LOS ANGELES — Bryan Smith, Devon DeRaad and the Occidental bats got hot in a 12-6 win over co-defending SCIAC Champion Cal Lutheran at Anderson Field on Friday in the first game of the three-game series between the teams this weekend.

Oxy and the Cal Lu split the SCIAC crown last year and have both been ranked in the top 25 this season.

Smith, who's tearing the cover off the ball so far this season, was just a triple away from hitting for the cycle, going 4 for 5 with a home run, a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. He's hitting .444 and slugging .861 on the year.

DeRaad, a First Team All-American and the reigning SCIAC Player of the Year, went 2 for 2 with a homer run, a double, two runs and two RBIs. He also drew the unintentional-intentional walk three times from the Cal Lutheran pitching staff.

After surrendering four runs in the top of the first inning, the Tigers' batted around for seven runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Oxy leadoff hitter Jack Brancheau capped the run with a double to center that brought in three runs.

Oxy starter Will Martel settled in nicely with a 7-4 lead after his bumpy start, giving up just one more run in the next four innings for the win.

Oxy shortstop Reid Gibbs went 2 for 4 with a run and an RBI, and catcher Jared Baur was 1 for 3 with a run scored and an RBI-double.

Cal Lutheran made the game interesting when they cut the Tigers' lead to 12-10 in the top of the eighth, but the game was quickly called due to darkness and reverted back to the last completed inning. 

Season Impact: Oxy wins its sixth game in a row, moving to 6-3 overall and 4-0 in SCIAC play. The Tigers swept Whittier in their season-opening SCIAC series.

Cal Lutheran falls to 3-4 and 1-3.

Next Game: The Tigers and Kingsmen continue their three-game series with a doubleheader at Cal Lutheran on Saturday. Game 1 begins at 11 a.m.