LOS ANGELES — Win or lose, Oxy third baseman A.J. Libunao was going to have his name stamped all over the Occidental College baseball team's series opener against La Verne.
The junior drove in Oxy's first run with a sacrifice fly, made an error that allowed La Verne to take the lead and even made a pair of solid defensive plays right after booting the ball to stop the bleeding.
But his biggest contribution was a 2-run home run in the bottom of the sixth that broke a tie score and was the difference in a crucial win over the Leopards, 4-3 at Anderson Field on Friday.
With the win, Oxy jumps La Verne in the SCIAC standings, moving into fourth place at 11-8 in the conference. La Verne falls to 10-8. The winner of the series at the end of the weekend will be in fourth with seven games to play.
"Van Fudge put me in a situation for a sacrifice for the second time by laying down a great bunt. I was just trying to get an outfielder to turn his back. When I started jogging, it just happened to keep carrying," Libunao said, adding that it felt good to avenge his error. "I've been trying to work all season on getting back in the moment and that's proof that it's working."
Libunao finished the day 2 for 3 with 3 RBIs and a run scored to go along with the home run.
Nolan Henley was the player of the game for La Verne, going 2-for-5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI, including a solo homer to left field in the seventh that cut Oxy's lead to 4-3. In his final at bat with two outs in the ninth, he crushed a line drive to short, but Oxy's Riley Smith snagged it out of the air, securing the win for the Tigers.
Johnathan Brooks stayed hot at the plate for Oxy, going 3-for-3 with a double, a run scored and a walk. He is now batting .350 in conference play.
Ben White and Josh Surdo each went 2 for 3 for the Leopards.
Starter Joseph Kling pitched a solid game for the Tigers, going 5.1 innings without an earned run. When he checked out in the sixth, left-handed reliever C.J. Maruyama came in and sat down consecutive batters, with one out and runners on first and second, closing the book on Kling.
Maruyama earned the win, throwing 2.2 innings with the home run by Henley his only costly blemish. Scott Ericksen threw the ninth, earning the save.
La Verne's Phil Schick pitched all eight innings, giving up four earned and striking out four, but was charged with the loss.
La Verne took a 2-1 lead in the fifth on a pair of unearned runs. Mark Jebbia started the rally with a grounder to the left of Libunao at third that deflected off the heel of his glove for an error. Two batters later, Michael Reyes hit an RBI-single to center, scoring Jebbia and tying the game at 1-1. Nolan Henley drove in ULV's second run, on a sharply hit fielder's choice to third, scoring Jebbia. Henley's liner was knocked down at third by A.J. Libuano and thrown to second for the second out. In the meantime, Jared Hovsepian was able to cross the dish. George Hanna lined out to Libunao in the next at-bat to end the inning.
The Tigers quickly erased the lead in the bottom half of the fifth. Brooks walked and eventually scored on a bloop-single to center by Victor Munoz.
The Tigers scored first in the bottom of the fourth. Chris Strain led off the inning with a line-drive double to left center, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Fudge and scored on a sacrifice fly to left from Libunao.
Up until that point, neither team could scratch through 3 ½ innings despite putting the ball in play and having base runners.
In the bottom half of the first, Brooks led off the inning with a double to left that one-hopped the wall. Munoz walked, giving the Tigers a pair on base, but they were both stranded.
Pedro Espinoza recorded La Verne's first hit in the top of the second, knocking a single to left. ULV added a second base runner with one out when Jebbia walked. But Kling got Hovsepian to ground into a 6-4-3 to end the threat and the inning.
Oxy followed La Verne's lead and looked like it might get some offense going in the bottom half of the second. But after Libunao hit a sharp single through the left side, Henley made a diving catch in center and Jebbia followed it with a diving catch in left on a pair of soft line drives to end the inning.
During La Verne's turn at the plate in the third, Surdo tried to stretch a single into a double, but was easily caught at second on a relay that started in right with Devon DeRaad in right, to Charlie Caccamo, to Smith for the tag. Had Surdo not gotten thrown out, he may have scored on a double to left center by Henley later in the inning. George Hanna flied out to left in the next at-bat to end the inning.
Brooks recorded his second hit in the bottom of the third, reaching first on a high chopper that deflected off of Schick's glove, slowing it down just enough that Hanna couldn't make the bare-handed play behind the mound. Schick recovered, sitting down Smith, Munoz and DeRaad.
In the ULV-half of the fourth, Joe Winterburn smacked a single to left. But Pedro Espinoza lined out to short and Winterburn got picked off on a botched bunt attempt to end the inning.
The Tigers and the Leopards continue their series Saturday with a doubleheader at La Verne's newly remodeled Campus West Athletic Complex that houses the school's new baseball and softball fields. The Leopards had a groundbreaking ceremony to open the $ 20 million facility on April 8 and played their first softball games there on Friday.