Stockton, Calif. - After a month of suffering, the Tigers found the all-around performance they had been lacking as Pacific came from behind to take an 11-8 win over Cal Poly on Sunday, March 8. Freshman Jed Sprague provided the game-winning fireworks in the bottom of the fifth as his solo shot proved to be the difference in the contest.

The win for Pacific (1-13) was its first of the season as the Tigers snapped their season-opening skid with the victory while the Mustangs (4-8) head home to San Luis Obispo.

After falling behind early as they had done the day prior, the Tigers' offense refused to let another game slip away as Pacific mounted an offensive onslaught in support of their senior Michael Benson (1-0) on the bump. Driving the ball all over the yard, the Tigers drilled the Mustang pitching staff for 15 hits including eight extra-base knocks, coming up with the clutch hits that had eluded them previously.

No Tiger had a better day than their junior Brett Sullivan who finished his afternoon 4-for-5 and just a double short of the cycle as he drove in three runs in the contest to lead the attack. The younger Sullivan found himself hitting with runners on throughout the afternoon as the top of the order found their way on base all day long with senior Tyler Sullivan and freshman Justin Thaxton each producing a pair of hits while the elder Sullivan added in a walk for good measure. All three times T. Sullivan reached base he found his way home beginning in the bottom of the first inning as he led the game off with a triple to center before coming in on an RBI single by junior Gio Brusa.

Sullivan's triple was the first of three triples for the Tigers on the day as the lineup came up with a three-bagger in each of the first three innings of play, the last of which was B. Sullivan's two-RBI triple that plated Pacific's two runs in the third. An inning later, the Tigers made it a whole new contest as they notched five runs in the fourth to tie the game at eight runs a piece. The five-run inning saw Pacific send 10 batters to the plate with the top of the order delivering three-straight hits after the bottom of the order loaded the bases for the Tigers. In the middle of the fray, T. Sullivan and Thaxton each roped run-scoring doubles that accounted for four of the five runs scored in the inning. 

With the game tied, Sprague made his way to the plate for the third time in the game and delivered one of the biggest hits in his young career as the first-year Tiger lifted a solo shot over the monster wall in left to put Pacific ahead for the first time in the day. Sprague's shot came on a 2-2 pitch that caught too much of the plate allowing the freshman to turn on the mistake and put his team ahead. The home run was the second of the season for the yound DH and was the first of what would be a two home run game for the Tigers.

Up one, Pacific's offense gave its pitching staff some breathing room over the next few innings with scores in the sixth and the eighth as the Tigers pushed their lead to three for the pen. The first of the two late runs came off the bat of B. Sullivan when the junior laced an 0-2 mistake down the right field line for a bullet home run to put Pacific up two. Two innings later, the Tigers added their final run when they turned a two out walk to junior J.J. Wagner into a run on a double off the wall by junior Louis Mejia. The hit was the second of two for Mejia who pushed his average to a team-best .359 with his performance.

For Pacific, the offense was not the only missing piece to be found on the day as the Tigers' defense came alive itself to stymie the Mustang offense. After a rough defensive first, the Tigers settled in and found their groove as Pacific's new look infield that had senior Jimmy Gosano at short, B. Sullivan at second, and Mejia at first, came up with all the plays and more to secure the win. 

The defense shut down the Mustangs over the final five innings of play as Benson calmed down after giving up a five-run first inning. Things looked bleak early on when Cal Poly was able to turn four hits and a slew of Pacific mistakes into the early runs, but Benson allowed just two hits over his final 4.1 innings of work to keep the Tigers in the game. One of the two hits was a three-run home run by Zach Zehner in the fourth when Cal Poy appeared to be gearing up for another big day at the plate with eight runs across and a five-run lead at the time. However, the three runs would be the last for the Mustangs as Benson went another 1.1 IP before giving way to senior Michael Hager out of the pen. Hager threw a perfect 1.2 IP in relief before sophomore Vince Arobio (1) ended the game for the Tigers to pick up his first save of the year. The lone blemish to Arobio's appearance was an check swing dribbler to start the ninth that put the leadoff man on for the Mustangs. Undeterred, Arobio promptly picked up the next three outs including punching out Zehner for the final out of the contest.

In all, the Tigers' relievers went 3.2 IP while allowing just one run and striking out four. Benson was awarded the Tigers' first win of the season with his effort in his first start of the year as he went 5.1 IP with six hits and eight runs given up while striking out three and walking his first two batters of the season. In relief for the Mustangs, Michael Gomez (0-1) was tagged with the loss as he gave up both of the home runs to the Tigers while allowing four hits in 2.0 IP.

The Tigers will attempt to turn the win on Sunday into a streak on Tuesday as they welcome to Klein Family Field the Golden Bears of Cal. The midweek tilt is scheduled for 6:00 pm.