WALNUT — Logan Allen (Atascadero) tied the Occidental College baseball all-time hit record,Johnathan Brooks (Huntington Beach) continued his incredible season at the plate and the Tigers exploded for seven runs in the top of the eighth inning, erasing a five-run deficit to beat La Verne 11-5 in Game 1 of a three-game series at Mount San Antonio College of Friday.
Allen joins Mark Harris '91 atop the record books with 184 career hits. His record-tying shot was a double down the left field line that ignited Oxy's big rally. Brooks, Pedro Aldape (Sherman Oaks) andAlec Strain (Sacramento) followed it up with RBI singles to tie the game at five, and then Victor Munoz (La Verne) hit a two-run double to put Oxy up 7-5. A.J. Libunao (Huntington Beach) made it a three-run cushion, driving home Munoz with a single to finish the inning.
With the win, Oxy (21-9, 12-7 SCIAC) moves into a third-place tie with the Leopards (18-10, 12-7 SCIAC). The teams will play the remaining two games of the series tomorrow at Oxy.
Brooks upped his SCIAC-best average to .467, going 3 for 5 with three RBIs. On top of his RBI-single in the seventh, the sophomore drove in Allen for Oxy's first run with a double in the sixth and brought home Scott Hong (Los Angeles) with a single in the ninth, giving Oxy a 9-5 lead.
Strain and Munoz each added another RBI-single in the ninth, giving Oxy a comfortable 11-5 win.
If you watched just the first few innings of the game though, you wouldn't believe the final score. Oxy scored 13 runs on 11 hits, all in the final three innings.
La Verne and starting pitcher Kevin Knight looked in control through most of the game, holding a 5-0 lead and allowing just one hit through the first six innings. Before the Tigers tagged him for six runs, the Leopards ace had a .092 ERA and had given up just four earned runs in five SCIAC starts.
La Verne scored three runs in the first and two more in the fifth.
Oxy starter Joseph Kling (Kirksville, Mo.) gave up two earned runs in four innings pitched. Harry Keyte(New York), who pitched 1.1 scoreless innings in relief, earned the win.
Hong went 2 for 5 with two runs and a stolen base, Strain was 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a run, and Munoz was 2 for 5 with three RBIs and a run.
Oxy has won five of its last seven games.