CMS Baseball Wins Wild Doubleheader at Occidental 32-10, 8-7

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Tyler Shaw hit for the cycle in the opening game, finishing 6-for-6 with six runs scored and six RBI, and 10 different players had at least one hit and one RBI, as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps baseball team opened a doubleheader at Occidental with a 32-10 win on Saturday, before completing the sweep with a closer 8-7 decision in the nightcap.

With the wins, CMS moves to 23-10 on the year and 11-7 in SCIAC, putting it in strong position for a postseason bid with three games coming against last-place Caltech next weekend. Occidental slips to 10-27 on the year with the losses. 

The opening game also saw monster offensive numbers for the Stags. In addition to Shaw's line, Julian Sanders hit 4-for-6 with two homers and five RBI, Jack Potter hit 2-for-3 with a homer and four RBI, Rider Gordon bat 3-for-4 with a homer, and three RBI, and Dillon Martin finish 3-for-7 with four RBI. 

It wasn't a blowout the whole way, as CMS built a 7-0 lead early before Occidental came back to tie it 8-8 in the fourth. CMS, though, then scored nine runs in the fifth, eighth in the sixth and seven in the seventh to stretch their run total to 32. 

The first inning saw a two-run double from Martin and a two-run homer from Potter to put CMS ahead 4-0. A Mazzone double and a two-run homer from Sanders stretched it to 7-0 after two innings. 

After Occidental tied it with a seven-run fourth, CMS put nine on the board in the fifth to break it open. Nate Seluga broke the tie with an RBI double, and Shaw followed with a two-run double to make it 11-8. Martin picked up his third RBI with a run-scoring single, which was followed by RBI singles from Potter and Adam Dapkewicz, before Gordon capped it off with a two-run homer. 

Occidental got one back in the bottom of the fifth on a solo homer, but CMS batted around again in the sixth with eight runs, keyed by an RBI double from Martin and a three-run homer from Shaw. The seventh inning featured a three-run homer from Sanders, with Shaw being hit by a pitch to bring home a run, denying him a chance at a rare seven-hit game. Wesley Wells also added a pinch-hit two-run single. 

Henry Connell got the win for CMS in relief, throwing 2.2 innings and allowing one run. Charlie Hynes closed out with an inning of relief, striking out two. 

The nightcap saw CMS hold on for an 8-7 win after getting out to a 7-0 lead for the second game in a row. Nate Seluga opened the scoring with a two-run single in the second, which was followed by a Shaw RBI single and a Mazzone sacrifice fly to cap a four-run inning. 

Gordon had an RBI double in the third, and Seluga tacked on a sacrifice fly for his third RBI of the game to make it 6-0, and Gordon added another RBI single in the fifth to make it 7-0. Occidental came back with four runs in the fifth, before Sanders hit his third homer of the doubleheader, and fourth of the weekend, to push the lead back to 8-4, which would prove to be the winning run. 

The Tigers got back within 8-7 in the seventh, but Hamilton Finefrock came through with a big strikeout to leave the bases loaded. Martin started a 4-6-3 double play to end the eighth, and Finefrock finished off the save with a grounder in the bottom of the ninth with runners on first and second. 

Gordon had a perfect day at the plate in the nightcap, going 4-for-4 with two RBI, while Martin and Mazzone were each 2-for-4. Aaron Herst went five innings to get the win for the Stags, while Finefrock earned the save. 

CMS will have three games with Caltech next weekend, including a home doubleheader on Saturday at Pomona-Pitzer's Alumni Field, beginning at 11 a.m. The Stags will then close out against first-place La Verne on May 3-4, with a chance to qualify for the SCIAC Tournament for the second straight season.