After stringing together nine straight victories and getting off to a first-place start in the SCIAC, the Occidental College baseball team took a step back this weekend against Cal Lutheran. Following a hard-fought 5-3 loss in Thousand Oaks on Friday, the Tigers dropped a pair at home in a Saturday doubleheader against the Kingsmen, losing Game 1 by a score of 10-3 and Game 2 6-0.

Though the Tiger bats failed to catch fire all day, eight starters recorded at least a hit in Game 1. Scott Hong (Los Angeles) and Victor Munoz (La Verne) led the way with four combined hits and two RBIs. Hong went 4 for 8 on the day with a walk, one run batted in and a stolen base while Munoz was 3 for 7 with one RBI and played all 18 innings behind the plate.
In Game 1, Cal Lutheran struck first, going up 1-0 on a Nicho DellaValle sacrifice fly that scored Ronnie Burton in the first. But Oxy responded in the bottom half when a Munoz infield single to shortstop brought in Johnathan Brooks (Huntington Beach).

Oxy would not get on the scoreboard until the bottom of the ninth, when they mounted their final rally. Down to the final out with a 10-1 deficit and the bases loaded, Hong stepped into the box and singled in Chris Caldwell (Santa Clarita). Logan Allen (Atascadero) followed suit with a single of his own on the ensuing at-bat, plating Jacob Lee (Olympia, Wash.) and chasing Cal Lu pitcher Tyler Hebda, who had been working on a complete game.

The comeback effort fell well short, however, as reliever Aaron Roth came in to finish the game and tag with Tigers with the seven-run loss.

Game 2 started in manner reminiscent to the first, with the Kingsmen scoring three runs in the top of inning number one to force the Tigers to play catch up the rest of the way. The defense struggled behind freshman pitcher C.J. Maruyama (Danville), committing four errors in the first inning, making all three runs unearned. Despite a solid six-inning outing in which he struck out two, walked none and scattered seven hits, Maruyama picked up his first loss of the season.

Two Cal Lu pitchers teamed up to shut out the Tiger offense in Game 2. Scott Peters went six innings and Roth once again saw success out of the bullpen, striking out four in three innings.

The Tigers (15-5, 7-5 SCIAC) host Rutgers-Newark next weekend in a Saturday doubleheader at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and single game on Sunday at 2 p.m.