REDLANDS — The Occidental College baseball team seems to have a problem with playing just nine innings lately.
The Tigers lost a 13-inning thriller in their last outing against Whittier on March 29 and again found themselves scrapping together late-inning runs on Friday, sending their series opener at Redlands into extras.
But a botched bunt play in the 11th spoiled another comeback attempt as the Tigers lost their third extra-inning game of the season and their seventh game by two-or-less runs, 6-5.
With first and second and no outs in the bottom half of the 11th, Scott Ericksen fielded the bunt, checked second and decided to try back to first at the last second. His throw was out of the reach ofJohnathan Brooks at first, squirting up the first-base line, while allowing Mark Tumlinson to come around and score the winning run from second.
Oxy falls to 12-15 overall and 8-8 in SCIAC play. The Bulldogs improve to 11-18 and 10-9.
Up until the throwing blunder, Ericksen had thrown two scoreless innings without giving up much. He finished with just one walk, one hit and no earned runs in a losing effort.
Ross Orman earned the win for the Bulldogs in relief.
Oxy got back into the game with a collective effort.
Trailing 5-2 and down to their final three outs, the Tigers rallied to even the game in the top of the ninth. Munoz started the big inning with a single, Devon DeRaad followed it up with an RBI-double and Chris Strain, who went 4 for 5 with a pair of runs and an RBI, added another base runner with a single to center. The Bulldogs lead dwindled to just one, when DeRaad scored on a wild pitch. ThenA.J. Libunao and Charlie Caccamo walked, loading the bases for Alec Strain's for the game-tying RBI-single to shortstop.
Riley Smith, who hit a pair of game-saving homers in Oxy's extra-inning game with Whittier, stepped to the plate with two outs in the ninth and a chance to play hero for the second game in a row. But his at bat with two outs and the bases loaded resulted in a fielder's choice at second to end the inning.
Victor Munoz delivered Oxy's first run of the game in the fourth with a solo shot to left field. The Oxy catcher who's been nursing a sore back, didn't let it bother him, finishing the day 2 for 3 with two walks and two runs to go along with the homer.
Redlands got two runs back in the fifth, two more in the seventh and extended their biggest lead, 5-1 with another run in the eighth.
The Tigers and the Bulldogs finish their three-game series with a doubleheader at Oxy's Anderson Field on Saturday. Game 1 starts at 11 a.m.