LOS ANGELES – Pacific gave head coach Brian Billings in his first in the red and black Saturday as the Boxers took a split in their baseball doubleheader with Occidental at Anderson Field.
Pacific keyed off of three errors to score three runs in the second inning of game one and then added on with two in the third and one in the fourth en route to a 6-2 victory. The nightcap was all Occidental until late as two pitchers limited the Boxers to two hits in the first eight innings before holding off a ninth inning Pacific rally for a 5-3 win.
Pacific had four hitters each register two hits in the opener, led by a 2 for 3 outing from Walker Olis (Jr., Burlington, Wash.). The bats backed up first game starter Kyle Treadway (Sr., Phoenix, Ariz.), who went six innings to earn his first win of the season.
GAME 1: PACIFIC 6, OCCIDENTAL 2
After both teams went quietly in the first, Pacific's bats came alive to score all six runs in the following three innings. Tanner Mansell (Jr., Lakeport, Calif.) opened the second with a double to left, advanced to third when Olis reached on the first of three Tigers' errors in the inning and scored when Ben Duerr's (Jr., Lebanon, Ore.) sacrifice bunt was misplayed by Occidental pitcher Joseph Kling. Mike Thomson (Jr., Yorba Linda, Calif.) followed with a single to center field that scored Olis and later scored on the third error of the frame.
The Boxers added on two runs in the third when Olis' double scored Mansell and Duerr's single plated Olis. Occidental would finally get to Treadway in the home half of third as Jonathan Brooks scored on a sacrifice bunt and when Jake Chambers was hit by pitch with the bases loaded.
Pacific tacked on an insurance run in the fourth as Taren Bradd (Jr., Medford, Ore.) doubled to lead off the inning and scored on Donnie Bradley's (Sr., Beaverton, Ore.) fielder's choice.
Treadway was very much in control as he earned the Boxers' first win of the season. In six innings, he allowed the two runs on just three hits and two walks, striking out four. Tyler Kotchik (Jr., Beaverton, Ore.) threw the final three innings to earn the save, allowing just two hits. Kling took the loss for Occidental, allowing six runs, three earned, on eight hits with three strikeouts in four innings.
Mansell, Olis, Thompson and Nathan Suyematsu (Jr., Tualatin, Ore.) each had two hits for the Boxers, with Olis going 2 for 3 with a double, two runs and a RBI. Charlie Caccamo went 3 for 5 with a run and a double to lead Occidental.
GAME 2: OCCIDENTAL 5, PACIFIC 3
Much like the Boxers did in the opener, the Tigers capitalized on errors to open things up in their favor in the second game. Brooks reached on an error with one out in the first and Devon DeRaad brought him home with a two-run homer to right field. DeRaad then manufactured a run in the third, walking with two outs, stealing second and scoring on a double to center field by A.J. Libuano.
Pacific pitching escaped jams in both the fifth and sixth innings, but the Tigers succeeded in putting two more runs on the board in the seventh. It was DeRaad who delivered again, sending a two-run homer over the left center field wall.
Occidental pitcher James Riley, meanwhile, did his part to keep the Boxers off the bases. He allowed a leadoff double to Austin Florez (Fr., South Jordan, Utah) in the third and a double to Tyler Brown (Fr., Tucson, Ariz.) in the fifth and nothing else. He earned the win by allowing just the two hits and striking out four in six innings of work.
Pacific came back to give a pair of Occidental relievers a scare in the top of the ninth. Suyematsu was a hit by a pitch to begin the frame. Bradley followed with an infield single and both runners moved up 90 feet on a pop out before Suyematsu plated on an error. Pinch-hitter JT Francies (Jr., Greeley, Colo.) followed with a double down the left field line to score Bradley and Francies later scored on a wild pitch before reliever Scott Ericksen struck Austin Gallagher (Sr., Lake Oswego, Ore.) out to end the game.
Colin McCusker (Jr., Olympia, Wash.) took the loss for the Boxers, allowing three runs, one earned, on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work. Ericksen earned the save for Occidental as he closed out the ninth. The Boxers' four hits were strung out between four batters while Brooks, DeRaad and Libuano each had two hits for the Tigers.
The two teams will close out their three-game series on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m.