LOS ANGELES — Devon DeRaad had a monster opening day, including a pair of home runs in Game 2, and Riley James threw a jem in his first start of the season as the Occidental College baseball team began the year with a split against Pacific (Ore.) at Anderson Field on Saturday.
The Tigers fell 6-2 in Game 1 and won 5-3 in Game 2 as rain drizzled on and off in the afternoon in Eagle Rock.
Next Game: Pacific and Occidental return to the field at 11 a.m. on Sunday for Game 3, the rubber match of the series.
Top Performers:
Occidental
Devon DeRaad - 3 for 6 with two home runs, three runs scored, four RBIs, two walks and a stolen base.
Riley James - Earned the win as Oxy's starter in Game 2, pitching 6 scoreless innings with no walks, two hits and four strikeouts.
Charlie Caccamo - 4 for 9 with a double and a run scored.
Victor Munoz - threw out three runners trying to steal and had an RBI-sacrifice fly in Game 1.
Johnathan Brooks - 2 for 6 with a double and two runs scored and a walk.
Will Nahmens - threw a pair of scoreless innings in both games, giving up just one hit and one walk in four innings of work.
Pacific
Kyle Treadway - Earned the win as the Boxers' starter in Game 1, allowing just two earned runs, in 6 innings of work and also had four strikeouts.
Tanner Mansell - 2 for 6 with a double and two runs scored.
Walker Olis - 2 for 7 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI.
Mike Thomson - 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored in Game 1 only.
Game 1: The Tigers looked rusty in the field early, committing three fielding errors that gave the Boxers an early 3-0 lead in the second inning. Pacific added two more in the third, one in the fifth and cruised to a relatively comfortable 6-2 victory.
Game 2: James was on his game, making quick work of the Boxers through six innings. DeRaad gave Oxy a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first with a homer, and then a 5-0 lead with another two-run shot in the seventh.
A.J. Libunao drove in Oxy's other run in the third.
Pacific rallied for three runs in the ninth, but Oxy closer Scott Ericksen took the ball with one out in the inning and quickly got a pair of outs to end the day.
Follow Oxy Athletics on Twitter Like us on Facebook Sign Up for Newsletters Watch on Youtube Follow us on Instagram