LOS ANGELES, Calif.—On another rainy day in Los Angeles, strong pitching and offense led the Carleton College baseball team to a 6-3 victory over Occidental College. Starting pitcher Paul Dimick (Jr./Northfield, Minn.) went 6.0 strong innings to pick his first victory of the season. The game was played during a constant downpour and called after the seventh inning.
The Knights got on the board in the third inning after Ray Yong (Fy./Elmhurst, Ill./York) led off with a double and came home on a Jeff Dsida (Fy./Winnetka, Ill./New Trier) single. Carleton (2-9) tacked on another run later in the frame as Alex Wirta (Jr./Corte Madera, Calif./Redwood) race homeward on a Kevin Johnson (Fy./St. Anthony, Minn./DeLaSalle) single to left.
An inning later, Carleton rallied for a pair of two-out runs. Yong collected his second double of the day and was chased home by Ben Walsh (Fy./New Canaan, Conn./St. Paul School). Walsh later scored all the way from first base on Wirta’s double to left field.
Occidental (8-14) finally plated a run against Dimick (1-2) in the fifth inning when Anthony Salsedo swiped home on a straight steal. The Knights immediately answered with two more two-out runs in the top of the sixth. Dsida drew a walk with two outs and scored on a David Stillerman (Fy./Evanston, Ill.) double to left field. After a pitching change, Johnson laced the first pitch he saw into right field, plating Stillerman with Carleton’s final run.
The Tigers got two more runs off of Dimick in the bottom of the frame, bringing the score to 6-3. Dimick was lifted after the inning. Overall he allowed five hits and walking three. Ted Harmon (So./Edina, Minn.) pitched a scoreless inning in relief to pick up his first career save.
“The guys were tremendous today,” said Carleton Head Coach Aaron Rushing. “We came to California to play in beautiful weather, and today we pulled out our second rain-shortened win. With game time temps in the upper 40's, we excelled today and played a complete game. Dimick was tremendous on the mound, and Ted Harmon closed it out in fine fashion on a skating rink of a mound.”
The Knights matched their season high with 11 hits, including three apiece for Johnson, Yong, and Wirta.
Carleton will look to make it two wins in a row tomorrow, March 24, against La Sierra University. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. PDT/4:30 p.m. CDT.
