AZUSA, Calif. — Pomona-Pitzer baseball won its second SCIAC Tournament Championship in three seasons by defeating CMS 10-8 in a back-and-forth battle Saturday afternoon, securing the SCIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Cooper Berry, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player following the game, led the Sagehens with four RBI on a grand slam in the second inning.
Sammy Lee added two RBI while
Peter Savas,
Greg Pierantoni and
Will Parker each added one.
Dean Hoshide earned the win on the mound, going 2.1 innings in relief with four strikeouts and allowing just two hits and a run.
Eli Della Bitta secured the save, closing the game with 1.2 innings of work and three punchouts, all in the bottom of the ninth.
The Stags got on the board first with a solo shot in the bottom of the first. But Pomona-Pitzer responded in a big way in the top of the second, with Savas first drawing a bases-loaded walk to tie the game. Berry then belted his grand slam down the right field line, putting the Sagehens up 5-1.
CMS got three runs back in the second to make it 5-4. Pierantoni scored on a wild pitch in the third to up the Sagehens' lead, 6-4. But the Stags scored two more in the fourth and another in the fifth to take a 7-6 lead.
Pierantoni drove home Berry in the sixth on a fielder's choice to tie the game back up at 7-7. CMS reclaimed the lead in the sixth with an RBI single.
Will Parker then blasted a solo shot to right in the seventh, tying the game again at 8-8.
With two outs, the bases loaded and facing an 0-2 count in the top of the eighth, Lee drove a pitch just past the outstretched glove of the Stags' shortstop, scoring
Tanner DeGrazia and
Jack Gold. The two-run single put Pomona-Pitzer up 10-8.
The Sagehen defense then came up big throughout the final two innings. With one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, Della Bitta took the mound and proceeded to get CMS to hit into a double play. Della Bitta then struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth, securing the 10-8 SCIAC Tournament Championship Game victory for Pomona-Pitzer.
Up Next: The Sagehens will play next week in the NCAA Tournament Regionals, with the selection show taking place on Monday, May 11, at 9:00 a.m. PT.
