LOS ANGELES — Jakob Thomas had a pair of RBI and hits and the University of La Verne baseball team got within a run of the Tigers in the top of the ninth Friday afternoon at Anderson Field.

But a pair of fly outs left the tying run at second base as Occidental held on for a 5-4 win.

Season Impact: The Leopards drop to 16-10 overall and 7-3 in the SCIAC. La Verne moves into a tie for second place in the conference with Pomona-Pitzer. Oxy improves to 15-9 overall and 9-4 in the SCIAC.

Christopher Peres finished the day 2-4 at the plate with a run scored. 

The Tigers took the lead in the sixth when Brian Smith hit a three-run homer to put Oxy up 4-3.

Jacob Benson hit an RBI single in the ninth that brought in Peres to give the Leopards a shot late.

Christopher Arcos went five and two-thirds innings in his start striking out five. Josh Cohen picked up the win for Oxy.

Mauricio Guadarrama extended the Leopards' early lead to 2-0 with a single to right that scored Thomas. 

Next Game: The Leopards and Tigers continue their series tomorrow at Ben Hines Field in a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m.