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LOS ANGELES — Eamon McNeil tore the cover off the ball with a perfect day at the plate, Josh Cohen threw a gem in Game 2 and the Occidental baseball team jumped La Verne for first place in the SCIAC standings with a pair of victories over the Leopards at Anderson Field on Saturday.

"It's awesome to be at this point, leading the pack," Oxy head coach Luke Wetmore said. "There's a long way to go. We've gotten a lot of help to get to this point and we've got to get a lot better if we want to stay here."

McNeil was an incredible 8 for 8 from the field with two home runs, two doubles, six RBIs and three runs scored. He hit a three-run homer to break a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Oxy a 8-5 win in Game 1.

"He was obviously seeing the ball well this weekend," Wetmore said. "He plays the game the right way, he gives his best effort every time he touches the field and doesn't like to lose."

Cohen didn't allow an earned run, striking out four batters in eight innings in a 4-1 win in Game 2. 

"Josh is coming along really nicely. He's another really hardworking young man," Wetmore said. "He doesn't need anyone looking over his shoulder to get his work in. We've been working to develop his pitch count as a starter and he got it up over a 100 today. He made pitches when he needed to today."

Michael Netzel pitched the final two outs of both games, earning a pair of saves. 

Jaime Cooper had an outstanding Game 1 for Oxy, going 2 for 3 with a home run, three runs scored and a pair of RBIs. He went 1 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored in Game 2. 

Graham Pimm was 3 for 4 in Game 1 for Oxy and Bryan Smith went 2 for 4 with three runs scored.

Dean Abramson pitched 1.1 innings in Game 1, earning the victory.

Season Impact: Oxy improves to 18-9 overall and 11-4 in conference play, putting them at the top of the standings with nine games to play.

La Verne falls to 14-13 and 8-4.

Next Game: The Tigers are back in action against Pacific (Ore.) in Orange County on Friday. Oxy returns home to face Pacific (Ore.) in a non-conference doubleheader next weekend.