The first pitch of the season that Pedro Aldape saw landed on the hill behind the right field fence at Anderson Field, but the 4-0 first inning lead would not hold as the Tigers fell 9-7 in their season opener to the Menlo College Oaks despite playing a good first game of the spring.
After the first three batters of the game singled, with Stephen Hilliard driving in Logan Allen, Aldape plated freshman Chris Caldwell and Hilliard on one swing of the bat, literally.
“As I stepped into the box I just focused on getting a good pitch to hit and putting a good swing on it,” Aldape said after the game. “I got the pitch I was looking for, a curveball that hung over the inner half of the plate, and made solid contact; the ball just jumped off the bat.”
Returning from a medical red-shirt in 2010, Cory Popham (0-1) got the nod and he started strong, sitting down the first three batters he face in order. The second inning was a different story for the righty.
Menlo’s clean up man Chris Mazza reached on an infield single and a walk followed. With one out, the Oaks’ designated hitter Michael Brandi connected for a three-run homerun of his own. The visiting dugout lit up when the Oaks knotted things at 4-4 when catcher Ty Finley scored on a failed pick off attempt at second base.
The Oaks would add a pair in the fourth and with one out seemed as if they would add even more, but the Tigers intuition caught second baseman C.J. Dailey leaving second base early for the second out of the inning on an 8-5-6 putout for the second out of the inning.
Occidental responded in the bottom half of the inning when freshman Riley Smith doubled to right center, coming around to score on Allen’s third hit of the afternoon.
Popham took the mound in the sixth, but after one batter handed the ball over to freshman Mitch Margolis who went on to toss 3.0 innings, allowing a run, which was unearned, and striking out one. Dailey drove in a pair on his third hit of the afternoon, but was thrown out at third by Casey Harms, trying to stretch a double into a triple.
Popham scattered five hits and struck out one, allowing four earned runs.
In the bottom of the seventh, Oxy pushed another pair of runs across the plate as catcher Brenton Wunner led off with a bunt single. Allen reached on an error before Caldwell and Hillard drove them in, respectively.
Junior southpaw Tyler Eyrich came on in the ninth and Menlo added an insurance run. Their leadoff man, Joel Hull was hit by a pitch, with one out, before centerfielder Paul Oakley tripled to the area he roamed in the outfield, driving in Hull.
Menlo (2-0) closer Kyer Vera came on to earn the save, stifling the Tigers, sitting down all six batters he faced. Sean Sweeney was credited with the win, his second of the season, as he threw 7.0 innings. Oxy tagged him for nine hits and seven runs.
David Feasler (DH) and John Ugai (2B) each started his the first collegiate game of his career today. Van Fudge also got his first taste of college baseball with a pinch hitting appearance in the eighth inning.
Aldape finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs and Allen was 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a stolen base and an RBI. Hilliard also swiped a bag.
Although the Tigers out-hit the Oaks, nine to seven, the sore thumb today for Oxy was five errors. In spite of the blunders the group played well as a unit.
“I thought that we played a good game despite the scoreboard,” Aldape said. “There are definitely things we need to improve on and if we and had minimized the errors on the field, we could have won today.”
Occidental (0-1) will refocus and take the field tomorrow with the same energy they sprinted out with today.
“We can definitely bounce back and learn from these mistakes,” Aldape went on, “Today was a tough los, but we know what we need to improve on. I am sure that if we can tighten up the loose ends we can get a win this weekend.”
The Tigers and Oaks will take the field tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. for a single game before concluding the weekend series on Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
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