Pair of one run games in series with Oxy

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps baseball team came within one run of a win on two occasions in the weekend series with Occidental College. The Stags lost at Oxy 7-6 and then were swept at home 12-2 and 6-5.

In the Friday game, CMS out-hit Occidental 12-6, highlighted by homeruns off the bats of Trey Smith and Nolan Anderson. In the game, Anderson was 3-for-5. Smith led with three of the team's five RBI with his shot in the third inning. Christian Hoxsie also contributed two timely hits, driving in a run.

MacKenzie Menthen pitched five complete innings and struck out four batters. The pitching staff only allowed four earned runs as the other three came off Stag errors in the field.

On Saturday, the Stags' pitching faltered in the first game, unable to stifle the Tigers' offensive production. Oxy tallied 16 hits in the first game including a grand slam by the SCIAC's homerun leader, Devon DeRaad, in the top of the seventh inning to give the Tigers the 10 run advantage.

The Stags' shortstop Jack Witte was back in action after having been out of the lineup for a few games. Witte earned his first hit of the season in spectacular fashion, leading off the fourth inning with a bomb into the trees in right field.

Michael Gose wielded a hot bat on Saturday as well. Gose was 5-for-7 on the day with two doubles in the nightcap.

Gose and Robby Weissenfels dazzled the crowd with two outstanding outfield plays in the first game. Gose laid out for a sinking liner to end the top of the fifth inning with runners in scoring position. An inning later, Weissenfels came up with his first outfield assist as a runner tried to tag and score on a fly to left field.

The Stags mustered a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth in game two but were unable to force extra innings. Weissenfels plated Smith with just one out and induced a pitching change. Menthen had a clutch pinch hit single that scored two more but CMS was stopped, just one run short of tying up the game.

John O'Malley came into the game in the sixth inning in relief for John Rizzo.  O'Malley held the Tigers scoreless and with only one hit in four innings pitched.

The Stags (0-15, 0-9 SCIAC) host Cal Lutheran (8-1, 5-1 SCIAC) on Friday at 2:30 p.m. and then travel to Thousand Oaks for the final two games of the series on Saturday.

Box Scores: Friday Game, Saturday Game 1, Saturday Game 2

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