The Austin College baseball team fell in both halves of its doubleheader against Occidental on Sunday, falling 5-3 in the first game before dropping the second game late 11-7. The 'Roos are now 0-4 overall this season after their season opening series with the Tigers.
In game one, the Tigers got on the board first with one run in the second but the 'Roos answered back in the bottom of the third when Landon Hendrix scored on a wild pitch to tie things up. Occidental would respond with a run of its own in the fourth, and two more runs would cross the plate in the sixth to make it a 4-1 game.
The 'Roos cut the margin to 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth when two runs came home on an error to put Austin College within striking distance, but the Tigers would add one more run in the seventh and the 'Roos were unable to get anything going in their final at bat.
Austin Vaughan went 2-for-4 to lead the 'Roos offensively while Blaine Tew had a solid outing on the mound, surrendering five runs, four earned, on eight hits in 6.2 innings of work in absorbing the loss. Tew struck out three and walked three.
In game two the Tigers once again struck first, but the 'Roos answered right back when Todd Takabuki ripped a triple down the right field line to plate Mason Leech and Tyler Appelquist and make it a 2-1 game. Occidental would score a run in both the third and fourth innings to regain the lead at 3-2, but Jeremy Halford beat out a bunt with two outs and the bases loaded to tie things at 3-3 heading into the fifth.
An error by the 'Roos opened the door for a three run fifth for the Tigers to make it 6-3, but Austin College got two runs back in the sixth when Shane Williams doubled down the left field line to bring home Takabuki, and Williams would score on an error to bring the 'Roos to within one at 6-5 heading into the seventh.
In the seventh inning it was the 'Roos who took advantage of an Occidental error as Leech and Appelquist scored after the ball got away at first to put the 'Roos up 7-6, but the lead would be short lived as Occidental plated five in the top of the eighth to go back on top 11-7 and that's how things would end.
Appelquist went 3-for-5 with a double with three runs scored and Takabuki went 2-for-4 with two RBI to lead the 'Roos. Colt Herron took the loss in relief, surrendering five runs, three earned, in 0.2 innings of work.
Austin College athletic teams participate as a member of the NCAA Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.
About Austin College
Austin College is a leading national independent liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas. Founded in 1849, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original charter and name, the college is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA). Recognized nationally for academic excellence in the areas of international education, pre-professional training, and leadership studies, Austin College is one of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope's influential book Colleges that Change Lives.
