key defensive relays in the seventh.
With two outs and runners on first and second, Michael Herb doubled to right field, scoring Evan Operman easily from second and sending Mackenzie Menthen in motion. Menthen rounded third, headed for home, but Smith took the throw from Chris Strain and threw a strike to Munoz, nailing Menthen at the dish while ending the inning and preventing the Stags from evening the score at four.
"Chris, Riley and (Munoz) executed that play perfectly," Oxy head coach Luke Wetmore said. "Chris did a great job of tracking the ball and hitting the cutoff man, Riley threw a strike to the plate and (Munoz) did a great job of putting down the tag."
It was the second of two impressive relays in the inning.
Strain and Smith hooked up for the first time three batters earlier, catching Jack Witte trying to stretch a single into a double on a 9-4-6 relay that ended with Marks laying the tag on Witte at second base.
"Both plays really changed things for us," Wetmore said. "We could have played better baseball at times today, but I'm happy we got the win and took the series."
CMS got its first run on a solo home run by Christian Hoxsie in the second. Hoxsie did more damage in the sixth when his check-swing line drive went over Brooks' head at first and stayed just inside the chalk, bringing home Ray Hurwitz for the Stags' second run of the game.
Oxy freshman Devon DeRaad earned his first victory, striking out five batters in the first six innings. DeRaad struggled with his control early, but pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the first and settled in nicely after Hoxsie's homer, giving up just two earned runs.
Fellow freshman Nolan Watson threw two scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth, picking up his first collegiate save.
A.J. Libunao finished the day 2 for 3 for Oxy.
Oxy improves to 4-8 overall and 3-3 in SCIAC play. CMS falls to 4-10 and 2-7 in conference.
The Tigers begin a three-game series with Caltech on Friday in Pasadena.
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